We made our Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters this weekend. They turned out perfectly! I was attempting to make a meal that tasted like a Sunday BBQ but in the Instant Pot. We added some Jack Millers BBQ sauce to them after pressure cooking them in the Instant Pot. They were fall off the bone tender and had a hint of BBQ flavor. We served them with our Instant Pot Dirty Rice. Which, I might add this is the best Dirty Rice I have ever had!

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Please Note – The printable Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe is at the bottom of the post.

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How long does it take to cook chicken in an Instant Pot?

We follow the Instant Pot Cook Guide which states to cook a whole chicken on high pressure for 8 minutes per pound. If you are just cooking chicken breast it states 6-8 minutes per pound. The chicken leg quarters have the bone in them so went with 8 minutes per pound and they turned out great. I do always use a digital meat thermometer to check the internal temperature before serving just to make sure.

How much water do you put in a pressure cooker for chicken?

We add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot to cook chicken so that the Instant Pot can come up to pressure.

How do you give Instant Pot Chicken Crispy Skin?

Your Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters are fully cooked after pressure cooking them. But, we like to take it one step further. After pressure cooking the chicken leg quarters, we brush the skin with Jack Millers BBQ Sauce. Then you have two options to give you chicken leg quarters that crispy grilled look. Option 1 is to place them under your broiler in your stove for a few minutes. Option 2 is to use an Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid or a Mealthy Crisp Lid after pressure cooking them.

We used the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid on our Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters. We purchased a second Instant Pot a couple of months ago. It is an Instant Pot Duo Crisp plus Air Fryer. So, while I was pressure cooking our Instant Pot Dirty Rice in one Instant Pot, I also had my Instant Pot Leg Quarters pressure cooking in our new Instant Pot Duo Crisp Plus Air Fryer. After the leg quarters were finished pressure cooking, I brushed some bbq sauce on them and switched the lid to the air fryer lid. I air-fried them for 10 minutes to give them the skin that crispy grilled look!!

Ingredients – Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

1 Cup Water

3-4 lbs. Chicken Leg Quarters

Seasoning of Your Choice (we like cajun/creole seasoning)

BBQ Sauce of Your Choice

An Instant Pot, bottle of Jack Miller BBQ Sauce, and marinated Chicken Leg Quarters

Instructions – Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

#1. First, add your 1 cup of water and your rack or trivet into your Instant Pot.

#2. Next, generously rub your seasoning of choice all over your chicken drumsticks. We get our chicken already seasoned with cajun/creole seasoning from our grocer.

#3. Then place your chicken leg quarters standing up in your Instant Pot.

Raw chicken leg quarters inside of an Instant Pot

#4. Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to the “sealing” position.

#5. Then press the “Pressure Cook” button. Next, press the “Pressure Level” button until you have selected “High Pressure”.

#6. Turn the timer on for 32 minutes if you have 4 lbs. of chicken leg quarters. We used the Instant Pot Chicken Cook Guide which states 8 minutes of high pressure per pound of chicken. Once the pressure builds up, the timer will start counting down.

#7. Then, once the timer has completed allow you Instant Pot to naturally release the pressure.

#8. Next, brush your chicken leg quarters with your bbq sauce.

Chicken leg quarters on a tray with bbq sauce being brushed on them.

#9. Now you can either place your leg quarters on a pan under the broiler in your oven on high for a few minutes to make the skin and bbq sauce crispy or, you can use your Instant Pot air fryer lid. If you have an air fryer lid proceed to step #10. For those who are using the broiler on their oven for this step place your chicken leg quarters on a pan and broil for 5-10 minutes.

#10. Dump out any remaining liquid from your Instant Pot. Place your air fryer lid on top of your Instant Pot and cook at 400 degrees for 5 – 10 minutes.

#11. That’s it! You can now serve you Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters. Enjoy!

Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

Final Thoughts

Thanks so much for visiting The Peculiar Green Rose today! I hope you enjoy your Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters! We are always looking for different ways to cook chicken around here. I think next time we might give this smoked pulled chicken breast recipe a try! It looks delicious!

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