Learn how to make a delicious, tender, and juicy whole chicken, all in the instant pot. This Instant Pot Chicken recipe is perfect for when you are busy and need to get dinner on the table. Follow my favorite tips below when making this and how to use this tasty chicken.
This recipe is something our family relies on quite a bit. We are able to get dinner on the table really quickly, even when cooking a whole chicken.
I would definitely recommend buying and cooking a whole chicken, since you get all the different cuts of meat, it’s less expensive, and you can order them from a local farm for a little cheaper than purchasing at the grocery store.
We usually order our whole chickens from a local farm, stock up when we go, and put them in the freezer.
I’ve previously shown you how to make a roast in the Instant Pot. It is basically the same process with this whole chicken, but you brown up some onions and carrots and then the meat in some oil.
The meat is so tender that it falls off the bone while the skin is perfectly seasoned and crispy. 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, and some fresh veggies from the garden, like tomatoes or some salad with homemade honey mustard dressing.
Truly, this Instant Pot chicken recipe is so versatile, and makes dinner and lunch prep so much easier. Find out more ideas on how our family likes to use a whole chicken below.
Tips For Making A Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- The time listed below is based on cooking a 4-pound chicken . If you have a larger chicken, you will need to add about 10 minutes per pound.
- 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 before cooking.
- The oil can splash, so place the chicken in the oil gently.
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Tools you will need:
Instant Pot
Instant pot trivet
Tongs
Measuring spoons
How To Make A Whole Chicken In The Instant Pot Video
How To Make A Whole Chicken In The Instant Pot
- 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.
- Add one cup filtered water to the pot.
- 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!
- 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.
How To Cook A Whole Frozen Chicken In The Instant Pot
- Pull from the freezer and cut off the plastic.
- Place in the IP with a couple cups of water.
- Place the lid on and set to sealing.
- Set it on high pressure for 60-90 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release for 20 minutes.
- 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 with some butter, herbs or spices, and salt and pepper.
Check out our favorite family Instant Pot recipes:
- Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot
- How to Cook a Roast in an Instant Pot
- Summer Meal Ideas – Healthy Summer Recipes
- How to Make Yogurt in the Instant Pot
- Bone Broth in the Instant Pot
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Recipe Card
How To Make a Chicken In The Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 whole thawed chicken
- 1 cup 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.
- Add one cup filtered water to the pot.
- 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!
- 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
- The time listed below is based on cooking a 4-pound chicken . If you have a larger chicken, you will need to add about 10 minutes per pound.
- 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 before cooking.
- The oil can splash, so place the chicken in the oil gently.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How To Use A Cooked Whole Chicken
This recipe also works well if you want to make a Mexican dish. Just take it off the bone and pair it with some peppers and onions, some salsa, and organic tortilla chips, avocado or guacamole. So good.
In the summer, I love to make it into chicken salad by picking the meat off the bone and putting it into the fridge to chill, and then adding some mayo and a few ingredients to make different chicken salad variations. Later this week, I’m going to share 3 chicken salad recipes, so stay tuned.
Another easy way to use the chicken from this recipe is to throw the meat in with some veggies and homemade chicken stock, salt, and some seasonings for a simple soup.
How do you naturally release the Instant Pot?
Once the Instant Pot is done cooking, you just leave it to naturally release the pressure on it’s own. It will usually take 10-20 minutes to naturally release. Once it has completely released the pressure, the lid will turn with no effort.
If the lid is still hard to turn, it has not released all of its pressure.Leave it and try again in a few minutes.
To quick release the pressure, flip the top knob from sealing to venting. Be very careful to watch for steam!
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.