Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
May 16, 2024
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Instant pot BBQ chicken is an easy meal that can be made in about 30 minutes. Made with a simple homemade BBQ sauce, this Instant Pot chicken recipe is one our family makes frequently. I love serving this chicken in sandwiches, on salads, nachos, and more.
Instant pot BBQ chicken is a great meal that requires little effort. This shredded chicken can be served in a variety of different ways to make dinners the whole family will enjoy.
This BBQ chicken recipe is also great for meal prep. One of my favorite things to do is to make this chicken on Sunday and use it for the next few meals.
Ingredients needed for BBQ chicken in the Instant Pot
I like making a homemade barbecue sauce for this simple recipe. It’s made with ketchup, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, butter, sugar, salt, paprika, chili powder, and ground mustard.
Chicken breast is my chicken of choice for this recipe. You can substitute with chicken thighs or use a mixture of both.
How to make Instant Pot BBQ chicken
- Start by mixing the sauce ingredients in the Instant Pot. Press the Saute button and add the sauce ingredients. Whisk until the butter has melted.
- Add in about 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts. You can also use thighs if you prefer.
- Place the lid on the IP and press the Poultry button. It will take a few minutes to come to pressure.
- Once the chicken has cooked, let the IP do a natural release of pressure. (This takes about 10 minutes). Once the pin has dropped, you can open the lid.
- Remove the chicken and shred. Return the chicken to the pot and cover in sauce.
How to serve Instant Pot BBQ chicken
- I love serving this with yellow rice and a side of steamed broccoli. The juice of the chicken goes well with the rice.
- You can serve the chicken on hamburger or slider buns. It makes a delicious chicken sandwich.
- Use the chicken for tacos or nachos.
- Serve the chicken and sauce on top of mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower.
- This is so good on a BBQ chicken pizza.
Some great BBQ chicken side dishes are cucumber salad, grape salad, pasta salad, baked potato, and so many more.
Heather’s recipe tips
- If you are making this for a larger crowd or meal prep, you can double the recipe.
- You can shred the chicken with a fork or put it in a mixer and mix until shredded.
Common questions
Yes, you can substitute the homemade sauce ingredients with 1 cup of bottled sauce.
Yes, you can add the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Shred the chicken and return back to the slow cooker until ready to serve.
You can use frozen chicken but I do recommend fresh chicken if possible. The chicken will take a little longer to come to pressure. Just make sure that the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
More easy chicken recipes
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot on Saute mode and add butter, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, chili powder, paprika and dry mustard. Whisk until butter has melted.
- Add chicken to Instant Pot and cover with lid. Select Poultry mode.
- When cooking time is done, let the Instant Pot do a natural release of pressure.
- Remove chicken and shred with fork. Add chicken back into pot with the sauce and stir to cover chicken with sauce.
- Serve with rice, on a bun, a taco shell or mashed potatoes.
Notes
- If you are making this for a larger crowd or meal prep, you can double the recipe.
- You can shred the chicken with a fork or put it in a mixer and mix until shredded.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How many minutes do we set for cook time? 20? On high? My instant pot does not have a poultry button
Hi Ally!, You can put it on pressure cook for 15 minutes.
Does the 20 minute cook time include the NPR time?
Hi Tara,
Yes, for mine the total time was 20 minutes including the NPR.