How to Cook Chicken In the Instant Pot

Step 1

For perfectly juicy chicken breast, the general rule is to cook the chicken on HIGH pressure for 6 minutes per pound, and then natural release for 10 minutes.

Step 2

If you’re planning to shred the chicken breast for a recipe like Chicken Tinga, keep the pressure on a little longer by using natural release for 5 minutes after a 15-minute cook time.

Step 3

For bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, you should set the Instant Pot to HIGH pressure for 10 minutes.

Step 4

Note that you should remove the skin before serving since it doesn't look pretty, or you can broil it with a Mealthy Crisplid.

Step 5

Bone-in skinless thighs should also be cooked on HIGH for 10 minutes.

Step 6

Boneless skinless thighs only need 8 minutes on HIGH FOR 8-10 thighs. If you plan to shred them or cut them into smaller pieces however, I like to do HIGH for 10 minutes with a 10 min NPR.

Step 7

For frozen chicken thighs, you should freeze them individually and not in a big clump. You can increase the time to 12 minutes for frozen thighs on high pressure if they're somewhat stuck together, but typically 10 minutes will do the trick.

Step 8

A safe rule of thumb is to cook your chicken for 6 minutes per pound and let it naturally release for at least 20 minutes for perfectly cooked chicken.

Step 9

For every pound add 6 minutes and for every half a pound add 3 minutes to total cooking time.