Learn how to make a delicious, tender, and juicy instant pot whole chicken. This Instant Pot Chicken recipe is perfect for busy weeknight dinners and is a real crowd pleaser.
This recipe is a staple for our family. It makes getting dinner on the table quick and effortless, and it always turns out absolutely delicious.
You’ll end up with tender chicken that falls off the bone while being perfectly seasoned with crispy skin. It’s my favorite way to cook a whole chicken, hands down.
We love to serve this whole chicken with a side of sauerkraut, sweet potatoes or crispy cast iron potatoes. We also love to serve it alongside a fresh salad with veggies from the garden and homemade dressing.
Truly, this Instant Pot chicken recipe is so versatile, and makes meal prep so much easier.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy – Making a juicy chicken in the instant pot is the easiest way to cook a whole bird because it all happens in one pot, making cleanup an absolute breeze!
Fast – This recipe makes cooking chicken so quick and simple. Plus, you can keep reading to learn how to cook a frozen whole chicken in a fraction of the time it would take to defrost it and make roast chicken in the oven.
Versatile – I love making this easy recipe because it leaves you with cooked chicken that can be used in an abundance of chicken recipes. A great way to use leftovers would be to make southwest chicken salad or to throw into a soup like creamy chicken and gnocchi soup or homestyle chicken noodle soup from scratch. You can also use the leftover carcass to make instant pot bone broth.
Ingredients
Whole Chicken – We like to use whole chickens from a local farm for the best quality, but you can get a whole chicken at most any grocery store.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Instant Pot Whole Chicken
Step 1: Set your Instant Pot (IP) to the sauté function. Get a tablespoon of oil going really hot. If you want it to have that crispy texture or that rotisserie flavor, you want to brown the outside first to lock in those juices. With the Instant Pot, you can do it all in the same pot.
Step 2: Once the oil is nice and hot, you place in the chicken, breast side down. Brown for 4-5 minutes. Use tongs to check the brownness.
Remove the chicken, place chicken on the trivet and put the chicken back in the bottom of the instant pot. This allows the chicken to cook without sitting in the water.
Step 3: Remove the chicken, place chicken on the trivet and put the chicken back in the bottom of the Instant Pot. This allows the chicken to cook without sitting in the water.
Sprinkle salt, fresh black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and herbs (dried or fresh) over the top.
Step 4: Add one cup filtered water to the pot.
Make sure the silicon ring is on the Instant Pot, place the lid on in the correct position, and set the top knob to sealing.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Let the pressure naturally release for about 20 minutes.
Step 6: Remove chicken and slice. Serve and enjoy!
How to Make A Frozen Whole Chicken In The Instant Pot
Step 1: Pull from the freezer and cut off the plastic.
Step 2: Place in the Instant Pot with a couple cups of water.
Step 3: Place the lid on and set to sealing.
Step 4: Set it on high pressure for 60-90 minutes.
Step 5: Allow the pressure to naturally release for 20 minutes.
Step 6: Determine if chicken is completely cooked. I’ve done it as low as 60 minutes, but sometimes when I do this low amount of time, the chicken is not totally cooked. If that happens, just cut the meat off the bone and throw it into a cast iron skillet to sauté with some butter, herbs or spices, and salt and pepper.
Tips
- The cook time listed is based on the size of your chicken being ~4 pounds. If you have a larger chicken, you will need to add about 10 minutes per pound of chicken.
- You could set this for twice the amount of time and the chicken will still be tender, so no need to worry about overcooking.
- Make sure to remove the giblets from the cavity of the chicken before cooking.
- The oil can splash, so place the chicken in the oil gently.
- No Instant Pot? Here’s how to cook a perfect roast chicken in the oven.
Recipe FAQs
Store leftover chicken pulled from the bone and shredded in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Freeze for up to 3-4 months.
This recipe takes 30 minutes to cook a 4 pound whole chicken in the Instant Pot, with an additional 20 minutes to allow the pressure to release. If your chicken is larger than 4 pounds, it will need about 10 minutes more added on to the cooking time per pound.
