Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken

Chicken, Instant Pot

Ingredients

8 boneless chicken thighs approx. 2.5 lbs with or without skin *

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

½ tsp chili flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

2 Tbsp butter or Ghee for Whole 30 and Paleo

1 shallot chopped ( or ½ small onion)

3 cloves garlic minced (approx.3 tsp)

1 lemon juiced and zested

¾ cup chicken broth low sodium

2 Tbsp heavy cream or coconut milk (from can for Whole 30 or Paleo)

Fresh parsley and lemon slices for garnish (optional)

Directions

Rinse chicken thighs, pat dry with paper towels, set aside.

In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, paprika, chili flakes and salt & papper. Sprinkle spices on both sides of chicken thighs.

Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode and add olive oil. Once oil is hot add chicken thighs (workingin batches if not all thighs will fit flat in pot). Cook each side of chicken thigh, untilbrowned ( about 2-3 minutes per side). Remove chicken from Instant Pot and setaside.

Melt butter (or Ghee) in Instant Pot and add shallots and minced garlic. Allow to cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice and deglaze the pan by using a wooden spoon to scrap any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add zest of ½ lemon and chicken broth. Add chicken back to instant pot and turn off the sauté function.

Set Instant Pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK on High Pressure for 8 minutes. Once cooking cycle is complete do a QUICK RELEASE to remove pressure from the pot. Remove chicken thighs from Instant Pot to serving tray. Retaining any remaining liquid in the Instant Pot.

Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode and add cream (or coconut milk) to pot with remaining liquid and cook for a few minutes to thicken up sauce. (For thicker sauce, whisk together 1 tsp cornstarch and 1Tbsp cold water to form a slurry and stir into sauce, allowing sauce to bubble and thicken). Spoon sauce over chicken thighs. Garnish with lemon slices and chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Notes

*If using frozen chicken you'll need to thaw before preparing this recipe.

Making this recipe Whole 30 or Paleo

With a few easy substitutions this recipe can easily be Whole 30 compliant or Paleo. Swap out the butter for Ghee, use coconut oil (or Ghee) instead of olive oil and swap out the heavy cream for canned coconut milk or coconut cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (2 thighs) | Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 27.7g | Fat: 20.4g | Saturated Fat: 7.5g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 173.3mg | Potassium: 337.2mg | Sugar: 0.4g