Instant Pot Jerk Chicken {with Crock Pot Instructions}

This Instant Pot Jerk Chicken recipe uses a flavorfully spicy and delicious caribbean marinade that can be eaten over anything from rice to pasta or stuffed into tacos! This easy pressure cooker recipe can be made with either chicken thighs or breast.

Instant Pot Jerk Chicken

I love Caribbean food dearly! It was truly love at first bite. I rich flavors and colors of the caribbean made it easily one of my favorite places in the world to experience and eating was indeed my favorite activity while there. When I returned home I was super excited to get to work in the kitchen creating some of these caribbean classic recipes and found that pressure cooker jerk chicken is one I can make authentically with all the bold flavors in very little time!

Find more great Easy Instant Pot Recipes here!

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What you need:

• fresh garlic cloves
• fresh ginger
• yellow onion
• scotch bonnets or habanero peppers
• coconut aminos
• apple cider vinegar
• fresh lime juice
• salt, pepper, dried thyme, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg 
• chicken thighs or chicken breasts
• Instant Pot or Crock Pot
• large glass mixing bowl
• tongs

Substitutions for this recipe:

• Coconut aminos – you can substitute either soy sauce or gluten free tamari here if you prefer and are not soy free. The flavor will change slightly however, become saltier and you will loose the sweetness that the coconut aminos provide so keep that in mind. I would recommend eliminating 1 teaspoon of salt and adding 1 Tablespoon of either honey or sugar to the recipe if you are making a substitution here.
• Apple cider vinegar – distilled white vinegar or red wine vinegar would also work.
• Fresh lime juice – while you can technically use concentrate I highly recommend squeezing a fresh lime to obtain the best flavor in this recipe.
• Scotch bonnets and Habanero peppers – both peppers are incredibly spicy, if that’s not what you’re looking for you can omit them from this dish so that you have a flavorful marinade without the spiciness.

How to make Instant Pot Jerk Chicken

This Instant Pot Jerk Chicken recipe is made in only a few simple steps. First, assemble your ingredients and pulse the marinade in a food processor. *It should be noted that anytime you are handling chili peppers, it is best to wear gloves and never touch your face! In a pinch you can use zip lock baggies in place of gloves. The same is true of the marinade, use utensils instead of your hands.

Place the raw chicken in a large glass mixing bowl and pour the sauce from the food processor over the chicken. Use tongs to toss the chicken in the marinade and then cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to marinate for 1-8 hours.

Once the chicken has marinated remove the bowl from the fridge and using tongs transfer the chicken to the Instant Pot and pour in the marinade over the chicken. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and cook for 30 minutes.

Once the chicken has finished cooking you will shred the chicken and toss it back into the sauce to soak up the juices and even more flavor.

*Full instructions and ingredients are listed in the recipe card below.

How to make Jerk Chicken in Crock Pot

If you’d like to make Jerk Chicken in slow cooker all you need to do is plan ahead! The ingredients and process stays the same but you will need at least 6 hours to cook this recipe on low or 3 hours to cook on high.

Tips for making Jerk Chicken:

• Gloves, gloves and more gloves – It can not be understated that you will want to wear gloves at all times when working with these spicy peppers. The oils of the peppers stay on your skin even after washing your hands for a long time. You will also want to avoid touching the marinade with your hands as well and utilize tongs to mix the chicken through the sauce.
• Spice level – It’s hard to control the exact spice level of a dish with chilis as the heat of each individual pepper can vary quite a bit. If you are concerned about the heat level of the dish, be sure to remove the seeds and white membrane inside the pepper (wearing gloves!) and be sure to taste the cooked chicken once shredded before tossing back through the sauce. The chicken will become such spicier once tossed through the sauce.

How to make this Jerk Chicken Whole30 or Paleo

The marinade and chicken for this recipe is already both Whole30 compliant and Paleo. Keeping it that way depends on how you serve it. Instead of jerk chicken and rice this recipe would be lovely as a jerk chicken wrap or jerk chicken salad.

What goes with jerk chicken?

I love this jerk chicken with the sweetness of mango squeezed with lime juice. Grilled or fresh pineapple would also be amazing as would coconut rice and black beans. For more great side dishes, see the links below.

Jerk Chicken Sides:

• Creamy Classic Coleslaw
• Roasted Radishes
• Mexican Street Corn Salad

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Instant Pot Jerk Chicken

• Author: Nicole
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Lunch & Dinner
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: Jamaican

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Description

This Instant Pot Jerk Chicken recipe uses a flavorfully spicy and delicious caribbean marinade that can be eaten over anything from rice to pasta or stuffed into tacos! This easy pressure cooker recipe can be made with either chicken thighs or breast.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Jerk Marinade:

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with skin removed
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, skin removed (the pack of a spoon works well to peel)
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, roughly chopped
• 1–2 scotch bonnets or habanero peppers, seeds removed if desired to reduce the heat
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1.5 teaspoons unrefined sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Chicken:

• 2 lbs boneless skinnless ButcherBox chicken thighs or breasts

Garnishes:

• 2 mangos, cut into cubes
• 1–2 jalapenos sliced
• green onions, sliced
• fresh lime juice
• fresh cilantro leaves

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Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients, except chicken, in the food processor and pulse until the mixture is slightly chunky but blended.
2. Add the chicken to a large glass mixing bowl and pour the marinade overtop the chicken, toss the chicken with tongs to coat.
3. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 8 hours. (The longer you marinate the more flavor and spice will be infused into the chicken.)
4. Remove the chicken from the fridge and transfer the chicken with the marinade into the Instant Pot.
5. Lock the lid, set the steamer valve to sealing and select high pressure / manual for 30 minutes.
6. Once the cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure.
7. Using clean tongs, transfer the chicken from the Instant Pot to a plate or cutting board and shred with two forks. Then return the shredded chicken to the Instant Pot and toss to coat in the sauce and juices.
8. Serve over rice or in tacos with diced mango, jalapeno slices, green onions, squeeze of lime juice and/or cilantro. Eat and enjoy!

Crock Pot Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients, except chicken, in the food processor and pulse until the mixture is slightly chunky but blended.
2. Add the chicken to a large glass mixing bowl and pour the marinade overtop the chicken, toss the chicken with tongs to coat.
3. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 8 hours. (The longer you marinate the more flavor and spice will be infused into the chicken.)
4. Remove the chicken from the fridge and transfer the chicken with the marinade into the Crock Pot.
5. Cover with the lid and set to LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.
6. Once the cooking time is complete, use clean tongs to transfer the chicken from the Crock Pot to a plate or cutting board and shred with two forks. Then return the shredded chicken to the Crock Pot and toss to coat in the sauce and juices.
7. Serve over rice or in tacos with diced mango, jalapeno slices, green onions, squeeze of lime juice and/or cilantro. Eat and enjoy!

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Notes

*Scotch bonnets and Habanero peppers are both incredibly spicy peppers, if that’s not what you’re looking for you can omit them from this dish so that you have flavorful marinade without the spiciness.

Keywords: instant pot jerk chicken, jerk chicken in crock pot, instant pot jamaican jerk chicken, jerk chicken in slow cooker,

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