Instant Pot Whole Chicken and Gravy (VIDEO)
Instant Pot Whole Chicken is the fastest way to cook a rotisserie chicken. Cooking Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot is so juicy and you’ll love the easy 3-ingredient chicken gravy made from the drippings.
We love the instant pot not just for the speed of making dinner, but because it comes together in one pot. One and done – just like our Instant Pot White Chicken Chili and Instant Pot Chicken and Rice. Explore our best Instant Pot Recipes Here.
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Instant Pot whole Chicken Recipe:
The ingredients here are so simple and you probably have everything you need in your refrigerator and pantry. We used 1 whole chicken (4 to 4 1/2 lbs), chicken broth, fresh garlic, thyme, rosemary and lemon juice, butter and a few dried spices (salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and paprika).
The combination of seasonings makes for the best taking gravy made from the pan drippings and prepared right in the instant pot. The gravy is amazing poured over mashed potatoes and the sliced chicken.
Tips for the Best Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken:
- Cook the chicken for 6 minutes per pound and allow a 15-minute natural pressure release. Releasing the pressure gradually will ensure your chicken is fully cooked through and rested for the juiciest chicken. It also prevents foam from shooting out of the valve.
- Weigh the chicken to ensure the proper cooking time (see timing chart below). Overcooking the bird will cause it to fall apart and will make it difficult to transfer.
- Make sure your chicken fits your instant pot size. Our 6 qt instant pot fits up to a 5 lb chicken. An 8 qt pressure cooker is better for the larger sized chickens.
- Use a Trivet for even cooking and to help remove the chicken from the instant pot.
- Broil the chicken for a crisp salty skin
- Do not discard the drippings – they make the best gravy to pour over your chicken.
- Keep the carcass and bones for Instant Pot Chicken Broth.
How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot:
Prepare Chicken: Separate the skin over the chicken breast using a spoon.
Set up Instant Pot: Place the trivet inside the instant pot and pour in 1 cup chicken broth. Add the chicken breast-side-up and stuff the cavity with garlic cloves and half of the squeezed lemon.
Make Butter Sauce: Combine melted butter with all of the seasonings. Pour half of the mixture under the skin and pour the remaining mixture all over the outside of the chicken.
Pressure Cook Chicken: Cover with the lid, set the lever to “sealing” position, cook on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound followed by 15-minute natural pressure release before manually releasing remaining pressure.
Broil for Crisp Browned Skin: Transfer chicken to a foiled lined baking sheet, season with more salt, pepper, and paprika and broil in the center of the oven 4-5 minutes or until the desired color is reached.
Cooking Times for I.P. Whole Chicken:
As a general rule of thumb, cook your chicken on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound, then do a natural pressure release for 15 minutes before manually releasing remaining pressure.
- 3 lbs = 18 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
- 3 1/2 lbs = 21 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
- 4 lb = 24 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
- 4 1/2 lb = 27 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
- 5 lb = 30 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
Can I Cook a Frozen Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot?
For this recipe, a fresh or thawed chicken works best. You can cook a frozen whole chicken but it will take significantly longer (60-70 minutes on high pressure) and we found a thawed or fresh chicken will cook more evenly. Also, you won’t be able to pour the flavored butter under the chicken skin.
If you want to use a frozen chicken, a dry rub would work better like in this Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipe from my friend Olena of Ifoodreal. She also shares some great tips like what to do with the bag of giblets that are stuck inside the chicken and timings for different sized frozen chickens.
Recipes for Leftover Rotisserie Chicken:
We love cooking a whole chicken because the options are endless for easy dinners using leftover chicken. Don’t forget to keep the carcass to make the best homemade chicken stock.
- Avocado Chicken Salad – our most viral salad
- Chicken Fried Rice – our favorite recipe for leftovers
- Autumn Chopped Chicken Salad – you’ll love this dressing
- Chicken Bacon Avocado Sandwich – restaurant favorite
- Chicken in Gravy – combine shredded chicken with gravy and you have a fresh new meal
- Chicken Noodle Soup – even easier with shredded rotisserie chicken!
Watch Natasha Make Instant Pot Whole Chicken:
I hope this Instant Pot Whole Chicken recipe becomes a new favorite Instant Pot recipe for you. It will change the way you make chicken. If you enjoyed this video tutorial, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel and click the bell icon so you can be the first to know when we post a new video. THANK YOU for subscribing!
