Creamy Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs (pressure cooker)

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 servings

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These Creamy Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs are easy and delicious! Use bone in or boneless chicken thighs — both come out perfectly in the pressure cooker!

garlic instant pot chicken thighs overhead on grey plate on marble background

So in December, I got a little carried away with holiday cookies and mashed potatoes and hot caffeinated drinks and such, but I want you to know we’re back to real food and I’m bringing my Instant Pot along for the ride!

I have a lot of fun dinner recipes planned, and these Creamy Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs are just the beginning.

I know that these sound a little indulgent, but there’s just a little cream in this recipe, that’s stirred into the sauce just before serving (don’t try to pressure cook the cream or you’ll have trouble!), and it makes this a luxuriously comforting but also relatively healthy weeknight dinner.

Plus, we love sauce.

A creamy, garlicy sauce to boot? Yes. Yes please.

These pressure cooker chicken thighs are perfect over mashed potatoes or pasta, but they’re also great with a side of steamed green beans or broccoli or a simple side salad.

pressure cooker chicken thighs on grey and white plate with asparagus and instant pot in the background

Here are some of my tips and tricks to help you make the best Instant Pot chicken thighs!

Can I cook frozen chicken thighs in the Instant Pot?

You can absolutely cook frozen chicken thighs in the Instant Pot, but you won’t be able to brown them first.

Check out my post here on how to cook Instant Pot chicken thighs from frozen, and find my recipe for BBQ chicken thighs.

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How do I get crispy chicken thighs in the Instant Pot pressure cooker?

When I’m cooking bone-in, skin on chicken thighs, I always brown the chicken thighs, skin side down, first.

With all of the steam that the pressure cooker creates, the skin isn’t going to stay crispy, but it will be much better than if we had skipped this step altogether.

For truly crispy Instant Pot chicken thighs, you will want to remove the chicken thighs from the Instant Pot after cooking and broil for 2-3 minutes to crisp up the skin, while the sauce finishes in the pressure cooker.

I know this is an extra step, but if crispy skin is important to you, you’ll find it’s worth it.

If you, like me, don’t eat the skin, you can simply peel it off after cooking (it adds so much moisture if you leave it on during the cooking process!), and enjoy!

How long do you cook chicken thighs in the pressure cooker?

  • Bone in chicken thighs:

For fresh, bone-in chicken thighs of around 5-6oz, you will pressure cook for 10 minutes. For frozen chicken thighs, you’ll likely want to add a few minutes and cook for 13-15 minutes.

  • Boneless chicken thighs:

For fresh, boneless chicken thighs, you will cook for about 7-8 minutes. For frozen boneless chicken thighs, you will cook for 12-13 minutes on high pressure.

instant pot chicken thighs in pressure cooker with creamy garlic sauce

Variations on these Creamy Garlic Chicken Thighs:

  • You can make this recipe dairy-free by omitting the cream or using your favorite non-dairy milk in its place. Keep in mind that this will affect the flavor.
  • This recipe is naturally gluten-free, but be sure to double check all of your ingredients.
  • To lighten up this recipe, substitute the heavy cream for half and half or light cream. You can also remove the skin before eating.
  • Feel free to add vegetables to this recipe! Mushrooms, broccoli or green beans would be great in here, but you’ll need to keep in mind that they could much more quickly and won’t stand up well to a 8-15 minute cook time. Potatoes and carrots would also do well, and larger chunks or whole small potatoes should be fine to cook with the chicken.

What to serve with these Instant Pot Chicken Thighs?

