Chicken Leg Quarters Instant Pot

This is how to cook chicken leg quarters Instant Pot style! Just pressure cook in your Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi too this way, then great crispy chicken skin at the end and enjoy.

Ninja Foodi Chicken Leg Quarters

Why would you choose this cut of meat instead of cooking thighs and drumsticks separately? First off if you buy them still attached they are super inexpensive! Often overlooked because they don’t look “normal” you get the same great taste for a fraction of the price this way. We started by making Crockpot chicken leg quarters.

That worked fantastic too and if you have all day by all means give that a whirl sometime. Of course we don’t always have enough time for that so high pressure is where it’s at. You can use whatever brand you have at home. If you have a Ninja Foodi you can pressure cook AND air fry the skins at the end in the same pot!

How long to Pressure Cook Frozen Chicken Leg Quarters

Did you know you could cook frozen chicken in an Instant Pot to perfection too?? You can! With the high pressure setting you can set it for 30 minutes. Once cooked, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then you will get the same results as you see here! Believe it or not if you tasted the two side by side you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. 😉

I do try to think ahead of time, the night before, and thaw it in the fridge first but I don’t always have my stuff together y’all. You may have those days too so here’s the kitchen hack for that. All you need to get going on this would be;

• 2-4 leg quarters
• 1 c water or chicken broth
• seasonings of your choice can be added at the beginning and end too
  • salt and black pepper
  • garlic powder is great
  • if you want bbq sauce at the end add before crisping

I would highly recommend when done that you make crispy skin. If you are going to make Instant Pot tacos at the end and just shred the meat off of the bone then I wouldn’t even bother. If served alone it looks prettier and the texture is better is you air fry or broil at the end for a few minutes.

Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

As I mentioned above I highly recommend that you get a non stick pot for this and other recipes that potentially might stick. If you are using a Foodi you don’t need to transfer the pieces at all. Instead, when done remove and drain the liquid out. Put meat into the air fryer basket and close the lid that is attached, then follow reheating chicken in air fryer directions.

• Step one: Put chicken into pot with 1 cup of water or broth in the bottom.
• Step two: Close lid and steam valve. Cook on high pressure for 16 minute cook time
• Step three: Allow for a 5 minute natural pressure release when done to keep them tender and juicy
• Step four: Then release rest of steam.
• Step five: To crisp chicken thighs and leg skin
  • Preheat oven or air fryer to 400 degrees, remove chicken, place on greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Dab skin dry with paper towels.
  • Brush olive oil on skin and season as you like.
  • Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes in oven or 5 minutes in air fryer)
  • Ensure that chicken is to 165 degrees F before eating.

As you can see there are a few different ways to change the texture of the outside. When done it will be rather rubbery but fixed quite easily in just a few minutes so nobody would ever know the difference. You can still get it pretty close to the look of baked chicken leg quarters following these directions.

Pressure Cooker Chicken Leg Quarters

This is just one of many chicken quarter recipes on our site. Of course you can use kitchen scissors to separate the two yourself to save money. Then grill, bake or saute as you normally would have if they were apart all along.

I will say that we have a lot of items cooked in the Instant Pot as far as chicken recipes go and this is the most budget friendly and delicious all in one. Options you could do beyond what was explained would be to;

• Add petite potatoes, a handful, to the top
• You could peel and cut large chunks of carrots and throw those in too
• Before you broil or air fry the skin you could brush on some barbecue sauce on the top

Adding taters and vegetables is a great option so you get a one pot meal done at the same time. Make sure you don’t fill it past about halfway full with that 1 cup of liquid to get everything steamed well together. You could alternatively make both of those as air fryer recipes while these are being cooked and serve together that way.

One-Pot Chicken Leg Quarter Recipe

If you have leftovers they stay quite nicely if you wait until it’s cool and store in a freezer bag. The next day use one of our leftover chicken breast recipes (using this dark meat) in a casserole, soup or tossed with sauce served over rice. Then you get a second meal for free, more saving money!!

Jump to recipe and get started on this one here. If you have any questions let us know below and we will try to help. Use a seasoning that we haven’t mentioned that came out delicious? Share with us below.