Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Recipe With Chicken Breasts Or Thighs
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This Instant Pot BBQ chicken recipe is so simple and so finger-lickin’ good! This is going to become your favorite weeknight meal ever!
Got chicken breasts or thighs? Got BBQ sauce? That’s all you need to make this easiest BBQ chicken recipe ever! We are cooking this chicken in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, then chopping it up and mixing with barbecue sauce – yum!
Don’t have Instant Pot? No worries! You can cook chicken by any other method – on the frying pan, in the oven or making poached chicken in a pot of water. It doesn’t really matter how you cook the chicken, but Instant Pot is the quickest and easiest way to accomplish it!
Cooking the chicken in the Instant Pot is really easy. Just put a package of chicken breasts or thighs in the Instant Pot, add a cup of water, press the Manual or Pressure Cook button and cook on High pressure for 8 minutes for chicken breasts (or 13 minutes for chicken thighs). Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release (QR) the remaining pressure. The chicken is cooked!
If you want to cook chicken from frozen, you surely can! Follow my instructions for Instant Pot frozen chicken breasts to cook them from frozen to perfection! Add an extra 5 minutes of cooking time for chicken thighs.
So once you cook the chicken, take it out of the Instant Pot and cut cooked chicken into pieces. Return chicken pieces to the Instant Pot, squeeze a BBQ sauce over the chicken and mix.
Turn the Instant Pot on Saute method and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until the BBQ sauce is hot. Dinner is ready!
Look at that yummy yum yum BBQ chicken! It’s a 2-ingredient dinner that is ready in 15 minutes! So delicious and so simple!
The chopped BBQ chicken on this picture is served over brown rice that I also cooked in the Instant Pot earlier :) Check out my recipe for Instant Pot Brown Rice.
If you like this simple Instant Pot BBQ Chicken, you will also love these easy recipes:
Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe – this homemade barbecue sauce recipe is so easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought! Using this amazing sauce will take your BBQ chicken to the whole new level!
BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese – two of my favorites (BBQ chicken and grilled cheese) combined into one epic dish! That’s a true comfort food!
Instant Pot Apple Sauce – making homemade apple sauce in the Instant Pot takes just 5 minutes and you don’t even need to peel the apples!
Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks – the easiest recipe ever to make with chicken legs in the Instant Pot, it even cooks them directly from frozen!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Recipe With Chicken Breasts Or Thighs
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Rub the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Put water and chicken breasts or thighs in the Instant Pot.
- Close the Instant Pot and turn the valve to a Sealing position.
- Select the "Pressure Cook" or "Manual" setting and set the time for 8 minutes for chicken breasts (or 13 minutes for thighs).
- Once it finishes cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then release the remaining pressure using the quick release.
- Take the cooked chicken out of the Instant Pot and chop into pieces. Pour the water out of the pot.
- Put the Instant Pot on a Saute setting.
- Return the chopped chicken back to the pot, add BBQ sauce to it and mix until combined. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until the BBQ sauce is completely warmed through.
Do you double the time if it’s 2 lbs chicken breast?
No, the cooking time remains the same for 2 lbs of chicken, and you only need to use 1 cup of water.
How long do you cook the chicken if it’s frozen?
20-25 minutes for frozen.
Frozen breasts or thighs have this cooking time?
20 for frozen chicken breasts, 25 for frozen thighs.
Can I put the BBQ sauce in with the chicken as it cooks, or do I need to wait till it’s cooked, then put it in?
Wait till after it’s cooked, otherwise bbq sauce will become watery.
Thank you, this was the first thing I attempted after my water test. I followed the instructions, read the comments. It was a hit for our house!
Could I cut the chicken into uniform pieces and sauté it first to brown it?
Of course you can, but it adds more work :)
Can you use chicken strips? If so, what are the directions?
Yes. Same directions, just reduce the cooking time by 3 minutes.
Do you need to put the chicken on a trivet?
It’s optional, you can put chicken on a trivet or directly in the water.
So easy & sooo good. Made the sausage & potatoes…added onions & did w/sweet potatoes.
Came out wonderful.
This is next level BBQ chicken and the easiest way to prepare it. I just mix the ingredients together and leave it in the instant pot. It’s so simple, even for someone with zero cooking skills.
I just got my Instant Pot and am so nervous to try this, but luckily it came out successfully and my family loves it. I will now check some other instant pot recipes from your website, Thanks Melanie!