Get dinner on the table fast with this simple and easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks recipe. With only 5 ingredients needed, your family can enjoy tasty drumsticks in minutes in the pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks
Do you love drumsticks but need a quicker way to make them? This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks recipe will change dinner time at your home. Pick your favorite BBQ sauce and you will be surprised how tender and juice they are.
You can easily make these tender and flavorful drumsticks with very little effort. Everything goes into the pressure cooker for an amazing meal in minutes.
From family dinner to Game Day and parties, this instant pot recipe is so simple and perfect for any occasion. Everyone will go crazy over this chicken!
Instant Pot Chicken Legs Variation Ideas:
This recipe can easily be changed for what your family likes.
- Plain – Occasional I will just make plain drumsticks. One of my kids doesn’t care for BBQ sauce so he is extremely happy when I make some without any sauce.
- Buffalo Sauce – You can add in Buffalo sauce instead of BBQ sauce. We love buffalo sauce at my house so occasional I will make BBQ and Buffalo drumsticks.
- Other cuts of chicken – Even though chicken drumsticks work the best, you definitely use this recipe with chicken breast, chicken wings or chicken thighs. We love chicken recipes.
- Air Fryer Chicken – You can also put chicken drumsticks in your air fryer. They come out just as crispy.
What to serve with Chicken Legs:
BBQ chicken drumsticks can be served as an appetizer or as a main meal. When we have friends over we usually serve as an appetizer.
- They are great to be served with a raw veggie tray.
- Another favorite side dish is homemade macaroni and cheese
- Creamed corn or Steamed broccoli to complete your meal
- Potato Salad is a family favorite
- Corn muffins or corn bread would pair nicely
If I am making as a main meal for my family, I try to always serve the chicken legs with a veggie and a potato or rice. I just feel better knowing that my family is getting a complete meal.
Instant Pot is a game changer!
We rarely have time to stand over the stove and fry anything around here but everyone loves chicken drumsticks. The instant pot is the solution! I learned that you can easily make the best chicken legs in the instant pot drumsticks this way with hardly any work at all. The pressure cooker does all the work.
Once they are finished cooking, simple put them in the oven for a few minutes to broil them. This will give you that amazing crispy outside everyone loves without any of the work of frying!
Everyone devoured these and now this is the only way I make them. This recipe is so easy and delicious.
What all do I need to make BBQ Drumsticks?
- chicken drumsticks
- paprika
- cumin
- garlic salt or garlic powder
- BBQ sauce
As you can see this is the easiest recipe and just requires a few simple ingredients!
How do you make Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks?
- In a small bowl combine the paprika, cumin, and garlic salt.
- Next, sprinkle the seasoning over the drum sticks. You want to rub it all over each piece of chicken.
- Add the water to the instant pot. You don’t want the drumsticks touching the bottom so use the rack that came with the instant pot.
- Place the lid on top and set the valve to pressure to begin cooking the chicken.
- Set the pressure to 15 minutes to cook the chicken drumsticks. Do a quick release to natural pressure release. In just minutes, you will have the best chicken!
- Once they are finished cooking, place on a baking sheet lined with foil.
- Brush with BBQ sauce and broil in the oven for that nice crispy outside. It will take about 1-5 minutes. Cooking time will vary.
- Remove from oven, flip the drumsticks. Brush with remaining BBQ sauce.
- Broil another 1-5 minutes until brown.
- These drumsticks are perfect when served warm.
Make homemade BBQ sauce:
You can certainly use store bought BBQ sauce but it is very simple to learn how to make homemade barbecue sauce with very little effort! If you like more of a sweet barbecue sauce, add a little brown sugar to the slow cooker chicken.
Chicken drumstick recipes can be prepared so easily and without much work. We love this meal and have fun trying different variations. We have even cut up chicken breast or used regular chicken legs with this recipe. Chicken thighs are also delicious.
Can you use frozen drumsticks?
