Instant Pot Quick Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs. Need chicken in a hurry? Pressure cooking to the rescue!
Sometimes you just need some boneless, skinless chicken, you know? Something to top a salad, go in a sandwich, or as a quick weeknight main dish. Here’s how my Instant Pot gets me chicken in a (mostly) hands-off half an hour.
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The most important part of this recipe is skipping the white meat. Dark meat has flavor, and does not overcook in the high heat of a pressure cooker. (Unlike bland, boring, stringy chicken breast.) My local grocery started carrying boneless skinless chicken thighs, and I never looked back. My singing the praises of the dark side of the chicken paid off! First I took over the meat case, next…the WORLD! BWAHAHAHA…ahem. Sorry.
Do you have bone-in chicken thighs? Use my Instant Pot Quick Chicken Thighs recipe instead.
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Fine sea salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Paprika (preferably smoked paprika)
- Vegetable oil
- Water
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Instant Pot Boneless Chicken Thighs
Season the chicken
Sprinkle the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
Brown the chicken on one side
In an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, heat the vegetable oil over Sauté mode set to high (medium-high heat on a stovetop) until the oil starts to shimmer. Set half of the chicken thighs in the pot, smooth side down, and let them cook, without moving, until browned on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Move the browned pieces to a plate, then add the rest of the thighs to the pot to brown, about 4 more minutes.
Everything in the pot
Pour 1 cup of water into the pot, and add the browned chicken and any juices on the plate.
Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release
Lock the lid on the cooker. Pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes (“Manual” or “Pressure cook” mode in an Instant Pot), then the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes.
Serve
Remove the chicken to a platter with tongs or a slotted spoon. You can serve the thighs whole as chicken cutlets, or slice into chicken strips, or shred for pulled chicken. Enjoy!
Equipment
Scaling
This recipe doubles or halves easily. Don't increase or decrease the water - the 1 cup of water is needed to bring the pressure cooker up to pressure. Also, don't change the cooking time; it takes the same amount of time to cook each chicken thigh through, no matter how many there are in the pot.
Storage
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for a few days, or frozen for a few months. If I want to freeze the chicken I cut it into strips and put them in a 2-cup container.
Tips and Tricks
Don't skip the browning step!
An important part of the recipe is browning the chicken thighs before pressure cooking. Searing the thighs before pressure cooking adds a lot of flavor, and is worth the extra time. I understand if you want to skip the browning, but - please, try it, at least once. My concession to speed is browning the thighs on one side only. It gives me the complex flavors of browning, without spending a lot of time on it.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Boneless Chicken Thighs
Boneless skinless chicken thighs are a building block ingredient for me. Sure, I serve them straight up, as chicken cutlets. But I usually slice them into thin strips, and use them in tacos or sandwiches. Or, I shred the chicken and make BBQ pulled chicken - just add BBQ sauce.
Print
Instant Pot Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs Recipe
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 pound of chicken 1x
Description
Instant Pot Quick Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs. Need chicken in a hurry? Pressure cooking to the rescue!
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon paprika (preferably smoked paprika, optional)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Season the chicken: Sprinkle the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Brown the chicken, on one side, in two batches (optional): In an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, heat the vegetable oil over Sauté mode set to high (medium-high heat on a stovetop) until the oil starts to shimmer. Set half of the chicken thighs in the pot, smooth side down, and let them cook, without moving, until browned on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Move the browned pieces to a plate, then add the rest of the thighs to the pot to brown, about 4 more minutes.
- Everything in the pot: Pour 1 cup of water into the pot, and add the browned chicken and any juices on the plate.
- Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the cooker. Pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes (“Manual” or “Pressure cook” mode in an Instant Pot), then the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes.
- Serve: Remove the chicken to a platter with tongs or a slotted spoon. Serve whole as chicken cutlets, slice thin for chicken strips, or shred. Enjoy!