Instant Pot Whole Chicken
Ingredients
Instant Pot Whole Chicken:
- 4 lb whole chicken
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and lightly smashed
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 sprig of rosemary leaves stripped and minced
- 1 sprig of thyme leaves stripped and minced
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 lemon (squeeze 1 Tbsp juice and use same lemon to stuff chicken)
For the Chicken Gravy:
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
How to Make Instant Pot Whole Chicken:
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Take out the giblets bag from inside the chicken. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Place chicken breast-side-up. Starting from the drumstick side, loosen the skin from the breast, using the back of a spoon to help. Set aside.
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In a small bowl combine: all of the seasonings, the minced rosemary and thyme and 1 Tbsp lemon juice and one stick of melted butter. Stir to combine. Set aside.
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Place a rack in the inner pot of your instant pot and add 1 cup of chicken broth. Add chicken breast-side-up. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with crushed garlic cloves and half a lemon.
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Pour half the butter mixture under the skin, (you can use your fingers to massage the chicken and distribute the mixture) then spread the remaining butter mixture evenly over the top of the chicken.
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Pressure cook for 24 min with 15 min release, remove the chicken with trivet, allowing any excess juice to drip into the pot (keep that liquid for gravy).
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Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet, season with more salt and pepper and paprika if desired for a little color then broil at 500˚F, or air fry 5 min or until the skin is browned. Rest 10 minutes before slicing.
To Make the Chicken Gravy:
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Pour all of the liquid from the pot into a bowl or measuring cup and skim off the excess fat at the top. You should have about 2 cups after straining off the fat.
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Set the instant pot to the sauté function and melt in 3 Tbsp butter. Whisk in 3 Tbsp flour, whisking for 1 minute until golden. Add the remaining drippings and whisk until simmering and thickened then remove from heat. Serve with chicken.
Recipe Notes
As a general rule of thumb, cook your chicken on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound, then do a natural pressure release for 15 minutes before manually releasing remaining pressure.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
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Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Can you use dried Rosemary and other herb you said instead of fresh sprigs?
Hi Nancy, we prefer the fresh but that should work. I hope you love this recipe.
DeeeLICIOUS
My family loved this and the gravy OMG was absolutely delicious
My 4 year old twins love watching Natashaskitchen.com videos, and help me pick what’s for dinner.
We LOVE you Natasha
Hi Sanjani, that is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Thank you Natasha for the amazing recipe.My whole family jus loved instapot whole chicken with gravy .Loads of love and hugs to you
That’s so great, Anusha!
Hi Natasha! Haven’t tried this recipe yet but it’s next on my list. Question can you link to where you got the kitchen disposable gloves? Didn’t see the link in the recipe thanks!!!
Hi Karyn, Here are the gloves we use (affiliate link)
Thank you Natasha!!!
Tried the instapot whole chicken recipe. Absolutely fantastic!! Came together quickly and flavor was unbelievable.
That’s so great! Isn’t the flavor out of this world?! We absolutely love it.
The chicken turned out too soft. The wings came off. I wouldn’t recommend the times mentioned in the recipe—a shorter cooking time in the Instant Pot would probably yield better results. Nonetheless, the chicken turned out okay. Tried another recipe before that had the same method of stuffing butter under the skin then roasting the chicken straight away, and it yielded much better results—the same buttery tender chicken meat and crispy skin without the meat falling off the bone.
Thank you for sharing that feedback with us, Demi.
I followed the recipe as written with my ninja and it turned out fantastic. My family loved the chicken and it came out of the oven looking like the picture. But the gravy words can not express how fantastic it was and what makes the meat great is that it’s infused with that gravy.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Mike.
I had the same problem! Chicken was just over 5 lbs and I cooked in on high pressure for 30 minutes, plus 15 natural release. When I opened the IP, the chicken skin was peeled off and the chicken was falling apart. Just to be safe, I skipped the oven step and we just ate it as-is. Juicy, albeit not super attractive. 😉
Upside: the gravy was out of this world!
I love all of your recipes. I will try this again and shave off a bit of cooking time to see if that helps.
