Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
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You’re hungry and craving BBQ but the weather is not cooperating, what are you going to do? You are going to pull out your handy, dandy Instant Pot and make this amazing Instant Pot BBQ Whole Chicken for dinner!! See how simple that was? All you need is a whole chicken, your favorite seasoning and barbecue sauce…oh, and some onion and garlic if you have it!
For even more delicious pressure cooker recipes, check out the Instant Pot Recipes page.
I took all of the basic principles behind my crazy delicious Instant Pot Barbecue Ribs and used them here to create an Instant Pot BBQ Chicken that your entire family will love and probably fight over!!
How to make Instant Pot BBQ Whole Chicken:
If you are searing the chicken:
Rub chicken with one Tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the onion wedges and garlic cloves inside the chicken.
Turn on the pressure cooker and press the Sauté button.
When the display reads “HOT” add the remaining olive oil to the metal pan. Place the chicken in the pan breast side down and sear/brown both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
Remove the chicken and set aside. Place the trivet at the bottom of the metal pan and add the chicken stock, bourbon or water.
If you are not searing the chicken:
Place the onion wedges and garlic cloves inside the chicken.
Sprinkle seasoning mix over the entire chicken, rubbing it in and spreading it around to cover the entire chicken.
Place the chicken, breast side up on top of the trivet. Add the liquid and secure the lid.
Make sure the lid is in the “Sealing” position, not “Venting”.
Set the pressure cooker to Manual and set timer for 30 minutes by pushing the + or – buttons.
When the timer beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally. Carefully remove the lid.
Very carefully remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and place it on a baking sheet or cast iron skillet.
Brush with barbecue sauce and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes until bubbly and caramelized.
Allow chicken to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Cravings fulfilled!
Recipe Notes & Tips:
- For a prettier presentation use baker’s twine to tie the legs together before cooking.
- My chicken was 4 1/2 pounds. The general rule of thumb is to cook for 6 minutes per pound so I rounded up to 30 minutes.
- Each pressure cooker is different so times may vary depending on brand, temperature of chicken when you begin cooking, even the size of your pressure cooker can make a difference.
- You do not have to use a trivet, but the bottom of your chicken will be soggy if you don’t.
- I used my favorite Southwest Seasoning, but any BBQ Rub will work.
- As for the liquid, I used 1/2 cup of bourbon and 1/2 cup of water because I was using my Bourbon and Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce. Any liquid will work, beer, water, chicken stock, your choice.
I chose not to sear/brown my chicken this time because so many people complained about the process in my Instant Pot Faux-tisserie Chicken recipe. You can do it either way, it still works wonderfully….but your skin will be less rubbery if you brown it first. You will not achieve crispy skin by searing/browning, you need to roast it in the oven to do that! 🙂
Tools used to create this Instant Pot BBQ Chicken:
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- 6 quart Instant Pot
- Trivet with Handles -mine came with my pressure cooker, some do not.
- Cast Iron Griddle
- Metal Tongs – to flip the chicken when browning.
I use my fingers and grab the handles on the trivet to remove the chicken. Yes they are hot, but not hot enough to stop me from doing it. 🙂 Pull the handles to the center to hold the chicken in place while you allow the juices to drain back into the pot. I need an additional pair of hands to get that image. 😉
More delicious Instant Pot Chicken recipes for you to try:
- Instant Pot Faux-tisserie Chicken – #1 recipe on Cooking with Curls
- Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma
- Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
- Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken
I served my Instant Pot BBQ Chicken with Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes and created the perfect comfort meal! 🙂
Enjoy!!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 pound whole chicken (giblets removed)
- 2 Tablespoons seasoning (southwest or BBQ rub)
- ½ large onion (cut into wedges)
- 2 large cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
- 1 cup liquid (chicken stock, water, bourbon, beer)
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
If you are browning the chicken:
- Rub chicken with one Tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the onion wedges and garlic cloves inside the chicken.
- Turn on the pressure cooker and press the Sauté button. When the display reads “HOT” add the remaining olive oil to the metal pan. Place the chicken in the pan breast side down and sear/brown both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
- Remove the chicken and set aside. Place the trivet at the bottom of the metal pan and add the chicken stock, bourbon or water.
If you are not browning the chicken:
- Place the onion wedges and garlic cloves inside the chicken.
- Sprinkle seasoning mix over the entire chicken, rubbing it in and spreading it around to cover the entire chicken.
- Place the chicken, breast side up on top of the trivet. Add the liquid and secure the lid. Make sure the lid is in the “Sealing” position, not “Venting”.
- Set the pressure cooker to Manual and set timer for 30 minutes by pushing the + and – buttons.
- When the timer beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally. Carefully remove the lid.
- Very carefully remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and place it on a baking sheet or cast iron skillet.
- Brush with barbecue sauce and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes until bubbly and caramelized.
- Allow chicken to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- For a prettier presentation use baker’s twine to tie the legs together before cooking.
- My chicken was 4 1/2 pounds. The general rule of thumb is to cook for 6 minutes per pound so I rounded up to 30 minutes.
- Each pressure cooker is different so times may vary depending on brand, temperature of chicken when you begin cooking, even the size of your pressure cooker can make a difference.
- You do not have to use a trivet, but the bottom of your chicken will be soggy if you don’t.
- I used my favorite Southwest Seasoning, but any BBQ Rub will work.
- As for the liquid, I used 1/2 cup of bourbon and 1/2 cup of water because I was using my Bourbon and Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce. Any liquid will work, beer, water, chicken stock, your choice.
Wonderful recipe! Slim pickings for ingredients in my kitchen, thanks to the COVID-19 isolation, but even without the onion and garlic, it was tasty and moist.