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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Instant Pot Chicken

    Instant Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken

    Published: Mar 24, 2020 · Modified: Jul 10, 2020 by Susie Weinrich · This post may contain affiliate links. 28 Comments

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    Instant Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken is fall apart tender cooked chicken breasts that are seasoned with a bbq dry rub, then cooked in your electric pressure cooker.

    Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwich on a white plate with lemonade in the background

    Pull it and shred it and then mix it up with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve it on a bun topped with delicious coleslaw for an amazing pulled chicken sandwich, which make a really easy dinner!

    This pulled barbecue chicken would also be amazing on my BBQ Chicken Sliders!

    A white bowl of pulled bbq chicken

    If you love BBQ – definitely check out my Instant Pot Boneless BBQ Ribs! But, if you are looking for a non-barbecue pulled chicken, check out this recipe for Instant Pot All Purpose Pulled Chicken.

    Table of Contents hide
    1 How to Make BBQ Pulled Chicken in the Instant Pot
    2 Serving your Pulled BBQ Chicken
    3 Related Recipes
    4 Did you make this recipe?!
    5 WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
    6 Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken

    How to Make BBQ Pulled Chicken in the Instant Pot

    Start by cutting your boneless skinless chicken breasts into 4 pieces each. This will allow more surface area for flavor! If you want to use a mix of chicken breasts and chicken thighs for a dark/white mix, you can absolutely do that!

    BBQ Chicken sandwich

    Make a delicious bbq dry rub, which will impart extra bbq flavor! Mix together:

    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon each: onion powder and garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

    Sprinkle the dry rub on all sides of the chicken, pressing it in so it sticks.

    • BBQ Dry rub in a glass bowl
    • cut chicken breasts coated with BBQ dry rub

    In the Instant Pot pour 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ tablespoon cider vinegar, and 3 crushed garlic cloves. Place the seasoned chicken in the pot.

    Using the trivet is optional.

    • liquid and garlic cloves in the bottom of the Instant Pot
    • BBQ dry rub coated chicken pieces in the bottom of the instant pot

    Close the pot and set to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.

    Do a 5 minute natural release and then finish with a quick release.

    Frozen Chicken

    Yes you can definitely use frozen chicken, however note that it will not be quite as tender.

    Make sure that your chicken breasts are seperated and not frozen in one chunk.

    Increase the cook time to 12 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.

    Shred the Chicken

    Remove the chicken from the pot and pull or shred it. My very favorite way to shred chicken is in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, it makes really quick work of it! Just make sure the chicken is warm and watch so it doesn’t over shred.

    shredded cooked chicken

    You can also shred it by using two forks pulling each chicken piece apart.

    Add the BBQ Sauce

    Mix your shredded chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce. We like a stickier KC style BBQ sauce . For this amount of chicken I use between ½ to ¾ cup sauce.

    Serving your Pulled BBQ Chicken

    My very favorite way to serve this chicken is on a bun for Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, top it with a little coleslaw and I am in heaven!

    BBQ chicken sandwiches with the instant pot in the background

    Related Recipes

    • Instant Pot pulled pork in a white bowl
      Instant Pot Pulled Pork
    • shredded chicken in a bowl with taco fixing around
      Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos
    • Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches topped with blue cheese crumbles and green onions
      Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken

    Susie Weinrich washing produce

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    Large table set with plates, napkins, food and flowers

    WHAT’S FOR DINNER?


    BBQ Chicken sandwich

    Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken

    Delicious tender chicken seasoned with BBQ dry rub and cooked in the Instant Pot, pulled and shredded and mixed with your favorite BBQ sauce!
    5 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate SaveSaved to Grow
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Pressure and Natural Release Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 sandwiches
    Calories: 143kcal
    Author: Susie Weinrich

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker

    Ingredients

    • 1.5-2 lbs fresh – boneless skinless chicken breast each breast cut into 4 pieces (see frozen chicken notes below)
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon each – onion powder & garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    • 3 fresh garlic cloves crushed or smashed
    • BBQ Sauce – your favorite brand or flavor

    Serving

    • Buns
    Prevent your screen from going dark while you are cooking!

    Instructions

    • Mix the BBQ dry rub in a small bowl – 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt , 1 teaspoon black pepper , ½ teaspoon onion powder , 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika.
    • Sprinkle the dry rub on all sides of the cut chicken breasts. Press the seasoning in so it will stick to the chicken.
    • Pour 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar and the crushed garlic cloves into the Instant Pot.
      Put all the seasoned chicken breasts in the Instant Pot
    • Close the pot and lock the pressure valve in place. Set it to cook on pressure mode, high for 8 minutes.
    • Do a 5 minute natural release, then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.
    • Remove the chicken from the pot and shred/pull it.
      Kitchen Tip: put the warm chicken in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment for easy and fast shredding!!!
      Discard the liquid in the pot.
    • Mix the shredded chicken with desired amount of BBQ sauce. We like between ½-3/4 cup BBQ sauce.
    • Serve on buns for amazing pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches.

    Notes:

    Chicken : Can use a mix of chicken breasts and thighs for a dark and white meat mixture.
    For Frozen Chicken : If you are using frozen chicken, don’t cut, just cook whole but make sure the breasts are seperated and not frozen together! Sprinkle with the seasoning. Set it to cook on 12 minutes high pressure with a 10 minute natural release.
    Did you try this recipe? Connect with me & let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
    Jump to Comments
    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 744mg | Potassium: 458mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

    If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.

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    About Susie Weinrich

    Susie Weinrich is the recipe developer, food photographer, and content creator behind Mom's Dinner. She has over 20 years experience in the food industry. Currently, Susie shares all her recipes and food knowledge on Mom's Dinner. You will find her recipes are easy to follow and full of tips and tricks to make sure the recipe you are making turns out perfect!

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Julie

      April 21, 2023 at 12:26 pm

      5 stars
      Made this once without the apple cider (I didn’t realize I had some!) and it still turned out sooo yummy even with frozen chicken. I’m making it again and was wondering if the recipe could be doubled? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Susie Weinrich

        April 21, 2023 at 1:39 pm

        Definitely can be doubled, as long as it fits in your Instant Pot without going over the “max fill line”. You will not need to double the cook time.

        Reply
    2. Angie

      November 17, 2022 at 1:26 pm

      Can you make this recipe in the crockpot?

      Reply
      • Susie Weinrich

        November 17, 2022 at 3:13 pm

        That should work- 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.

        Reply
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