Description

Make this Instant Pot Lemon Chicken for an easy dinner tonight! It’s quick to cook and tastes absolutely delicious with the lemon sauce.

Ingredients

Scale

1 tablespoon oil
2 pounds chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
1 small onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
salt and black pepper (to taste)
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold cream, milk, or water
1 tablespoon butter
lemon slices (optional)

Instructions

Brown meat: Set instant pot to sauté. Add oil to pot and add thighs skin-side down. Cook, in batches if needed, until golden and crisp. Flip and cook until browned on the other side. Remove chicken from pot.
Start sauce: Add onion and garlic to pot and cook until starting to soften, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, herbs and seasoning. Stir, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
Pressure cook: Place chicken thighs back in the instant pot. Secure lid and set the pressure valve to “sealing”. Choose “pressure cook” (or “manual”) and “high” for 12 minutes (for large thighs, about 2 thighs per pound; cook for 8 minutes if chicken thighs are small, about 4 thighs per pound). Naturally release pressure after cooking time is up (just switch off the instant pot and leave it alone until pressure is gone).
Finish sauce: Carefully remove thighs. Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Pour cornstarch slurry into pot, stir well and simmer until sauce has thickened. Stir in butter until melted, then serve sauce over chicken with lemon slices, if desired.

Notes

You can use boneless thighs or chicken breast (6-8 minutes for fresh, 12 minutes for frozen). For frozen chicken, skip browning and pressure cook for 15-18 minutes. Water can be used instead of chicken broth. To double the recipe, stack the chicken and double the sauce ingredients while keeping the cooking time the same.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Category: Main Course
Method: Pressure Cooking
Cuisine: Traditional

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 501 kcal
Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 390 mg
Fat: 39 g
Saturated Fat: 11 g
Unsaturated Fat: 27 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Carbohydrates: 5 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 32 g
Cholesterol: 196 mg

Keywords: Instant Pot, lemon chicken, chicken thighs, easy dinner, pressure cooker