Instant Pot Chicken Thighs

Instant pot chicken thighs are pressure cooked to perfection with mushrooms and onions in chicken broth, then mixed into a creamy sour cream sauce. This dreamy meal is perfect for meal prepping and easy weeknight dinners!

One of the things I love so much about this chicken thighs recipe is the sauce. Yes, the thighs are moist, tender, and delicious, but when you ladle this delicious gravy on them, it takes the flavor of this easy instant pot chicken dinner to a new level.

I like to make more sour cream sauce than is needed because we love to eat it with so many things. Here are some of our favorite foods to ladle this extra delicious sauce over: baked potatoes, pasta, rice, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and gnocchi. And that’s to name only a few.

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Helpful tips

• I make this dish with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs but if you prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs, the only thing you will change is the cooking time, which will be 8 minutes.
• You can also make this recipe with chicken breasts if you like. The cooking time will remain the same as written in the recipe card.
• Don’t have time to defrost your frozen chicken thighs? Not to worry, skip the step where you sauté the thighs, and place the frozen thighs on the vegetables when you get to that step. You will also change the cooking time to 15 minutes.
• Here’s the difference if you want to use frozen boneless chicken thighs: Lay the thighs on the vegetables when you get to that step and change the cooking time to 12 minutes.
• If you want extra leftover sauce like I do, you can keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I don’t recommend freezing the sauce as it separates.
• Shallots are great in this dish, but if you prefer, you can use a large sweet onion.
• I use baby portobello mushrooms in this recipe, but you can use white button mushrooms if you prefer.
• I prefer to do a quick release instead of a natural pressure release. Here’s how to do a quick release: don an oven mitt and carefully nudge the venting knob to the venting position. If you want, you can also nudge it with a wooden spoon. Just be careful not to burn your hand on the steam.
• If you don’t want to do a quick release, let the finished thighs sit while you start on the sour cream sauce. Once you are at the step of letting the sauce cool for 5 minutes, do a quick release at this point.
• The reason you need to let the sauce cool before adding sour cream to the sauce is because if you add it to the hot sauce, it will curdle.

How to make instant pot chicken thighs

Pre-step

Get out your instant pot or pressure cooker, medium saucepan, whisk, and rubber spatula.

Step one

Gather the ingredients – chicken thighs, shallots, portobello mushrooms, chicken broth, salt, and pepper.

Step two

Peel and chop the shallots in small chunks, and chop half of the mushrooms (5 ounces) into medium chunks.

Cut the rest of the mushrooms in slices, and set the slices aside.

Step three

Plug in your pressure cooker and press the sauté button. Wait at least 3 minutes before adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil shimmers (about a minute), add as many thighs you can fit skin-side down, and cook chicken thighs for 3 minutes. (A)

Step four

Loosen the chicken skin from the bottom of the instant pot container, carefully flip the thighs and saute for 1 minute.

Repeat this for the remaining thigh. (B)

Step five

Remove chicken from the pan, place on a plate, and set aside.

Step six

There should be fat from sauteeing the chicken thighs, so no need to add olive oil. Add the chopped shallots to the insert and sauté for 3 minutes. (C)

Step seven

Add 1 cup chicken broth, garlic, salt, and ground black pepper. (D)

Step eight

Add chopped mushrooms (E) and stir. (F) Press the cancel button to stop the saute mode.

Step nine

Lay the chicken thighs in a single layer on the mushrooms. (G)

Step ten

Place the lid on the instant pot, seal it and make sure the venting knob is in the sealed position. Press the pressure cook button, make sure it is set at high pressure, the mode is on normal, and set the time at 10 minutes.

Note: It will take around 10 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure.

Step eleven

After the instant pot beeps that the chicken is done, wait at least 5 minutes before doing a quick release to let the remaining pressure out. (See notes on how.) Make sure the floating valve has dropped to signify that it is safe to open the instant pot.

Step twelve

Open the lid and add the remaining sliced mushrooms on top of the chicken. (H) Place the lid back on the pressure cooker, no need to seal it, and let the mushrooms steam from the heat of the dish.

Start on the sour cream sauce

Step thirteen

Gather the ingredients – butter, flour, chicken broth, cognac, shredded gouda, fresh and dried tarragon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and sour cream. (I)

Step fourteen

Add butter to the saucepan, turn the heat on medium heat and melt the butter. (J)

Step fifteen

Add flour to the butter (K) and whisk together. Cook for 1 minute until it comes to a paste. (L)

Step sixteen

Add garlic powder, onion powder, and salt (M) and whisk until combined and thickened. (N) Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.

Step seventeen

Add sour cream and stir until combined. (below left) Add shredded cheese and (optional) fresh tarragon. (below right)

Step eighteen

Stir until the cheese is melted, add dried tarragon (Q), and stir again. (R)

Step nineteen

Add the sour cream sauce to the instant pot container.

Stir and transfer the chicken and sauce to a serving pan. I like to use a stainless steel pan.

Doesn’t that look delicious?

I hope you enjoyed this instant pot chicken thighs recipe.

Other popular instant pot recipes

• Chicken pot pie soup
• Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
• Meatballs
• Split pea soup

If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!