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This easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken recipe makes easy pulled chicken in the pressure cooker in about 30 minutes. A quick dinner for busy weeknights! Your whole family will love this easy recipe, and it’s also perfect for meal prep!
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Easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
This easy recipe for BBQ chicken is one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes for a busy day. Seriously, this recipe is incredibly simple and makes the best pulled chicken in just 30 minutes. I have made this BBQ shredded chicken hundreds of times since I first published it years ago, and it never disappoints. I’ve updated the instructions to make it even easier, so if you’re new to IP cooking, be sure to read my helpful cooking tips before starting.
If you’re looking for quick and easy dinner recipes, especially easy chicken recipes, this one’s for you! Barbecue pulled chicken is also a big hit with the kids. Even my picky eater likes this easy dinner recipe!
I have an awesome recipe for pulled BBQ chicken in the Crock-Pot , but making BBQ chicken in the pressure cooker is so much faster than the slow cooker. And since I don’t always plan ahead, this is why I love Instant Pot dinner recipes.
Plus, it’s a very versatile recipe. You can use it to make chicken sandwiches, sliders, wraps or quesadillas. You can even use the shredded meat to top nachos, baked potatoes or salads.
Ingredients
You only need a handful of simple ingredients for this Instant Pot barbecue chicken recipe. If you don’t already have them at home, you can find them in your grocery store. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- Olive oil — or non stick cooking spray to prevent the BBQ sauce from sticking
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Sea salt
- Garlic powder
- Pepper
- Your favorite barbecue sauce — Use 1 cup BBQ sauce plus more after cooking, if desired
- Water or chicken broth — to help the pressure cooker reach pressure
How to make BBQ chicken in Instant Pot
This Instant Pot shredded chicken is pretty much a dump and go dinner. First, add a little olive oil or non stick spray to the bottom of the pot.
Next, add water or broth to your electric pressure cooker. Then, all you do is add the boneless skinless chicken breasts to the pressure cooker, season them and top them with your favorite BBQ sauce.
Do not stir the sauce — leave it on top of the chicken breasts. Otherwise, the sugars in the BBQ sauce could burn at the bottom of the pot.
You have to add water or chicken broth, since BBQ sauce is so thick. I tried to get away with using only a quarter cup water the first time, but I got the dreaded burn notice and had a messy pot to clean afterwards. Half cup water works much better! If you are using an 8 quart Instant Pot, add 1 cup of water.
I have made this chicken recipe hundreds of times now, and I have never gotten another burn notice!
You can always drain the extra liquid out of the pot after pressure cooking, but if you don’t add enough liquid, the pot won’t come to pressure.
Pressure Cooking Time
Pressure cook the chicken for 10 minutes on high pressure followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release. You can do a quick release for the remaining pressure after that or allow a full natural release. If your chicken breasts are very thin, you can cook the chicken for 8 minutes with an 8 minute release.
When the chicken is done, I usually shred it with an electric hand mixer. You can do it with two forks, but the mixer is much faster. It’s my favorite way to shred chicken!
My kids have fun helping with this part! You can add more BBQ sauce if you need to. I usually serve BBQ sauce on the side in case people want to add more.
And that’s all there is to it! Serve BBQ pulled chicken with Instant Pot potato salad or corn on the cob for a delicious meal. You guys, this easy chicken dinner is a lifesaver, especially on crazy busy days!
Recipe Variations
You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of boneless chicken breasts, if you prefer. The cook time for boneless thighs remains the same.
Make Instant Pot BBQ chicken breasts instead of pulled chicken. Just serve the pieces whole instead of shredding them.
You can also vary the seasonings. Sometimes, I add minced onions or onion powder, brown sugar or smoked paprika or chili powder.
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftover BBQ chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it’ll last for about 4 days. For longer storage, freeze it an a freezer safe container.
Reheat individual portions of pressure cooker BBQ chicken in the microwave. Leftover shredded chicken tastes great sandwiched between brioche buns, as part of a BBQ chicken salad, or enjoyed on its own!
Recipe Tips
Never stir the BBQ sauce and water together before pressure cooking. This will prevent the burn notice.