No worries if you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer. I have done this multiple times. That is why I love my instant pot so much. Rather your meal is frozen or thawed the instant pot does all the work.
If they are frozen, I would coat the drumsticks with the seasoning to ensure that the seasoning doesn’t fall off. You probably will need increase your time 5 minutes to make sure they are cooked thoroughly.
Try instant pot drumsticks frozen. Dinner will still be quick and easy!
Instant Pot Chicken leg quarters will be a hit!
The chicken is so tender but takes just minutes in the pressure cooker. It is perfect for parties or dinner with your family. We love to serve the drumsticks with ranch and blue cheese. It is so good.
Throw in celery and carrots for a simple and delicious meal idea. Pressure Cooker chicken legs are
Crispy drumsticks everytime!
This really is the best chicken. We love how crispy the chicken gets. Putting in the oven makes it crispy everytime.
The extra step of broiling in the oven really makes the outside just so perfect and crispy. This will give you the perfect amount of crispiness to the outside of the drumsticks.
This is a family favorite and one of our favorite meals. I love how quick and easy the instant pot makes this delicious recipe.
A good Instant Pot is a must!
I am using an 8 quart Instant pot but you can use a 6 quart. I personally have an Instant Pot and so far I am loving it. It’s really changed dinner time around here.
If you have been putting off trying an instant pot, I highly recommend going ahead and biting the bullet. I love using the pressure cooker when I don’t have much time. It is perfect for frozen food or meals that normally take a while. You can toss everything in and have dinner ready in no time at all.
Those days when you forget to take something out of the freezer or wait until the last minute for dinner, the instant pot is your saving grace. I am not exaggerating when I say it truly has changed meal time around here. We love ours and it makes soup recipes even easier.
You can also these Instant Pot Accessories to make pressure cooking a breeze. We just love to pressure cook and I am certain you will too. Dinner time is much easier and less complicated now that I have the pressure cooker. If you are hesitant or on the fence, don’t be.
No worries if you do not have a pressure cooker yet. You can make Crock Pot Drumsticks for a delicious meal idea.
Print this Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks recipe below:
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 lbs chicken drumsticks
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 1/2 cups bbq sauce divided
- 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the paprika, cumin, and garlic salt. Stir to combine
- Sprinkle over the drum sticks and rub all over.
- Pour the water in the Instant pot. Make sure you use the rack that came with the Instant pot to keep the drumsticks from touching the bottom.
- Place the lid on top and set the valve to pressure.
- Set the pressure to 15 minutes. Do a quick release to release the pressure.
- When finished place the chicken on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
- Brush half of the bbq sauce on the drum sticks. Broil for 1-5 minutes until it begins to brown.
- Remove from oven, flip the drumsticks, and brush with the remaining bbq sauce.
- Broil another 1-5 minutes until brown.
- Serve hot. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Check out these Instant pot drumstick recipes:
I too, used the idea of adding white rice to the left-over liquid after the chicken was done….. WOW.. not only the chicken very good, would have been better if i had made my own BBQ sauce, rather than store-bought stuff I had to modify,……….. the the rice was absolutely wonderful………. I could have made a meal with the rice alone….LOL
Excellent idea…………….. I’ll do it again for sure………………thank you for the suggestion IMNOTANUMBER
Can I stack the drumsticks or should I cook them in a single layer twice?
I stacked mine and it worked great!
How long do I cook my drumsticks if I am cooking 15 and do I just lie them on the rack that came with,the pot and stack them on top of each other?
I would use the rack and stack them on top of themselves and it should work great!
How much time do I add if there frozen and can I add potatoes
If the drumsticks are frozen, I would add 3-5 minutes to the cook time based on how many drumsticks you are making and yes, adding potatoes will work great!
Do you have a crockpot version of this? I don’t have an instant pot.
Yes the crock pot version can be found here – https://www.eatingonadime.com/crock-pot-drumsticks/. Thank you!
Making these today
Will let you know how much I like them.
I hope you enjoy them!