Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

Instant Pot lemon garlic chicken is a cheap and easy dinner to throw together. A keto, low carb high protein meal packed with flavor even your kids will love. Just one of many Instant Pot chicken recipes you’ll love.

This one pot meal is healthy but such a great tasting recipe that even your kids will like! Cheap as ever using chicken thighs, this easy Instant Pot recipe is best served over a bed of rice for dinner.

Whether you’re looking for an easy Ninja Foodi recipe for dinner, or want to make this again and again I’m here for you. You don’t have to have an IP brand name on your counter either. I have a bunch of different ones. I need to always make sure they all work the same. You can use your Crockpot Express to make this one too.

Served over Ninja Foodi rice with some mixed vegetables on the side, it’s one of our favorite meals. Use boneless skinless, bone-in thighs or even breasts if you must hav white meat. I think dark meat is way better so we go with that but decide for yourself with our homemade sauce here.

Yes you can make it with chicken breasts too but I find that thighs are highly underrated. Way more tender than any other part, and typically the cheapest pieces in the meat section too.

Ninja Foodi Lemon Chicken

Feel free to follow the same instructions if you have a Crockpot Express, Mealthy or Ninja Foodi pot too. For the latter the only difference is that you are only going to use the lid that isn’t attached with the pressure cook button on the front.

Ingredient Notes

1. Bone-in chicken thighs is what we used here. We made this as one of our favorite Instant Pot chicken thighs bone-in recipes but this time with a kick of citrus. If you used boneless I would probably keep the timing the same
2. Fresh lemons or lemon juice works for that pop of wow in the sauce. You can adjust to use more or less depending on your tastebuds.
3. Minced air fryer garlic is fantastic to add for more flavor still
4. Olive oil to brown the meat in the first step is necessary. My only other alternative that I use would be avocado oil.
5. Onions diced or sliced are great for added flavor and texture but of course an optional add in.
6. Chicken broth or stock works too for the necessary liquid needed to steam your meat and create your sauce.
7. Butter is needed of course to add flavor and moisture. You could use a dairy free alternative but that generally doesn’t come salted so you may need to add additional salt and pepper.
8. Cornstarch may be needed to thicken sauce at end if you’d like.

Variations

We made this with pasta once where we cut up the chicken into little pieces. That lemon chicken casserole is another great dinner choice too for a one pot meal too.

with Frozen Chicken

If you are using frozen chicken thighs in Instant Pot, that is possible too, timing is just adjusted to an additional 3 minutes and you won’t be able to brown at the start. A vegan plant based butter alternative works too but doesn’t have as much flavor.

Tips

To make lemon chicken thighs you’re going to want to set your pot to saute and add your olive oil. Then add your meat and sear or brown the chicken on all sides, then remove. No they won’t be cooked through as of yet but not to worry, they will when you pressure cook them. 

Use a wooden spatula to deglaze pot so you don’t get the burn notice on your pot. They’re great to scrape the stuck on bits of meat off the bottom off in step 2.

Do cooked chicken thighs freeze well?

Yes, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to two days in an airtight container. Then use it in a leftover chicken recipe. After that, it’s best to freeze it for up to three months, just be sure to write the date on the bag with a marker. If you don’t have containers, freezer bags in quart or gallon sizes work great. I have a bunch of these on hand at all times.

Are chicken thighs bad for you?

Yes they are dark meat which means there is more fat content than white meat. Yet like avocados, this fat is considered healthy monounsaturated fat. Thighs are much more affordable than skinless chicken breasts. All around I prefer them since you save money AND get a more flavorful and tender cut of meat!

Other easy chicken thigh recipes you’ll love

Instant Pot teriyaki chicken thighs uses the same cuts but a different sauce entirely so you will feel like it is a whole new meal. This is just one of our many chicken thigh recipes, read more here made in all different ways beyond this one. We have made great air fryer chicken thighs too. You could use thighs to make our chicken marsala Instant Pot recipe

We have Crockpot lemon pepper chicken directions for you too if you’d like to try that method as well. For really crispy, give our lemon pepper chicken wings air fryer style a whirl.

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