Last Updated on October 6, 2021 by Anne-Marie

This easy Instant Pot whole chicken recipe is a weeknight family favorite. This pressure cooker chicken recipe is ideal for gluten free, keto, and low carb diets.

Why this recipe works

Forget store bought, this is the best instant pot rotisserie chicken ever!

The bird is seasoned with a spice rub that’s made with ingredients from your pantry.

It’s seared in the Instant Pot until golden brown and cooked until fall-off-the-bone tender.

And since it's truly a one-pot recipe, it makes for easy clean up.

What equipment do you need to cook a pressure cooker whole chicken

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker: Cook the whole chicken in either a 6-quart Instant Pot or 8-quart Instant Pot.

Trivet: You can use the trivet with handles that came with your instant pot or pressure cooker.

Baking sheet: If you want to your chicken to have a crispy skin, you’ll need to place it in the broiler for a few minutes on a baking sheet.

Cooking spray: Spray the chicken with some olive oil cooking spray before placing it in the oven.

Poultry lifter: A poultry lifter comes in handy for lifting a hot whole chicken out of your Instant Pot.

The lifter works much better than tongs and you can use it on Thanksgiving turkey.

How to cook Instant Pot whole Chicken

Now that I’m regularly using my Instant Pot for recipes like Instant Pot Orange Chicken and Instant Pot Chili with Pumpkin, I love how simple it is to use.

But there are some tricks to using it.

First, make sure your chicken fits in your instant pot

Stop laughing. I’m serious.

There’s nothing like getting ready to cook and find that the nice fat chicken you’ve been defrosting for three days in the refrigerator is too big for your Instant Pot.

This is where the benefits of a larger, 8-quart Instant Pot comes in handy. You know just about any chicken is going to fit in that baby!

(I use a larger pressure cooker because I want the option of doubling my recipes.)

However, if you have a 6-quart Instant Pot, like most people, you should have not problem fitting a 4-5 pound whole chicken in it.

But if you were hoping to cook this in your 3-quart Instant Pot, you may be in trouble!

That model is better for making side dishes and breakfasts dishes like oatmeal.

Prepare your chicken

In the recipe, when I say “clean the chicken” I don’t mean rinse it.

All washing does is splash raw chicken germs all over your sink and counters. YUCK!

Instead, “cleaning” means to remove any giblets, neck, heart, liver, etc. from the cavity of the chicken.

You can cook up the liver if you like in some olive oil. Add a little salt and pepper.

(Give it to the dog if cooked liver isn’t your thing. She’ll be sooo happy!)

Then save the neck and giblets to make stock.

Season the chicken

Mix all the seasonings together in a small bowl.

Then rub the seasonings over the chicken and sprinkle some in the cavity.

Then stuff the cavity with the lemon and onion.

Finally, tie (or truss) the drumsticks together with some kitchen twine (also called butcher’s twine). This will ensure for even cooking.

Plus it will prevent the chicken from falling apart when you lift it out of the pot.

Sauté the chicken

You want to sauté the chicken to give it a nice golden brown appearance on the outside.

To do this, set instant pot to high sauté setting.

Add oil to pot. Then lay the chicken breast side down and cook until golden brown.

Turn the chicken over and continue cooking until the other side is also golden brown.

You can flip the chicken around a bit and cook until all sides are nicely brown.

Then remove chicken and set aside.

Prepare your instant pot for pressure cooking

First, place the trivet into your pressure cooker. You don’t want the chicken to be resting directly on the bottom during the pressure cooking.

Then pour in a cup of chicken broth or stock. (If you have an 8-quart Instant Pot use 2 cups of broth.)

Place the lid on the pressure cooker with the valve set to seal.

Cook and pressure release

Select the manual setting on High and set time for 6 minutes per pound.

When the timer goes off, do a 10 minute Natural Release. 

After that, open the valve and do a Quick Release to vent any remaining pressure.

Doing it this way makes sure that the chicken is nice and tender. (If you do a manual release, all the juices will escape.)

