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Instant Pot Chicken Pot Roast is a Sunday dinner you can make any day of the week! This easy chicken dinner shows how to cook a chicken in the instant pot with vegetables for a complete meal.
In my quest to make instant pot chicken recipes, I came across this little gem in one of those circulars you find at the grocery store. I’d never thought about making a whole chicken in the pressure cooker but figured I should try it.
(Since you guys love all my instant pot chicken, I knew I needed to take one for the team and try this recipe ha!)
We love pot roast so I figured, why not try a chicken pot roast? I made this just like I make my beef version, but used a whole chicken instead.
Table of Contents
What is Chicken Pot Roast?
Basically, it’s just a chicken cooked in a pressure cooker. I’m considering it a pot roast because it’s cooked with potatoes and carrots, like a beef pot roast would be.
The flavor of the chicken is insanely good and it’s perfectly cooked with the instant pot. I love making chicken in a pressure cooker because it’s moist and juicy and never dry.
Instant Pot Roast Chicken is perfect for Sunday dinner!
How do you cook a whole chicken in the instant pot?
It’s not that much different than cooking it in the crock pot, except that it’s so much faster!
To start, you brown your chicken using the sauté feature on your pressure cooker. This gives the chicken a bit of golden brown color (the instant pot itself won’t brown it like roasting in the oven).
Then you add your vegetables to the pressure cooker along with the liquid needed for the pot to work (pressure cookers need about 1 cup of liquid to come to pressure) and you cook it on high for 25 minutes (for a 3-4 pound chicken).
Pressure Release for Instant Pot Roast Chicken
Cooking in a pressure cooker has three stages: when it’s coming up to pressure, cook time, and release time.
- The pressure cooker takes 10-15 minutes to come up to pressure (it can be faster or slower depending on your machine and what’s in it).
- Cook time is the time it spends cooking – the time you set it for.
- Release time can be one of two things: quick release or natural release.
- Quick release is when you open the valve as soon as the timer dings.
- Natural release is when you let it sit for 10-15 minutes while the steam naturally releases.
When making a Chicken Pot Roast, I use a natural release for about 15 minutes.
Seasoning Chicken for the Pressure Cooker
You can use any seasoning or mix you want – just make sure there are NO thickeners in the mix. I normally use onion soup mix for my pot roast but that has cornstarch in it so avoid using it, or other seasonings like it.
For this recipe I used onion and garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. You could add some paprika or all purpose seasoning or any other herbs.
Add Vegetables
Like any pot roast recipe, the normal vegetables are onions, carrots and potatoes. I love to use baby potatoes because I love their flavor more than russet. If you go that route I suggest Yukon Gold Potatoes – they’re super creamy and delicious.
I used chopped carrots and onions but you could also use celery or any other thick root vegetable. Thinner vegetables will dissolve and get mushy during cooking, so stick to hard and sturdy ones like parsnip or carrot.
Make Gravy
I didn’t do this, but you can totally thicken the juices left in the pressure cooker to make a gravy. Like my 5-minute gravy, doing this won’t take long at all.
To make a gravy:
- Make a slurry of 2 tablespoons cornstarch to 2 teaspoons cold water.
- Remove the chicken and vegetables from the pressure cooker, leaving the liquid behind.
- Turn the pot to sauté and add the slurry.
- Cook until boiling and thick, stirring often.
Do you want a golden brown chicken that looks like it’s been oven roasted? Here’s the secret to making instant pot chicken look like it’s from the oven:
Place the chicken on a shallow roasting pan after it’s been cooked and broil it for a few minutes, watching it, until golden.
This easy chicken pot roast is the most simple whole chicken dinner. It’s a weekend meal you can make on a weeknight thanks to the pressure cooker!
Side dishes that go with instant pot chicken:
Kitchen tools for success:
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Instant Pot Chicken Pot Roast
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (approximately 3 pounds)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 pounds baby potatoes Yukon gold, white, or red
- 1 medium yellow onion diced small
- 2 whole carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Remove giblets from the chicken.
- Mix pepper, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder in a small bowl. Season chicken on all sides.
- Turn on the Instant pot and choose the sauté setting. Add olive oil. Once hot, add the whole chicken and season on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.
- Remove the chicken. Add potatoes, onions and carrots and sauté for 2-3 minutes, then add broth.
- Return chicken to the pot. Close the lid and vent then (using a manual program, not the poultry onhit Pressure Cook and make sure it’s on high pressure. Set the timer for 25 minutes. Once the timer dings, let it naturally release for 15 minutes.
- Remove chicken carefully from the instant pot. Slice and serve with vegetables.
- If desired, you can place the cooked chicken in a roasting pan and broil for just a few minutes to get that rich golden color on top.
Recipe Nutrition
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Last Updated on September 11, 2020
