Instant Pot Whole Chicken Recipe

This Instant Pot Whole Chicken Recipe is tender, juicy and absolutely delicious!  It's so easy and quick to make and cooks in a fraction of the time compared to the oven roasting alternative.  Cooked from fresh or frozen, the meat is always falling-off-the-bone and completely delectable.

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I do love a rotisserie chicken or an oven roasted chicken.  There’s something magical that happens to the meat as it cooks for hours and hours.  It’s always tender, juicy and so flavorful.

Oh and if you’re the fortunate person who gets to carve it up then you get to snack (I mean taste test), ahem, all that yumminess before it gets to the plate.

I can hardly contain myself… literally I think I eat two portions – one while I’m carving and another during dinner.  Don’t judge people – you know you do the same thing.

I also love that there’s nothing fussy or complicated about roasting a chicken.  You can add seasoning, herbs, & veggies or just keep it plain and simple and it always turns out wonderful.  So simple and sooo good!

The only downside to this roasting chicken business is that it takes a decent amount of time to slow cook in the oven.  But not anymore because of our favorite new kitchen appliance – the Instant Pot.

I’ve got your attention now – right!?  So, the question  is:

How long does it take to cook a whole chicken in the instant pot?

Thanks to the Miracle Pot (better known as the Instant Pot), you can enjoy fall-off-the-bone-tender chicken with only 20-30 minutes of pressure cooking.  Amazing – isn’t it!?

Yesss!  Instant Pot Whole Chicken is pretty fabulous!

The length of cooking time for whole chickens will vary based on size of your chicken.  The rule of thumb for whole chicken in the Instant Pot is that each pound of chicken requires 6 minutes of pressure cooking.  And therefore, for each half-pound of chicken you need 3 minutes of pressure cooking.

Here’s a quick reference for you when figuring out cook times…

HOW LONG DO YOU COOK A WHOLE CHICKEN IN THE INSTANT POT?

How long to cook Instant Pot chicken:

• 3lb whole chicken in the Instant Pot: 18 minutes at high pressure
• 3½ lb whole chicken in the Instant Pot: 21 minutes at high pressure
• 4lb whole chicken in the Instant Pot: 24 minutes at high pressure
• 4½ lb chicken in the Instant Pot: 27 minutes at high pressure
• 5lb chicken in the Instant Pot: 30 minutes at high pressure
• 5½ lb chicken in the Instant Pot: 33 minutes at high pressure
• 6 lb chicken in the Instant Pot: 36 minutes at high pressure
• 6½ lb chicken in the Instant Pot: 39 minutes at high pressure

Honestly, a 6½ lb chicken is pretty big and it will fill a 6 quart Instant Pot almost to the top of the inner pot.  Usually this is a no-no since you’re only supposed to fill the pot ⅔ full when pressure cooking.  But this is an exception to that rule.

Here’s why:  The IP shouldn't be filled near the top for liquids that take up the entire area within the pot - like soups, stews and stocks.  The same is true for foods that will be fairly solid or will expand, like rice or beans.

Foods like whole chickens have open areas (like the cavity and the open area in the pot around the chicken) so they aren't considered solid, and therefore are acceptable to be above the ⅔ full line.

The largest whole chicken I’ve made in my IP is a 6½ pounder.  I seared it first for 5 minutes per side, then pressure cooked it for 39 minutes with a 15 minute natural pressure release.  It was literally falling off the bone.

Which is great for tender succulent chicken, but honestly it wasn’t the prettiest bird in the world.  So, after a bunch of testing I decided there was no need to sear the skin first, since the main reason to do that is to create that crispy skin we all love.  And because you’re basically steaming the chicken in the IP there’s no way the skin can stay crispy.  Unless… wait for it… you high temp bake/broil it after it pressure cooks.

That’s what I’m talking about!!!  The best of both worlds!  Quick tender chicken with crispy skin. #winning #chickengoals

Here’s my method…  

HOW DO YOU COOK A WHOLE CHICKEN IN THE PRESSURE COOKER?

Rough chop 3 celery stalks and 1 large onion.  Smash 6 large garlic cloves and rinse/dry 8 rosemary sprigs/stems and 10 parsley stems.

Make two bundles of 4 rosemary stems and 5 parsley stems, then tie them off in little bunches with kitchen twine.  (You don’t have to tie them in bundles, but this step makes it easier to remove the herbs later.)

Now it’s time to assemble.  Take your whole chicken and remove any organs that are down inside, and pat it dry on the outside with paper towel.  Sprinkle salt and pepper down into the cavity of the bird, then add some celery, onion, smashed garlic, and one of the herb bundles.

Next, lay the chicken on its back and tie the legs together with kitchen twine.  This will keep all those veggies and herbs inside, and it will make the presentation a little prettier.

Finally, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.   Add 1 cup of chicken stock (or water) to the bottom of the IP inner pot.  I use a 6-Quart Duo Instant Pot (<- link!)  but if you're not sure which one is right for you, read this Instant Pot Review before you buy one.

Moving on... Add the rest of the veggies and herbs.

Then put in the IP trivet and add the chicken to the pot.

Now seal and pressure cook according to the times specified for your size of bird.  (It will take 10-12 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure).  At this point make sure your oven rack is in the middle and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. (You can skip this step if you don’t want the skin to be crispy and golden on the outside.  Sometimes I cook a chicken to use for soups or stew where the skin gets discarded anyway, so browning the skin is unnecessary).

When pressure cooking is complete, allow the IP to naturally release pressure for 15 minutes.  Then manually release the rest of the pressure and remove the lid.

Gently remove the chicken from the pot and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Add a little olive oil or cooking spray to the whole chicken and roast for 5 minutes in a preheated oven at 500 degrees.  Then switch the oven to broil and cook for 2-3 minutes until the skin has crisped up to your liking.  All ovens are not the same so be sure to babysit the bird when it’s on broil so it doesn’t burn the skin!

I tested many, many different methods of pressure cooking whole chickens – some with crispy skin and some without.  There’s no doubt the Instant Pot was made for creating the most mouth-watering whole chicken recipe everrr!

Since I know this is something you might be wondering about I thought I would address the topic of…

CAN YOU COOK A WHOLE CHICKEN THAT IS FROZEN IN THE INSTANT POT?

You can, but there are some limitations you could face.  If your chicken has organs inside, or if it has metal or plastic ties holding the feet together, you cannot pressure cook it in the Instant Pot.

Buuuut if you take the time before freezing your bird to remove the organs and any plastic/metal on the chicken, then it is completely Instant Pot ready.

Cooking a whole frozen chicken will require more pressure cooking than a thawed chicken.  If your chicken is Instant Pot ready and frozen, you should pressure cook it for 11 minutes per pound.  So a frozen 3 pound bird = 33 minutes of pressure cooking time and of course the 15 minutes of natural pressure release.

Instant Pot Whole Chicken Recipe

I’m excited for you to try this recipe on your own.  If you’re new to Instant Pot, cooking this recipe will totally build up your confidence and produce your new favorite way to cook a whole chicken!

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better – it totally does… You probably already know this but this Instant Pot chicken is also naturally low-carb and gluten-free!  You gotta love healthy instant pot recipes!  #alwayswinning

More delicious instant pot chicken recipes:

Instant Pot Chicken Thighs with Risotto
Instant Pot Shredded Mexican Chicken
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Instant P0t Beef Recipes: 

Instant Pot Pot Roast
Instant Pot Beef Thai Red Curry
Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs