Instant Pot whole chicken
A juicy, fall-apart whole chicken in about an hour from the fridge, with a quick trip under the broiler for golden skin.
- 75 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.33 a serving
- 710 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 lb
- 1 lemon, halved
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 cup chicken broth
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 710 calories, 58 g protein, 4 g carbs and 50 g fat, and costs about $2.33 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Pull the giblets out of the chicken and it dry inside and out with paper towels.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Dolly’s tip: Check both ends. The little bag is often tucked into the neck end.Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, salt and pepper together. Rub the chicken with the oil, then the spice mix.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Push the lemon halves and smashed garlic into the cavity.
Set the metal trivet in the Instant Pot, pour in the broth, and sit the chicken on the trivet breast side up.
Dolly’s tip: The trivet is the little rack that came with the pot. It keeps the chicken out of the liquid.Lock the lid, turn the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on HIGH for 24 minutes, which is 6 minutes per pound.
Timer: 24 min
Dolly’s tip: It takes about 12 minutes to come up to pressure before the countdown starts.Let the pressure come down on its own for 15 minutes, then turn the valve to venting to let out the rest.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep your hand and face away from the valve. Nudge it with a wooden spoon.Check that the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F.
Dolly’s tip: Under? Lock the lid again and pressure cook 3 more minutes.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Lift the chicken onto a with two big spatulas and 4 to 5 minutes on the top rack, watching the whole time, until the skin is .
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Broil. Broiling means cooking under the oven’s top heating element, with strong heat from above. It browns and crisps the top in minutes, and it can burn fast, so stay close.
How you’ll know: The top bubbles and spots golden brown; check every minute and pull it before it blackens.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 4 min 30 sec
Let it 10 minutes, then carve it and spoon the juices from the pot over the meat.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
