This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is my go-to easy dinner recipe for busy weeknights! This shredded chicken always comes out so tender, perfect for serving on top of soft burger buns with extra BBQ sauce!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken (Tender, Juicy & Ready in Minutes!)
This Instant Pot BBQ chicken is one of my family’s favorite dinners, and I love how effortless it is to make. It’s a dump-and-go Instant Pot recipe, meaning it will take you about 5 minutes to add everything to the pot and then your pressure cooker does the rest.
The secret is to cook the chicken in a mixture of BBQ sauce, chicken broth and spices, then mix in just a bit of the cooking liquid plus more BBQ sauce at the end. You end up with extra tender pulled chicken that shreds so easily. My family loves it served on Brioche Buns with extra barbecue sauce drizzled on top. It’s also delicious in a tortilla wrap, over rice or on nachos.
How to Make Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Add ingredients to your Instant Pot. Add the chicken broth, ½ cup of the BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper to the Instant Pot. Whisk until well combined. Then add the chicken to the pot.
Pressure cook. Close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the steam release valve is set to the sealing position. Pressure cook for 12 minutes at high pressure. When the cook time ends, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
Shred chicken and mix in sauce. Remove the chicken to a clean bowl and let it rest for a few minutes. Then shred the chicken using two forks or a stand mixer. Stir a little bit of the sauce from the pot into the shredded chicken, along with up to ½ cup more BBQ sauce. (You won’t use all of the liquid from the pot, but it’s necessary to cook the chicken in plenty of liquid to allow the IP to pressurize.) Serve on burger buns or as desired and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Fall-Apart Tender Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Whisk the chicken broth and BBQ sauce together well before adding the chicken to the pot. The broth thins out the BBQ sauce so that the Instant Pot can pressurize and you don’t get the Instant Pot burn message.
- I’ve substituted water for the chicken broth many times and it works great. I just double the salt when using water to get a little more flavor.
- Use your favorite BBQ sauce for the best flavor. Store-bought works great or try my Homemade BBQ Sauce.
- Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boneless, skinless chicken thighs or a combination of the two. The cook time is the same whichever you choose.
Ways I’ve Served This:
Here are my favorite ways to serve this Instant Pot BBQ chicken:
- On burger buns served with Coleslaw.
- On a BBQ Chicken Salad.
- Serve it in tortillas as a wrap or taco.
- Add it to nachos or Chicken Quesadillas.
- Make BBQ Chicken Sliders.
- It’s perfect for making a BBQ Chicken Pizza.
Made this recipe? I’d truly appreciate if you leave a comment and star rating below! Your review will help others who want to try this recipe. Thank you! 💛
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup BBQ sauce
- 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, or a combination of the two
- ½ cup BBQ sauce
- burger buns, if desired, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the chicken broth, ½ cup BBQ sauce (you'll add more BBQ sauce after cooking), apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper in the Instant Pot. Whisk until well combined.1 cup low sodium chicken broth, ½ cup BBQ sauce, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Nestle the chicken into the sauce.2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Close the Instant Pot lid and move the steam release valve to the sealing position. Set the cook time to 12 minutes at high pressure.
- 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.
- Shred the chicken using two forks, your fingers, or a stand mixer. Stir a little bit of the sauce from the pot into the shredded chicken (you won't use it all), along with up to ½ cup more BBQ sauce. Serve BBQ chicken on burger buns, with extra BBQ sauce, or as desired.½ cup BBQ sauce, burger buns
Notes
- Frozen Chicken: If using frozen chicken increase the pressure cook time to 15 minutes, followed by a 10 minute natural release. Be sure that each piece of frozen chicken is separate, since a large mass of frozen chicken will not cook through evenly.
- Double Recipe: Some readers have asked if they can double this recipe, and the answer is yes! Just double all of the ingredients, but use the same cook time as a single recipe.
- Water vs. Broth: I’ve made this many times using water instead of chicken broth. I just add a little extra salt for flavor when using water.
- 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 originally shared this recipe in June 2021. Post updated July 2025 and April 2026 with an updated (shorter) cook time and more helpful tips, including instructions to only mix some of the cooking liquid into the shredded chicken after cooking to address reader concerns that it’s too liquidy.
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.
I had the same issue! And rubbery.
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!!
If I wanted to substitute rotisserie chicken into this recipe instead of chicken breasts, how would that change the cook time?
If you are using already cooked rotisserie chicken, you really don’t need the Instant Pot. I’d suggest just simmering the chicken with BBQ sauce and a little bit (maybe 1/4 cup?) of chicken broth on the stove for 5-10 minutes to warm it up and blend the flavors.
A family favorite!
Good little recipe. Didn’t use low sodium broth so skipped adding salt & it was fine. Using chicken as a baked potato topper.
I made this tonight; it’s super easy and very tasty! I made it exactly as written except in step 7, I added the bbq sauce directly to the chicken, then just added cooking liquid a few tablespoons at a time until it was to my desired moistness. There was WAY too much liquid in the pot to mix the bbq sauce in there; it would’ve watered it down too much. Tip: if you have a stand mixer, use that to shred your chicken – WAY easier!
I’m going to try making this same recipe but using Frank’s Hot Sauce instead of bbq sauce and see how it tastes as shredded Buffalo chicken! With some blue cheese coleslaw, I have a feeling it will be fantastic!
I’ve made this quite a bit. So easy and so tasty.
Chicken came out so rubbery and over cooked. I thought 16 minutes was too much based on other dishes cook times, so I reduced it to 10 and it was way above temperature and over cooked.
I’m sorry to hear that! If you are using chicken breasts that are very small, that could be why. This recipe is one of my family’s go-to’s, and I’ve made it over a dozen times as written and the chicken comes out perfectly tender. I have also found that chicken breasts can vary, with some being more tough no matter how you cook them.
Hi Kristine!
I LOVE your site and healthy recipes 🙂
I do not have an instant pot but I do have a pressure cooker.
How would I need to modify this recipe (or any Instapot recipe) to make it in the pressure cooker? The cooling is common sense, but is there any other aspects or time discrepancies between the two appliances?
Thank you! I would love to try this in my pressure cooker
Hi Karen,
You didn’t say what kind of pressure cooker you have. If it is one of the many recent competitors to the Instant Pot it should cook similarly as long as you follow the precautions in the manual that came with it.
My son in law found this recipe and raved about it. He came over and helped me learn to use my Instant Pot with this recipe and we fed the whole family. It is absolutely delicious!
The instructions are very clear and I had no trouble using my Instant Pot, (finally!)
I have made this several times. I also make KFC coleslaw and then we put on hamburger buns. I use Sweet baby rays honey BBQ sauce.