Whole Chicken Instant Pot Recipes

Whole chicken Instant Pot recipes are here! Whether you have a frozen chicken or fresh we’ll share the best way to make it tender and crispy on the outside. 

With a much faster cooking time than a slow cooker you now can make an entire chicken in just 30 minutes!

Then if you have an air fryer or Ninja Foodi pressure cooker you can get crispy skin all in one pot.

What size pressure cooker should I buy?

• That depends on the size of your family
  • Our 6 quart has always been large enough to feed the 5 people in our house.

Check this out y’all!!

Now you can get an Instant Pot air fryer lid too!! That way you can brown the chicken skin right in the pot and not use your oven!!

Is it cheaper to buy a whole chicken?

• YES! Whether you buy a store brand, name brand, or organic chicken it will be less expensive.

Do you have to use a trivet in the Instant Pot?

• To make a whole chicken, yes it is necessary. I like this one with handles.
• Liquid is necessary too. Use broth, water or even beer!

What is a good price for a whole chicken?

• The prices above are average and pretty good. I am a frugal person so I always look at what meats are on sale and plan our meals around that.

However, when it comes to whole chickens I will tell you that there is a HUGE difference in quality and it’s worth the extra $5 to get leaner healthier chickens. (just my opinion of course)

How much is a whole chicken at grocery stores?

• It depends on what brand you buy
  • Store brand will be the cheapest but not always the best quality
    • Usually around $5 for a 4/5 lb. chicken
  • Name brands will typically be more and a bit higher quality
    • Around $7 for a whole chicken
• Organic or Free Range vs. Non Organic chickens
  • Organic and/or free range – cage free chickens will be the most expensive but the leanest of them all (this is what we buy)
    • Typically I pay $10 each

This is our first Instant Pot whole chicken recipe using just basic herbs and spices. It is done in just 25 minutes if you want to eat it right out of the pot and not crisp up the skin.

Instant Pot whole chicken recipes

• Roasted whole chicken in a pressure cooker
• Lemon garlic whole chicken can be made

Now did you know you could make the best beer can chicken recipe in your pressure cooker??

Why we love this method?

1. It cooks quickly
2. There’s no need for a barbecue
   1. although if we have time our smoked beer can chicken is amazing too
3. The beer gives your meat a great flavor (and I’m not a beer drinker myself)

Note: an 8 qt. is necessary to use this method. Smaller pots aren’t tall enough when adding the can.

Now what if you forgot about dinner?? Sound familiar??

NO problem!!

I share how to make a pressure cooker frozen whole chicken right here. That’s right, it goes from rock solid to tender in about an hour.

Can you put frozen meat in a pressure cooker?

• YES!
• Before you freeze your whole chicken ensure that there is nothing inside the cavity. If there is, remove it before putting it into your freezer.
• Use a trivet so it doesn’t sit in the liquid while cooking.
• Add seasonings after it’s done pressure cooking, and before crisping the skin.
• Use a broiler or air fryer to crisp chicken skins to desired color.

If you want Instant Pot frozen wings you can make those too and they’re the perfect appetizer.

Options for getting crispy chicken skin:

1. Set your broiler to 350 degrees
2. Put your pressure cooked chicken into a baking dish
3. Spray olive oil on the skin + add desired spices
4. Place dish in oven for about 5 minutes
5. Remove when chicken skin crisps enough for you

2nd option is to put into your air fryer at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes to brown skins.

• If you have a Foodi we share how you can use their air crisp function to brown it all in the same pot!

Do you have a Ninja Foodi??

If so you can either make an air fryer whole chicken or roasted chicken using the air crisp function at the end.

Benefits of having a pressure cooker and air fryer??

1. You never have to turn on your oven. (no heating up your house required)
2. Chicken skins come out extremely crispy in no time.
3. You can create a one pot meal and dirty just one pan.

I still use both devices but this has been a game changer for us. The ability to pressure cook the meat and get the chicken breast side super crispy has been a game changer! 

How fast does the Instant Pot cook

It depends on how large your bird is but for an average 4/5 pound chicken it typically takes 22-25 minutes. If you are going to put it into an air fryer once it’s done I decrease the time a bit so the meat doesn’t dry out in the air crisp process. 

• If eating straight out of the pot 25 minutes is adequate
• Air frying the skin at the end has me decrease the time to 22 minutes
• Using a broiler to crisp skin at the end I would stick to 25 minutes
  • In all cases set valve to sealed and then allow pot to naturally release steam for 5-10 minutes once timer goes off.

Same rules apply if using a Crockpot Express or Mealthy pressure cooker.

Looking for more easy Instant Pot chicken recipes?? 

We have a ton of them, these are just a few focusing on cooking a whole chicken in your Instant Pot. The majority of these one pot meals are done in about 15 minutes so you can be assured dinner will be a snap. I’m all about easy here on The Typical Mom blog. 😉

• If you love chicken breasts here’s how to cook frozen chicken in a pressure cooker. The chicken cooks in no time and goes from rock hard to tender. Perfect if you’re making shredded chicken to put on sliders!

We just made this hoisin chicken using diced up chicken breasts. With Asian flavors and served on top of rice in the pressure cooker it was so good!

• Then try this Instant Pot tandori chicken recipe using drumsticks.

If you’re looking for another way to cook a whole bird try our dutch oven whole chicken recipe. It comes out incredibly moist and is a great way to cook over the campfire.