Hi Jill, you can definitely shave off a little time if it was overly tender. The skin does tend to separate at the top if you are using a larger bird. You can see in my photos that mine did that also. It looks prettier after broiling.
Hi Natasha!
I made this last night and it was delicious!!
First time tried whole chicken in IP, first time tried your recipe! Yum!!
My 16 yo son do not like whole chicken, but he said it was good. So that says a lot!!
My 6 yo son and I love your videos and we watch them together everyday. He even asks me to watch Natasha! I have so many recipes of yours I would like to try now. Starting with Avocado Chicken salad with left over chicken today! I don’t have a lot chicken left though… since we liked it so much. Haha!
Thank you so much for the delicious recipe and I can’t wait to try more!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles!
Depending on the trivet you use, you might be able to put potatoes in the bottom under the trivet. Potatoes from The Little Potato Company would work great. Just a thought
I love the idea of adding potatoes underneath. Wow that would be very tasty! If you experiment with that, please let me know how it goes.
Any suggestions about how to add potatoes into the instant pot with the chicken to make mashed with instead of having to cook them separately?
Hmm that’s a great suggestion, Carli! I haven’t tested that but I’m curious now. If you experiment in any way with potatoes, please let me know how you liked the recipe
Is a 7.6 lb chicken too big for this recipe or just follow your time guide?I have a 8qt instant pot. Thank you for your time.
Hi Shannon, that is a very large chicken! I don’t have an 8qt to test it in but that should work fine in an 8qt instant pot following the timing guide.
I have the 8qt and made this with an almost 6 lb bird. Their was still room to spare.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Tessa.
This chicken was delicious. Gravy, too, and went so well with mashed potatoes. Problem was, I had to make the potatoes on my stove since the chicken was already in the instant pot. My husband said it was the best he has ever had. I love my instant pot and am glad to have another go-to recipe I can count on. Next time I will up the herbs. Great job Natasha! Keep the IP recipes coming!
Thank you for the wonderful review, Crabby! I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes.
This was my first attempt making a whole chicken in the Instant Pot. It turned out amazing and definitely will make it again, and again (y)
Isn’t the flavor amazing! Thank you for that great review, Nancy!
I’m making this tonight!!! I’m so excited! Cant wait
Yay! I hope you love this recipe.
Omgggg!!! We absolutely loved it! Went amazing with some mashed potatoes. And that gravy is to die for! Cant wait to make it again
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you Danyell!
This was my first time making a chicken in the instant pot. The chicken was juicy and had an amazing flavor! Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that, Jesse! Thank you for that amazing review.
Hi Natasha, I made this recipe for the 1st time today and my kids loved it so much. The chicken was so tender and juicy and the gravy was delicious too. I was nervous b/c I didn’t have a trivet (adding 1 to my Amazon cart now), so I used a steamer basket instead. Thanks for the great recipe.
That is the best when kids love what we parents make. That’s so great!
I don’t have anbinst Pot, can I use a slow crock pot or an air fry divide. Love this receipt Thk .,Nat
Hi Carmin, you can make this in a slow cooker just following whole chicken slow cooker instructions – it may be a little difficult to transfer to the oven afterward though.
Natasha omg !!! You’re amazing !! I made this chicken recipe and gravy tonight oh my goodness … my family and I devoured it!!! Thank you for this amazing recipe so easy and DELICIOUS ! Will make this again .
I’m so glad to hear it, Jennifer! Thank you for that amazing review!
This was outstanding! The seasoned butter provided so much flavor to the chicken and the gravy was delicious. No additional seasoning needed. I used my MeaIthy CrispLid to brown instead of the broiler. However, even though I was very careful loosening the breast skin in order to add the seasoned butter, the skin split during cooking exposing the breast so only the skin on the legs and wings were “available” to crisp. It was still delicious!!!! My bird was 3.5 pounds and it cooked perfectly in 21 minutes. Thanks for great recipe!!
You’re welcome, Mindy! I’m happy you enjoyed that.
I cant find the video on this page, am I missing it.
Cancel my comment above, page slow to load, found it now. Xx
Hi Jon, it is in the recipe post. You can click on the photo that has the youtube play button (red). I will link it for you directly HERE.
