Instant Pot Jerk Chicken Thighs are fall off the bone tender and are seasoned with authentic jamaican jerk spices and then cooked in the pressure cooker for a chicken recipe that is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy!
It’s no secret that I love jerk-flavored meats. Actually anything super flavorful and full of spices is a win for me. Jerk seasoning is a flavoring that originated in Jamaica and combines warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, with fresh lime juice and spicy scotch bonnet peppers for a truly unique dish. Most of the time caribbean jerk seasoning is used to flavor chicken or pork. It is also delicious in Jerk Shrimp Pasta.
Side note: There is nothing worse than dried out chicken, which is one of the reasons that I love my Instant Pot. It ensures that the meat stays moist and tender, like in this Jamaican Jerk Recipe, without having to worry if it has been cooked fully. I love it for creamy instant pot pesto chicken and butter chicken too!
I love using my Ninja Foodi for a whole chicken, as well! That uses both the pressure cooker and air fryer functions.
Ingredients
The main components that give jamaican jerk seasoning its flavor are scotch bonnet peppers and allspice. Meat can either be dry-rubbed or wet marinated. This instant pot jamaican jerk chicken recipe uses a wet style of jerk seasoning.
- chicken thighs
- olive oil
- white vinegar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- allspice
- small onion
- garlic cloves
- fresh ginger
- habanero peppers (or scotch bonnet peppers)
- salt
- black pepper
- limes
- brown sugar
- soy sauce
- green onions
- white rum
Instructions
In a blender or a food processor, add all ingredients except for the chicken thighs. Pulse until smooth.
Place chicken thighs in the Instant Pot and pour wet jerk marinade over the top. (You can also use the mixture as a chicken marinade and allow it to cover the chicken for a few hours in the fridge if you want to prep that step ahead of time).
Cover Instant Pot with lid and make sure it is set to sealing.
Set at high pressure for 10 minutes. It will take a few minutes to come up to pressure.
Allow to natural release for at least 10 minutes, and then you can either quick release the rest of the way or let it continue to natural release. You will know the pressure has returned to normal when the silver knob drops.
Remove lid and serve as is, or carefully move to a baking sheet and broil chicken on high for 8-10 minutes to deepen the color and crisp up the chicken skin.
Broiling Jerk Chicken Thighs for color and flavor
When you make Jerk Chicken in the pressure cooker it is so tender. It is actually so fall apart tender, that I had planned on grilling it after cooking in the Instant Pot to give it a char, but I couldn’t. Talk about “fall off the bone!”
Because of how tender this jamaican jerk dish is, I suggest you sear the chicken skin under the broiler a little bit after pressure cooking it. This helps deepen color of the skin and sauce, as well as makes the skin more crispy. Because the chicken thighs are so tender and can't be grilled, the next best thing is to use your broiler on high.
Carefully place chicken thighs on an oven safe sheet pan and broil on high for 8-10 minutes, or until the skin starts to caramelize. Be sure to check it halfway through to make sure nothing is burning.
Instant Pot Jerk Chicken Sauce
Because I made this in the Instant Pot, you want to make sure there is enough liquid to make sure that the pot comes up to pressure properly. A good rule of thumb is to always make sure there is at least 1 cup of liquid. The lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, rum, and vinegar gives it a little more than the recommended one cup. There’s a good amount of liquid when you open the Instant Pot, but just use it to dip the meat in or pour right over the top.
If you want, you can turn the Instant Pot to the "saute" function while the chicken thighs are finishing up in the oven to cook down the sauce a bit (this will thicken it up, as well).
Substitutions/Variations
- You can sub in boneless skinless chicken thighs if you would like! I like it this way, because then you can just eat everything that comes out of the pot and you don't have to worry about broiling to crisp up the chicken skin.
- Habanero and Scotch bonnet peppers are both pretty spicy. If you would like a less spicy pepper, try substituting in a jalapeno. You can also omit the hot peppers entirely and the sauce will still be very flavorful.
What to serve with jerk chicken
Looking for ideas on what to serve with this Instant Pot Jerk Chicken? Jerk Chicken is often served with rice and beans, sweet potatoes, plantains, pineapple, and even potato salad. Try only of the following recipes to make this into a full meal.
Storage
Store cooked jerk chicken thighs in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and reheat in the microwave or in the oven.
more chicken thigh recipes
- roasted chicken thighs with tomatoes and fennel
- healthy teriyaki chicken thighs
- cast iron chicken thighs with garlic
Instant Pot Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Chicken Thighs
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 small onion peeled and quartered
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled
- 2 habanero peppers or scotch bonnet peppers
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- two limes juiced
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 4 green onions trimmed
- 2 tbsp. white rum
Instructions
- In a blender or a food processor, add all ingredients except for the chicken thighs. Pulse until smooth.
- Place chicken thighs in the Instant Pot and pour wet jerk marinade over the top. (You can also use the mixture as a chicken marinade and allow it to cover the chicken for a few hours in the fridge if you want to prep that step ahead of time)
- Cover Instant Pot with lid and make sure it is set to sealing.
- Set at high pressure for 10 minutes. It will take a few minutes to come up to pressure.
- Allow to natural release for at least 10 minutes, and then you can either quick release the rest of the way or let it continue to natural release. You will know the pressure has returned to normal when the silver knob drops.
- Remove lid and serve as is, or carefully move to a baking sheet and broil chicken on high for 8-10 minutes to deepen the color and crisp up the chicken skin.
John Lemaster
Looking for ways to use my Instapot more often this year. This may be the first candidate for the new year. I always like Jerk Chicken and don't have a good recipe for this. I am going to try this one out.
Michael Lambie
As a Jamaican I appreciate the application of our jerk seasoning for any entrée that can to give joy to anyone's meal. Love it . Now there are some ingredients missing from the and some thing added to recipe. This could lift the meal to a higher level. The rum and lime is not part of the base jerk seasoning that is personal choice. what would be good is to add thyme and fresh ground pimento/all spice. Great job .it looks good
Sarah
Michael,
Thank you for taking the time to comment and for your kindness! I need to try with those two ingredients. Thank you for the tips.-Sarah