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, which you can make right in the Instant Pot.
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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.
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Video
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!
Ingredients for Instant Pot Whole Chicken Recipe
The ingredients here are so simple, and you will probably have everything you need in your refrigerator and pantry. The combination of seasonings makes for the best-tasting gravy you can make from the pan drippings.
- 1 whole chicken (4 to 4 1/2 lbs) – be sure it’s fully thawed.
- Chicken stock – you can use vegetable broth, chicken bone broth or even turkey stock.
- Seasonings – We combined fresh garlic, thyme, and rosemary with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Butter and Lemon Juice – we were inspired to add lemon juice and butter from our famous Roast Turkey Recipe. Butter helps to spread the seasonings under the chicken skin and keeps the chicken juicy.
Tips for the Best I.P. Rotisserie Chicken
- Weight the chicken and cook the chicken for 6 minutes per pound and allow a 15-minute natural pressure release. The gradual release of pressure will ensure your chicken is fully cooked through and rested for the juiciest chicken. It also prevents foam from shooting out of the valve.
- Thaw the chicken completely if frozen – it will cook more evenly.
- Use the correct size instant pot. 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 and salty skin
- Keep 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 the “sealing” position, and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound, followed by a 15-minute natural pressure release before manually releasing the 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 Instant Pot 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 the 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
Avoid overcooking the bird, which will cause it to fall apart and make it difficult to transfer out of the instant pot.
How to Make Chicken Gravy
In considering the dish factor, as we call it (fewer dishes to wash!), we make the gravy directly in the instant pot after removing the chicken. The gravy is amazing poured over creamy mashed potatoes and drizzled over the sliced chicken.
- Strain the drippings – 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.
- Make the Gravy – 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.
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.
Recipes for Leftover Rotisserie Chicken
We love cooking a whole chicken because the options are endless for easy dinners using diced or shredded leftover chicken. Don’t forget to keep the carcass to make the best homemade chicken stock.
- Avocado Chicken Salad
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Autumn Chopped Chicken Salad
- Chicken Bacon Avocado Sandwich
- Leftover Turkey in Gravy (with chicken!)
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Salad
- Chicken Patties
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pressure cook for 24 min with 15 min natural pressure release, remove the chicken with trivet, allowing any excess juice to drip into the pot (keep that liquid for gravy).
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
This is a great crowd pleaser. My 8 qt IP was large enough so I added Yukon gold potatoes with the chicken. The gravy was excellent. Definitely going into the rotation when the whole family comes for dinner. Thanks for a great recipe.
Thanks for your review, John. Glad you the recipe was a hit!
Did you put the potatoes in with the chicken, or did you cook them after?
Desert Rose, if it was me I would add the potatoes as the chicken is resting. I would PC for 3 minutes depending on the size. Could also add some carrots.
Hurry up and make this chicken!!! I added a teaspoon of mustard powder to the seasoning and stuffed the cavity with extra rosemary, thyme, and some fresh oregano and marjoram. killer dish
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sonja!
Hi Natasha! Can i use dried rosemary and thyme?
Hi Joy, that will work too
The best chicken meal! The gravy was outstanding!! My husband isn’t a gravy eater but had 2 servings with gravy. The boy that is home says it’s the butter. Doesn’t matter it was great!
I’m so glad this recipe was a hit, Pat! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
This was amazing. Followed the recipe. Skin didn’t crisp up but it didn’t matter as the meat was so tender and falling apart. Gravy was really good too💕
Thanks for sharing that with us, Nina. I’m happy to know that you enjoyed this recipe!
Thank you Natasha I am waiting for my instapot to get through cooking and it smells so good in here now I have a question and that is how could we cook the giblets with that and then use them in the gravy , just wondering if you had any ideas
Oh, I bet your home smells so good right now! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I usually do not include the bag of giblets but remove and discard it. I know there are probably recipes out there for using the giblets, like making gravy but we don’t personally.
Natasha, you are awesome! I sincerely love your recipes and the creative and quality manner in which you teach us how to prepare and cook them. You and your production are “top shelf”! As to the Instant Pot chicken… do you think adding some potatoes and carrots to the Instant pot while cooking the chicken would be okay? If not, please tell us why. Again, thanks for being a GREAT inspiration to your fans and for producing such great videos and recipes! Sincerely, Tom
Hi Tom! That will actually work with this recipe. Here’s what one of our readers wrote: “The flavor of this chicken was wonderful and I put some root vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, onions and then some Brussel sprouts under the chicken to cook as well” I hope you find this helpful!
This was the first instant pot recipe I tried and it came out absolutely perfect! Wouldn’t change a thing. I served it with noodles and we put the gravy on them as well and it was sooo good. I’m so excited about my instant pot now . Thank you Natasha!!!
Yay, that’s great! I’m glad your first try using your instant pot recipe was a success. I hope you’ll love every recipe that you will try!