When done cooking, the internal temperature of your chicken should read 165 degrees Fahrenheit on a meat thermometer.
I like to season whole chicken with a blend of onion powder, garlic powder, and an assortment of herbs such as oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning, and parsley. However, this is a recipe that works great with whatever variety of seasonings you like. Lemon pepper is delicious as well as paprika and poultry seasoning. Get creative with your seasonings based on the type of flavor you want in your end result.
More Instant Pot Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe
- Easy Instant Pot Apple Sauce
- The Easiest Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe
- The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
How To Make a Chicken In The Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 whole thawed chicken, about 4 pounds
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon herbs – fresh or dried, oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning, parsley, etc.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot (IP) to the saute function.
- Get a tablespoon of coconut oil going really hot. Any meat I like to cook in the Instant Pot, if you want it to have that crispy texture or that rotisserie flavor, you want to brown the outside first to lock in those juices. With the Instant Pot, you can do it all in the same pot.
- Once the oil is nice and hot, you place in the chicken, breast side down.
- Brown for 4-5 minutes. Use tongs to check the brownness.
- Remove the chicken, place the chicken on the trivet and put the chicken back in. This allows the chicken to cook without sitting in the water.
- Sprinkle over top 1/2 tsp each of salt, fresh black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and herbs (dried or fresh). Sometimes I'll use a blend, like Italian seasoning, or just thyme or oregano. Paprika may also be good – experiment with what you like!
- Add one cup filtered water to the pot.
- Make sure the silicon ring is on the IP, place the lid on in the correct position, and set the top knob to sealing.
- Set the IP to high pressure for 30 minutes.
- Let the pressure naturally release for about 20 minutes..
- Remove chicken and slice.
Notes
- We like to use whole chickens from a local farm for the best quality, but you can get a whole chicken at most any grocery store.
- The cooking time listed is based on the size of your chicken being ~4 pounds. If you have a larger chicken, you will need to add about 10 minutes per pound of chicken.
- You could set this for twice the amount of time and the chicken will still be tender, so no need to worry about overcooking.
- Make sure to remove the giblets from the cavity of the chicken before cooking.
- The oil can splash, so place the chicken in the oil gently.
- If you have a whole frozen chicken that is not yet defrosted, see the blog post to learn how to cook it in the instant pot from frozen.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you keep the broth it makes from cooking?
You are part of the reason why I have begun to eat meat after many years, your food looks so good it’s made me hungry! I am going to try this recipe today, and want to tell you how it turns out because I am sure it will be great! I have no idea what I’m doing and have been overcooking all my chicken because I don’t know how to assure it’s safe to eat. I feel confident if I were to overcook it in the instant pot, that maybe it wouldn’t be as dry as overcooking another way 🙂 God bless you and I can’t wait to tell you how it turns out! Love, Emma
I just tried some of my first instant pot chicken and it is so good!! It is so moist and flavorful and I am so thankful for your help! I had to learn that to naturally let it release you just let it sit and do nothing for 20 minutes, and I can’t believe now that I used to be so afraid of using an instant pot, this is as easy as microwaving but so much better. Thank you for your inspiration and recipes! I want to cook more things in the instant pot and from your recipes too! Thank you and God bless you! Love, Emma 🙂
Lisa! Love your channel and style of cooking, which is similar to mine but only for my family of 3. Would love to know what you do with your giblets. I’ve tried a few different things and they all just seem like a pain and I don’t end up using the product, and I know this stuff is gold!
Any recommendations for feeding ever growing boys? I feel like Im in the kitchen cooking all day long. They are always hungry.
I just tried this and all the beautiful browned skin just stuck to the bottom of my instant pot 🙁 any tip for preventing this?
When cooking a frozen chicken in the instant pot…what about the giblets? They are usually in plastic???
The ones I buy aren’t in plastic, but if they were I would probably just cook it that way and then pull it out when it’s done. I feel like most of it would just cook out into the water anyway.