Instant Pot Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

4.52 from 201 votes

Instant Pot Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

Juicy and fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs with brown sugar garlic sauce, pressure cooked in an Instant Pot for 8 mins. Instant Pot chicken dinner is so easy!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Instant Pot Recipes

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: Instant Pot Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

Servings: people

Calories: 477kcal

Author: Bee Yinn Low

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. (750g-900g) bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
salt
ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3 dashes cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Instructions

Season the chicken thighs with salt and ground black pepper on both sides of the chicken. Turn on the Saute mode on your Instant Pot. As soon as the pot is fully heated and hot, add the olive oil. Pan sear the chicken thighs (skin side down first) until both sides turn nicely brown.
You can also pan-sear the chicken in a skillet and then transfer them over to the Instant Pot. Add the minced garlic and saute until light brown. Add the chicken broth, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper and salt.
Cover the pot and select Manual and set to High pressure for 8 minutes. When it beeps, turn to Quick Release. When the valve drops, remove the lid carefully and turn to Saute mode to reduce the sauce if it's too watery.
Add the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Watch the cooking video on this page for step-by-step guide.

I used a 6-quart Instant Pot. If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can make this recipe in a slow cooker, or on your stove top. If you use a slow cooker, Use high heat and cook for 3 hours. For stove top, just pan-fry the chicken and then add in all the ingredients of the sauce. Simmer on low heat and cook until the chicken meat is tender.

I used organic chicken thighs, so they are very small. If you use regular chicken thighs, you can increase the pressure cooking time to 10 minutes for tender meat.

Nutrition