Instant Pot Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

Instant Pot Chicken Thighs and potatoes has incredible flavor, contains juiciest chicken, buttery tender potatoes cooked in a herby buttery garlicky thin sauce. Everything is cooked together at the same time in the instant pot under 30 mins.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken thighs and potatoes, chicken thighs and potatoes instant pot, easy instant pot chicken dinner, instant pot chicken thighs and potatoes, one pan chicken thighs and potatoes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: people

Calories: 448kcal

Author: Meghna

Cost: $6

Equipment

Instant Pot DUO 6 quart

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs **bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
1 pound baby potatoes **baby gold potatoes halved.
1 cup onion **yellow onion diced into large chunks about ¼ inch.
½ tbsp garlic **minced.
1 tbsp Lemon Juice **freshly squeezed.
2 tbsp Olive Oil **use light or extra light olive oil. Divided into 2 parts, each part 1 tbsp.
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
½ cup Water **or use chicken stock. You can also add about ½ tsp better than bouillon chicken bease stirred in the water.

Seasonings for chicken thighs

¼ tsp poultry seasoning **OPTIONAL.
1.5 tsp Paprika **sweet paprika. DO NOT use smoked paprika.
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes **skip if heat intolerant.
Salt (to taste) **use according to your own personal taste preference.

Seasonings for baby potatoes

½ tsp Paprika **sweet paprika. DO NOT use smoked paprika.
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano

Instructions

Prep chicken thighs

Lightly rinse the bone-in skin-on chicken thighs under running tap water. Pat them dry completely with the help of kitchen towels.
Now, add all the dry ingredients mentioned in the "Seasonings for chicken thighs" section in the ingredients list above into a small bowl. Whisk them to make a simple dry rub mix for the chicken.
Drizzle the lemon juice on top of the chicken thighs. Give them a gently rub. Than sprinkle the dry rub on both sides of the chicken thighs and gently rub to uniformly coat the chicken. Set them aside.

Prep the baby gold potatoes

Rinse the whole potatoes very well under running tap water. Drain well. Halve the potatoes. Add 1 tbsp olive oil + all the dry ingredients mentioned above in the "Seasonings for baby potatoes" section in the ingredients list above + the ½ tablespoon minced garlic. Toss the potatoes to coat them well with the seasonings and oil. Set them aside.

Sear chicken

Set the instant pot on SAUTE mode on NORMAL HEAT settings. Add butter + 1 tbsp olive oil. When the butter begins to melt add the well seasoned chicken thighs skin side down. Sear them well both sides until they are nicely golden brown in color and the skin becomes crispy. If you feel the heat is high lower it to LOW setting (you can do that by pressing the SAUTE button more than once). You'll have lots of bits & crumbs stuck at the bottom of the pot. Worry not because we'll be deglazing the pot very well before pressure cooking and the bits & crumbs will add a huge depth of flavor to the dish. Immediately CANCEL the SAUTE mode once you are done searing the chicken. Set the seared chicken aside.

Deglaze pot

Pour the liquid (water or chicken stock) and deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot until you scrape out all stuck bits and crumbs. This will take some time and require patience. This will help prevent the BURN error. So, do not rush this step!

Pressure cook

Throw in the diced onion in the instant pot. Add the seasoned halved baby potatoes and spread them out with the help of your spatula to form a single layer. DO NOT stir or mix anything in the pot.
Layer the seared chicken thighs on top of the bed of potatoes, do not forget to add the drippings from the plate. DO NOT stir or mix. Secure the lid, seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 8 mins. Once the pressure cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep. Immediately perform a quick pressure release manually by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. Open the lid carefully when the floating metal pin on top of the lid drops.

Serve

Fish out the cooked chicken thighs and keep it on a serving plate. Give the cooked potatoes in the instant pot a quick stir and serve them beside the chicken thighs. Pour the thin sauce all over the chicken and potatoes. Garnish with chopped parsley if you prefer and enjoy! This instant pot chicken thighs and potatoes is irresistible!

Video

Notes

Can I use 5-6 chicken thighs: Yes, you can use upto 6 chicken thighs. You can stack them. The cook time would remain the same. However, you have to increase the seasoning amount (dry rub for the chicken thighs).
Can I use boneless skinless chicken thighs: No, you cannot use boneless skinless chicken thighs as they'll over cook in 8 mins pressure cook time. And if you reduce the cook time the potatoes will remain undone!
Do I have to sear the chicken: Yes, you must sear the chicken to build the maximum flavor, it'll also help lock the juices and keep the meat nice & tender. If you prefer not to sear the chicken the 8 mins cook time won't work for this recipe.
Is this spicy: It's mildly spicy. Skip the red pepper flakes if you are making it for kids or to minus the heat from the recipe.
Can I use regular potatoes: Yes, you can use regular unpeeled gold, yellow or red potatoes diced into large chunks about 2 inches. The cook time would remain the same.
Is ½ cup liquid sufficient to avoid burn: Yes, ½ cup liquid is sufficient to build pressure in a 6 quart instant pot and it won't trigger the BURN error if you have deglazed the pot well and scraped out even the tiniest bit of stuck bits & crumbs from the bottom of the pot. You have to increase the liquid amount if you are planning to make it in a 8 quart pot. I would add about ¾ cups water.
Olive oil: You can sub it with any neutral oil like canola, avocado oil, sunflower or vegetable oil.
I am on a restrictive diet can I skip the salt: Yes, you can make this recipe salt free in that case use 1 tbsp more freshly squeezed lemon juice to compensate the salt flavor.
Poultry seasoning: It's totally optional. If you do not have it handy you do not have to buy it only for this recipe. Just add a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of sage into the dry rub mix for the chicken. However, it's not mandatory!
Ingredients substitutions: Please not that ingredients substitutions and a set of best tips to make this recipe successfully are provide in this blog post on top of this recipe card. You need to scroll up to grab them.

Calorific details are provided by a third party application and are to be used as indicative figures only if you are on a restrictive diet please do use your own nutritional calculator.

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 448 Calories from Fat 261

% Daily Value*

Fat 29g45%

Saturated Fat 8g50%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 5g

Monounsaturated Fat 14g

Cholesterol 118mg39%

Sodium 107mg5%

Potassium 829mg24%

Carbohydrates 26g9%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 22g44%

Vitamin A 882IU18%

Vitamin C 29mg35%

Calcium 55mg6%

Iron 3mg17%

* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition