This delicious Instant Pot BBQ Chicken will give you delicious bbq pulled chicken in less than 30 minutes! With your one pot pressure cooker, you simply put all the ingredients in and with a short cook time you’ll have some perfectly cooked bbq chicken. With the weather getting warmer, everyone is craving a little BBQ! Serve this dish with some refreshing Iced Tea Lemonade on the side!
Table of Contents
Why it’s Awesome
It’s simple! This is a one pot dish which makes the clean up very easy. You don’t need a lot of previous experience to make this good BBQ recipe and it can be ready in 30 minutes or less! It’s an easy instant delicious chicken BBQ recipe with fixins suggestions too!
BBQ is so popular for a reason! The delicious flavor of the sauce cooked together with the chicken is a perfect combination. Friends and family will all love this recipe.
This is a gluten free recipe if you have anyone that can’t have gluten. You can serve it with gluten free bread as part of the fixins as well!
Key Ingredients
Chicken stock - You can use water in place of the one cup chicken stock if you don’t have it. For a sweeter sauce, use pineapple or apple juice instead of chicken broth.
Chicken - Boneless skinless chicken breasts are what this recipe calls for. If you want to experiment and try chicken thighs, just make sure to use an equal amount of chicken for the same cooking time.
BBQ sauce - My personal favorite barbecue sauce is sweet baby rays for it’s great flavor, but you can use any type of BBQ sauce you prefer!
Onion - Yellow or white onions are best in this and they will be grated with the juice included for cooking the chicken and you can also add some slices of onions for the fixins when you serve this dish.
Brown sugar - Depending on the sweetness of the BBQ sauce you are using and also your personal preference, you can add some brown sugar to the instant pot liquid to cook with the chicken.
Worcestershire sauce - A little bit of worcestershire sauce adds some tangy, savory and spiced taste to this recipe.
Fixins:
Hamburger buns - Or bread slices for serving this pulled chicken.
Pickles - Dill pickles are my favorite, but if you prefer sweet pickles go for it!
Cheese - Sliced or cubed cheese are great sides to add to your pulled chicken BBQ sandwich!
Jalapenos - If you like a little spice in your food, jalapenos have a great flavor profile with BBQ.
Coleslaw - One of the most essential sides in BBQ is coleslaw! The crunch and simple flavor balances perfectly with everything else on your plate.
Directions
Add all the ingredients, except the chicken breasts, to the inner pot of the instant pot. Whisk to combine.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place the trivet inside the inner pot and place the chicken on top of the trivet. If you don’t have a trivet, make a foil rope and wind it around the bottom of the pot.
Close and lock lid. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. When the cooking cycle ends, use a natural release for 5 minutes. Carefully release any remaining pressure by opening the steam release valve.
When the pin drops, open the lid. Check that chicken is fully cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Let rest for about 5 minutes.
If you want to thicken the BBQ, use the sauté function to cook the sauce down until it's reached the desired consistency. Otherwise, pour off all but one cup of the sauce, return the chicken to the pot and shred with a hand mixer. Add more sauce as needed.
If you prefer, you can shred or cut the meat on a cutting board and add more sauce as needed.
Recipe Tips
Be sure you're familiar with your pressure cooker. I made this in a 6 quart Instant Pot.
Be sure to cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Frozen chicken breasts can be substituted for fresh. Cooking time should remain the same, but it will take longer to come to pressure.
You can also add some chopped fresh pineapple, or a small can of crushed pineapple when you add the broth for additional fruity flavor.
FAQs
You can store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freeze in freezer safe containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and re-heat in the microwave.
This recipe combines BBQ sauce along with chicken broth, water or juice and other ingredients whisked together and then the chicken is cooked in that sauce. The chicken will absorb some of the delicious BBQ flavor as it cooks, which is what you want!
Overcooking is the main reason your chicken is rubbery. Also, not having enough liquid in the instant pot can make it become rubbery. If you stick to the suggested amounts of ingredients in this recipe, it will come out moist and tasty.
More Easy Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches
Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes
If you make this recipe, please give it a star ⭐️ rating and leave me a comment below! Let's connect on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken stock water, or juice
- 1.5-2 lbs chicken breasts- about 3 or 4
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika regular, smoked or Hungarian
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups BBQ sauce Sweet Baby Rays or your favorite
- ½ cup grated onion juice included
- 2-3 tablespoon brown sugar depending on sweetness of bbq sauce
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Fixins
- Hamburger buns or bread slices
- Sliced onions
- Pickles
- Sliced or cubed cheese
- Jalepenos
- Coleslaw
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients, except the chicken breasts, to the inner pot of the instant pot. Whisk to combine.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place the trivet inside the inner pot and place the chicken on top of the trivet. If you don’t have a trivet, make a foil rope and wind it around the bottom of the pot.
- Close and lock lid. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. When the cooking cycle ends, use a natural release for 5 minutes. Carefully release any remaining pressure by opening the steam release valve.
- When the pin drops, open the lid. Check that chicken is fully cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Let rest for about 5 minutes.
- If you want to thicken the BBQ, use the sauté function to cook the sauce down until it's reached the desired consistency. Otherwise, pour off all but one cup of the sauce, return the chicken to the pot and shred with a hand mixer. Add more sauce as needed.
- If you prefer, you can shred or cut the meat on a cutting board and add more sauce as needed.
Did you make the recipe? Share a tip here!