Instant Pot BBQ Chicken! Sweet, fall-apart tender and perfect for sandwiches, salads, BBQ plates and more!
This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is an easy recipe you can make for a weeknight meal. You can use in so many ways!
I like serving it on buns for chicken sandwiches or for a delicious meal over rice. It is also one of my favorite recipe for meal prep!
It’s also delicious in a BBQ chicken salad with romaine, black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado and ranch dressing. This chicken is versatile, easy and delicious!
However you serve it, this easy instant pot barbecue chicken is one of my favorite recipes for busy weeknights!
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe uses a combination of boneless chicken breasts and boneless thighs. I like the texture when
Onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, brown sugar and grated onion give this chicken delicious flavor.
The flavor of this BBQ chicken really depends on what kind of BBQ sauce you use. Use your favorite bbq sauce for this instant pot bbq chicken recipe!
How to Make Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
This instant pot pulled chicken can be made in 4 easy steps.
- Place the ingredients in the instant pot in this order: chicken broth (or water), chicken, onion powder, garlic, powder, paprika, salt, BBQ sauce, grated onion, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. (Do NOT stir. You want the water to stay on the bottom of the pot so the instant pot comes to pressure.)
- Place the lid on the instant pot making sure the valve is in the sealing position. Press manual (high pressure) and set the cook time to 15 minutes.
- Let the pressure natural release for 10 minutes. Then quick release the venting position to remove the remaining pressure.
- Remove the cooked chicken and shred it. Reduce the liquid by pressing the “saute” button and simmering the sauce until thickened if necessary. Add the shredded meat back into the sauce.
Note: This recipe has been updated since the video was published. In recent years I’ve recommended add a cup of water or chicken broth, not stirring, removing the chicken and reducing the liquid, then adding the chicken back in. This ensures the instant pot doesn’t give you the dreaded burn notice!
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.
For an allergy-friendly meal, enjoy this on toasted gluten-free buns with a side of my favorite Dairy-Free Coleslaw! You also might like these bbq nachos.
Expert Tips and Tricks
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. Use your favorite barbecue sauce!
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!
More Instant Pot Recipes
I hope you like this recipe as much as we do! If you try it be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken stock or water
- 2 lbs chicken thighs
- 1 lb 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 ingredients in the instant pot in this order: chicken stock (or water), chicken, onion powder, garlic, powder, paprika, salt, BBQ sauce, grated onion, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Do NOT stir. You want the water to stay on the bottom of the pot so the instant pot comes to pressure.
- 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. Then quick release the venting position to release the remaining pressure and open the pot.
- Remove the chicken and shred it. If necessary, reduce the liquid by pressing the "saute" button and simmering the sauce, stirring often, until thickened. Add the chicken back to the sauce before serving.
- Add more BBQ sauce if desired. Shred and enjoy on sandwiches, salads, BBQ plates and more!
I made this and it came out Great. I use an instant pot often and this recipe is the best chicken BBQ one that I have tried. in the instant pot. It is so easy.
I was hoping for a better turnout based on so many positive reviews. I made this exactly as directed and the texture was great (thanks for the thighs tip!) but found it incredibly bland. It definitely needed a bunch more salt and additional bbq sauce to doctor it up.
Tried this recipe last night and it turned out delicious! I substituted part Korean BBQ sauce for a bit of a kick and only had chicken breast available vs. thighs – same cook time and fell apart in the sauce! The sauce was a bit runny for me, so it may be beneficial to whisk some cornstarch with the stock or drain sauce at the end and use the brown/sautee option and whisk with cornstarch to thicken before adding back to the meat. Overall this is a great recipe.
This was a big hit for my family!!
What if you don’t have enough bbq sauce and can’t get to the store? Say only 1 cup of bbq sauce instead of 1 1/2 cups.
That should work!
I think this is the best recipe I’ve made so far in the instant pot.
Made this tonight and added a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar at the end. Then julienned an apple and soaked it in ACV as well to add some variation and crunch. So good!!! My toddler and everyone else devoured these
I am new to cooking with instant pots. I would like to try this recipe, but I always need to double the recipe because I have a large family. I just purchased an 8 quart instant pot. Would I double all ingredients? Should I change the cooking time? I read somewhere that when you have a larger pot, it takes longer to get up to pressure so you should actually decrease the cooking time. I must say the more I read, the more confused I get.
I am new to the world of instant pots. I have a big family and always need to double recipes. If I double the chicken for this in my 8 quart instant boot, should I double all the other ingredients?
Yes I would definitely double the other ingredients if you double the chicken. I would also add 1/4 cup extra chicken broth. I hope you like it!
Quick and easy and full of flavor!!!!! Definitely a keeper!!!!
Made mine with 4 large frozen chicken breast (omitting the chicken thighs) & I used 1 cup of 33% lower sodium chicken broth instead of the water and cooked in 6qt for 20 mins with a natural release for 10 mins. I removed the chicken to a plate and fork shredded. I emptied the liquid into a sauce pan and brought the liquid to a boil and boiled for 2 mins while constantly stirring after 2 mins reduce to a medium heat and continue stirring until sauce starts to thicken then add shredded chicken. Served on Brioche buns toasted and rubbed with a peeled garlic clove.
Fixed this for the first time and we loved it!
Can’t wait to try this! Aldi bbq sauce is really good, although it does have a lot of ingredients, like high fructose corn syrup. Will also probably make with minced onion!
My question for you is: can the chicken (If using chicken breast) be cut into chunks/strips versus shredded? Thank you!
Delicious! I followed the updated recipe to a T. Like a few others, I found the sauce a bit thin but a little corn starch and sauteing for a few minutes at the end helped to thicken the sauce up. I’d recommend this recipe any day.
I was googling a shredded chicken recipe for dinner tonight and stumbled into this wonderful blog!
I’ve become obsessed with OKB (Old Kentucky Barrel) BBQ sauce. They don’t use HFCS, molasses, honey, agave, etc. etc. which makes is AMAZING if you are trying to stick with the FODMAP diet. I’m not in the restriction phase so I don’t pay attention to the garlic used in the sauce—especially since I only struggle with fructose. So, this sauce tends to be great for FODMAP’rs out of the restriction phase!
The recipe was easy (I used all white meat) and delicious.