Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Thighs
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Amazingly moist, tender, juicy lemon-thyme chicken, perfectly golden brown, made right in the IP in just 5 min! So quick!
I’ve been on a huge chicken thigh binge lately.
From the cilantro lime chicken thighs to the lemon garlic chicken thighs, it’s been ALL ABOUT THE THIGHS this summer.
But when I’m not in the mood to grill or smoke out the house using a grill pan, the IP is here for the juiciest, most tender chicken thigh rescue.
With a simple lemon-thyme spice rub, you can quickly sear your chicken right in the IP. From there, you’ll let it pressure cook for just 5 minutes, infusing your chicken thighs with all that lemony goodness without using a marinade. The pressure cooker takes care of that for you!
So boom. One pan meal. No mess. No fuss.
Use as a base for a salad or serve with a light green salad, crusty bread, and a glass of wine.
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Zest 1 lemon
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine thyme, lemon zest, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon canola oil; season with thyme mixture.
- Set 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Working in batches, add remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil and chicken, and cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side; set aside.
- Place metal trivet into the pot and add chicken stock and lemon juice. Gently place chicken on top of the trivet, slightly overlapping. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Delicious!
Lined it to my instant pot board and shared it with my sister.
Worked some fresh spinach in it once it was done cooking and served with some noodles.
I marinated the chicken in the lemon/thyme and 1/2 cup chicken broth, for an hour in a Ziploc bag in the fridge (turning half way).
Then I followed the recipe, except I also added a teaspoon of dried tarragon (personal preference).
Came out great.
Had to make lots of substitutions because I didn’t have what I thought I had in fridge… Garlic powder for minced garlic, extra lemon juice but no lemon for lemon zest, water because no chicken stock, Rosemary instead of thyme. Added a tablespoon or so extra lemon juice. Added a la little lemon-pepper seasoning to the rub and used olive oil instead of oil called for in recipe. It still came out fantastic. Nice light, natural lemony flavor with good seasoning. I always choose damn delicious recipes when I have a choice. They don’t disappoint!
Loved this recipe, I let my chicken marinate in the ingredients for about 1 hour. So much flavor
OMG!!! Chicken thighs came out so flavorful and delicious!!! I’m so happy I found you and can’t wait to check out all your recipes.
I really enjoyed this recipe! I used boneless breast’s and were concerned they’d be dry, so I seasoned and pounded the chicken for about 10 secs each side and right into the sauté for a nice sear. The chicken breasts were tasty and juicy! I added some paprika and turmeric to the basting seasoning, for a little added flavor and color, and fresh parsley at the end. Threw in some halves garlic cloves and spooned some broth mix over the chicken and garlic to coat. Cover and 5 mins! Perfect!
Very flavorful. I love intense lemon flavor, so I decreased broth to 3/4 cup and used 4 TBSP lemon juice–next time I will add even more juice–but that’s a personal preference. I also sautéed half of a chopped onion after the chicken before adding broth/juice, and added a couple TBSP of butter–it made for a very delicious sauce to eat with the chicken. I’m not the best cook, so this was actually a fairly complicated recipe for me, but I think it turned out well–everyone loved it and chicken was very tender. I served with couscous, yum!
Yummy chicken thighs. Serve with rice and a salad.
This is one of my all-time favourite instant pot meals! I’ve made it at least 10 times now. The chicken is so moist and flavourful. As a busy mom with picky kids, I appreciate that they will actually eat it, and that I can hide in the kitchen with my book while sautéing a few batches of chicken. Thanks for this fabulous recipe!
Delish! have an 8 qt IP… I doubled the recipe and pressure cooked the chicken in two batches- would I have had to do that or could I put it all in at once?
Made this tonight and added a little more broth to turn into gravy and served it all over some creamy mashed potatoes. It was a hit! Super simple and delicious for an easy week night meal.
My 7 year old grandson says this is the best chicken he ever ate
Made this tonight in my Instapot. Turned out great!
What if you do not have the metal trivet?
Hi Lisa, we recommend using the metal trivet so that the chicken doesn’t get stuck or burn at the bottom of the pot.
If you don’t have a trivet, try one or two Madon jar lid rings.
I’ve made this about 5 times and it always turns out well.
This looks amazing, can this recipe be adapted to a slow cooker? I’d love to try it.
Thank you
YOURS is a 5, mine is a 2. Please help me! It tasted fine but looked UGLY! All of my chicken thigh dishes in the IP turn out ugly. What am I doing wrong???? Do your thighs have skin on??? Thank you for your help.
Becky,
I put them on cookie sheet and throw them under the broiler for a couple minutes.
I also take the trivet out, put on sauté and whisk in some corn starch slurry to make a gravy!
Really delicious fool proof recipe. Will try to mix the sauce with noodles next time
Can’t wait to try this recipe! But when I “sear” chicken thighs in the instant pot, they stick to the bottom of the pot horribly and they tear when I have to rip them off the bottom. Any suggestions or what am I doing wrong? I am not the best cook.
Karen, this happens to me all the time too, it doesn’t mean you’re not a good cook! I wait until the oil is really hot, lay them in and don’t touch for a minute or two. Even then, I still have to scrape a bit. If you do this, just make sure you deglaze your pot after removing the thighs. Just put in a bit of water, or broth, and scrape the bottom well. This will prevent a burn message. Also! You don’t have to sear them first – I’ve made many meat dishes in the IP, sometimes searing, sometimes not, and it really doesn’t make a huge difference.
I made this tonight. Didn’t brown the chicken and used bone in thighs. Took the chicken out after 15 min cook time and added egg noodles to the broth. Pressure cooked those for 2 min. Quick released and boiled excess moisture off then thickened a little bit with cornstarch. Yum!