With a simple Instant Pot Chicken Quarters recipe on hand, you'll have dinner with no hassle at all. Juicy and flavorful dark meat chicken isn't too far away.
Recipe: $3.03 | Per Serving: $0.77 | Servings: 4
Instant Pot Chicken Quarters are a quick and convenient way to enjoy a classic dish with juicy, tender results. Inspired by my Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks, the pressure cooker helps infuse the chicken with deep flavors while maintaining its natural tenderness.
We love chicken quarters around here because they're cheap and versatile. For these chicken quarters, I took my seasoning rub from my beer butt chicken recipe and rubbed it onto the quarters so that they'd be flavorful and awesome.
Whether you're a novice cook or a seasoned chef, this dish is a breeze to prepare and is perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner or a special occasion.
Serve your chicken with a side of vegetables or rice for a complete meal that everyone will enjoy. I recommend this Easy Canned Corn Recipe or Jiffy Cornbread With Cake Mix.
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- The recipe is very simple. Using basic seasonings and your Instant Pot, you can create juicy, well-flavored chicken quarters with very minimal effort and prep.
- You can crisp the skin. If desired, you can follow along with the additional steps to crisp up the skin on your cooked chicken quarters. Perfect for those of us who like the chewy skin on chicken.
- It's frugal. Chicken quarters are one of the cheapest cuts of chicken, and seasonings are something found in most kitchens already. By utilizing the two and not adding anything too fancy, we can create a flavorful dinner that's easier on the budget.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Chicken leg quarters- You will need about 4 or 5 chicken quarters for this recipe. How many you can fit into the instant pot will depend upon the size of the legs and your instant pot, so it will vary.
If you have more quarters, try our Crispy Baked Chicken Quarters or Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters.
Seasonings- For this recipe, we just need some basic seasonings like Salt, Ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic powder, and Onion powder.
Water- You will need water for the instant pot to help us pressure cook the chicken. 1 cup is needed for 6 quarts and smaller IPs, but 8qt and bigger need 1.5 cups of water. Refer to your owner manual if needed.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
📖 Variations
You can use water, broth, or even beer for more flavorfully cooked chicken. Just make sure that there is at least 1-1.5 cups of liquid in the pot to help the chicken cook properly.
🔪 Instructions for Instant Pot Chicken Quarters
Step 1: Blend together the spices for the chicken rub in a small bowl and set aside.
Step 2: Pour one cup of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot and place in the trivet.
Step 3: Rub the chicken with the seasoning mixture on both the fronts and backs of the quarters as best as you can.
Step 4: Stack the seasoned chicken quarters upright like books on a shelf on the trivet. I like to alternate which sides the drumsticks are on.
Step 5: Set to High Pressure for 15-20 minutes for thawed chicken or 25 minutes for frozen.
Step 6: Release the Pressure, naturally, for 5 minutes after the timer beeps, and then release the rest manually.
Step 7: Check internal temperature and make sure chicken is a safe 165 degrees F before eating. If not, bake at 350 degrees F until temp has been reached.
Optional Step- Set your oven to High Broil and place chicken on a baking sheet.
Step 8: Broil on high for 3-5 minutes to help crisp up the skin.
Serve warm with side dishes.
🍴 Recipe Tips
- Preparing Chicken Quarters- For this Instant Pot recipe, arrange chicken pieces upright on the trivet to fit them into the pot. Trim excess fat or skin as needed.
- Optional Broiling Step- Consider broiling cooked chicken quarters for a crispy skin. It's recommended but not necessary.
- Ensuring Chicken Safety- Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. Chicken should reach 165°F. If needed, finish cooking in a 350°F oven until fully cooked.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Chicken quarters (or chicken leg quarters as some call it) are the dark meat of a chicken, from the hip bone down. It includes the thigh and drumstick of a chicken in a solid piece that can be later separated or cooked whole as desired by the consumer.
For frozen chicken quarters, just make sure that they aren't frozen too much. You want them to be able to be stacked without being one clump of solid ice. As long as they're partially frozen and can be fitted into the Instant Pot, you can cook them on High Pressure for 25 minutes with a Quick Pressure Release.
Cheaper cuts of meat are almost always meats that have the least amount of work involved. Unlike boneless, skinless chicken breasts, a leg quarter doesn't require nearly as much work to cut off the whole. Therefore the cost is lower as there is less expense involved in the prep.
❤️ More Delicious Instant Pot Recipes
If you tried this Instant Pot Chicken Quarters, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Quarters
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning ($0.04)
- ½ teaspoon paprika ($0.04)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder ($0.04)
- ½ teaspoon onion powder ($0.04)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ($0.02)
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper ($0.01)
- 1 cup water (for cooking) ($0.00)
- 4 whole chicken leg quarters ($2.84)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, blend together the spices for the chicken rub. Set aside.
- Pour one cup of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add in the trivet.
- Rub your chicken leg quarters with the spice rub.
- Stack your chicken quarters up like a bookshelf, side by side on the trivet. I like to alternte my legs so that they aren't all on one side.
- Close the lid and seal the vent.
- Set to High Pressure for 15-20 minutes. 25 minutes if the chicken quarters are still partially frozen.
- Naturally Release the Pressure for 5 minutes after the timer beeps. Then release the rest manually.
- Check internal temperature of chicken. Make sure it reaches a minimum of 165 Degrees F. If not, place in the oven at 350 Degrees F until it comes up to temperature before eating.
- Set the oven to High Broil and lay your chicken quarters on a baking sheet, skin side up. Broil for 3-5 minutes until skin is crisped to desired doneness.
- Serve warm with your favorite side dishes.
kg says
Learning to use instapot. We loved the herb flavor. Will be back for more
Nicole Durham says
I'm so glad you liked it! 🙂
Crista says
My chicken leg quarters were completely thawed and I actually only did 3, and they were nowhere near done after 15 min in the instant pot, 5 minutes depressurizing, and 5 min of broiling...still bloody inside.
Nicole says
Aw I'm so sorry to hear that. Did you use large chicken quarters? Did you check their temperature before broiling them? I've had chicken quarters finish anywhere from 15-25 minutes and it varies per piece. Also, unless you butchered the chicken yourself, that's not blood. It's hemoglobin that is in the tissues of the bird, and the color lingers even after it has been cooked, so discoloration shouldn't be used as a measure for chicken "doneness." I recommend an instant-read food thermometer to check to see if the meat has finished cooking next time.
DDeborah D says
At last, I have found a recipe that has the correct cooking time for instant pot chicken quarters.