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!
Table of Contents
- Can I cook frozen chicken thighs in the Instant Pot?
- How do I get crispy chicken thighs in the Instant Pot pressure cooker?
- How long do you cook chicken thighs in the pressure cooker?
- Variations on these Creamy Garlic Chicken Thighs:
- What to serve with these Instant Pot Chicken Thighs?
- Creamy Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs Recipe
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.
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.
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.
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:
- Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes Recipe
Creamy Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
written by Ashley Fehr
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
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Aly0p says
When cooking from frozen when do you suggest adding the seasoning? I tend to only cook from frozen as I’m not really great at remembering to take out things to thaw and I’m wary because I’ve never actually done it before.
Ashley Fehr says
I would sprinkle it over top! It won’t really stick well if you try to press it on, but if you put the thighs in the Instant Pot and then sprinkle it over top it should stay put
Bri says
THIS RECIPE WAS INCREDIBLE!! Didn’t change a thing. The sauce was chefs kiss and the chicken…..so tender!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Thank you Bri!
Lezlie says
I made this for dinner tonight and we really liked it! It was a quick, easy, tasty meal!
Thanks for the great recipe and great instructions! The instructions were clear to follow.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Lezlie!
Kathy says
My whole family loves this recipe!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad!
Alix says
Ashley, that was delicious! I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs, with fat trimmed off, and half-and-half instead of heavy cream. I doubled the broth, half-and-half, and cornstarch to create more sauce. I had huge garlic cloves on hand and minced 2-1/2 cloves. Omigoodness, that was divine! Next time I will increase the sauce ingredients by just 1-1/2, as I had more than enough.
I am considering making a freezer pack of the chicken with seasoning. I would need to sauté fresh garlic, of course, and I think I would not add the broth to the pack as that way I could decide how much sauce I wanted at cook time. It’s not dump-and-go that way, but it at least gives me a head start to answering the call of, “I want something yummy but my brain has stopped!” Heh.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Alix! I’m so glad you liked it — thanks for sharing your thoughts! I love the idea of throwing some of the chicken in the freezer for quick meals.
Candy T says
I put very healthy portions of the seasoning, saved some for the broth. I only had 4 thighs and kept all the yummy fat juices and oil after saute and added 1/4 cup of water with the broth and after the garlic cooked in I set aside 1/4 cup. After putting the chicken in I put the steamer basket on top of the chicken and added fresh brussel sprouts halved, and poured the rest of the broth over. When the chicken was done I stirred up the brussel sprouts and took them out before the cornstarch and half n half mixed in .. had plenty of the creamy goodness for the chicken,served over rice, veggies on the side with a lil sea salt to taste. Fantastic!!
P.S. love your instructions and site, but the annoying ad vid was loud and kept coming back and freezing my phone. Hopefully you can fix it in the future?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Candy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review and thank you for the feedback on the ads. Will look into it!
Dawn says
I made this last night and my husband and daughter were gaga over it. I was in a hurry so I didn’t even brown my half-frozen skinless, boneless chicken thighs. I just gave the garlic a whirl in the olive oil, layered in the spiced chicken, tossed in the broth, and let it go. They loved the cream sauce over whole grain pasta and peas. I will definitely be adding this recipe to my repertoire! Thanks for sharing such an easy and outstanding meal!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Dawn! I’m so glad you loved it!
Richard Miller says
Made this last night, easy and wonderful! served over rice…
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Richard!
Angela says
So good! Made with defrosted skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Served with basmati rice and cucumbers. Will definitely make again
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Angela!
Amber says
I’m out of heavy cream, could I substitute it with half n half?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, definitely!
Ciro Grassi says
I use canned evaporated milk in recipes that call for heavy cream. It works just fine and you can always keep it on hand because it has a much longer shelf life than heavy cream.
Janet Desroches says
Delicious. Only change made was deglazed pot with white wine.
Ashley Fehr says
That’s a great idea!
Caitlin says
Hi, is this supposed to be high or low pressure? I don’t see that indicated anywhere.
Ashley Fehr says
Always high pressure unless otherwise specified
Sheri says
Hi Ashley,
What do you think about adding some greens to the sauce? I have Kale & Arugula on hand. Would one be better than the other? I wish I had spinach but you take what you can get from the local farmers 🙂
Ashley Fehr says
I think either would be great!
Hunter says
This was easy and tasty! I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and cooked it for 7 minutes, and it turned out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Hunter! I’m so glad!
