Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks In Italian Sauce (2024)

Published: Mar 15, 2018 · Modified: Jan 5, 2024 by Irena Macri · This post may contain affiliate links · 48 Comments

Rich in Italian tomato sauce with herbs and garlic and meat falling off the bone, these Instant Pot chicken drumsticks are great for the whole family. Following our step-by-step instructions and recipe tips, you will see just how easy it is to make this chicken recipe with accessible and affordable ingredients. Serve Italian chicken drumsticks with pasta, rice, quinoa, polenta or veggies. This recipe is gluten-free, paleo and Whole30-friendly.

Please note, the recipe has been updated slightly based on everyone's comments and experience and our further testing. The main change was adding a little bit of water to the cooking broth and a little more tomatoes.

Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks Italian-Style

This is an Italian-inspired recipe for Instant Pot chicken drumsticks, in which the meat is bathed in a tasty garlic and thyme tomato sauce and pressure cooked until falling-off-the-bone tender.

Making this dish in an Instant Pot pressure cooker means you can have it done and dusted in no time. It's also healthy and budget-friendly!

The tomato sauce is rich and flavorsome and there is plenty of it to go over pasta noodles, rice, quinoa or polenta. It can be reduced to be even thicker using the Saute setting after cooking is complete.

The chicken drumsticks can be served whole or you can shred the meat off the bone and stir it through the sauce.

We hope you enjoy this delicious chicken drumstick recipe!

More Like This: And if you like this recipe, make sure to check out our Instant Pot Chicken Scarpariello which has a similar vibe to this dish, or try the Italian-inspired Instant Pot poached chicken with creamy tomato sauce. For something hearty and comforting, this chicken, lemon and orzo soup might tickle your fancy. This recipe has been featured in our roundups for best Instant Pot Italian Recipes and 45+ Top Instant Pot Chicken Recipes.

Ingredients

• Chicken - You can use chicken drumsticks or/and wings or chicken thighs in this recipe. Diced chicken breast or turkey meat is also lovely in this dish. We used skin-on chicken thighs, which add more richness and fat (remember = flavor!) but feel free to use skinless drumsticks if you want to reduce calories.
• Onions - we love red onions for this dish but yellow ones are absolutely fine too, as are shallots.
• For flavor- lots of garlic, fresh thyme, lemon zest, salt, pepper and a little chili powder of flakes.
• For broth - canned diced tomatoes (½ to ⅔ cup) is what we used but you could replace it with passata or tomato sauce of your choice; aged or caramelized balsamic for acidity and sweetness but if you don't have this on hand, regular balsamic with a teaspoon or two of honey or sugar could be used. For Whole30 version, use regular unsweetened Balsamic.
• Water or stock - In our original recipe we didn't add any water or stock and only used canned tomatoes, however some people experience the Burn error due to not enough liquid (this really depends on the model of the Instant Pot). So, we've decided to add ¼ cup of water or chicken stock to the bottom of the pot before the chicken is added.

How To Make Chicken Drumsticks In Instant Pot

You will find the full recipe card with ingredients and nutritional info below. Here are some step-by-step photos and quick instructions.

• Step 1. Saute onions with ½ teaspoon salt for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden. Then, add ¼ cup of water or chicken stock and stir through the onions.
• Step 2. Add the chicken drumsticks and sprinkle with the rest of the salt, pepper and chilli, then add the thyme, lemon zest and whole garlic cloves.
• Step 3. Follow with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Spread ingredients evenly between the chicken drumsticks but don't stir through completely. Set to Poultry setting or Pressure Cook/Manual for 15 minutes on High pressure. Once done, leave the pot undisturbed for 5 minutes (Natural release), followed by quick releasing the remaining pressure.
• Step 4. Open the lid and stir through the chicken if needed. If you like a thicker sauce, remove the chicken pieces but leave the sauce in the pot. Press the Sauté button again and let the sauce cook off and reduce slightly for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then return the chicken to the sauce.

Watch How To Make It

Recipe Tips

• If you don't have aged or caramelized Balsamic vinegar, use regular Balsamic with 1-2 teaspoons of honey or sugar added on top.
• Chicken drumsticks can be with or without the skin. If you want to reduce the calories, remove the skin.
• If cooking chicken drumsticks with the skin on, they will release some fat into the sauce, which adds extra flavor and richness. However, once cooled, the sauce might get a little jelly-like consistency due to the collagen and fat released from the chicken during cooking. Once the sauce is reheated, it will be back to normal consistency.
• You can make this recipe with chicken thighs or breasts as well.
• This Italian garlic and thyme sauce is really versatile and would work superbly well as a base for a beef or lamb stew as well. And for a vegetarian version, you can use the sauce with beans or lentils and mushrooms.

What To Serve With Italian Chicken Drumsticks

Once cooked, you can serve the drumsticks over rice, pasta noodles or spaghetti, mashed potatoes, creamy polenta or vegetables together with the gorgeous, rich sauce poured over the top.

We like to shred the meat off the bones and mix it through the sauce.

Full Recipe

Find the full list of ingredients, instructions, and a nutritional breakdown below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let us know in the comments, and make sure torate this recipeso it’s easy for others to find.

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