Use your Instant Pot pressure cooker to make the absolute most mouthwatering, tender and juicy bbq pulled chicken. This recipe is done and on your plate from start to finish in under an hour with plenty enough to feed an entire family. No need to wait all day for a slow cooker, or deal with expensive smokers. This really is the perfect recipe for all the Instant Pot craze!
Use both thighs and breasts for perfect pulled chicken
This recipe uses both boneless skinless chicken thighs and breasts to make the prefect pulled chicken. Chicken thighs are dark meat and provide that extra flavor boost and super tenderness, while the breast meat provides the perfect texture while, especially once we sear the meat with our amazing rub. Speaking of rub…
Start with the best damn rub!
To make the most delicious bbq pulled chicken in our Instant Pot, we’re going to start with an awesome rub that will provide such an amazing flavor. The rub is actually pretty simple – brown sugar, salt, black pepper, white pepper (more on that in a minute), onion powder, paprika, ground mustard and a little cayenne. These flavors are the base for a great bbq chicken taste and will be infused in to the chicken during the pressure cooking process. If you’ve seen some of RecipeTeacher’s other popular recipes such as Best Damn Instant Pot Pork Chops, Best Damn Instant Pot Pulled Pork and Best Damn Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin, you’ll see that we use a similar rub. For chicken, we’re gonna bump up the salt a little, and also help bring out a robustness and a bit of a punch with some white pepper. White pepper is one of my favorite seasonings to use in chicken dishes. It doesn’t have the heat of cayenne, but allows us to still kick up the zing and provides the chicken with that little extra something that’s oh so good. White pepper is available at most supermarkets and will be a welcome addition to your spice/seasoning repertoire.
Sear the meat first
After we’re coated our chicken pieces with the delicious rub, it’s time to give it a good sear. With the Instant Pot on saute mode, give the chicken a good sear on each side for about 2-3 minutes each. Do it in two batches to make sure you can get all the pieces nice and seared. The caramelization of the sugars and other seasonings will create a rich, deep flavor that’s essential to the overall dish. And once all the chicken is seared, you’ll want to pour a half cup of broth into the pot and scrape it good with a wooden spoon. This is known as deglazing. It’s also necessary, as the pot will not come to pressure unless all those bits are scraped up. And do not toss that stuff away! It’s another essential part of our bbq flavor profile.
Pressure cook for 15 minutes with 10 minute natural release
After we deglaze the bottom of the pot, pour in another cup of low-sodium chicken broth, the Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke and lay the pieces of chicken directly into the liquid. Squeeze it all in there as best possible. Most all of it should be in the liquid. It doesn’t need to be completely submerged. Then secure the lid, set vent to “sealing”, and pressure cook (manual) on high for 15 minutes. When the cooking time is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. If the pin hasn’t dropped after 10 minutes, go ahead and quick release the rest and remove the lid.
Add BBQ sauce if you like, but it’s not necessary
Once the coking is complete and you’ve removed the lid, use tongs and remove the chicken into a separate large bowl. Scoop about a ½ cup of the liquid out of the instant Pot and put it into the bowl with the chicken. Use 2 forks and shred away. The chicken will already be falling apart.
PrintRecipe
Best Damn Instant Pot Pulled Chicken
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: About 6-8 servings
Description
A tender and delicious BBQ pulled chicken made easy in your Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3 tbs brown sugar
- 1tbs kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
Instructions
- Trim any excess fat from chicken. Cut breasts in half so each piece is about the same size as the thighs.
- Add 1 tbs olive oil to Instant pot and press saute. Add all dry ingredients in a large 1 gallon ziplock bag and shake to mix well. Add chicken pieces to bag with 1 tbs olive oil, seal bag and shake for a minute, massaging the seasoning to cover all the pieces of chicken. When Instant Pot reads “hot”, use tongs and carefully add the pieces of chicken. Don’t force all the pieces to fit, do 2 batches. Let the chicken sear for 2-3 minutes and then carefully flip the pieces and do the other side for another 2-3 minutes. Remove to plate when done and proceed with 2nd batch.
- After all the chicken is browned, pour ½ cup of broth into the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the bits from the bottom. Don’t skip this step, it’s important. Once the bottom is scraped up, add the other cup of broth, the Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke. Then add chicken. Squeeze all the chicken in as best you can – most should be covered with the liquid, but not all. Secure lid, set vent to “sealing” and pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. When cooking time is done, allow pressure to naturally release for at least 10 minutes.
- Once pressure is released and pin drops, carefully remove lid. Use tongs and remove chicken to a separate bowl. Add about ¼ cup of the juices from the Instant Pot and use 2 forks to shred chicken.
- You’re ready to add your favorite BBQ sauce (probably about ½ cup), but you can just add more of the juices from the pot – the taste of that alone is unbelievable!
- Serve on warm brioche or other rolls and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 45min (including building pressure and release time)
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: BBQ
Joyce G says
I messaged earlier saying I only had chicken breast but I decided to go out and get some chicken thighs for more flavor. Thank you for responding so quickly. Can’t wait to make it !
RecipeTeacher says
Absolutely, Joyce. Let me know how it goes!
Joyce G says
Hello. I saw your recipe and it sounds delicious but would it be okay if I used all chicken breast? I don’t have any thighs.
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Joyce. You can indeed. It will be missing a big part of what make it so succulent but breast meat can indeed be used alone.
Dee says
OMG!!! This is so freakin good!! I had to stop myself from “test tasting” as I shredded the chicken!! Only put BBQ sauce on a some of it because the juices from the Instant Pot are DELICIOUS!!!
Amber says
This was very good! I didn’t have white pepper or liquid smoke on hand so I just skipped those. I also didn’t have chicken breast, just chicken thighs. It still turned out so so good. My kids didn’t like it but they don’t like anything. My husband loved it and said it must be bad for you to taste this good. Thanks for sharing!
Ashton says
A true instant pot novice and I made this amazing dish with no problem. I’m blown away at the flavors! Thanks for sharing.
RecipeTeacher says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback, Ashton!
Debra K. says
Not only was this delicious, it was also super easy to make! Because I just made one meal for two people, I only used three chicken breasts. I also used a smoked paprika in my rub, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I served it on a bun with chopped pickles, a little bbq sauce and some cole slaw. My husband loved it. This one is going in my permanent recipe box. Thank you for the great recipe!!!
Christina says
I love your pulled pork!!! It’s the only recipe I use now.
Could I use the same rub on bone-in chicken breast? (not doing pulled chicken)
Thanks,
Cdppach
RecipeTeacher says
Sure can!
Ellie says
I made a lightened up version of this. Switched the brown sugar for a sweetner alternative and “skinny” bbq sauce. I didn’t have liquid smoke but my gosh this recipe is nothing short of amazing.
Thank you!!
RecipeTeacher says
That’s awesome, Ellie! Yeah some people have used Swerve and have had excellent results. Thanks for the feedback!!
Kelly Beaudin says
Great! Bursting with flavor. Made it twice already, husband requested it the second time. Thanks!
RecipeTeacher says
Awesome! Thank you, Kelly!
NikkiRockyHorror says
This is the best pulled chicken recipe I’ve ever made. I used a mix of breasts and thighs and it turned out great. We served it with corn pudding and a salad. We tried it with a drizzle a drizzle of Mambo Sauce but it was outstanding all by itself. Thank you for such a great recipe!
RecipeTeacher says
Awesome, Nikki! Thank you for the feedback!
Katie says
Hi! I’m making this recipe for the first time and am so excited! Does the liquid ratio change if using an 8qt. pot?
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Katie. The liquid will be the same for an 8qt.