This recipe has so much flavor going on that we prefer to serve it with mashed potatoes, rice or plain pasta! But any of these would also be great options:

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Creamy Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs

4.96 from 43 votes
These Creamy Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs are easy and delicious! Use bone in or boneless chicken thighs — both come out perfectly in the pressure cooker! 
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Main Course
Servings 4 servings
Calories 403cal

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 8 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

Instructions

  • Turn a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot to saute. When it says “hot”, add the oil. 
  • Meanwhile, combine the Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over chicken thighs, skin side up.
  • Sear chicken thighs, skin side down, for 2-3 minutes or until the chicken moves easily. I do this in two sets of 4 thighs. If it seems to be stuck to the pot, it is not ready to be removed yet. (you may have to tilt and swirl your pot during this process so that the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pot)
  • Remove chicken thighs to a plate, drain remaining oil and add in minced garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
  • Add broth to the hot pot, and scrape the bottom so the brown bits come up into the broth.
  • Turn off the Instant Pot, add the chicken thighs back in in a single layer (you may have to overlap them just slightly as pictured), skin side up. 
  • Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing, and select Manual or Pressure Cook for a cook time of 10 minutes (see alternate cook times above). It will take 6-8 minutes to come to pressure and begin counting down.
  • When the cook time is over, let pressure release naturally for 7-8 minutes before opening the valve and removing the lid.
  • Remove chicken to a plate (see notes above about broiling if desired). Whisk together cream and corn starch and stir into remaining liquid in Instant Pot.
  • Turn the Instant Pot to saute, whisk and simmer the sauce until thickened. Serve with chicken thighs.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 403cal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 234mg | Sodium: 502mg | Potassium: 582mg | Vitamin A: 550IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1.9mg
Keywords instant pot, pressure cooker

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

  1. Frances says

    We had this on New years Day and yummmmm. My husband gave it the “eyes closed deep sigh of delight” approval. So thank you thank you .

  2. Lindsay says

    Hi! I am new at instant pot cooking. If I only wanted to cook 4 chicken thighs, how would I adjust the cook times? Thanks!

  3. DrB says

    Made last night and this was a big hit! Added a little more fresh garlic, two Idaho potatoes ( 1/2 “ dice), 8 0z sliced creminis and 1/4 tsp crushed red. Otherwise, followed the recipe faithfully. Delicious!

  4. Amy says

    Made this tonight. Everyone loved it! I doubled the broth, cream and corn starch.
    Served it over egg noodles and it was so good with the sauce.
    My husband said next time I need to ass peas and carrots but I think mushrooms would be excellent with it. Thanks for the great recipe.

  5. Jessie says

    If you are going to add potatoes (I have the little round baby potatoes) does it affect the cook time? I was going to cook them with the thighs.

    • Ashley Fehr says

      The little baby potatoes I cook in the Instant Pot for 3 minutes. You can add them at the beginning with the chicken thighs, but they’ll be pretty soft.

  6. Chris B says

    I made this tonight with chicken breasts, and the family loved it! Served with rice made in chicken broth and veggie. I will definitely make again, no changes! Thank you!

  7. Amber Goff says

    This recipe is super easy to make and tasty! I added the steamer basket to the instant pot and steamed broccoli florets on high pressure for about 1 minute while the chicken was crisping in the oven. After the broccoli finished, I removed the basket from the pot and then made the cream sauce. Yum!!!

  8. Krissy Allori says

    This looks so easy to make and it makes my mouth water! This could easily be a quick and delicious family dinner idea! I can’t wait to get my instant pot going.

  9. Lisa says

    I made this last night and it was delicious! The chicken was super tender and moist. I just could not get the sauce to thicken up, but it was still tasty. The family said it’s a keeper. Thanks!

  10. Katie says

    I sort of made this tonight but in true Recipe Rebel fashion I took a lot of liberties. I used chicken breasts (I wish I’d done thighs though, thighs are just better), added mushrooms, pesto and sundried tomatoes to the garlic & stock. Then added sliced zucchini, blanched broccoli, and cooked spaghetti when I added the cream/cornstarch.
    Oh, and lots of Parmesan cheese.
    It was excellent. Even my picky 8 year old ate it (when I showed it to him he said “I guess were out of tomato sauce then?” No! I just wanted something different)

    So thanks for the idea!

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