Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Thighs
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was a big hit. I used legs and thighs, bone in, increased the stock to 1 cup. Tender but firm chicken, lots of sauce. Perfect for leftover pasta.
Amazingly moist, tender, perfectly golden brown!
This was amazing! So easy and the family loved it!
Love this recipe and have made it several times. I like to put rice in the IP under the trivet – a cup of rice and an extra half cup of chicken broth makes for a fantastic full meal.
Thanks for this suggestion. I made tonight and added the rice.
Looks delish, but we’re not huge fans of chicken thighs. Can I use chicken breasts instead? Would you cook it for the same amount of time? Thanks!
Hello all! Would love to make this recipe this evening, if I get some help here…I have a Ninja Foodi and wondering if the IP trivet is the same as the NF cook & crisp basket. Also I think the pressure cook times will be the same, correct, even if I have less than 2lbs of chicken? Thanks SO much!
Hi! Didn’t hear back from anyone, but decided to go for it! Made this per instructions for the IP in my Ninja Foodi but only had 1 3/4 pounds of the boneless skinless chicken thighs. Chicken came out a bit overcooked, but flavor was good. Any ideas???
This was a really quick and easy meal. I thought I had chicken thighs, but I only had chicken breasts. I cut the breasts into smaller pieces. It was delicious and tender. Can’t wait to make it again with thighs. I think the juice at the bottom of pan would make a really yummy sauce for pasta by adding Parmesan and half and half poured over angel hair pasta.
I never comment on recipes, but I have to share what I did that turned out surprisingly good!
I made a half recipe and used the thighs on a salad (It was a good use! My picky husband complimented me, even) and then had leftover sauce.
I want to eat eggs because they are healthy, but I am pregnant and hate them right now, but I had the idea to put the leftover sauce on a couple fried-over-easy-eggs for breakfast. It was so good!
And now you’ll think I’m crazy, but I also put the eggs on top of some corn chips because I once had huevos rancheros on corn chips and it was amazing. This was amazing, too!
Lastly, I ended up just making the sauce on my stove top for more eggs, and that was good too. I thickened it a little, used less garlic, and didn’t have zest and it tasted as just as good 🙂
Want to make this recipe for guests. Would you serve this with salsa Spanish rice.
Even better the next day! I took the suggestions about adding the onions and potatoes along with the mustard in the sauce. Plus, I deglazed the container with white wine before moving to pressure cooking. The chicken and the vegetables were absolutely delicious.
We used orange zest and orange juice in this recipe, I’m allergic to garlic so left that out but did everything else as the recipe called for and omg was this delicious! Will make again 100% loved!!!! ❤️…
Delicious, and so easy. I must admit I did some add ons from other reviewers. After browning chicken, added some sliced onion and when done, deglazed with some good white wine (1/3 c). After adding chicken to rack, I added some 1″ chunks of carrot and some quartered red potatoes. Made a whole meal with an excellent sauce. We both loved it. Served with steamed broccoli.
Iam going to try your idea for this recipe just had chopped green bell peppers also.
Love your suggestions.. Going to do this tonight.
This was a wonderful combination of incredibly easy and incredibly delicious. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the garlic. I was assuming I would have left-overs but no chance; the troops eat every bit of it.
Made this tonight for my mother and son. It was fantastic!
Making these tonight. My chicken thighs are small, so I have quite a few. Can I stack these? Should I stack these with crumpled up foil between layers to make sure the thighs cook evenly and thoroughly?
I forgot to put the lemon in until after the chicken was done, but it was still delicious! Good recipe!
This is a simple and delicious recipe. The family goes nuts for it. I am so happy I found this recipe. I got so tired of breaded and fried chicken thighs. Its so nice to make something different. Thanks A lot!
This is such a great recipe using the instant pot. I like this. thank you
This was an excellent recipe. I used chicken legs and it worked out fine. I also added crushed rosemary to the seasonings and cream. It was perfect.
Defrosted chicken thighs. Didn’t know what to do with them. Needed to use instant pot because short on time. Googled: Instant pot – chicken thighs. This was the 3rd recipe I looked at. I love Damn Delicious recipes and have used them in the past. All with good success. This was no exception! I didn’t have canola oil, so used my EVO and it was fine. Good reactions from my fam, so will be using this recipe again and again! Thank you for the wonderful recipes!!!!