Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is saucy, tender, and so easy to make. It makes the best BBQ chicken sandwiches and is perfect for feeding a crowd!
I love making shredded chicken in the Instant Pot because the chicken stays tender and juicy, especially when it’s cooked in sweet and tangy BBQ sauce. My other favorite pulled chicken recipes include these Instant Pot Chicken Tacos. And if you like this BBQ chicken recipe, you’ll love my Instant Pot Pulled Pork!
This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is one of my go-to recipes when I need a quick and easy meal for my family. It’s super fast to prep and it’s one of those crowd-pleasing dinners that everyone likes. For a make ahead version, try my Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken.
This BBQ pulled chicken makes the best BBQ chicken sandwiches, especially served on brioche buns with homemade coleslaw. Add in some sweet potato fries or homemade french fries and dinner is done! See more favorite Instant Pot chicken recipes.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Pulled Chicken
- Chicken Broth: Chicken broth is needed to thin the BBQ sauce so that you don’t get the Instant Pot burn message. I recommend using low sodium chicken broth so that you can better control the amount of salt in the dish.
- BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite store bought brand or try my homemade barbecue sauce.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Adds a little extra tangy flavor.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, chili powder, salt and black pepper add flavor. If you like a bit of a smoky flavor, you can also add 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
- Chicken Breasts or Chicken Thighs: You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. Or, use a combination of breasts and thighs for a delicious mix of white and dark meat.
How to Make Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Here’s an overview of how to make BBQ chicken in the Instant Pot. Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions below.
- Stir together chicken broth, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar and the seasonings in the Instant Pot.
- Add the chicken to the pot.
- Pressure cook for 16 minutes at high pressure.
- Let the pot naturally release for 10 minutes. Then quick release any remaining pressure.
- Remove chicken to a clean bowl and let it rest for a few minutes. Then shred the chicken.
- Stir the remaining BBQ sauce into the sauce in the Instant Pot. If you want the sauce thicker, simmer it for a few minutes using the sauté function.
- Stir the sauce into the shredded chicken. Serve on burger buns, or as desired.
Can I Use Frozen Chicken?
Yes! It is safe and easy to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot. You can use frozen chicken breasts in this recipe, keeping the cook time the same. The Instant Pot will take a few extra minutes to reach pressure if your chicken is frozen. However, if your chicken breasts are frozen AND very large, you should increase the cook time to 18 minutes plus a 10 minute natural release.
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Recipe Tips
- The cook time is the same for boneless, skinless chicken breasts and boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- If you prefer a sweeter BBQ chicken, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of brown sugar before cooking.
- Cooking BBQ sauce in the Instant Pot can sometimes give you a burn warning if you aren’t careful. To prevent this, the recipe calls for adding only part of the BBQ sauce before cooking and the rest after cooking. We’re also thinning the BBQ sauce out with chicken broth before cooking. Since the 8 quart pot is often more prone to the burn message, I tested the recipe in both my 8 quart and 6 quart pots and it worked well in both.
- This recipe is perfect for feeding a crowd. You can 1.5x or double the recipe in a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot, keeping the cook time the same. Just don’t exceed the max fill line on your Instant Pot. The pulled chicken and sauce can be kept warm using the Instant Pot’s warm function. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers within 2 hours of cooking for food safety.
What to Serve with BBQ Chicken
Besides the classic sandwich, there are many ways to enjoy this Instant Pot BBQ chicken:
- Make a BBQ Chicken Salad.
- Serve it in tortillas as a wrap or taco.
- Add it to nachos or quesadillas.
- Make BBQ Chicken Sliders.
- Enjoy it on BBQ Chicken Pizza.
Side dishes that go well with a BBQ chicken sandwich include Instant Pot Potato Salad, Sweet Potato Fries, French fries and Fruit Salad. Or try one of these Healthy Side Dishes.
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cups BBQ sauce, divided
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, use ½ teaspoon if using water instead of broth
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, or boneless skinless chicken thighs
- burger buns, if desired, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the chicken broth, ½ cup of the BBQ sauce (reserve the remaining BBQ sauce for after cooking), apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper in the Instant Pot. Whisk until well combined.
- Nestle the chicken into the sauce.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam release valve to the sealing position. Set the cook time to 16 minutes at high pressure. (The cook time is the same for fresh and frozen chicken.) See the note at the end of the recipe for more cook time information.)
- The Instant Pot will take about 15 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down. When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes by leaving the Instant Pot alone (no need to press anything).
- After 10 minutes, carefully move the steam release valve to the venting position. Once all of the steam has escaped and the pin drops down, carefully open the Instant Pot lid. Check that the chicken has cooked to at least 165° F using an instant read thermometer.
- Remove the chicken to a clean bowl or cutting board and let it rest for a few minutes.
