Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

Two chicken leg quarters roasted in green plate

Looking for a tasty recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters? You have come to the right place!

Two chicken leg quarters roasted in green plate

The recipe will be great for all chicken lovers. Using the pressure cooker method makes chicken leg quarters really moist and tender so even your picky eater children will love them!

And the best part is, they’re so simple and require only 4 ingredients! This recipe is super flexible allowing you to customize it with whatever spices and seasonings you desire.

Do I Need to Broil the Chicken Leg Quarters?

It's not mandatory, but I really recommend you broil the chicken after cooking in the pressure cooker. This will turn the outer layer nice and crispy, but the meat underneath will still be just as juicy and moist, thanks to your Instant Pot.

I'm using my Instant Pot Air fryer Lid, but feel free to use Mealthy Crisplid or Instant Pot Duo crisp.

If you don’t have those, no need to worry! Just place the chicken in the oven or toaster oven under the broiler setting. That way you will get tender and crispy chicken that all your guests are going to like!

Can I Use Skin-On Chicken Pieces?

This recipe calls for skinless chicken leg quarters because chicken skin turns quite soggy when cooked in the Instant Pot. However, if you are going to air fry or broil the chicken at the end of the recipe, you can keep the skin on if you want to.

Broiling or air frying the chicken at the end of the recipe will turn the skin from soggy to crisp, while the insides still remain tender and juicy.

Another reason to remove the skin is that it’s not the healthiest part of the chicken—it’s almost all fat—so it’s a healthier option to remove the skin.

Can I Use Chicken Thighs?

Yes, you can use bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe or chicken legs! Both are amazing options for diversifying this recipe and utilizing whatever you have on hand.

I do recommend using bone-in chicken quarters (or thighs, or legs) as opposed to boneless, because cooking chicken on the bone keeps it juicy and gives it extra flavor.

Can I use Water Instead of Broth?

Yes, if you don’t have chicken broth, you could also use water. Use 1 cup of water instead of 1 cup of chicken broth.

However, I highly recommend using broth if you can, because it gives a lot more flavor.

If you use water instead of broth, I would add extra salt and pepper along with other spices to enhance the flavor of the chicken.

What Should I Serve Them With?

You can serve this Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters recipe with roasted veggies, boiled potatoes, cooked rice, or drizzle them with your favorite BBQ sauce and enjoy alone.

Can I use chicken breast?

If you wanna pressure cook chicken breasts, check out these recipes:

Instant Pot Chicken Paprikash

Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Instant Pot Chicken Marsala

Can I use Frozen Chicken Legs?

Sure. If you do so, cook for 30 minutes instead of 20. Then do a quick release as usual.

How Can I get a crispy skin?

You have 2 options:

1. Cover with the Air Fryer Lid and broil at 375 °F for 5 minutes on each side.

2. Put in the oven and broil at 375 °F for 5 minutes on each side.

How to make chicken quarters

Gather your ingredients:

Insert a trivet into your Instant Pot. Pour in the chicken stock.

Place the chicken in a bowl and season with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Place the chicken leg quarters on the trivet.

Lock the lid into place.

Select High Pressure and cook for 20 minutes.

Once the cooking cycle is done, do a quick pressure release.

Transfer the chicken leg quarters on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.

Set under a preheated broiler or place inside the Air Fryer Lid and broil for 5 minutes per side.

Serve warm.

More Chicken Recipes

If you like this recipe, try these delicious Instant Pot chicken drumsticks or these air fryer chicken drumsticks.

This Instant Pot lemon chicken is another great option.

The most popular chicken recipe on Corrie Cooks is the Instant Pot orange chicken.

Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

This Instant Pot recipe prepares tender and juicy chicken leg quarters easily.
4.71 from 77 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chicken Leg Quarters
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Corrie

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 4 skinless chicken leg quarters
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place a trivet in the bottom of Instant Pot and pour the broth.
  • Season the chicken leg quarters with garlic powder, and salt and black.
  • Place the chicken leg quarters on top of the trivet in a single layer.
  • Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
  • When cooking time ends, do a quick pressure release.
  • Remove the lid, take out the chicken leg quarters and coat with olive oil.
  • Place in a single layer and broil for 5 minutes on each side.
    For this step you can use the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid, Mealthy Crisplid, Ninja Foodi or the oven.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 67kcal Carbohydrates: 1g Protein: 1g Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 1g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 5g Sodium: 216mg Potassium: 56mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 1IU Vitamin C: 4mg Calcium: 4mg Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe?Mention @corriecooksblog or tag #corriecooks!

Instant Pot's Clucking Good Chicken Legs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

27 thoughts on “Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

  1. 5 stars
    So flavorful, so easy. I do five or six quarters at a time in my 8-quart IP. Silicon trivet underneath, metal trivet between the layers of three. Toss in a onion and cook for 24 minutes. The broiler provides the perfect finish.

    1. Yes, the inner pot needs to be empty in order to fit the air fryer basket inside and let the air circulate underneath.

  2. I always have questions, but no time to hope for an answer in time to start dinner, lol. But I too have a 6qt pot, and I see the 1 cup of liquid looks like NOTHING, it barely touches the joints of the little feet on my little rack or trivet or whatever its called. It doesn't go above the part the meat will sit on. I just wanna make sure that is the way it goes, and ill just keep my fingers crossed and hope for no burn warnings here in the next 30 mins. Haha , maybe future people will have the same worry, & be able to read the answer right away, even if i don't have the patience to wait. I'm risking it ! Here's to hoping its as wonderful as I hear!

    1. 5 stars
      I just use the air fryer at 380 for 25 minutes with skin on the chicken and flip half way through (when the instapot beeps). There are many ways to season the chicken. If plain quaters, brine the chicken for at least 4 hours. If preflavored like schnucks honey BBQ chicken, just set and go.

  3. What constitutes a single layer. A single layer in the IP does not sound like the single layer when broiling.
    Are you talking about one quarter at a time in the IP? I kinda doubt it. Regardless, thank you for your time.

    1. True, you have much more room in the oven to broil in a single layer. But the air fryer lid needs food to be in a single layer to work properly. So yes, that means one or two quarters at a time.

    2. I just use the air fryer at 380 for 25 minutes with skin on the chicken and flip half way through (when the instapot beeps). There are many ways to season the chicken. If plain quaters, brine the chicken for at least 4 hours. If preflavored like schnucks honey BBQ chicken, just set and go.

    1. Yes, that will definitely work! Keep in mind the breast pieces tend to cook a little faster, but if they are larger pieces you should be ok.

  4. Can you cook more than 2 chicken quarters at once to reduce the amount of batches for larger groups?

      1. I've seen you say to only use 2 chicken quarters at a time. A few comments later, I saw you comment 4 quarters can be used in a 6 qt pot. Which one?

        1. Oh sorry about that. It depends on the size of the chicken quarters and the size of your Instant Pot. However many fit in a single layer (some overlap ok).

    1. If you stand them on edge around the pot, overlapping each a bit, you can get 4 in there. I have a 6qt and do it all the time. I put some mesquite or hickory liquid smoke in the water before cooking and then put BBQ sauce on before broiling.

    2. I put 4 in my 6 qt instant pot, on their side with legs facing up. Works perfectly. I also add either mesquite or hickory liquid seasoning to the water with the chicken broth. I take them out when their done and broil them for 5 or so minutes, sometimes with BBQ sauce, sometimes without.

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