Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

Instant Pot chicken leg quarters come out great. So melt in your mouth fork tender meat when done. Super cheap cut of poultry for dinner with dark meat all the way around with tons of flavor. If you’ve loved all of our easy Instant Pot recipes thus far, try this one next.

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 or made as air fryer chicken leg quarters.

Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Chicken Leg Quarters

Both of these can be made in your Ninja Foodi with the two lids it offers. You can use whatever brand you have at home BUT if you have this one you can pressure cook AND air fry the skins at the end in the same pot!

If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:

• You can PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
• I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
  • You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.

For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.

How Long to Cook Chicken Leg Quarters in Instant Pot

We started by making these since they only took 15 minutes + 5 minute natural release so a total of 21 min. Then followed by Crockpot chicken leg quarters which worked fantastic too and if you have all day by all means give that a whirl sometime. We don’t always have enough time for that so high pressure is where it’s at.

Frozen Chicken Leg Quarters in Instant Pot

Did you know you could cook frozen chicken legs in 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;

Ingredient Notes

You are going to want 2-4 leg quarters that are medium sized, the same for all to cook evenly, that are fresh or frozen. If frozen you want them separated from one another before adding into the pot.

To steam to tender you need some water or chicken broth will give it even more flavor so I might opt for that if you have it.

And use seasonings of your choice can be added at the beginning and end too like salt and black pepper, garlic powder is great. If you want bbq sauce at the end add before crisping have that.

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.

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.

Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe

• 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.

FAQ

Chicken quarters can refer to a quarter of the bird, which includes both breast quarters and leg quarters. There are typically four quarters in a whole. The latter specifically refers to the back portion that includes the thigh, drumstick, and part of the back. Leg quarters do not contain any part of the breast or wing.

There is less work for the butcher to keep the thigh and leg attached thus the store can sell it cheaper than apart. Dark meat is less desired to most as well (unfortunately) so they can’t charge as much.

8 to 10 but can vary slightly depending on the size of the individual pieces, as those from larger chickens will weigh more, resulting in fewer pieces per bag. Generally, each leg quarter weighs approximately 1 to 1.25 pounds.

Variations

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 option is 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

What to make with leftovers

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!!

How to reheat leftovers, then follow reheating chicken in air fryer directions.

One-Pot Chicken Leg Quarter Recipe

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.