Sharing is caring!

Easy Instant Pot Shredded Barbecue Chicken is one of the first things I tried cooking when I purchased my Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker. This is the easiest chicken dinner that I make on a regular basis.

It is a family favorite, easy to make for an unplanned dinner as the supplies are always on hand.  A quick barbecue chicken sandwich is perfect for busy work and school nights when everyone is tired and hungry. 

Note this post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.  

Barbecue beef & barbecue pork are traditional barbecue sandwiches. Our family usually doesn’t eat pork and as we are trying to cut down on a lot of beef, I thought I’d give it a go with barbecue chicken.

My first try making Barbecue Chicken in the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker was an immediate hit with our college students and my teenage son.  Joey and Jim and Ben especially like it so I always make it when all the men are home.

Using the Instant Pot to make a shredded chicken sandwich for an easy dinner was the first appliance I reach for when making dinner for a crowd.  It is so easy to cook with as it is one pot and does not heat up the kitchen.

I always take my Instant Pot on vacation and this is a traditional first-night dinner for any of our beach vacations. Not an alliance you can take on a plane but easy to squeeze in the car for a driving vacation.

Supplies Needed:

• Electric Pressure Cooker
• Barbecue Sause
• Cutting Board (my favorite)
• 2 Forks

Simple Recipe Fast & Easy

Add frozen chicken breasts to the bottom of the Instant Pot with a 1/2 cup of water and half of chopped onion. Next, add a half 18 oz bottle of  Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce.  This has been our favorite for years but you can use whatever barbecue sauce you like.

When using frozen chicken for this dinner I set the Instant Pot on high pressure for 20 minutes.  That is all you have to do.  Depending on how cold your ingredients are, depends on how long it will be until your chicken is done.  It will take longer than 20 minutes.  But the timer stays the same as the timer starts to move when the cooker reaches cooking pressure.

The chicken doneness works best when you let the pressure cooker release the steam by itself.  This takes about 8 to 10 minutes.  Just enough time to get together a salad or coleslaw.  Release the pressure and make sure to keep your hands and face away from the stream. 

 Remember that you can not open the lid until the pressure is released.  This is the best safety feature is you can not open it by mistake.

After the pressure cooker has released the steam, open the lid and set it aside.  Next, place a cooked chicken breast or two on a plate or large, and using two forks shred the chicken as you would any pork or beef roast.

After the chicken is shredded, add additional barbecue sauce from the bottle or from the pressure cooker pot. Serve this on Sandwich buns and enjoy.

Perfect Vacation Dinner

This dinner we also take this with us when we go on our beach vacation.  I take my electric pressure cooker on every beach vacation. I bring along our favorite barbecue sauce, we purchased chicken at Sam’s Club and it is a quick easy inexpensive dinner when we’ve spent an entire day playing at the pool and the beach.

You can read all about my tips for saving money on a Beach vacation by getting all the information here!

How To Make Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken

You can start with fresh or frozen chicken breasts, 1/2 of an onion chopped in a rough chop, you can leave this out if your family does not like too much onion, and a bottle of your family’s favorite barbecue sauce.

I add one cup of water to make sure there is enough steam to get the recipe up to pressure, put on the lid set to seal, and set on high pressure for 20 minutes. I like to have extra barbecue sauce to add as I shred the chicken with two forks. That is all it takes.  Have buns on hand.

Make coleslaw or a salad and you have a work-night dinner done in no time and time to spend with the family. 

Check Out These Budget Friendly Instant Pots

Shredded Barbecue Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Chicken

★★★★★ 5 from 1 review

• Author: Susan @ Craftingafamily.com
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 20
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Easy Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken

---

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 5 Chicken Breasts
• 1/2 large Onion chopped
• 1 18 oz bottle Barbecue Sauce
• 1 cup Water

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Add 1 cup of water and a half a bottle of the barbecue sauce in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
2. Add 1/2 onion which is chopped into large chunks.
3. Top with the chicken breasts and coat the chicken with the sauce in the pot. Place the top of the Instant Pot and set on the seal, and set high pressure for 20 minutes.
4. You can use either fresh or frozen chicken, the pressure cooker will adjust time, based on the coldness of your chicken.
5. When the timer is done allow the pressure cooker to release its steam naturally (10 minutes).
6. Remove the lid and with two forks shred chicken.
7. Add additional barbecue sauce to the shredded chicken or the sauce in the pressure cooker and mix.
8. Serve over buns.

---

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 4

Keywords: Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken

Recipe Card powered by

I take my electric pressure cooker on all of our beach vacations. For more info check out 4 Tips to Save Money on your Beach Vacation.  You will find money-saving strategies I use when traveling with the family.  As well as other recipes I make for dinner on our beach trips to save time and frustration.

Want to Remember This? Save the Easy Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Quick Family Dinner to your Favorite Pinterest Board!