Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters recipe. Chicken legs are quick and easy in an Instant Pot. I sprinkle them with salt, herbs, and spices, then brown the skin, 2 legs at a time, before pressure cooking them for 30 minutes with a Natural Release.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Jump to:
One of my favorite French recipes is Poulet au Pot - chicken in a pot, simmered in broth until it falls off the bone. Pressure cooker chicken leg quarters are my weeknight version when I need dinner on the table with as little work as possible. A pack of whole chicken legs, some dried herbs, and a half cup of water, and I have dinner on the table in about an hour, with most of the time spent staring at the pressure cooker.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 chicken legs (aka "chicken leg quarters" or "chicken quarters")
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (⅓ teaspoon per leg)
- 1½ teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning (¼ teaspoon per leg)
- ¾ teaspoons garlic powder (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
- ¾ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
- ½ cup water (or chicken broth)
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters
Season and brown the chicken legs
Sprinkle the chicken legs evenly with the salt, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, and fresh ground black pepper. Heat the tablespoon of oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode - high (medium-high heat in a stovetop pressure cooker). When the oil is shimmering, about 3 minutes, brown the chicken skin in batches. Put two chicken legs in the pot, skin side down - each leg should lay flat. Cook without moving until the skin is browned, about 4 minutes. Move the browned legs to a bowl, then repeat with the remaining legs. Pour any chicken fat out of the pot.
Pressure cook the chicken legs for 30 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release
Pour ½ cup of water into the pot. Leaving the pot in Sauté mode, bring the water to a simmer, scraping any browned bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Once all the browned bits are scraped up, add the chicken legs and any chicken juices in the bowl. Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 30 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 25 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down naturally, for about 15 more minutes. Serve, passing the liquid in the pot on the side as a sauce. Enjoy!
Substitutions
Other Herb or Spice Mixes
You can substitute any herb or spice mix for the Italian seasoning. Just make sure they don't have salt in them, or if they do, skip the fine sea salt. (If there is more than just a blend of herbs, like if you're using an all-purpose spice blend, replace the garlic powder and black pepper with the spice blend too.)
My favorite spice blends for chicken are:
- Herbes de Provence for a taste of the South of France
- Adobo Seasoning (skip the salt) for a Latin American flavor
- Cajun Seasoning (skip the salt) for a taste of New Orleans
- Montreal Steak Seasoning (skip the salt) for some French Canadian flair
- BBQ Rub (and then I brush them with BBQ sauce after cooking)
- Dried Thyme when I want to keep it simple
You get the idea - almost any spice blend will work in this recipe.
Chicken thighs or drumsticks only
You can do this recipe with chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks
Tips and Tricks
Browning the chicken skin
Now, when I said "the least amount of work possible," there is one part of this recipe that requires a little work-browning the legs. You can skip this step, but I don't recommend it. Browning makes the skin taste much better because pressure cooking is a wet cooking environment and does not lead to crispy skin; golden brown skin adds flavor and keeps the skin from being flabby. Also, the browned bits on the bottom of the pot make a rich sauce, and browning renders some of the fat in chicken legs. It's worth the extra 15 minutes.
De-fat the sauce
If you have the time, de-fat the sauce. Pour the liquid from the pot into a [fat separator] and let it rest for a few minutes so the fat floats to the top. Then, pour the de-fatted sauce into a serving bowl.
Can I substitute chicken breasts
For those of you asking, "Can I substitute chicken breast?" If you insist, you can, but chicken legs are perfect for this recipe. I've said before that I'm a fan of the dark side of the chicken, especially in the pressure cooker. Dark meat is more forgiving in the high heat of pressure cooking; overcook it, and you still get tender meat and juicy chicken. (Chicken legs are best when they are fall off the bone tender.) White meat is best when it is perfectly cooked at 160°F; overcook it just a little and it turns stringy and dry. (Also, chicken legs are shockingly cheap when I can get them on sale at my grocery store.)
Can I cook frozen chicken leg quarters in an Instant Pot?
Yes, but they won't be as good because you can't brown or season them before cooking. Skip the browning step. After cooking, sprinkle the salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper on the chicken. Add an extra five minutes to the pressure cooking time (35 minutes in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker).
Print
Instant Pot Chicken Legs Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 chicken legs 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Chicken Legs with Herb Rub recipe - hands off chicken legs with pan sauce from the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs (aka "chicken leg quarters" or "chicken quarters")
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (⅓ teaspoon per leg)
- 1½ teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning (¼ teaspoon per leg)
- ¾ teaspoons garlic powder (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
- ¾ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
- ½ cup water (or chicken broth)
Instructions
- Season and brown the chicken legs: Sprinkle the chicken legs evenly with the salt, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, and fresh ground black pepper. Heat the tablespoon of oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode - high (medium-high heat in a stovetop pressure cooker). When the oil is shimmering, about 3 minutes, brown the chicken skin in batches. Put two chicken legs in the pot, skin side down - each leg should lay flat. Cook without moving until the skin is browned, about 4 minutes. Move the browned legs to a bowl, then repeat with the remaining legs. Pour any chicken fat out of the pot.
