This Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe features succulent bone-in chicken with boldly spiced Caribbean flavors, beautifully finished on the grill. This tender, juicy chicken with aromatic jerk spices can also be made in the oven.
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If you’re looking for a change from traditional barbecue chicken, you’re going to love this boldly spiced Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe.
Authentic Jamaican jerk chicken has the perfect blend of spices (sweet, sour, hot), is grilled in the ‘jerk’ style, and is sold at roadside stands throughout Jamaica.
Absolutely scrumptious! Served it with rice and beans made with coconut milk. This will be a family favorite. Thank you so much!
Carolyn says ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jerk chicken is normally made with Scotch bonnet / Caribbean red peppers, which are a relative of the habanero pepper and are very spicy, with a slightly sweet touch. Another important flavor component in Jamaican jerk chicken recipes is allspice.
This is my interpretation of Jamaican Jerk Chicken, adapted for the Instant Pot.
I don’t use chicken breasts in my cooking much – I much prefer the taste of chicken thighs and drumsticks, which are especially well-suited for the Instant Pot.
I find that meat cooked in the Instant Pot is perfectly tender with no babysitting required. And I like the flavor and look of finishing the chicken on the grill. It takes less than 5 minutes of grilling time – just enough to give the chicken a nice sear.
I love to serve Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken with fried ripe plantains, black beans and rice, and a peach mango salsa. So good!
To make the fried plantains, peel them, cut them on a bias, and fry them in a non-stick frying pan with a little bit of oil until both sides are a rich golden brown.
Be sure to use plantains and not bananas, and they should be ripe. A ripe plantain looks kind of over-ripe in the photo above.
➡ If you’re looking for more grilled chicken recipes, try my tandoori chicken, peri peri chicken, and Korean chicken.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients for Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
🌶️ Spice Level: This recipe uses mild Jamaican jerk seasoning. Want more heat? Add hot sauce or finely chopped Scotch bonnet peppers to the marinade—but use sparingly, they’re fiery! Substitute milder chili peppers if preferred.
🥣 Marination: I don’t marinate the chicken ahead of time, and it still tastes amazing. However, if you marinate the chicken for 4 to 6 hours, it will be even more flavorful.
🍶 Pickapeppa Sauce: Pickapeppa sauce is a Jamaican tamarind condiment is available in most grocery stores near the barbecue sauces or on Amazon.
💦 Reducing Sauce: Watch for splatter when reducing the sauce. Use a splatter screen to protect your countertops.
🔥 No Grill?: Finish the chicken under the oven broiler instead, turning once until both sides are caramelized. Or skip the grilling, and pressure cook the chicken for 12 minutes.
🍗 Pre-Made Option: Try authentic Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning for grilling. I haven’t tested it in the Instant Pot, but if using, thin it out with water first.
How to Make Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken
⏲️ Instant Pot Instructions
- Stir together ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, Pickapeppa sauce, Jamaican jerk seasoning, and salt in the Instant Pot.
- Add chicken pieces and stir to coat.
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- The display will go from On to 10:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a quick release of pressure. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened. You can choose to do a natural pressure release (NPR) if you’re not going to grill the chicken.
- Remove chicken pieces from the inner pot and set aside.
- Press ‘Saute’ and reduce the marinade/sauce until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. If necessary, use a splatter screen to prevent splatters.
- Grill chicken for just enough time to get sear marks and to give it a grilled look and flavor, about 2 minutes per side. You can either baste each side while you grill, or coat the chicken in the sauce before placing it on the grill.
♨️ Oven Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with oil.
- Mix the sauce ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Reserve half the sauce for serving.
- Coat the chicken pieces with the sauce.
- Arrange the chicken on baking sheet.
- Bake chicken for 50 minutes to 1 hour, flipping halfway through and basting with sauce.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon Pickapeppa sauce
- 1 tablespoon Jamaican jerk seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 chicken thighs or drumsticks
Instructions
Instant Pot and Grill
- Stir together ½ cup ketchup, ¼ cup dark brown sugar, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon Pickapeppa sauce, 1 tablespoon Jamaican jerk seasoning, and 1 teaspoon salt in the Instant Pot.