Just made this ! And I mean it really is better than Turkey !!! Thank you Natasha you the best !!! Soo good mine was 5 lbs so I did 35 min w 15 min slow release. Soo delishes I cant
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Yekaterina! Thank you for that great feedback.
Thank you so much for sharing my Instant Pot frozen chicken recipe with your readers. I appreciate it a lot!
Hi Olena, You are so welcome! I thought your ideas were great for using frozen chicken!
Where do you get the insert for lifting the chicken out of the pot?
Hi Helene, we used a Trivet for even cooking and to help remove the chicken from the instant pot.
Hi Natasha. Im really interested in try this recipe. I dont have a instant pot but i do have a pressure cooker. I was wondering if it could still be done?
Hi, yes an instant pot is essentially an electric and programmable pressure cooker. Follow the user instructions for your specific model then pressure cook according to the recipe instructions.
Hi Natasha! Wonderful recipe, I just made it today and it was delicious! Just wondering, do the calories listed include the gravy too or just chicken? If it’s not including the gravy, would you happen to know? Thanks
Hi Sara, it includes the gravy too, but it also does account for removing the extra fat that is skimmed off from the gravy so that is not included.
If I could add another star I would. This was sooo good. Chicken came out so juicy and the gravy alone is worth making this. Best gravy iv had! Seriously.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Caroline!
My husband and I both loved this recipe! I was skeptical to cook a whole chicken in my Instant Pot…. not anymore, this recipe is delicious! The chicken is moist and flavorful and the gravy is amazing! Be sure to use unsalted butter and low sodium chicken broth, as indicated, or it will be too salty. I did not use the extra 3 Tbsp butter to make the gravy, didn’t need it. Thank you for the delicious recipe Natasha!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Carrie!
I don’t have an instant pot. Could I use a dutch oven?
Hi Amber, for oven-roasted chicken (you can use a dutch oven pot), I would recommend roasting at 425 degrees F for 1 hour 30 minutes (for a 5-5 1/2 lb chicken), or until juices run clear when you slice between the leg and thigh. A smaller chicken will roast faster. I highly recommend a meat thermometer since not all chickens are the same in size. The deepest/thickest part of the thigh should read 165˚F. Rest 15-20 minutes before serving after it’s out of the oven.
I’m a new cook at the age of 67 and my wife gave me a ninja so I tried this dish and even the wife liked the result. It’s an easy recipe to follow so I guess I’ll be buying more chickens. Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Mike!
Made the whole chicken tonight for dinner…OUTSTANDING and so easy! The gravy is seasoned perfectly and the lemon comes through just enough. You wanna make this!
Hi, I am so happy you loved our Instant Pot Chicken recipe! Thank you for the amazing review!
Hi Natasha, I cannot see a video anywhere for this recipe
Hi Manuela, we have it linked in the recipe but you can also follow the direct link here. I hope that helps.
Thank you for giving all of the cooking times. I get so scared not knowing how long is too long for different chicken sizes. So helpful!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad this was helpful!
I see the video link now. Thanks
I’m glad you found that Alan!
I would like to know what is an instant pot cooker? Do you mean a pressure cooker like TFall??
Thank you
Hi Teresa, it is an Electric Pressure Cooker with additional functions. Here is the one we used here.
I do not see a link to the video for the whole chicken recipe. Using IPad????
This chicken was tender and juicy. It was just falling off the bone. Add to it the amazing gravy and it was perfection!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
This chicken recipe is so juicy and tender! I love how this is an instant pot recipe, a great way to use my instant pot!
We love Instant Pot recipes! Thank you so much for stopping by, Valentina!
I don’t have a instant pot what would the time be in a oven ?
Hi Karen, for oven-roasted chicken, I would recommend roasting at 425 degrees F for 1 hour 30 minutes (for a 5-5 1/2 lb chicken), or until juices run clear when you slice between the leg and thigh. A smaller chicken will roast faster. I highly recommend a meat thermometer since not all chickens are the same in size. The deepest/thickest part of the thigh should read 165˚F. Rest 15-20 minutes before serving after it’s out of the oven.
Hi Natasha, I was waiting for a new recipe from you, this looks so yummy. But where is the video, I like to watch the video first!!!!
Hi Cristina, I totally forgot to embed it when I first published the post. It is there now. Thank you for letting me know and I hope you totally love the chicken AND the gravy!