If there is a lot of liquid in the pot after pressure cooking, remove some of the liquid before making pulled BBQ chicken in Instant Pot. You can add it back in while shredding if needed.
Add more BBQ sauce after you shred chicken if needed.
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to shred chicken. It’s the easiest way!
Does BBQ Sauce Count as Liquid in Instant Pot?
Not really. You need a thin liquid like water or broth along with the BBQ sauce to help the pot build pressure.
Can You Make this with Frozen Chicken?
You can also make this easy meal using frozen chicken breasts or frozen chicken thighs. Frozen chicken in the Instant Pot works best if it is in a single layer and not a large clump.
Pressure cook frozen chicken for 15 minutes. If you do have frozen chicken stuck together, cook it for to 20 minutes. Be sure that the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees. If not, you can add another 5 minutes to the cooking time.
More Pulled Chicken Recipes
If you love pulled chicken, try our Instant Pot salsa verde chicken and salsa chicken — to make Instant Pot chicken tacos (delicious tacos) — and our Instant Pot Buffalo chicken and Instant Pot Buffalo chicken dip!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 pounds
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Add olive oil to inner pot of pressure cooker, and place chicken in pot
- Add water, and sprinkle sea salt, garlic powder and pepper over chicken, then pour BBQ sauce over chicken. Do not stir!
- Place lid on pot, turn vent to Sealing position, and hit PRESSURE COOK for 10 minutes. Pot will take a few minutes to pressurize, and chicken will cook for 10 minutes
- After pot beeps, allow a 10 minute natural release, then do a quick release to release remaining pressure. When pin drops, remove lid, and use hand mixer or 2 forks to shred chicken before serving
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you do try this delicious recipe, please leave a star rating and/or comment. For more easy recipes, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter!
Great recipe! Did 4 thick chicken breasts, 10 minute, 20 natural release (I totally spaced out) and it came out great. It did come out watery but I used a fork to drain it a bit. Kids loved it husband had a second serving so this is definitely a staple now. Oh and the hand mixer, you’re a genius!
Aww, thanks — but it does help! Thanks for the sweet comment!
Big hit with the kids.
Thank you so much, Jessica. So happy they liked it!
Not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I always get the “food burn” warning when I put meat directly into the pot without the trivet. I used the trivet after getting the warning and everything came out fine. Any suggestions on what I might need to do differently to avoid that?
It could be several things. Some of the newer models are more sensitive. There could be residue on the bottom of the pot, which triggers the warning. The sauce may have stuck to the bottom of the pot. You can try adding the water first, and then, the chicken and remaining ingredients next time. Also, try to make sure the sauce is only on the chicken. You can also add the sauce after pressure cooking if that’s easier. Hope this helps! 🙂
This was super good!! Only thing is it was a little more liquidy than I expected!! So I drained the chicken afterwards, shredded it and poured some sweet baby rays over the chicken! Super delicious.
Thanks for sharing, Lisa. I’m glad you liked it!
HAND MIXER SHREDDING TECHNIQUE FOR THE WIN!
Do I need to adjust the cooking time if I’m using thin sliced chicken breasts?
It depends how thin they are, but I sometimes do 8 minutes with 8 minutes slow releases when they’re really thin, and they come out perfect.
Really liked the recipe as the chicken was delicious.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the BBQ chicken!
Do you the weight of the 3 breasts approximately? I’m using 2 breasts and need to adjust the ingredients.
I usually have around 1.5 pounds of chicken, sometimes 2.
I tried this last night for my two kids and it was hit! So quick and easy.
So glad you all liked it. Thanks, Nik!
This was easy and delicious! I wanted thicker BBQ sauce so I set the instapot to sauté and added cornstarch to thicken it.
Thanks, Lori! So glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic! Was easy and delicious. Great dish for a crowd.
Thanks, Susan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
It wasn’t bad but if you are not a fan of garlic, I recommend doing a half of a teaspoon
Hi there,
Do you need to keep the trivet in while cooking this recipe?
The chicken goes directly in the pot — no need to use the trivet.