- Stir the remaining ¾ cup of BBQ sauce into the sauce in the Instant Pot. If the sauce is not hot enough after stirring in the reserved BBQ sauce, you can heat it briefly using the saute function, stirring often. You can also simmer the sauce on saute to thicken it a bit, if desired.
- Shred the chicken using two forks, your fingers, or a stand mixer. Stir some of the sauce from the pot into the shredded chicken. Serve BBQ chicken on burger buns, with extra BBQ sauce, or as desired.
Notes
- If your chicken breasts are very large AND frozen, increase the pressure cook time to 18 minutes at high pressure, plus a 10 minute natural release.
- If your chicken breasts are very small and not frozen, reduce the pressure cook time to 12 minutes at high pressure, plus a 10 minute natural release.
- Nutrition information estimate is for BBQ chicken only (not burger buns), and assumes that all of the sauce will be consumed, which it may not be.
I’ve made this a few times now, I add a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper for a bit more kick and use sugar free BBQ sauce (I’m diabetic) and it has come out perfect every time! Thanks!
Great recipe! I made bbq chicken nachos and they turned out great
Looks good. Gonna make this week. I will let you know how it turns out. Great reviews…
Exactly what I was craving. I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbeque sauce, my favorite. My husband loves it and he HATES chicken. We had sandwiches last night, tonight we’re having wraps.
This recipe is a winner! We loved how moist the chicken is with that great combination in the sauce. We used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue Sauce also. We love pulled pork, but this may have replaced it in our favorites list. Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic recipe.
This was a quick and easy recipe! I did remove some of the liquid from the pot before adding the second amount of bbq sauce. I think it would have been pretty soupy if using it all, but that would definitely be personal taste. When I make again I would probably add some onion for added flavor.
If I’m making enough for 20 people, should I cook it in smaller batches instead of all at once?
Hi Denise,
As long as you aren’t overfilling the Instant Pot past the fill line it should work great.
My chicken was frozen and I had a few large breasts so I set the timer for 18 minutes as suggested and it turned out incredibly dry. The sauce itself was amazing. Maybe I’ll try 16 minutes next time.
Yummy! I would recommend thickening up your sauce or adding a layer of regular barbecue sauce to your bun because it’s not quite as barbecue-y as I like my barbecue chicken. I also substituted pickle juice for the vinegar and put sliced pickles on the sandwich. It was delicious!
I really enjoyed this for BBQ chicken sandwiches. I have tried other IP chicken recipes that were just so-so, and I’m glad that I found a good one. In lieu of thickening the sauce at the end we just topped each individual sandwich with as much BBQ sauce as preferred. I also halved the recipe and it turned out fine that way.
I added 1/2 tsp onion powder and cayenne for more kick, flavors were great and it’s an easy recipe to whip together. I found the sauce a bit too thin and brothy though, so I would reserve some more bbq for mixing in at the end and only use 1/2 the wet sauce from the instant pot. The chicken was a bit too dry for my taste so I might try 12 mins cook time instead of 16.
This is Delicious!! Everyone loved it!! I will be making this often.
Uh, what’s the temperature? I don’t see that here…
As stated in step 3 of the recipe, you cook it in the Instant Pot at high pressure for 16 minutes.
It was ok for a convenience meal.
Far too much liquid. Required lots of boiling off.
Won’t make again.
Hi Jennifer,
This amount of liquid is needed so that the Instant Pot will reach pressure and not give you a burn warning. There is no need to boil off the extra liquid after cooking. Simply remove the chicken from the pot, shred, place the chicken in a bowl and add back the amount of liquid that you prefer.
little too bland and watery for me
To help with that, instead of returning the shredded chicken to the juices in the pot, you can place the shredded chicken in a separate bowl. Then stir in some BBQ sauce and just a little of the juices from the pot. The extra liquid in the pot is required to allow for the pot to pressurize, but you don’t have to serve it all with the chicken. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe so many times and my family and I love it!! I usually make extra so I can freeze it and have it available for when I need something last minute.
I had four small chicken breasts, cooked for 14 minutes. It was not dry. I added onion powder. I think I would leave out the pepper next time. I removed the liquid after cooking, put the shredded chicken back in the Instant Pot, added BBQ sauce and some of the liquid. Tasted really good. Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious ? ? best chicken bbq I’ve had. My kids loved it as well and that’s a huge plus for me. Definitely will ge making this for football games with potato salad . Thanks for the recipe….
Excellent recipe. I added 1/2 grated onion but otherwise used the other ingredients as listed. I reduced the liquid and then further thickening with cornstarch slurry. No need to add more barbecue sauce. I will make this again. Thanks!
This came out delicious! However I think next time I will use 14 mins instead of 16 as some parts were a little dry.
