Cook a side of creamy, cheesy grits along with chicken thighs stuffed with garlic and herbs for an amazingly simple, easy, and tasty dinner in your Instant Pot! 

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When you purchase your first Instant Pot, you unwittingly jump into a world of acronyms and jargon. We bloggers try to keep things simple, but inevitably NR, QR, PIP, HP, and others pop out and potentially cause newbies head to swim.

(And yes, I did say first Instant Pot. Multiple pots is a thing. I have two, but I’ve seen others on the IP community page with sev.er.al.)

This particularly delicious dinner involves a PIP recipe. It’s also a little of NR and then QR. Oh, and it cooks on HP.

Say what???

I’ll break it down for you, m’kay?

• HP :: High Pressure — most recipes cook on high pressure, but there are the occasional low pressure recipes, too
• NR :: Natural Release — let pressure naturally release by not doing anything. You will know the pressure is released when the pin drops
• QR :: Quick Release — turn the valve from sealing to venting to release the pressure (just keep your fingers and arm out of the steam!)
• PIP :: Pot-In-Pot — cook food in a separate dish in the Instant Pot by placing the dish on a trivet with liquid underneath

Well, now that we have all of that out of the way, let’s talk about this dinner. You’re going to want to try it soon, I promise.

Chicken thighs are known for being more rich in flavor than chicken breasts, especially bone-in chicken thighs. Bonus– they are also less expensive. These chicken thighs’ flavor is amped up by stuffing the pocket between the skin and meat with a garlic herb mixture. SO simple and SO tasty.

A quick browning of the thighs, followed by a short sauté of some diced onion is all the prep this dish requires. We’re talking ten minutes of prep. Then, once the browned thighs are nestled in the onions and a little broth, a bowl of grits and water are placed on top of the thighs. POT-IN-POT.

The beauty of it is that both the chicken thighs and the grits cook together in the Instant Pot in just ten minutes under pressure. It’s a wonderful thing. 

Don’t let the PIP scare you away from this quick and easy dinner. I promise, so easy.

Necessary Equipment ::

• Instant Pot
• Trivet (you can use the one that came with your IP)
• Heat-safe dish (I used a bowl from this set)

Instant Pot Garlic Herb Chicken Thighs & Cheese Grits

Instant Pot Garlic Herb Chicken Thighs & Cheese Grits

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Method: pressure cooker

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Description

Cook a side of creamy, cheesy grits along with chicken thighs stuffed with garlic and herbs for an amazingly simple, easy, and tasty dinner in your Instant Pot!

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Ingredients

Chicken:

• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp ea: kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, dried thyme
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 4 bone-in chicken thighs
• 1/2 C diced onion
• 1 C chicken broth

Cheese Grits:

• 3/4 C yellow grits
• 2 1/2 C water
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 C pimento cheese (or shredded Parmesan)

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Instructions

1. Mix together 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, the garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs in a small bowl. Use your fingers to loosen the skin on the chicken thighs from the meat, without removing the skin. Stuff 1/4 of the garlic herb mixture under the skin on each chicken thigh.
2. Turn the Instant Pot on Saute and heat until the screen says “HOT”. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pot and place the chicken thighs skin side down in the pot. Brown the chicken thighs for 5 minutes, then remove them to a plate.
3. Add the diced onion to the now empty pot and saute for 2 minutes, deglazing the pot as the onions cook. Pour in the chicken broth and then nestle the chicken thighs into the pot, skin side up.
4. Place the trivet on top of the chicken thighs. Combine the grits, water, and salt in an oven-safe dish. Cover with foil. Set the grits on top of the chicken on the trivet.
5. Turn the Instant Pot on to pressure cook for 10 minutes. After the food cooks for 10 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
6. Remove the grits and trivet from the pot. Transfer the chicken thighs to a clean plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Whisk in 1 Tbsp flour to the pot, return to saute, and whisk until the cooking liquid thickens to a gravy (just a few minutes).
7. Stir the grits and add 1/2 C of your cheese of choice.
8. (Optional) Broil the chicken thighs skin side up until the skin crisps and darkens.
9. Serve and enjoy.

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