Notes
Cooking from frozen. I don’t recommend it - you can’t season the chicken first, or brown it. But, if you absolutely have to cook from frozen: Put the frozen thighs in the cooker with 1 cup of water and pressure cook for 15 minutes, with a Natural Release, about 15 more minutes. Season the chicken after cooking.
Variations
This basic recipe is useful in a lot of different cuisines. All it takes is a switch of seasonings.
Tex-Mex style: Replace the paprika with chili powder. Serve with tortillas
Italian style: Use olive oil to sauté, and replace the paprika with Italian seasoning or dried basil. Serve with pasta.
Asian style: Skip the paprika, add a pinch of ground ginger, and replace ¼ cup of the water with soy sauce. Serve with rice.
Barbecue style: Replace the seasonings with your favorite barbecue rub. Serve on cheap white buns topped with barbecue sauce.
Tools
6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Instant Pot Quick Chicken Thighs (Bone In)
Pressure Cooker Chicken Legs with Herb Rub
Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks with Potatoes
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Rhonda
Can’t rate yet as I haven’t tried it, but I will tonight! Do I need a trivet for this recipe or does the chicken go straight into the water/broth? Thanks for your time!
Mike Vrobel
Straight in.
Rhonda
Just finished dinner and this recipe was perfect, thank you! And thank you for your timely response to my question! Very rare occurrence on online recipes.
I used the seasonings that you recommended (especially the smoked paprika— yum!!) and added seasoning salt, Trader Joe’s Umami seasoning blend, and dried chives.
I used chicken Better Than Bouillon instead of water and saved the juices left over to make chicken gravy for tomorrow night’s dinner.
Another change that I made is that I only did a 3 minute natural release because the thighs were pretty thin— they turned out perfectly!
Thank you for an easy to read and easy to follow recipe!
Simona
Thank you! This recipe gave me the confidence I needed to finally use my instant pot for more than just a rice cooker, which I’d been doing for years. I’ve tried pressure cooker meal recipes (from other sites), and they were too complicated/confusing or didn’t turn out right. This was straight to the point, and I love the alternate spice ideas too. I’ll be coming back to this one a few times a week!
P.S. This was my first time visiting your site, inciting fond memories… My Dad is a great cook and usually made us dinner; Mom says she married him for that exact reason. Hopefully among a few others! Thanks again 🙂
Mike Vrobel
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Danielle
So fast, easy and delicious!! Thighs turn out perfectly each time. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Mike Vrobel
You’re welcome!
Rebecca McBride
YUM!! I did brown both sides of my thighs on the stove in a cast iron skillet only because I was cooking a large package I bought from Sam's Club and it saved time. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly except I used 1 cup chicken broth for my liquid instead of water. My family and I loved them <3 They were so flavorful and moist and I was able to cook all 18 in the Yedi Pressure Cooker at once. Though the seasonings are simple and few, they don't need any other added. Great Job, DAD!!
Mike Vrobel
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it.
Cindy Boyd
This recipe was FANTASTIC. Thank you and I will continue to follow your recipes.
Mike Vrobel
Thank you!
Heidi Olsen
Can I just season my thawed boneless skinless chicken thighs and go right to step 3?
Mike Vrobel
Yes. That's why that step is listed as "optional". 😉
Tracy
I am a disabled grandma just trying to help out my family. I suffer chronic pain. Some nights are more difficult than others. I LOVE this simple, to the point recipe. It's so quick & easy. You can really season it however you want. But, like you said, browning is the trick to add lots of flavor. I also use chicken stock or bullion instead of plain water. Thanks Mike!
Mike Vrobel
You’re welcome!
Darlene
What about thawing the frozen and going from there?
Mike Vrobel
Yes, that works with the recipe.
Lisa Perchez
Delicious! I needed a quick and easy recipe that used boneless thighs. All my pressure cooker recipes called for bone in thighs. The search WAS worth it. Your recipes never disappoint. Thank you@
Mike Vrobel
You’re welcome