I was really excited about the instaPot whole chicken recipe. I followed the directions exactly, only substituting olive oil for butter. Might you be able to guess why the breast meat of the chicken turned out stringy and chewy? The chicken was totally fresh, slaughtered one day ago… first ever for me to buy a chicken so fresh…$28!! Didn’t want to wreck it, but something is not right with the texture. Ideas?
Hi T, it’s hard to say with substitutions and not being there if that was the culprit or not, and I haven’t had that experience. I wish I could say it was the butter – but I recommend trying the original recipe with no substitutions.
The chicken likely was cooked to soon after being butchered which would make the chicken tough. We let ours rest several days before cooking to ensure it will be tender and juicy.
Oh my goodness! Learned something really new today Thank you Helen B.
As someone who grows their own chickens for food, I can say that the super fresh ones often turn out tough and stringy. I prefer to let them rest in the fridge for at least 48 hours before cooking.
Hands down my favorite recipe, I try to make it every Sunday! I’m obsessed with how delicious it is, how easy it is and how happy it makes my family, we all look forward to it. Not only is it an amazing dinner but I usually get a couple of days of the best chicken sandwiches out of it and then fresh chicken stock! Cannot say enough nice things about this recipe, so recommended!
Thanks for your good comments and review, Stephanie. I’m glad you loved the recipe!
This is an absolutely full proof recipe that makes a wonderfully addictive gravy. I shared the recipe with my daughter that loves gravy but has a hard time making it. The chicken comes out juicy and the gravy is plentiful as well as tasty.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Cheryl!
Hello,
Is the nutrition information per serving? If so, how many servings per 3 pound bird? I really just want to know how many calories per serving and how many ounces per serving. Thanks so much!
Hi Aimee, Yes, the nutrition information is per serving. We made a 4-pound chicken that serves 6.
Oh gosh, I forgot to add the stars!
Hi Natasha! I just made this but with a lot of alterations – I hope it’s ok if I share? I have a 6qt PowerQuick Pot – fantastic appliance. So, I didn’t use butter, but I did use avocado oil. I also cut the chicken in half – because I wanted to do a side-by-side comparison to sous-vide. My spice was Weber’s Kick’N Chicken. I pulled back the skin, dried it all off, sprayed the avocado oil on then added the spice. I did this on the flesh, on the skin and on the bottom side of the chicken. I also placed my chicken on the egg trivet so it wasn’t too close to the liquid. I didn’t have chicken broth. I used 3/4 cup water with about 1/4 cup liquid smoke, 2 fresh bay leaves, dried white sage leaves and stalks, dried rosemary along with a bit of butter emulsion to see if I could detect a butter taste (no – maybe too many flavors). I put the liquid and aromatics in the pot and put it on sauté to warm it up to open the spices – about 5-10 minutes with the lid on – I didn’t want the liquid to evaporate too much. Popped in the chicken and used your time chart to determine length of time. When it was done it smelled amazing. I didn’t want to heat up my place to crisp up the skin, so I put on my air fryer lid and let it go for about 10 minutes, with another spray of avocado oil to help it along. Too bad I can’t add a picture! The flavor is amazing, it is not overcooked. The texture reminds me of what good poached chicken would be like and the skin? Perfect!
Thank you so. much for sharing!
Made this tonight. Delious!. The only thing I would do differently is leave the chicken under the broiler longer
Thanks for your good feedback, Bruce. That sounds good too!
Hi Natasha,
I’m planning to try this recipe tonight but I have two chickens that will fit in my 8 quart ip. If I keep the timing consistent with 6 minutes per pound do you think this will work out ok? Should I add more stock or any other modifications? Thank you!
Hi Karen, that is a great question. I would assume that but I haven’t tested with two chickens in one instant pot. You might do a quick google search to see if others have tried it and what settings they used. I would increase the stock and double everything.
Thanks for this recipe, which I made again tonight. I learned putting the spices inside the skin and broiling afterward from you.
I was out of homemade chicken broth and didn’t want to open a box when I had half a cup of TJ ginger miso broth left in the fridge, so I topped it up with cheap pino grigio… I may have to do that from now on; the gravy was spectacular.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Jack!
Wow. I don’t remember the last time I had chicken that tasted so good. The gravy is to die for. I enjoyed it with a strawberry/feta/almond salad. The flavours were like sunshine 🌞 🙏🏻
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Kari!
I love this recipe! How can I adapt it using chicken thighs? Mainly just wondering about the cooking time, I plan on using 6 or so pieces of thighs.
Thanks!
Hi Donna, I haven’t tested this recipe with chicken thighs so you might have to reference some instant pot chicken thigh recipes to gauge and experiment with timing.
Quick question!Can I cook frozen chicken too or I have to defrost it first?
Hi Katherine, we have this note in the recipe you may find helpful “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”