Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is so tender, juicy and full of barbecue flavor. Using Chicken Tenders or Breasts, this BBQ Chicken is extremely versatile. Perfect pulled, sliced or served whole! BBQ Chicken is a perfect, quick weeknight meal that everyone in the family will love! Great all year too, it is just as much of a winter dinner as it is a summer meal.
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken – Fast, tender and kid-friendly!
BBQ Chicken is part of dinner at least once every week or so. I love to serve it as is, toss it in a salad, or make sandwiches with it.
This is the one protein I can generally count on my kids eating and wanting more of.
Last week I took some dinner to a friend who just had a (tiny, little, adorable) baby. I about melted to the floor when I saw her. So itty bitty!!
BUT, like usual, I was running out of time. A lunch meeting went (really) late and I had 1 1/2 hours to fix dinner and deliver it.
Thank you, Instant Pot, I made BBQ Chicken, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and a yummy slushee for dessert all in 45 MINUTES!! I was early. *fist bump*
But you know what really saved my bacon? Chicken tenders.
I hadn’t cooked with tenders in my Instant Pot before. I just always have bought chicken breasts.
The day before I decided to buy tenders on a whim and OH MY HEAVENS. These little guys cooked up in lightening speed and were so stinking tender!!
Like, it broke while I was trying to get it out of the pot. That is how tender they were! I really might be a chicken tender convert now. I may never go back!
How to make BBQ Chicken in the Instant Pot
There are a lot of recipes out there that have a billion different ingredients but I think BBQ chicken should be one of those recipes that all of the ingredients are in my cupboards at any given moment.
To make BBQ chicken in the Instant Pot, all you’ll need is 4 ingredients.
- chicken broth
- chicken- I love tenders, but you could use breasts too!
- Dried chopped onion- I never have fresh onion on hand. If you happen to have one, go ahead and use that!
- Barbecue sauce- I like Baby Ray’s original)
The chicken broth goes into the Instant Pot first, followed by the chicken and onion.
The BBQ sauce is then squirted on top of the chicken. DO NOT STIR.
The reasoning behind that is because BBQ sauce is a burner. The BBQ sauce needs to be on the top so it doesn’t scorch to the bottom of the pot and give you the dreaded burn notice.
If using tenders (which I strongly suggest you do!!) Cook on Manual HIGH for 3 minutes, NPR 7 minutes.
If using chicken breasts, make sure that the chicken is no thicker than 1 inch. If it is thicker, either pound it to 1 inch thick or ‘butterfly’ the chicken breast by cutting it in half lengthwise. (Think like a hotdog bun.)
For chicken breasts, cook on Manual HIGH for 5 minutes, NPR 7 minutes then rest 5 minutes in the pot. If the chicken breasts are overlapping, you may have to add an additional minute or two.
The BBQ sauce is a very thin but flavorful sauce. I personally like the thickness of it.
I don’t like the texture of pulled chicken when it is shredded and then mixed with straight BBQ sauce. I think the BBQ sauce is extremely overpowering that way as well.
This recipe is the perfect balance of flavor and texture in my book!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
(Printable Recipe Below)
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is so tender, juicy and full of barbecue flavor. Using Chicken Tenders or Breasts, this BBQ Chicken is extremely versatile. Perfect pulled, sliced or served whole! BBQ Chicken is a perfect, quick weeknight meal that everyone in the family will love! Great all year too, it is just as much of a winter dinner as it is a summer meal.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 8 chicken tenders (Or 2 chicken breasts)
- 1 tbsp dried chopped onion
- 3/4 cup bbq sauce
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot in this order: broth, chicken, onion then bbq sauce on top.
- DO NOT STIR. (see post for more details as to why)
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 3 minutes NPR 7 minutes. (For Chicken Breasts, take 1 inch thick pieces of chicken and cook on manual HIGH for 5 minutes, NPR 7 minutes, rest 5 minutes. See post for more detailed instruction)
- After the NPR, QR the remaining pressure.
- Serve and enjoy!
Try this Instant Pot BBQ Chicken with these other recipes!