- Add the 6 chicken thighs or drumsticks and stir to coat.
- Close Instant Pot Lid.
- Pressure cook for 10 minutes on High Pressure.
- Do a quick release of pressure and carefully open the Instant Pot. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods].
- Remove chicken pieces and set aside.
- Press Saute and reduce the sauce until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Use a splatter screen if necessary, to prevent splatters.
- Grill chicken for just enough time to get sear marks, and to give it a grilled look and flavor, about 2 minutes per side. You can either baste each side while you grill, or coat the chicken in the sauce before placing on the grill.
- Serve with peach mango salsa or fried plantains, and beans and rice. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
Oven
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with oil.
- Stir together ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, Pickapeppa sauce, Jamaican jerk seasoning, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Reserve half the sauce for serving.
- Coat the chicken with the remaining sauce and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
- Serve with peach salsa or fried plantains, and beans and rice. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
Notes
- Adapted from Cuisine at Home magazine Weeknight Meals
- If not finishing on the grill, increase pressure cooking time to 12 minutes.
- Natural Pressure Release also works fine for this recipe.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Tracey says
While it didn’t quite taste like the Jerk Chicken i got when I was in Jamaica , it was absolutely delicious with a very unique flavor. We finished it on the charcoal grill and it was a hit with the whole family. So easy and the directions were very easy to follow and on point.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks Tracey, I’m glad you liked the flavors anyway!
Devin says
Simply awesome! We seem to always have the ingredients available. We use the broiler on occasion when the grill is unavailable. Always finger-licking tasty either way! Thanks for this recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hey Devin, thanks for the feedback. I haven’t made this in ages, I just forgot about it. I’m putting it on my list!
Devin Downing says
Super tasty, the sauce was very savory (in the most positive way) and the chicken was tender and juicy. Recommend 10 minutes in the instant pot, as per the chef’s recommendation and a couple minutes on each side on the grill at high temp. So good! Thanks for sharing!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
That’s so great to hear, Devin. Thank you for your comment and I’m very happy to hear you liked it!
kt says
So amazing!! Serve with pidgeon peas and rice. Added a fresh jalapeno to the sauce. Really good!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
I’m excited to hear you enjoyed the recipe – thanks for getting in touch!
Ricardo Gonzales says
Just found u and will try ur recipes. Thanks 4 sharing
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Ricardo, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the recipes!
Shanthini Jayanthan says
I will make it one of these days. Are the legs skinless or with skin ? Like to make with skinless.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hey Shantini, great to hear from you 🙂 I use skinless chicken. Hope you like it.
Caren says
We love this recipe. My husband requests several times a month or whenever we have company. I just broil in my oven instead of on grill. Can make a head too.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Caren, that’s so great to hear that your family loves the recipe so much <3 Thanks for your comment.
Janet Manswell says
I sautéed chopped onions, garlic and 1/2 of a scotch bonnet pepper first then I added the rest of the ingredients. It was delicious!!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Awesome, Janet! Those scotch bonnets go a long way – must have added a nice spicy touch!
Enakshi says
Hi, what would be the time if I used boneless thighs instead of bone-in thighs?
Love all your recipes and have tried quite a few of them – always delicious!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Enakshi, great question. If you’re going to be grilling the chicken afterward, cook for about 6 minutes. You can do 7 to 8 minutes if you’re not going to grill.
Joanne says
Hi! I’m new to the IP and am planning to make this in the coming days. I’m planning on using chicken legs but my brother in law only eats white meat. How can I manage to use both dark and white meat and adjust the cooking time accordingly? Suggestions please because I’m really anxious to try this recipe out!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Joanne, the way you could make it work is to keep the white meat as a large piece. Do you normally cook chicken breast in the Instant Pot – I don’t really like to because it tends to be tricky to keep moist and can become chewy and tough.
edie alford says
Very good and easy to make with items found in most spice drawers. I did have the suggested Walkerswood Jamaican Jerk seasoning on hand. As mentioned I t is good on its own for quick seasoning. I used it through out this recipe and with basting before grilling . Loved this quick dish.
Debbie Loftus says
Very delicious and super easy! I put everything together and set it in the frig several hours before cooking to let it marinade. Used 2 leg quarters for 12 minutes with NPR since I wasn’t grilling for final step. We both LOVED the flavors!
