Instant Pot BBQ Chicken! Sweet, fall-apart tender and perfect for sandwiches, salads, BBQ plates and more!
This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken makes an easy, weeknight meal you can use in so many ways! I like serving it on gluten-free buns or over rice.
It’s also delicious in a BBQ chicken salad with romaine, black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado and dairy-free ranch (I like Tessemae’s Creamy Ranch) This chicken is versatile, easy and delicious!
The flavor of this BBQ chicken really depends on what kind of BBQ sauce you use. I used to use Sweet Baby Rays and still love the flavor – but don’t love the ingredients.
I asked a bunch of my gluten-free blogger friends what their favorite gluten-free BBQ sauce is and they all said Stubbs. (This is not sponsored – just meant to be helpful!)
Stubbs is gluten-free and doesn’t contain high-fructose corn syrup. My favorite flavor is Stubbs Sweet Sticky BBQ Sauce. You can get it for such a good price on Amazon!
I like using a combination of chicken breasts and chicken thighs for the meat. The meat turns out so much more moist this way than compared to using all chicken breasts.
I used to make BBQ chicken in the slow-cooker all the time, but now I prefer it in the instant pot. It is so easy to throw everything in and walk away. Plus it takes just a fraction of the time.
Enjoy this on toasted gluten-free buns with a side of my favorite Dairy-Free Coleslaw!
Notes about this recipe:
Use Gluten-Free Worcestershire Sauce: Not all brands are gluten-free so check the label! I use Lea and Perrins which is gluten-free.
Choose a Good BBQ Sauce: The flavor of this chicken is highly dependent on what kind of BBQ sauce you use. I love the flavor of Sweet Baby Ray’s – but lately I’ve been using Stubbs Sweet Sticky BBQ sauce (such a good price on Amazon!) because it doesn’t contain high-fructose corn syrup.
Chicken Breasts + Thighs = Yum: I like using a combination of chicken breast and thighs in this recipe. The chicken thighs keep the dish moist and delicious!
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Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
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Prep Time: 5 - Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time:
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Pin RecipeDescription
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken! Sweet, fall-apart tender and perfect for sandwiches, salads, BBQ plates and more!
Ingredients
- 2lbs chicken thighs
- 1lb chicken breast
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup grated onion (plus juice)
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Place the chicken thighs, chicken breasts, onion powder, garlic, powder, paprika, salt, BBQ sauce, grated onion, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce in the instant pot. Stir to combine.
Place the lid on the instant pot making sure the valve is in the sealing position. Press manual (high pressure) and set to 15 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Shred and enjoy on sandwiches, salads, BBQ plates and more!
I have an instant pot but rarely use it, mostly because it intimidates me. I saw this recipe and thought I’d give it a try and I’m so glad I did!!! The chicken turned out perfectly, it was super quick and even my pickiest eater approved!!
★★★★★
I’m so glad it turned out for you! 🙂
Could you make this with just chicken breasts? Would the cook time change?
Yes – the cook time would remain the same!
Hi Erin. This recipe looks really good. I am excited to try it. 🙂 I’m also looking for a way to do pulled pork in my instant pot. Would I do at the same way as this?
I would really appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks
Hi Erin. For whatever reason I’m not sure you are seeing my comments. I commented here just to sort of bump my other one so you might see it.
Thanks for your help
Loved making this recipe. This was my first attempt with my new instant pot and what a success! After I was finished taking out the chicken I used the saute feature to thicken the sauce afterwards as mine had thinned quite a bit.
★★★★★
I agree. Way too thin. Sauté is the way to go. Great recipe regardless
★★★★
Hi Erin! This recipe looks amazing. I followed it exactly using Stubb’s BBQ sauce and tried to make it in a 6qt Instant Pot, but I got a burn message before the cooker pressurized. Any idea where I might have gone wrong and how to fix it?
I get this same error every time I make this also. It’s super frustrating. I have to keep opening the pot and stirring and try again. It never fully pressurizes
It is likely because there is not enough water. You need to add about 1/2 cup of water as well.
This looks great, can’t wait to try it! Is it possible to use frozen chicken with this recipe?
It should be no problem, just will take a bit longer to come up to pressure.
★★★★★
Don’t you need to add water for the pressure aspect?
How much does it make? How many people does it feed? If double recipe, wool or take longer to cook… i’m not am experienced instant pot cooker!
I’m surprised to see no liquid in the recipe! I’ve started making this and am nervous to hit start on the instant pot now haha. So the bbq sauce and Worcestershire sauce is enough liquid for the instant pot to cook properly?
This was so easy to make
I used frozen chicken so my spices and barbecue sauce were not very well stirred and I was just going to see how it worked – the answer is perfect, without a problem! As it cooked and the chicken released it’s own juice, it all slid to the bottom and the bubbles helped stir it 🙂
Chicken was so tender it was shredding itself as I stirred it all together!
I did a bit of sautéing and also added some corn starch to get it to my desired thickness.
I’m using this chicken and some IP rice to make quesadillas tomorrow and I’m pretty excited <3 thank you for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Thanks for reporting back! So glad it worked out for your. It would be delicious in quesadillas!
How long did you set pressure for the frozen chicken?
I used frozen chicken breasts and Stubbs BBQ sauce. It was fantastic!
★★★★★
Great! I’m glad it turned out for you!
Flavor of this was great! But my instantpot was mad at me and didn’t come up to pressure. I figured out that the BBQ sauce was too thick to count as a liquid and I had to add water. Once I did that, it came up to pressure.
Good to know it worked better when you added water! Thanks for the comment 🙂
I had to cook the chicken much longer than the recipe stated… maybe I put too much chicken.
Really delicious once it cooked!! I will try and make it again!
I just made this tonight and it tasted great. However, the sauce was a little thin. Any suggestions?
Make this every week. Really great recipe for football season.
So glad you like it! 🙂
This was the first recipe that I made in my instant pot and it was delicious!! Will definitely be making this again.
★★★★★
This is a staple in our house. You can use this bbq chicken for so many different recipes! I love how easy it is to make.
★★★★★
Can you use frozen chicken and if so how long for cooking?
Getting burn message. Read through comments so now with Hail Mary I am adding water. Crossing fingers for second attempt. Would be awesome if you could add note in recipe that water may need to be added.
I tried making this and my chicken wasn’t done at all. I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong. I put it back on for an additional 15 minutes. I’m hoping it cooks. The sauce tasted great before I cooked it. It smells amazing!
The flavor is beautiful and family loves this! I have trouble with having to restart it several times because it shuts down and says it’s burning. I find that I have to add water each time to get it to finish cooking.
★★★★
Is the cook time the same if the chicken is frozen? And do you add water and how much?
We love this recipe, especially my carnivorous son! I did get the BURN notice twice and with both times I just used chicken breasts. I’m thinking mixing in chicken thighs adds more juice since I don’t get the burn notice when I use both thighs and breasts. Thanks for the recipe!!
★★★★★
I do not have an instapot. Any idea if this could be made in a crockpot?