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Home » Instant Pot » Teriyaki Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks

Teriyaki Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks

Published: Sep 5, 2020 · Modified: Dec 30, 2020 by WholeLottaYum · This post may contain affiliate links · Find our privacy policy here

Jump to Recipe

Our instant pot chicken drumsticks recipe will get you perfectly cooked teriyaki chicken on your table in under 30 minutes, even if you are using frozen chicken! Add your favorite sides, and you will have a dish that is super flavorful and a WHOLE LOTTA YUM that your whole family will love.

Why This Recipe Works

With just 3 ingredients, teriyaki flavored instant pot chicken drumsticks is the easiest recipe for busy weeknight dinners.

  • Whether you are using fresh or frozen chicken drumsticks, you can have teriyaki drumsticks on your table in under 30 minutes.
  • Using the instant pot, we are locking in all of the flavors from both the chicken and the broth.
  • Serve as-is from the pressure cooker or top with your favorite teriyaki or BBQ sauce to finish off the dish.
  • Teriyaki chicken drumsticks are the perfect main dish for those who prefer healthy dinners, gluten-free meals, and low-carb or keto diet followers.

Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Look no further than our Asian BBQ Instant Pot Beef Ribs and our Pressure Cooker Collard Greens with Bacon.

Serve your instant pot chicken drumsticks with steamed broccoli, baked cauliflower mac and cheese, or white rice, to create a mouth-watering dinner your whole family will love!

Ingredient Notes

Gather the following ingredients, then let’s get to pressure cooking some amazing teriyaki chicken in the instant pot!

  • Chicken legs
  • Liquid – chicken broth, apple juice, pineapple juice, or water
  • Sauce – teriyaki or BBQ

Variations

You can season the chicken prior to cooking with salt & pepper to taste or the seasoning of your choice.

Equipment

A Pressure Cooker – This is the Instant Pot model that we used. 

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Legs

Now that you have your ingredients and your instant pot, it’s time to cook your teriyaki instant pot chicken drumsticks.

Prep Ingredients

Add 1 cup of liquid to your instant pot.

Place the trivet into the pot and add your 5 chicken drumsticks.

Lock your lid and make sure the valve is set to sealing.

Pressure Cook

Set your instant pot to manual (pressure cook on some models) for 12 minutes. ***Note: It may take up to 10 minutes for your instant pot to come up to pressure.

Use the quick release feature to release pressure as soon as the cook time is complete.

Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and place in an oven-save dish.

after making pressure cooker chicken legs brush them with sauce

Broil

Brush your chicken drumsticks with your favorite teriyaki sauce and broil for 2-3 minutes with your pan 4″ away from the broiler.

This step is optional, but adds the charred or grilled look to your chicken drumsticks.

Serve and enjoy!

the cooked chicken legs in instant pot after broiling

Expert Tips

  • For the liquid, any will do whether you opt for water, chicken broth, pineapple juice, or apple juice. When we add juice we typically split it 50/50 with broth or water.
  • If you are cooking frozen chicken drumsticks, add 3-5 minutes of pressure cooking time to the instant pot.
  • Feel free to marinate the chicken in teriyaki sauce for 2+ hours if you have the time. This will infuse the teriyaki flavor deep inside the chicken!
  • Use BBQ sauce in place of terriyaki for a flavorful BBQ chicken drumstick.
  • Your instant pot will take up to 10 minutes to come up to pressure.

Common Questions

Can you cook instant pot chicken legs from frozen?

Yes, you can cook pressure cooker chicken drumsticks from frozen, simply add about 3 more minutes to the cooking time. The pot will take a little longer to come to pressure.

Pre-frozen chicken legs that are frozen into individual pieces will give you the best results. If yours are one big block all stuck together, they WILL take longer to cook. An estimate is to open up the pot after 12 minutes, break the chicken apart and add 5 more minutes to the cooking time.

What to Serve with Pressure Cooker Chicken Legs?

Serve your instant pot chicken drumsticks with steamed broccoli, rice, roasted vegetables, or pineapples.

How do I double the recipe?

You can easily double the recipe by stacking the chicken legs on top of each other. You will want to also increase the liquid to 1 1/2 cups. We don’t recommend doubling the recipe if you are cooking frozen chicken.

Is this recipe keto?

If you’re wondering if instant pot drumsticks are keto, they are as long as any sauces and seasoning you add are keto-friendly. Primal Kitchen makes a great line of keto, gluten-free, and paleo sauces that work great as a marinade or for extra flavor.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes

Looking for more pressure cooker chicken recipes?

  • Easy Teriyaki Chicken Bowl Recipe
  • Chicken Pozole Recipe
  • Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken
Please leave a review if you make our recipe! We love feedback from readers, plus it helps others too. 

Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Continue to Content
close up of instant pot chicken legs after broiling

Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks (Fresh or Frozen)

Yield: 5
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Teriyaki chicken drumsticks in a pressure cooker that gets dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes, even with frozen chicken!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lb chicken legs (5 drumsticks)
  • 1 cup liquid (chicken broth, water, pineapple juice, apple juice)
  • sauce - teriyaki or BBQ

Instructions

  1. Add the liquid to the bottom of the pot. When we're making teriyaki chicken legs we love to add 4 oz (1/2 cup) of pineapple juice to the pot along with another 1/2 cup of water or chicken broth. 
  2. Insert the trivet and place the drumsticks on top of that. Close the lid.
  3. Set to Manual (some models call this Pressure Cook) and cook on High for 12 minutes.
  4. Do a quick release and remove the chicken drumsticks from the pressure cooker and put them in an oven safe baking dish.
  5. Brush the meat on both sides with the sauce of your choice like teriyaki sauce.
  6. Broil for 2-3+ minutes with the pan 4" away from the heat source until the sauce is warm and has started to brown in places for that fresh "grilled" appearance. Brush the remaining sauce in the bottom of the pan over the chicken before serving.

Notes

Any liquid of choice will work, whether it is water, chicken broth, pineapple juice, or apple juice. When we add juice we typically split it 50/50 with broth or water.

The instant pot took about 10 minutes to come to pressure.

Add 3-5 minutes to the cooking time if your chicken is frozen.

Prepping chicken from the store you know you want to cook from frozen is easy by, individually freezing them on a baking sheet. Once completely frozen, add them to a freezer bag.

Instead of using teriyaki sauce, BBQ sauce makes a great option too.

Feel free to marinate the chicken in teriyaki sauce for 2+ hours if you have extra time for even more flavor.

We didn't season the chicken but you can add salt and pepper, or a chicken dry rub if desired before cooking.

Serve with broccoli, other vegetables, pineapple, and rice.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
    Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
  • Instant Pot Omni Plus Toaster Oven, 26L
    Instant Pot Omni Plus Toaster Oven, 26L
Nutrition Information
Yield 5 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 76Total Fat 2.5gTrans Fat 0gCarbohydrates 0gSugar 9gProtein 12.4g

The nutritional data is just for the chicken drumstick and does not include sauce. Please calculate that manually if you're on a restricted health plan.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Jen Koel
Cuisine: American / Category: Instant Pot
Previous Post: « Keto Pumpkin Spice Latte (Starbucks Copycat)
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