I love my Instant Pot! It makes cooking on busy weeknights so easy. This pressure cooker lemon garlic chicken comes together so quickly, and the chicken always comes out tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Infused with a simple but delicious lemon garlic sauce, the chicken thighs taste so flavorful and bright.
You won’t be able to get enough of this chicken recipe. It’s such a foolproof recipe, you’ll have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes. Plus, you probably already have these ingredients in your kitchen! Just like my Instant Pot white chicken chili recipe and Instant Pot balsamic chicken recipe, this quick dinner recipe is always a crowd-pleaser.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Chicken — I use skin-on chicken thighs, but you can use skinless thighs if you prefer.
- Seasoning — This recipe is full of flavor as I use garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Chicken broth — you will need to add liquid to the Instant Pot so it will come up to pressure. Using chicken broth will add more flavor than using water. Vegetable broth is an alternative if you do not have chicken broth.
How to Make Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken
Step 1: In a small mixing bowl, combine the garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken thighs.
Step 2: Press the SAUTE function and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the instant pot. Working in batches, place the chicken thighs skin side down and sear for 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Set aside.
Step 3: Add the butter into the pot to melt before adding the onions and garlic.
Step 4: Once the onions have turned slightly translucent, add the lemon juice to deglaze before adding the Italian seasoning.
Step 5: Add the chicken broth and chicken thighs into the pot and close the lid.
Step 6: Pressure cook on HIGH for 8 minutes. When the cycle is done, natural pressure release before opening the lid. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and lemon wedges before serving.
Tips For This Recipe
- If there is moisture on the chicken, pat it dry with a paper towel before seasoning, so the seasoning sticks better.
- Feel free to thicken the lemon garlic sauce if you like. After removing the cooked chicken, thicken the sauce by adding 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry. Press the saute button, add the cornstarch slurry, and whisk until the sauce thickens to your liking.
- I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice for the best results. Fresh lemons taste brighter and fresher. Sometimes bottled lemon juice has a slightly bitter aftertaste.
- Try ??dried thyme, basil, rosemary, or oregano if you do not have Italian seasoning.
- If there are any brown spots in the bottom of the pot from searing and sauteing, use a splash of lemon juice or chicken broth to deglaze the pot. Deglazing will help prevent getting a burn notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you prefer chicken breasts to chicken thighs, feel free to swap them. Chicken breasts cook for approximately 6 minutes per pound in the Instant Pot.Â
While you can use frozen chicken, I would thaw it beforehand. If you use frozen chicken, you’ll have to skip the browning at the beginning, and your skin won’t be as crispy. Frozen chicken thighs tend to be frozen in a chunk, and adding the entire thing to the Instant Pot is not preferred as the parts stuck together may not cook through. If they are not stuck together, try to ensure there’s space between the frozen thighs.
You can make this recipe ahead of time! Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for 3 months. Allow everything to cool to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight or freezer-safe container.
This chicken recipe goes well with everything. I love serving it with my air frying Brussels sprouts, air fryer green beans, mushroom rice, and cilantro lime rice!Â
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Recipe, then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- juice of 1 lemon
- â…“ cup chicken broth
Garnish:
- fresh chopped parsley
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, make the seasoning- mix together the garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken thighs.
- Press the SAUTE function and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the instant pot. Working in batches, place the chicken thighs skin side down and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside.
- Add the butter into the pot to melt and then add the onions and garlic. Once the onions have turned slightly translucent, add the lemon juice to deglaze. Cook for a minute and then add the Italian seasoning, cooking for another minute but being careful not to let the seasoning burn.
- Add the chicken broth and chicken thighs into the pot and close the lid. Pressure cook on HIGH for 8 minutes. Do a natural pressure release when the timer has finished.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and lemon wedges.
Video
Notes
- If there is moisture on the chicken, pat it dry with a paper towel before seasoning, so the seasoning sticks better.
- Feel free to thicken the lemon garlic sauce if you like. After removing the cooked chicken, thicken the sauce by adding 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry. Press the saute button, add the cornstarch slurry, and whisk until the sauce thickens to your liking.
- I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice for the best results. Fresh lemons taste brighter and fresher. Sometimes bottled lemon juice has a slightly bitter aftertaste.Â
- Try ??dried thyme, basil, rosemary, or oregano if you do not have Italian seasoning.Â
- If there are any brown spots in the bottom of the pot from searing and sauteing, use a splash of lemon juice or chicken broth to deglaze the pot. Deglazing will help prevent getting a burn notice.
This was amazing!!! My kids loved it and my pickiest eater went back for a second piece of chicken. That’s hard for me to accomplish, but this dish was amazing. I just added a little bit of lemon pepper seasoning in top of it
So glad to hear that Cassie! Glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Delicious!!!! Rich flavor. Simple recipe, easy to understand.
I didnt have onions on hand and used leeks which also added to the flavor. Thank you for sharing. I teamed it with Lundberg Wild Blend Rice, fresh steamed broccoli, and salad. All 3 cooked items were made individually in the Instant Pot.(Having 2 IP inner pot helps.)
This was the first of your recipes I've tried and have already shared it.
Thank you Alice!
Attempting to make this now. Ingredients list calls for 2 tbsp of olive oil divided….but in the instructions it only uses 1 tbsp?
Apologies for that Ryan. Just use 1 tbsp.