Then let chicken rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Get more Instant Pot Tips at When is it Safe to Open my Instant Pot?

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

● 3 1/2 pound chicken – 21 minutes

● 4 pound chicken – 24 minutes

● 4 1/2 pound chicken – 27 minutes

● 5 pound chicken – 30 minutes

● 5 1/2 pound chicken – 33 minutes

● 6 pound chicken – 36 minutes

How do I know if the instant pot roast chicken is cooked?

When the pressure releases, use a digital cooking thermometer to check that the thigh meat of the chicken has reached 165 degrees F.

If it hasn’t, then you’ll need to cook the chicken for a bit longer.

First, place the the lid back on your Instant pot.

Then cook the chicken for an additional 2 minutes for every 5 degrees below 165 degrees F.

Can I pressure cook a frozen whole chicken?

Sort of. However, you’ll need to thaw it enough to remove any bags of gizzards from the cavity.

To do that, run that cavity area under warm-hot water for 5-10 minutes, so you can remove the bag.

NOTE: Yes, I know I told you not to rinse your chicken because of spreading raw chicken germs.

But now you’re telling me you want to cook frozen chicken! So this is the best way to do it.

After rinsing it and moving the chicken to the pressure cooker, clean up the sink and surrounding area with anti-bacterial wipes or a cleanser.

Here are frozen chicken cooking times:

● 3 pound frozen chicken, cook 33 minutes on high pressure

● 4 pound frozen chicken, cook 44 minutes on high pressure

● 5 pound frozen chicken, cook 55 minutes on high pressure

– For each pound of frozen chicken, you’ll need to increase the cooking time by 11 minutes.

– For each half a pound of frozen chicken, increase cooking time by 6 minutes.

Can I use another cooking liquid?

Instead of chicken broth or stock, you can use:

● water

● vegetable stock

● white wine – I would dilute this to half strength with some water or stock.

● cooking wine – again, dilute this to half strength with water. Since cooking wine is salty, don’t use stock.

● orange juice – dilute with some water, wine or stock.

(Remember, If you have an 8-quart Instant Pot use 2 cups of liquid.)

Also, if you’re gluten free, check the label of any stock or broth you’re using.

You can also make your own stock with something like Massel Bouillon Stock Powder, which is gluten free.

Can I make a Instant Pot whole chicken with crispy skin?

Sure! While sautéing the skin in the pressure cooker gives it a nice golden brown color, cooking a whole chicken in the Instant Pot doesn’t crisp up the skin.

If you like crispy skin, you’ll need to place the chicken in the oven under the broiler. Here’s how:

1. Cook the chicken as directed in your Instant Pot.

2. While it’s cooking, cover a baking sheet in foil.

3. Transfer the cooked chicken to the baking sheet with a poultry lifter.

4. Spray the chicken with an olive oil cooking spray.

5. Place under the broiler for 2 to 4 minutes. Watch the chicken closely so it doesn’t burn.

Can I brine the whole chicken before cooking it in the Instant Pot?

You bet! Here are a couple of brining recipes I use for turkey and chicken:

Recipe for how to brine and smoke a turkey breast – since this is for a turkey breast, it’s the perfect amount of brine for a chicken.

Brined & Smoked Chicken Quarters – this recipe brines four chicken quarters, so you may want to double the recipe.

Smoked Turkey Brine – cut this recipe in half for a chicken.

Or you can brine two chickens and borrow a friend’s pressure cooker and cook up two at a time!

What easy recipes can I make the chicken?

Sure, there’s nothing like an instant pot whole chicken dinner with some Oven Roasted Vegetables or a side of Cucumber Onion Salad.

But this is also a versatile chicken recipe that you can turn into other dishes like Easy Mixed Green Salad with Chicken or Easy Rotisserie Chicken SaladRecipe.

You can also shred the chicken and use it in Leftover Turkey Enchilada Casserole, Chicken Enchilada Casserole or Chicken Vegetable Soup.