Jason says
Modified the sauce with a brandy reduction and it came out fantastic. Thanks for this. I can’t have onions, so this recipe is great!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Jason!
Lisa Traxler says
Made this with only 4 thighs and no change to measurements of the seasoning. I had leftover pearl onions & carrots to use and added baby gold potatoes. It was delicious.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Lisa!
Jenerfer says
Delicious dinner. I didn’t change a thing. Followed the recipe, except I had 6 thighs instead of 8. Didn’t change anything else. My hubby and picky kids LOVED this meal. Mashed potatoes and cheesy broccoli on side was a wonderful compliment.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Jenerfer! I’m so glad!
Karen says
Thank you, Ashley!
I was so glad to find a garlic chicken instant pot recipe that does not contain lemon. My son always complains that meat is “too sour” if I cook it with lemon juice. Your recipe really fit the bill for an easy, inexpensive family dinner! I had 12 chicken thighs on hand, so cooked all of them, and just used a little more seasoning, quadrupled the garlic (because we love it) and made extra sauce. I took the time to brown the chicken under the broiler after cooking it, and it was a lovely presentation. I’m glad that I cooked up all the chicken that I had, because my son ate 3 chicken thighs, and my husband ate 4! My husband has celiac, so we are a gluten free household, and your recipe worked in that regard as well. I served over mashed potatoes with steamed broccoli on the side, and everyone was happy. This one is definitely a keeper.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much Karen! I’m glad to hear everyone enjoyed it!
Leigh says
I cooked 6 large bone in thighs and mixed the spices (I subbed in dried oregano for Italian seasoning and added a generous amount of dried red chillies) into a couple teaspoons of regular flour to dust the chicken before sautéing. Added some halved baby potatoes too. Cooked perfectly! Finished with a squeeze of lemon, cracked black pepper and a heap of crispy baked kale. Soooooo good 🙂
Ashley Fehr says
That sounds amazing Leigh! Thanks for sharing!
Jennah says
I have never had baked Kale before. It sounds great! How did you make it?
Robert says
Ashley,
I added a cup of chopped onions and a cup of chopped mushrooms to the minced garlic, cooked the onions and mushrooms for a bit and then removed the mix to a separate bowl before cooking the chicken. I added the mixture to the cream and cornstarch saute while i broiled the chicken and then served it over a bed of brown rice. Super delicious, thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
That sounds amazing! I love those additions!
Steve says
In one of your first images it shows the chicken in the pot sitting in the cream, which confused me making me wonder if I’m supposed to cook the chicken in the cream mixture with the broth or if I’m supposed to add the chicken in with the cream and saute it at the end. Could you clear that up for me? And also do we need to use a trivet to sit the chicken on or do we just sit the chicken in the chicken broth? And lastly, when I put the oil in then the chicken, some of the chicken skin was stuck to the bottom even after 3 minutes, even though the chicken was somewhat browned and most of it wasn’t stuck. And I also had a burn notice at this time. Does this mean I should do 2 tablespoons of oil instead? Maybe add more oil for the second batch? Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Steve! Most of these questions are addressed right in the recipe. You do not cook the chicken with the cream sauce. You do not need the trivet (but I suppose you could use it if you wanted to). With regards to sticking, this can be a problem if the bottom of the pot wasn’t coated with oil — sometimes when I drizzle my oil in I find that the oil goes to the outer edges of the pot and there is none in the middle. I think it must be sloped! For this reason, I always swirl the oil around the pot to coat the middle, and I think that adding a second drizzle before cooking the second batch of chicken is a good idea! I hope that helps!
Julie says
This recipe was fantastic as written (I tasted it this way first). I served mine over bucatini because the noodles hold up well with creamy sauces.
I doubled the sauce because I have a 10qt pressure cooker and more liquid is needed. I’m so glad that I did! I also added bacon into the sauce.
After everyone tasted and ate it, I added lemon juice to the sauce and LOVED it even more.
Great recipe to adjust to your likings. Tomatoes would be a good addition too.
Thanks for an awesome recipe! I’ll be saving this to my rotation.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Julie, and thanks for sharing your additions!
Rebecca K. says
Holy cow! This is the best recipes I’ve made in YEARS, let alone in the Instant Pot! I have to admit that I added chopped bacon and 1/4 cup parmesan into the sauce at the end, but even without it, it would be AMAZING. Thank you so much for this recipe – I was so proud and felt so fancy serving it to my family!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Rebecca! I’m thrilled to hear that!