Enjoy a whole roasted chicken in under an hour with this Instant pot recipe. Nothing beats how flavorful, tender, and juicy it is, except maybe how little time it actually takes to make it.
I’m a late adapter when it comes to kitchen appliances. Mainly because I feel like everything I cook can be made in the oven or on the stove. But also because I’m afraid of wasting money on something I’ll never use. Which is why it took me years to purchase an Instant Pot*. I still haven’t quite figured out everything it can do, but what I’ve made so far has been pretty darn great.
The thing I make most (okay, almost exclusively) in it is chicken. Nothing beats how flavorful, tender, and juicy it turns out. Except, maybe, how little time it actually takes to make it.
Take a whole roasted chicken, for example. In the oven, it would take close to 2 hours to roast a 3lb chicken in the oven. A whole roasted chicken of the same size in the Instant Pot, however, takes a mere 18 minutes of cook time plus the 20 minutes it takes to pressurize. That’s less than HALF the time it would take and puts it well under the 1 hour of cook time recommended for meats and poultry.
And as a fun bonus, whenever you cook chicken in the Instant Pot, you also get at least 1-2 cups of incredibly flavorful chicken stock at the end of it. I seriously consider it liquid gold and am looking forward to drinking it during the cold winter months as a special treat.
What’s your favorite thing to make in the Instant Pot? Anything you’ve been wanting to make?
A Whole Roasted Chicken in the Instant Pot
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 chicken the one pictured is around 6 lbs
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic minced (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
Instructions
- Rinse your chicken and make sure to remove and giblets or extra pieces from the inside of your bird.
- Set the stainless steel roasting rack in the bottom of your Instant Pot and place your chicken on top. Pour in 1-2 cups of water and sprinkle with salt and garlic (powder). Close the lid and set your Instant Pot to Pressure Cook on High.
- General rule of thumb for cooking chicken is 6 minutes per pound for fresh chicken and 10 minutes per pound frozen.
- My 6 lb chicken that was fresh from the store took 36 minutes to cook plus the time it takes to pressurize and then release. If it were a frozen chicken it would have taken 60 minutes plus the time it takes to pressurize and release.
- Chicken should be between 160-170°F when fully cooked.
- Remove chicken carefully from your Instant Pot and let sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving. Don’t forget to save your cooking liquid!!
