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Juicy and fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs with brown sugar garlic sauce, pressure cooked in an Instant Pot for 8 mins. Instant Pot chicken dinner is so easy!
Table of Contents
Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
How to cook chicken thighs in an Instant Pot? This brown sugar garlic chicken is the perfect recipe to make chicken thighs in an Instant Pot.
The pressure cooking of Instant Pot ensures that the chicken thighs are perfectly cooked, stay juicy, moist and tender.
The combinations of garlic and brown sugar work like magic with chicken, making it one of the easiest instant pot chicken recipes you can make for the entire family.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken
Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
How Long Does It Take to Cook Instant Pot Chicken?
It takes about 5 -10 minutes to cook chicken in an Instant Pot, depending on the chicken parts used in the recipe.
Below are the general guidelines on the time for cooking chicken in an Instant Pot, based on my past experiences:
Wingettes and drumettes – 5 minutes
Whole chicken wings – 6 minutes
Chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs – 8 minutes
Chicken breasts – 10 minutes
Can you cook frozen chicken in an Instant Pot? Yes, you can cook frozen chicken thighs, chicken breasts, wings and legs in an Instant Pot.
Just add 2 minutes to the time above if you use frozen chicken from the refrigerator.
How Do You Pressure Cook Chicken in an Instant Pot?
You need at least 1/2 cup of liquid in an Instant Pot to pressure cook chicken. You may also use up to 1 cup of liquid but 1/2 cup is enough to cook chicken.
1 cup is too much liquid as the process of pressure cooking doesn’t vaporize the liquid, instead, it forces the moisture of the chicken out of the meat, creating more liquid in the Instant Pot.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 477 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Instant Pot Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
Juicy and fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs with brown sugar garlic sauce, pressure cooked in an Instant Pot for 8 mins. Instant Pot chicken dinner is so easy!
Season the chicken thighs with salt and ground black pepper on both sides of the chicken. Turn on the Saute mode on your Instant Pot. As soon as the pot is fully heated and hot, add the olive oil. Pan sear the chicken thighs (skin side down first) until both sides turn nicely brown.
You can also pan-sear the chicken in a skillet and then transfer them over to the Instant Pot. Add the minced garlic and saute until light brown.Add the chicken broth, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper and salt.
Cover the pot and select Manual and set to High pressure for 8 minutes. When it beeps, turn to Quick Release. When the valve drops, remove the lid carefully and turn to Saute mode to reduce the sauce if it's too watery.
Add the chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Watch the cooking video on this page for step-by-step guide.
I used a 6-quart Instant Pot. If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can make this recipe in a slow cooker, or on your stove top. If you use a slow cooker, Use high heat and cook for 3 hours. For stove top, just pan-fry the chicken and then add in all the ingredients of the sauce. Simmer on low heat and cook until the chicken meat is tender.
I used organic chicken thighs, so they are very small. If you use regular chicken thighs, you can increase the pressure cooking time to 10 minutes for tender meat.
Course: Instant Pot Recipes
Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: Instant Pot Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
Amount Per Serving (4 people)
Calories 477Calories from Fat 315
% Daily Value*
Fat 35g54%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 166mg55%
Sodium 387mg17%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 28g56%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This dinner staple cooks up perfectly every time in the Instant Pot. You can aim for firm but juicy chicken for cubing, or let it cook a little bit longer for tender shredded chicken.
The key to getting perfectly juicy boneless chicken breasts is to cook them on a trivet, above the liquid. I find that this results in a better texture than cooking them on the bottom of the pot. I also think their texture is best when you quickly release the pressure, rather than letting it naturally release.
While all cuts of chicken are fair game for the Instant Pot, thighs are the most forgiving. Because chicken breast is so lean, just a couple of extra minutes of cook time turns them from juicy to overcooked and dry.
Pressure cookers save you time by cooking foods TWO to TEN times faster than other cooking methods. They are the fastest way to cook delicious meals: beef roasts, chicken, rice, dry beans, you name it.
For chicken breasts always aim for rather 155F. Within 4-5 minutes the temperature will rise to 165F. If you aim for 165F right after opening the lid, you'r chicken will overcook during resting time.
Add 1 cup of liquid to the instant pot (water, chicken broth, pineapple or apple juice). Place chicken breasts on top of the trivet in a single layer and season with salt, pepper or any seasonings you like. Secure the instant pot lid and make sure the vent is set to “sealed”.
An improperly sealed lid can cause the Instant Pot to just cook and cook your contents as it attempts to reach pressure. This will lead to scorching and then a burn notice. Make sure that you're using enough liquid.
If the chicken is not quite up to temperature, put the lid back on with the vent closed and cook for another minute or two. Use the chicken: Use a pair of tongs to transfer the chicken to a dish, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
As with a raw piece of chicken, cooked chicken that is or has gone bad will begin to change color. As it spoils, chicken that has gone bad will begin to look grey or even green-grey. If your cooked chicken has changed color, it is time to throw it out.
Meat, like chicken or salmon, can go straight from the freezer into the Instant Pot. The reason? A pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, quickly brings food to a safe temperature. This is different from a slow cooker, which can allow frozen foods to sit at an unsafe temperature for prolonged periods of time.
chicken requires 18 minutes of high pressure cooking. Add 6 minutes of cooking time per additional pound. Note: You can submerge your chicken directly in the cooking liquid, especially if you want to make chicken stock. However, the steamer basket method ensures crispy skin and won't wash away the seasoning.
So can a Crock-Pot cook better chicken than an Instant Pot? Well, it really depends on what you're making. The Instant Pot cooks chicken much faster than its non-pressure counterparts, but the resulting texture isn't going to be the same as what you'd get with a slow cooker or Dutch oven.
Because it is fast and practical, it also saves labor. More tasty: When a piece of chicken is inserted in very hot oil in pressure fryer tank, it rapidly gets sealed making it difficult fort he juice inside the chicken to escape. Entrapping the chicken juice within while cooking adds to its taste.
Yes, chicken breast will become softer and more tender the longer it is cooked, provided it is cooked at a low enough temperature. If it is cooked at too high of a temperature, the chicken breast will become dry and tough.
Doubling the THICKNESS of meats, veggies, and other foods DOES require increasing cook time. The fuller the pot the longer it takes for the pot to reach pressure. Also the larger the pot, the longer it takes to reach pressure and release pressure.
That is why tough meats become “fork tender” in the slow cooker. Chicken breasts have very little connective tissue; that means they can be cooked quickly because the long cooking time needed to soften connective tissue isn't necessary. They also have little fat, which means they can become dry if cooked too long.
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