In your notes you mention prep time doesn’t include skinning chicken, minced garlic etc. This recipe didn’t have garlic listed. Do you include garlic? I went ahead and tossed in a clove of minced.
What I really love about your recipes is the included photo of ingredients! The visual of seeing everything needed is helpful and overall your recipes are easy to follow and well done!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Debbie – sorry! It’s a cut and paste editing error. There is no garlic in the recipe. What did you think with the garlic?
Christina says
Hello, this looks delicious. I often cook for a crowd of people, and like to make things as simple as possible the day of cooking the meal. Can these be made in the instant pot A day before serving, and then grilled the day of? Have you ever tried that? I would love to know your thoughts.
Thanks!
Christina
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Yes, you sure can prep it ahead of time. I do that often with food I plan on grilling for company. Pressure cook, remove meat, cool sauce and skim off fat. You can even store the sauce and chicken together and the flavors are stronger the next day.
Susan C says
Two questions. I will try this recipe tonight, I am using thighs but doubling the quantity. Have you had any issues with doubling the recipe?
I will broil after, will using thighs make a difference in timing? Should I still try cooking for 10 min?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Susan, thighs may require about 1 minute less time. Regarding doubling, it can be hit-or-miss with doubling some recipes with bone-in chicken. You can have issues with sealing if the chicken is too packed in. I think I’ve added a couple of more pieces and been fine. And adding more liquid can dilute the recipe. You could give it a try and just keep an eye on it. Good luck.
rob says
Excellent, I could not find the pickapepper sauce, I used Scotch bonnet sauce instead. I would absolutely recommend this recipe. Can’t wait to make it again. thank you
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Rob! I’m glad you liked the recipe. The pickapeppa sauce reminds me of A-1 steak sauce or even Worcestershire sauce. A tangy, sweet combination. In case you wanted to try and add a few drops next time.
Shannon says
What if I don’t have a grill? Should I leave it in the IP longer?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Shannon, if you can broil it in the oven for a couple of minutes, that’ll give you a similar result. If you can’t broil it either, then cook the chicken for one more minute.
Greg says
Enjoyed this. I tried Worcestershire as a substitute for pikapepper sauce, and it came out OK. Perhaps the final product tended towards BBQ rather than jerk chicken, but the flavor was still good (could also have to do with the 1 T of dark soy sauce I had to use because I ran out of the light stuff.
I should add, however, that the 12 minutes for the chicken in the IP seemed a bit excessive. Mine came out well after 10 minutes. I’ve been finding most IP recipes have way too long of a cook time, and the meat is actually getting rubbery because of it.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Greg, thanks for your comment. Hope you get to try it out again 🙂 I think you’re right, I have been meaning to update the recipe to say that you can use less time especially if you’re grilling afterwards. You’ve reminded me to make that change, thanks!
Monica says
If I could give this 6 stars I would! This is so flavorful. This dinner in the instapot is a snap, so quick and easy. Great weekday dinner. I roasted some broccoli and cooked up some quinoa, dinner in 30 minutes. I used my 8 quart instapot and did not change the recipe as it turned out great. Well, I did leave out the brown sugar, since we are trying to cut down on sugar in our home, but it still tasted wonderful.Thanks Ms. Neena.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Monica – you’re so sweet! Thanks for sharing and I’m always happy to hear that your family liked a recipe!
Cecile says
what is a good substitute for pikapeppa sauce?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Cecile! Pickapeppa sauce has a very unique flavor because of all the ingredients in it: cane vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, onions, raisins, sea salt, ginger, peppers, garlic, cloves, black pepper, thyme, mangoes, and orange peel. It tastes kind of like a spicy worcestershire, which might be a good substitute. You could add some extra spice with a chopped chili pepper or some cayenne powder.
Lea says
Delicious! used boneless chicken breasts and cooked them for 6 minutes and grilled for a couple of minutes. Thanks for the detailed instructions, perfect for newbs!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Lea, I tend to use thighs and legs so I’m glad you were able to modify the recipe for your needs. Thanks for the feedback and good luck with your new IP!