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    You are here: Home » Instant Pot Recipes » Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Legs

    Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Legs

    Last Modified: October 3, 2019

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·5 from 7 reviews

    Easy, delicious and affordable, these Instant Pot barbecue chicken legs are perfect for a meal or for a party. They’re moist, tender and full of barbecue flavor that you’re gonna love!

    Start with a good barbecue rub

    Our Instant Pot barbecue chicken legs start with a good barbecue rub. This rub is simple to make is provides a nice, deep barbecue flavor in the pressure cooker. You probably have all the spices and ingredients for the rub in your kitchen already. The primary ingredient is brown sugar. For 6-8 chicken legs we use a half cup of brown sugar. We fill out the flavors with paprika, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder and black pepper. All the ingredients can be placed in a large ziploc bag and mixed together. Then we drop the chicken legs into the bad and shake it all around to coat all the legs with the rub.

    Chicken legs with homemade barbecuerub

    Pressure cooking chicken legs

    For the cooking process in the Instant Pot, we add a cup of water to the pot, place the trivet inside, then we place the chicken legs on the trivet, meat side down on the trivet, then they can lean against the side of the pot. With the lid secured and the vent on sealing, they get an 18 minute pressure cook and a 5 minute natural release.

    A plate of barbecue chicken legs made in an Instant Pot pressure cooker

    Finish the chicken legs under the broiler

    Once the chicken legs are done pressure cooking in the Instant Pot, we place them on a foil lined baking sheet, and slather them with our favorite barbecue sauce. Then they go under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is nice and caramelized. Now, the chicken legs will be done when they’re finished cooking in the Instant Pot, and this final step provides that final roasting that we can’t get from the Instant Pot. Though this final step isn’t absolutely necessary, I promise, the chicken legs will be much better off with it.

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    Recipe

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    Instant Pot barbecue chicken legs

    Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Legs


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 7 reviews

    • Author: Recipe Teacher
    • Total Time: 23 mins
    • Yield: 3-4 servings
    Print Recipe
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    Ingredients

    • 6–8 chicken legs
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • 2 tablespoons paprika
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon onion powder
    • 1 tablespoon chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
    • 1 cup water

    Instructions

    1. Rinse and pat dry chicken legs
    2. In a large ziploc bag, mix all the dry igredients, then add the chicken legs, 2 at a time and shake them in the mixture so they’re well coated. Continue until all chicken legs are coated with the rub.
    3. Add cup of water to Instant pot and place the trivet in pot. Add the chicken legs to the trivet with the large side down on the trivet and lean the ends against the side of the pot.
    4. Secure lid, set vent to “sealing” and pressure cook on high for 18 minutes, followed by a 5 minutes natural release, After the 5 minutes, go ahead and quick release the rest of the pressure.
    5. Set oven to broil setting and layout the chicken legs on a foil lined baking sheet. Brush the chicken legs with your favorite barbecue sauce. Broil for 5 minutes or until sauce is caramelized.
    • Prep Time: 5 mins
    • Cook Time: 18 mins
    • Category: Pressure Cooker
    • Cuisine: American

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    Comments

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      Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    1. Celesti says

      February 04, 2022 at 10:37 am

      Easy and very delicious. Used my air fryer attachment to complete the BBQ in lieu of my broiler. Thank you for the recipe.

      Reply
    2. Karla Dougherty says

      December 08, 2021 at 1:13 pm

      Great recipe you came up with. Thank you.

      Reply
    3. PG says

      July 19, 2021 at 12:54 pm

      If I’m cooking 20 chicken drumsticks, do I need to adjust the cooking time?

      Reply
      • RecipeTeacher says

        July 22, 2021 at 12:53 am

        Hi PG, if you can fit them in and they’re not all stacked up, the time should be the same. However, if they’re super crowded, you might want to consider two batches.

        Reply
    4. April Alt says

      February 05, 2021 at 7:19 am

      Yes. I agree. So good and so easy. Family loved it!

      Reply
    5. John Korkoe says

      August 12, 2020 at 9:10 pm

      Holy crap! Had frozen legs to use up, and ran across this recipe! Best bbq chicken I have had in my life.. cheap, fast, easy… will be looking at your other recipes!!!

      Reply
      • RecipeTeacher says

        August 13, 2020 at 10:15 am

        Thanks, John!!

        Reply
    6. Becky says

      January 26, 2020 at 6:37 pm

      Delicious! Definitely a hit! Eight wasn’t enough! Do you recommend cooking only 8 at a time? If I cook more, do I add more time?

      Reply
      • Debbie says

        February 01, 2020 at 1:44 pm

        That’s my question Becky. Can I cook 16-18 legs using same times or do I need to adjust?

        Reply
    7. Sondra Swierczynski says

      November 02, 2019 at 3:54 pm

      My husband said these are amazing!! He loves bbq chicken legs and wings. Definitely will make again!!

      Reply
      • RecipeTeacher says

        November 02, 2019 at 3:55 pm

        He’s a man with good taste! Thanks for the feedback, Sondra!

        Reply
    8. Jennette says

      April 13, 2019 at 8:18 pm

      Used frozen drumsticks with less water and they turned out really well!

      Reply
    9. Melissa says

      April 02, 2019 at 7:55 pm

      Second day in a row I’ve used one of your recipes with delicious results! Super easy & quick. We all loved it.

      Reply
      • RecipeTeacher says

        April 02, 2019 at 8:04 pm

        Thanks so much for the feedback, Melissa!

        Reply
    10. Patricia says

      February 08, 2019 at 5:07 pm

      Made this tonight, this is a keeper!
      Thank you

      Reply
    Newer Comments »
    Jason of Recipeteacher.com

    Hi, I’m Jason and i’m here to help you make easy, delicious homemade recipes. My approach is to provide the easy-to-understand instructions, use simple ingredients, and have you make the best meals possible.

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