How To Cook A Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot

If you are wondering how to cook a whole chicken in your instant pot, you are going to be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is! Cooking the entire chicken gives you tons of flavor, something that boneless skinless chicken breasts cannot compete with and the instant pot keeps the moisture in the chicken and makes it so easy.

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Get More Flavor with Whole Chickens

When I first purchased my instant pot, I knew the first thing I wanted to make was a whole chicken. I love buying whole chickens because you get so much flavor when you cook the chicken with the bones in. Boneless skinless chicken breasts taste bland and dry to me. By cooking the entire chicken, you get much more flavor.

Making a whole chicken in the instant pot couldn’t be easier. With just a few simple ingredients like onions, celery and some simple seasonings, you will be well on your way to eating a delicious home cooked meal.

Nutritious Homemade Bone Broth

Another reason to buy whole chickens are the bones! You can make a delicious homemade bone broth right in your instant pot. Did you know that bone broth is packed with nutritious vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorous? It helps reduce inflammation and heal the gut. It may boost immunity and help alleviate symptoms of the common cold. Homemade organic bone broth is a wonderful thing!

By cooking down the chicken bones in water, apple cider vinegar and a few veggies and seasonings, you get this delicious, savory broth that is so nourishing for you and your family.

Check out my quick video showing you how easy it is to make a Whole Chicken In the Instant Pot

How To Make Whole Chicken In Instant Pot

Step One

Remove chicken from packaging and remove giblets from inside the chicken. Place trivet in bottom of instant pot. Place chicken, breasts up, on trivet.

Step Two

Add 1 cup of water to bottom of instant pot

Step Three

Make my instant pot chicken rotisserie chicken seasoning:

• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tbsp paprika

Step Four

Sprinkle Chicken with rotisserie seasoning.

Step Five

Rough chop a yellow onion and 3 stalks of celery. Toss on top of the chicken in the instant pot.

Step Six

Secure lid on your instant pot and set to sealed. Cook chicken on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound of chicken:

• 3 lbs – 18 minutes
• 4 lbs – 24 minutes
• 5 lbs – 30 minutes

Let the pressure naturally release for 20 minutes after the cooking is done.

The end result is a perfectly cooked chicken. Some weeks I serve the chicken alongside a starch and vegetables and other weeks I like to make recipes with the meat. I usually separate the meat from the bones and divide it up into sections, breast, breast, leg-wing-thigh and leg-wing-thigh. Then I’ll freeze them separately and thaw them as I need them. Saves me loads of money, rather than buying individually packed chicken meats.

Then I’ll save the bones and make a delicious, nutritious bone broth that will nourish us for the week. I love it as a soup base, in chicken pot pies and just to have on hand for if someone gets sick. If you want to know how to make chicken bone broth in the instant pot, check out my tutorial and video here.

When I’m ready to use the chicken I just pull a container(or a few) out of the freezer and let the chicken thaw.

If you are looking for some recipes to use with your whole chicken, check out my weekly meal plan from this week. It is 5 meals with 1 chicken – with a FREE PRINTABLE GROCERY LIST!

Click here to watch my quick video on the easiest way to make bone broth in the instant pot!

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