Instant Pot Chicken Gizzards

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You’re gonna love this Instant Pot Chicken Gizzards recipe for making gizzards that are tender and easy to eat, with the perfect seasoning and crispy exterior.

Instant Pot Chicken Gizzards Recipe

Say goodbye to chewy chicken gizzards. We love this pressure cooker chicken gizzard recipe around our house, especially with our signature Chipotle dip.

In this recipe, the gizzards are tenderized in the Instant Pot, then breaded and deep-fried for that golden brown and crispy texture we all love.

We like to pressure cooker our chicken gizzards before frying them to make them extra tender to eat.

But don’t worry, you won’t need a lot of oil or frying time. It’s a quick finishing technique that you can do in minutes.

Then, we serve them up with a Chipotle sauce or with our favorite dipping sauce of choice.

You will never eat gizzards that are more tender and delicious!

Ingredients for Gizzards and Sauce

For the gizzards

• Chicken gizzards: I have to say these little chicken parts don’t look super appetizing when you look at them in their raw form, but they do cook up into something very delicious.
• Chicken broth: Instead of water as the cooking liquid, I use chicken broth to add more flavor.
• Crispy breading: eggs, flour, creole seasoning, smoked paprika

For the dipping sauce, optional

• Mayonnaise: I prefer Hellman’s mayo, but use your favorite brand.
• Ranch dressing: This is bottled dressing, not the dry seasoning/salad dressing mix. I like Hidden Valley brand, but use what you have on hand.
• Minced chipotles: These come canned or jarred and are found in the Hispanic section at your grocery store. Chipotles are smoked jalapenos and they are flavorful, smoky, and have LOTS of heat. Add them a little at a time, according to your desired tastes.

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Gizzards

Unpackage the gizzards and rinse them under cool water.

Use your fingers to be sure each gizzard is free of any debris.

Store-purchased chicken gizzards are typically sold already cleaned and ready to be cooked.

I still like to rinse and inspect them myself to make certain there are no gritty particles remaining anywhere.

Place the gizzards and broth into the Instant Pot.

Lock the lid into place and choose the high pressure setting for 25 minutes, bringing the Instant Pot to full pressure.

When the timer sounds, use a full natural release to remove the pressure – this should take about 15 minutes or less.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked gizzards from the broth in the Instant Pot.

Place them onto a paper-towel lined plate and pat dry.

Combine the flour, Creole seasoning blend, and the smoked paprika into a gallon bag.

Massage the bag to combine the ingredients.

Place the milk and egg into a shallow bowl. Beat to combine.

Working just a few at a time, add some of the cooked gizzards to the milk.

Then, place them into the bag of seasoned flour, using your fingers to coat them on all sides.

Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot (or in In a large skillet over medium high heat), add enough oil so that it’s about 1/2-inch deep across the bottom of the pan.

When the oil is nicely hot and sizzling, gently and carefully add the breaded gizzards.

Cook a few at a time so you don’t over crowd the pan.

Fry the gizzards a couple of minutes on each side, just until dark golden brown and crispy.

Remove to a paper-towel lined plate and repeat with the remaining gizzards until they are fried.

Serve the warm gizzards at once with the dipping sauce on the side. Enjoy!!

How long to pressure cook gizzards before frying

Pressure cook gizzards for 25 minutes before frying them.

Make sure to allow them to have a full natural release after the 25 minutes.

This will keep them from being tough.

Why should the oil in my skillet to be sizzling hot when I’m preparing to fry the gizzards?

Because we want our gizzards to be golden brown and crispy when done, they need to meet the oil when it is really hot, and not before.

Hot oil means the gizzards will brown quickly which is just fine since they are already fully cooked before they are breaded and fried.

How do I know when the oil is hot in my skillet?

I typically do the flour test. Sprinkle just a pinch of flour over the hot oil.

If it sizzles when the flour hits the surface, the oil is hot and ready to go.

Why does the recipe say to fry just a few gizzards at a time?

This is so you don’t overcrowd the pan.

Frying just a few gizzards at a time ensures there’s room around each one for the oil to get nice and hot as it circulates.

This will help the gizzards to brown more quickly, too.

Are chicken hearts and gizzards what I buy when I’m looking for gizzards at my grocer?

Yes. Many grocers package chicken hearts and gizzards together.

You will find that that majority are gizzards with just a few hearts mixed in.

I don’t care for the flavor of the hearts, so I typically don’t cook them but they can be made just the gizzards if you like.

Do store-purchased chicken gizzards need cleaned before I cook them?

Chicken gizzards that you purchase in a package at the grocer are typically already cleaned and butterflied, ready to be cooked.

Under running water, rinse all sides of the gizzards. I like to feel each gizzard with my fingertips to make sure they are free of any debris before proceeding with my recipe.

Do Instant Pot gizzards taste like the KFC fried gizzards recipe?

KFC has their own proprietary spice blend for their gizzards so this recipe will taste a bit different, but still super delicious!

What if I want to make a recipe for spicy chicken gizzards? Can this recipe be adjusted to be spicy?

Absolutely. You can add more of the creole seasoning to kick up the spiciness, or add in a bit of cayenne red pepper or red pepper flakes to the flour mixture to amp up the heat.

Which tools are helpful for making this recipe?

Electric pressure cooker – I have an Instant Pot that I use quite often, but my favorite electric pressure cooker is actually the 6-Quart Cuisinart. I’ve been using this brand of electric pressure cooker for years now and I love it’s simplicity.

Long-handled tongs for turning the gizzards in the oil and then transferring to a platter.

More favorite Instant Pot recipes to enjoy

• INSTANT POT GROUND MEAT NACHO DIP
• CHILI-D0G-CHILI BOWLS MADE IN THE INSTANT POT
• EASY INSTANT POT CHICKEN TENDERS WITH CREAM GRAVY