Are you looking for a way to get tender and flavorful chicken in 30 mins? Here is a great way of cooking a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot with little time and effort!
You will be surprised at how easy it is to make a perfectly cooked, moist chicken, and the possibilities to go on from there are endless, such as chicken and rice or chicken soup starting from this recipe. Try it now!
A Chicken For Your Heart
Why You Will Love This Whole Chicken in Instant Pot
To start off, this recipe gives you a very easy way of cooking a whole chicken and getting tender, moist, and flavorful results.
Also, the onions that surround the chicken in addition to the bay leaves and cinnamon placed on top of it give your chicken a delightful taste as the bird gets infused with the flavors when pressure and heat are circulated inside your instant pot.
In addition, a whole chicken that is frozen or one that is thawed would be just as tasty. The ingredients and the method of infusing the chicken work even for a frozen chicken, so there is no need to wait for it to thaw in order to prepare and spice it.
Finally, this recipe teaches you how to perfectly and quickly cook a chicken, and after that, the possibilities for chicken-related main courses are endless! You can make rice topped with chicken (and drizzle your broth on top for extra flavor), make chicken sandwiches, use garlic paste, use the chicken in salads, or even make chicken soup!
Easy Chicken Soup
Two Main Dish Ideas Using Your Perfectly Cooked Whole Chicken in Instant Pot
Chicken Soup
If you want to make chicken soup after cooking your chicken, you can simply use the broth you have left over! If the broth does not have enough water, you can try adding 6-8 cups of water into your broth (or as much water as desired).
Even if your bay leaves and cinnamon are washed away with the water, that is not a problem. You can try adding one vegetable/chicken bouillon cube if you were short on broth and added some cups of water.
Rotisserie Chicken
You can also turn your chicken into a perfectly browned rotisserie chicken. After it has been cooked in the instant pot, you can smear some softened butter all over the chicken. Or you can season it with some salt.
You can also leave the chicken as is. The flavors are already present from putting it in the instant pot with the cinnamon and bay leaves. One more option is to put some olive oil rub all around it.
Place your chicken in a pan on the middle rack of oven and broil it on high. Once it’s browned after around 8 minutes, turn it and brown it on the other side as well. That way, you now have a rotisserie chicken with some yummy, crispy skin!
Rotisserie Chicken at Home
Secrets for the Perfect Cooked Chicken
Different chickens of different weights would need different times for cooking, so make sure to weigh your chicken to ensure that 30 minutes in the instant pot are adequate. Undercooking your chicken is definitely bad news, and overcooking it would cause the chicken to fall apart and be harder to transfer out of the instant pot.
Also, make sure to adjust your cooking time depending on whether you are starting with a thawed whole chicken or a frozen one. If adding a whole frozen chicken, I would cook it in the pressure cooker for 1 hour.
Place your whole chicken, in addition to all your flavorful ingredients, in an instant pot and set it for 30 minutes. You will get a perfectly cooked, flavorful, and tender chicken that works well and tastes great in many main dish ideas!
Yes, due to the flavorful ingredients surrounding the chicken, your frozen chicken will be just as tasty as a thawed whole chicken. However, cooking a frozen whole chicken will take a longer amount of time (around an hour), and would not be cooked as evenly as a thawed chicken.
The Chicken Falls Right Off the Bone!
Ingredients
- Whole chicken
- Water
- Onion, quartered
- Bay leaves
- Cinnamon stick
Directions
Start by defrosting then washing a whole chicken (or fully frozen one). Pat it dry, then place it in your instant pot.
Next, cut a large onion in half, then cut each half in half or into 4 cubes. Place the onions you have cut around the chicken in your instant pot.
Then, add water, and place 3-4 bay leaves and 1 small cinnamon stick on top of the chicken. You are done with prepping your ingredients, so you now set the instant pot for 30 minutes.
Once the 30 minutes have passed, release the pressure and remove the whole chicken. You can use 2 wooden sticks or a large mouthed ladle and a wooden stick. Place your chicken on a large plate or tray. Remove the moist chicken and enjoy it as is. Or you can enjoy it on top of rice, in a salad, with garlic paste, or in a sandwich.
If you would like to make it roasted, follow all the steps above then brush melted butter or olive oil all around the skin. Place in a baking tray then broil on high for about 5-8 minutes or until golden, watching carefully. Flip the chicken once to broil the other side.
More Delicious Recipes To Try Out
- Best Chicken Gallaba
- Ultimate Beef Shawarma Sandwich
- Middle Eastern Chicken Kafta Burgers
- Grilled Chicken Tikka (Tandoori Chicken)
- Spinach Pie Pockets
- Ful (Foul) Medames
- Lebanese Sfouf (Turmeric Cake)
- Mujadara Hamra (Reddened Lentils and Bulgur)
- Turkish Labne
- Simple Middle Eastern Salad
How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 (5 lb) whole chicken
- 2 cups water
- 1 onion, quartered
- 3-4 bay leaves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Defrost then wash the whole chicken (or fully frozen), pat dry, then place it in your instant pot.
- Cut a large onion in half, then cut each half in half or into 4 cubes. Place the cut onions around the chicken.
- Add water, then place 3-4 bay leaves and 1 small cinnamon stick on top of the chicken.
- Set the instant pot for 30 minutes.
- Once finished, release the pressure, remove the whole chicken using 2 wooden sticks or a large mouthed ladle and a wooden stick. Place on a large plate or tray. Remove the moist meat and enjoy as is, on top of rice, in salads, with garlic paste or in sandwiches.
- If you would like to make it roasted, follow all the steps above then brush melted butter or olive oil all around the skin. Place in a baking tray then broil on high for about 5-8 minutes or until golden, watching carefully. Flip the chicken once to broil the other side.
Faten says
This is sooo easy and saves time. I’m a novice cook and I find your blog very helpful
Lama says
So joyful to hear this!
Cathy says
Never cooked a whole chicken in the instant pot before. Will def. Try it! Thanks a bunch
Lama says
You are going to LOVE it!