Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
- Ground black pepper to taste
- ¾ cup BBQ Sauce, recipe below
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
For the Barbecue Sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce, optional
- 1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, grated or minced
- ¾ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard powder
For serving
- Buns, coleslaw, pickles (optional)
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and ground black pepper. Set aside.
- For the barbecue sauce, set the pressure cooker on the sauté function. Add the ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire, chipotle chile, vinegar, and garlic. Stir in the paprika, black pepper, and dry mustard, and simmer for about 3 minutes. The mixture will slightly thicken. Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Turn the saute function off.
- Place the seasoned chicken into the Instant Pot. Cover, seal and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes for chicken breasts and 14 minutes for chicken thighs. If you are using a combination, then cook for 14 minutes. When the cooking is done, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then open the valve and release the remaining pressure.
- Open the lid and using kitchen tongs, transfer the chicken to a large bowl, leaving the sauce in the pressure cooker. Set the cooker on the saute function and simmer the sauce until it has thickened to taste (remembering that it will continue to thicken as it cools), 4 to 6 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the chicken. Return the chicken to the pressure cooker and toss to combine.
Notes
- When cooking the barbecue sauce, don't reduce it for too long or it will turn into a paste.
- Stir in the shredded chicken back into the pot and mix until the chicken is coated with the sauce.
- You can make this recipe in the crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5 hours.
- If using store bought BBQ sauce, you may need to add additional broth depending on the thickness of the sauce.
- Your pressure cooker may take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to come to pressure before the cooking timer starts. The exact time varies depending on size, model, and the contents inside the pot. For this reason, we don’t include it in the total time shown above.
Nutrition
Calories: 357 kcal, Carbohydrates: 25 g, Protein: 43 g, Fat: 8 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 119 mg, Sodium: 1077 mg, Potassium: 920 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 20 g, Vitamin A: 471 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 31 mg, Iron: 2 mg