- Pressure cook the chicken legs for 30 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release: Pour ½ cup of water into the pot. Leaving the pot in Sauté mode, bring the water to a simmer, scraping any browned bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Once all the browned bits are scraped up, add the chicken legs and any chicken juices in the bowl. Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 30 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 25 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down naturally, for about 15 more minutes. Serve, passing the liquid in the pot on the side as a sauce. Enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
If you have the time, de-fat the sauce. Pour the liquid from the pot into a fat separator and let it rest for a few minutes, so the fat floats to the top. Then, pour the de-fatted sauce into a serving bowl.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 leg
- Calories: 341
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 1418.4 mg
- Fat: 13.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.7 g
- Protein: 50.9 g
- Cholesterol: 241.2 mg
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth and Shredded Chicken
Pressure Cooker Chicken Stew
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos - Tinga de Pollo
Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks with Potatoes
Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice
Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Thighs with Potatoes
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner via eMail or RSS reader, recommend DadCooksDinner to your friends, and buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you.
Carole Libbey says
Made just as suggested - brushed some stickey fingers bq sauce on them before pressure cooking. Excellent all around.
Sandy Hudson says
I made this last night and it turned out perfect. I've had 6 qt. Instant Pot since 11/17 - absolutely love it!!!
This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Laura says
add paprika to your seasoning and these legs brown up beautifully when searing
Razzy 7 says
Good suggestion, Laura. Thanks.
Isbrucker says
The roommates loved this recipe. I would have removed the skin to make it less fatty, but still enjoyed it immensely.
A few tips and adjustments I made: I started with a single layer of mini potatoes to line the IP. Added some celery and a quartered onion. I browned the chicken in an iron skillet (easier to control the heat on the stove), then deglazed that pan and poured the liquid and brown bits on top of the chicken in the IP. (About a cup of liquid total.)
After 30 minutes, had delicious chicken, perfectly cooked potatoes, and a few cups of chicken stock.
Nom nom nom.
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, glad they liked it!
Suzy says
So glad you posted this - never would have thought something so simple could be so easy and good . I used cooking wine and water for the liquid . After it finished I reduced the juices. Doctored it up with a bit of stock and some onion powder and pepper. Added a bit of milk and some cornstarch to thicken it up a tad . Another home run with dadcooksdinner !
spike says
Good result from this - got a very rich pan gravy and braised some bok choy and garlic in it afterwards. One caveat though - I deglazed the pan right after browning and lost a fair bit of liquid from the 1/2c water as it boiled off during the process, enough to where the pot would not pressurize (IP 6 qt Lux v3) and another 1/2c of liquid was needed.
Joy says
I made this and it was out of this world ! I did add cornstarch to the essence for a little thickening. Again it was awesome!! Thanks!
Don Winkel says
How is the skin, I like crispy. Under broiler for a bit??
Mike Vrobel says
Definitely needs the broiler for crispy skin. Pressure cooking is a wet cooking method.
Brad Cobb says
I'm going to try Browning chicken legs this time ... I prefer to use for a dry rub the seasonings that they came up with in the Chicago Tribune article for KFC ... pressure cook chicken legs for only 20 minutes ... use cold water to bring the pressure down instantly ... because the next step is to double dip the chickens in the KFC flour mixture ... and into the deep fryer to finish off ... I'm 100% certain the colonel didn't do it this way ... and I have 16, not 11 ingredients in the flour coating mixture ... but this is what I've worked out that tastes best to me ... 🙂
Myriam Windham says
this was super good
Katie says
I made this tonight and oh. Em. GEE! I added extra liquid so I could use the remnants in the rice I was serving with it! Woohoo delicious, thank you!!
Myriam Windham says
Tried this tonight. Sooooo good. My extremely picky eaters ate it up and asked for 3rds. This never happens (unless mac n cheese is on the menu of course)!
Brittany says
Roughly 20 mins if I want to use bone in thighs instead?
Shae Senner says
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. I cooked 4 huge leg quarters exactly as described. Also added lemon slices, and it turned out so juicy and tender. ?? Served it over white rice and used the juices as gravy to pour over rice. THANK YOU
Susan in Las Vegas says
Hi Mike - Suggestion - do NOT pour off the fat from the pan after browning the chicken. Leave it there and continue as the recipe states. When done, remove the chicken and pour all the liquid into a fat separator. I got about 2 cups of concentrated broth and about 3/4 cup chicken fat. A lot of flavor is in the fat. I then used the chicken meat, broth and fat in THIS recipe. I used chicken fat rather than butter to make the roux, and plan to use frozen chicken fat in the dumplings next time!
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/turkey-and-dumplings-recipe
Kristina says
I just realized that I forgot to pour out the fat. It was excellent! Loved the recipe. So easy and really good! My hubby loved it too!