I wanted to let you know we really, really love this recipe. Usually we make little slider sandwiches and have cole slaw on the side. But this last time, we used the leftovers as a pizza topping (frozen crusts, fresh chopped red onions and green peppers, mozzarella cheese, and the chicken with the sauciness – no extra BBQ sauce needed) and it was AMAZING. I’m not even usually a fan of BBQ chicken pizza, but this was an exception. We’re still raving about how good it is five days later as we’re eating the leftover slices.
Hi how much time is needed if I double the recipe?
And I use skinless boneless chicken thighs?
Thanks
Hi Jessica, The cook time is the same for a double recipe. The cook time will also be the same if you use boneless chicken thighs. I hope you enjoy!
This sounds amazing. I have skinless boneless tenders…any suggestions how long to cook them? They’re smaller than the small breasts mentioned above. If it’s better not to use the tenders, I can just wait u til I buy more chicken. Thanks in advance!
Tenders will cook really quickly. I’d try only 6-8 minutes of pressure cooking. Enjoy!
This was delicious! So tender and very easy to do. I didn’t have quite 2lbs if chicken, so I laddled some of the juice into the bowl of shredded chicken, then once on the bun added more Sweet Baby Ray’s bbq sauce.
Can I make this ahead of time and reheat? If so, how would you suggest I reheat it.
Thank you
Yes, this will reheat well. You can reheat it in a saucepan on the stove, in the Instant Pot using the sauté setting, or in the microwave. Be sure to reserve the cooking liquid along with the chicken so it has some moisture when reheating.
I made this tonight and the whole family loved it. It was very easy to make, and the chicken was tender and juicy.
How much is a serving? Trying to feed about 15 adults. So trying to figure out how much of everything I need
This recipe serves 8 (1/4 pound of chicken per person). If you are feeding big eaters you may want to err on the side of making a little more than double the recipe to feed 15.
So I was a little apprehensive about this meal, only because I’ve never used our pressure cooker before. I followed the directions to a T (I did use chicken tenders) but it came out perfect. Thanks for the quick easy meal! I served it with homemade French fries, a family favorite! I definitely will be making this again!
Going to try this recipe tonight. First time using my instant pot. Can we use bone in chicken or does it have to be boneless?
You can use bone-in chicken, you’ll just have to remove the chicken from the bones and shred. The 16 minute cook time should be enough to cook bone-in breasts but just check that they are done after the cook and natural release time. Enjoy!
Amazing!!!
Used the chicken for flatbreads. Delish!
The best! I used bone-in chicken thighs and the meat was so tender it simply fell right off the bone. Perfect blend of spices. Will make this again and again, thanks!
Made this recipe a dozen times. Winner in my house. Also enough for 2 days. Making it tonight.
So yummy! My whole family including picky eaters love this! Thank you!
We are obsessed with this recipe. And to not have to thaw prior is a godsend
Isn’t it so good?! This is one of my favorites for an easy dinner. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
recipe is a keeper, we loved it the only thing i did different was left out the chili powder because i didn”t have any on hand. great recipe
This BBQ Pulled Chicken Rocks! This is the perfect go-to for the nights you need something quick, easy, and delicious. Perfect as-is, or can be easily modified to suit your personal tastes. Thanks for such a great recipe.
How long do I put it in the instapot if I double the chicken? I’m a rookie chef over here lol thanks!
The cook time will be the same if you double the recipe. Enjoy!
Wow! This came out Perfect! I used 2 lbs of breast & 2 lbs of thighs and doubled the co, oking liquid. Breast were large so I did 18 mins. And it is exactly the way I wanted it to be. This is a keeper!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! This is one of my go-to quick and easy meals!
I’ve cooked a lot of chicken in the instant pot. I was weary of the 16 minute cook time with an additional 10 minute natural release especially for thawed chicken. I bumped my cook time down two minutes and it still came out overly dry. I also felt it took a while to boil off the excess liquid. Not my favorite recipe.
Loved this! It turned out perfect. It will be my go-to recipe for bbq chicken sandwiches ❤️
Tasted good, but it was pulled bbq chicken soup, even after trying to reduce it after the chicken was done. I was skeptical about the amount of broth / water and, at least when I made it, I was right – too much liquid. Next time, I will use half the broth. Or follow this recipe but not return the shredded chicken to the pot – rather, just add bbq sauce to the chicken and discard the cooking sauce.
The recipe calls for doing exactly what you are saying, which is to add some of the cooking sauce and/or bbq sauce to the chicken, rather than putting the chicken back into the pot with the sauce. I wouldn’t recommend reducing the broth because you may get the Instant Pot burn message with less liquid in the pot.
Awesome recipe!! Can this be done in a crock pot? How long would cook time be?
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for trying my recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Here is my crockpot bbq chicken recipe.
This totally awesome dish got rave reviews from the whole fam, who totally killed it off.
Added to my fav list!!