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Creamy Fruit Salad
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Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 8 chicken tenders (Or 2 chicken breasts)
- 1 tbsp dried chopped onion
- 3/4 cup bbq sauce
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot in this order: broth, chicken, onion then bbq sauce on top.
- DO NOT STIR. (see post for more details as to why)
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 3 minutes NPR 7 minutes. (For Chicken Breasts, take 1 inch thick pieces of chicken and cook on manual HIGH for 5 minutes, NPR 7 minutes, rest 5 minutes. See post for more detailed instruction)
- After the NPR, QR the remaining pressure.
- Serve and enjoy!
karlibitner says
Hi Nicole! The cook time will not change since we are working with pressure cooking. ?
Dee says
Hi. Nuby here just got my pot for christmas…im making this tonight will the chicken be cooked after 3 mins.?
karlibitner says
Hi, Dee! Yes, use chicken tenders as specified and you will be golden! Cook for 3 minutes and let the Instant Pot sit for 7 minutes before turning the knob to release the pressure. Hope you love it!
Lynn says
Hi, I just got my Instant Pot. It’s 6 qts. It doesn’t have a manual setting so I’m not sure what to press for this recipe. It’s an IP-DUO060 V3. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
karlibitner says
Hi Lynn- your Instant Pot should have a ‘pressure cook’ button. You’ll use that button instead. 🙂
Phyllis bailey says
Could you use a tin foil bowl so the barbecue sauce would stick to the chicken tenders better
karlibitner says
Hi Phyllis- I would suggest either adding the bbq sauce separately, after the chicken has cooked or simmering the sauce until it thickens.
Lonette Staheli says
I set my instant pot for 3 min. After 30 min. the timer still hadn’t started to count down. I cancelled it and waited 7 min for the pressure to drop. The chicken was done but I could have done it in half the time on my stove top. Is there something wrong with my instant pot?
karlibitner says
Hi Lonette- that certainly doesn’t sound right. Have you tried the water test to make sure your Pot is working correctly?
Kevin M. says
Mine came out really liquidy. Is that how it’s supposed to be? Yours looks like the sauce is thick and sticks to the chicken. Mine is watery. I did double everything…maybe that ended up with too much broth?
karlibitner says
Hi Kevin- Doubling may have had a little something to do with it, but the sauce is really thin. My family doesn’t like really thick bbq sauce, so we prefer it as written. Like stated above, If you like it with a thicker sauce, I would cook the chicken in the broth and seasonings and then put the bbq sauce on each chicken tender after they have been cooked and removed from the Instant Pot. Hope this helps a bit!
Suhanya Ganesh says
Hi do you need chicken broth to or can you marinate the chicken overnight and put it in the insta pot. Looking for fatster ways then having to bake the chicken for 40mins
Karli Bitner says
Hi Suhanya- so you will need some type of thin liquid for your Instant Pot to work correctly. This is a much faster way to cook chicken, but there does need to be a thin liquid included.
Deb says
I am excited to try this recipe. It will be my very first one for my instant pot
Andrea says
I hate cooking chicken in the IP. But after making this I think there is hope. I made this and now I know I’ve been overcooking the chicken. This is awesome. I’ve also adapted the times and layering method to making other chicken things. So Thank you for finally giving a me a viable way to actually cook chicken tenders and not eat rubber for dinner. 😀
Karli Bitner says
Yes, chicken can be tricky! I am glad that this has helped you so much!!
Linda says
Where can I find how much a receipt will feed there are three of us
Karli Bitner says
Hi Linda- you can use as many chicken tenders as you’d like with this recipe. No need to change any of the other ingredients or cook time. Just add as many chicken tenders as you usually make for your family. I hope this helps!
Jackie Lawrence says
I made this with the crockpot version of the insta pot: my modifications were as follows.
I added water. Then used a silicone insert to put the chicken in, then added the spices and bbq and onions. I added the metal insert that came with the pot and put some potatoes in to bake at the same time. I chose the poultry setting because I do not have a manual setting. Then the rest was the same.
It all turned out great, dinner was ready in a snap.
Karli Bitner says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Jackie! Thanks for the comment!