This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is an easy way to get tender, juicy chicken on the table without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Chicken breasts are pressure cooked until tender, then coated in your favorite BBQ sauce for a sweet, smoky, and flavorful meal.
It only takes a handful of simple ingredients and the Instant Pot does most of the work. Serve the shredded BBQ chicken on sandwiches, over rice, in wraps, or alongside your favorite easy sides. It’s also great for meal prep and makes plenty for leftovers throughout the week.
If you love Instant Pot Recipes check out Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken, Instant Pot Sunday Pot Roast, Easy Instant Pot Pulled Pork, Instant Pot French Onion Soup.
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Why You Will Like This Recipe
If your Instant Pot intimidates you, try making this recipe first.
This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is zero points depending on what type of BBQ sauce you use. I like to use G Hughes sugar-free BBQ sauce or Stubbs to keep the chicken 0 and then I will serve it with a light bun to make chicken sandwiches.
This is not sponsored, by the way, I just really like those 2 BBQ sauces. Oddly enough that sauce doesn’t bother me. Most sugar-free stuff does. I just like to test it first to see if it agrees with my digestive system.
Ingredients Needed for Instant Pot Chicken Breast
How to make Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
Step 1: Place your frozen chicken breasts or thawed chicken breasts in the bottom of your Instant Pot with a cup of water.
Step 2: Place the lid on your Instant Pot and set it to sealing. Press manual (high pressure) and set to 20 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Drain the extra water at the bottom of the pot.
Step 3: Shred the chicken and add the BBQ sauce. Enjoy on sandwiches, salads, quesadillas, BBQ plates and more!
Pro Tips for Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts: They cook quickly and shred easily once tender.
- Don’t skip the liquid: The chicken needs enough liquid in the Instant Pot to build pressure and prevent a burn notice.
- Use your favorite BBQ sauce: Sweet, smoky, spicy, or tangy BBQ sauce all work well in this recipe.
- Let the chicken rest: Give the chicken a few minutes before shredding so the juices can redistribute.
- Shred while warm: Chicken is much easier to shred when it’s still warm. Use two forks or a hand mixer for quick shredding.
- Add extra BBQ sauce: If you like saucier BBQ chicken, stir in more sauce after shredding.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Instant Pot BBQ Chicken on hamburger buns or sandwich rolls for an easy BBQ chicken sandwich. It’s also delicious served over rice, baked potatoes, or mashed potatoes.
For a simple meal, pair it with coleslaw, Air Fryer Frozen Corn on the Cob, baked beans, green beans, or a simple side salad. You can also use the shredded chicken for BBQ chicken tacos, wraps, quesadillas, or meal prep bowls.
Storage and Freezing
Store leftover BBQ chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. Add a little extra BBQ sauce when reheating if the chicken seems dry.
To freeze, let the chicken cool completely and place it in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
Meal Prepping
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken is great for meal prep because it can be used in several different meals throughout the week. Divide the shredded chicken into individual containers and refrigerate for easy lunches or dinners.
Recipe FAQS
If you make a big batch, you can freeze it in a sealable container and thaw it out in batches as needed. By making a large batch of shredded chicken at once, you will save time and effort breaking out and setting up your mixer every time you want a meal with shredded chicken.
I have the Instant Pot Duo 6 QT Electric Pressure Cooker. You can find it on Amazon. I'm not sponsored by them, it just a kitchen appliance I really like to use. Gotta love those multi-cookers! The Instant Pot Duo multi-cooker combines 7 appliances in one: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté pan, yogurt maker and warmer – and cooks up to 70% faster!
Don’t be intimidated by your pressure because you’re afraid the lid will pop off or explode! Pressure cookers have built-in features that are for safety reasons. Some of the most common errors made are when the user forgets to turn the venting knob to sealing mode, overfills the pot, or uses the timer button to set the cooking time.
More Great Recipes to Try:
If you tried this Instant Pot BBQ Chicken (2 Ingredients) or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
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Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Description
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken - Weeknight dinner has never been easier. This recipe for BBQ chicken uses frozen chicken breasts. No defrosting! Add in your favorite BBQ sauce at the end.
Ingredients
- 4 small to medium sized frozen chicken breasts
- 1 cup of BBQ sauce such as G Hughes
Instructions
- Place your frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker with a cup of water.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot and set it to sealing.
- Press manual (high pressure) and set to 20 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Drain the extra water at the bottom of the pot. Shred the chicken and add the BBQ sauce. Enjoy on sandwiches, salads, quesadillas, BBQ plates and more!
Notes
myWW points Blue 0; Green 2; Purple 0
Points are calculated with the WW recipe builder app and not using the nutrition info.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 113
- Sugar: 0
- Sodium: 235mg
- Fat: 2.7g
- Saturated Fat: .8g
- Carbohydrates: 1.9g
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 18.5g
Megan says
How much would you say a serving would be? Thanks!