Instant Pot BBQ chicken is an easy pressure cooker chicken recipe, made in 15 minutes in an Instant Pot or other brand of electric pressure cooker! You can enjoy the pulled chicken as is, or add it to your favorite soup or casserole recipe. Or, do what I did; make sliders with the Instant Pot BBQ chicken and top them with crispy, creamy coleslaw. They make awesome game day sandwiches!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Sliders
This is a quick and easy pressure cooker chicken recipe, and it is so delicious! The chicken is tender, juicy, and full of flavor. To make the BBQ chicken sliders, simply add barbecue sauce to the Instant Pot pulled chicken, toss it onto slider buns, then top the chicken with crunchy coleslaw. You can make your own coleslaw if you have a favorite recipe, or take a shortcut like I did, adding homemade coleslaw dressing to a premade coleslaw mix. You can find it in the produce section of most grocery stores.
Instant Pot BBQ chicken sliders are perfect for lunch, picnics, or chowing down on game day!
Just look at this juicy pulled BBQ chicken. The sight of it alone makes my mouth water. I have a semi-homemade barbecue sauce recipe that I like to use, but you can use bottled sauce, or check out my slow cooker pulled chicken recipe to learn how to make barbecue sauce from scratch..
As I said, it’s perfect for making sliders. But if you’re trying to cut down on carbs or you’re just not into bread, there are lots of other options for the BBQ chicken. Top a baked potato with it, add it to a salad, or make tacos or enchiladas with it. Heck, you can even add it to a soup recipe, or leave out the barbecue sauce and use the pulled chicken to make a pot pie.
Big Changes to It’s Yummi in 2018
This is my first post of 2018 and for a number of reasons, I am very excited about it!
Site Redesign and Purpose
If you have been a reader of this blog for a while, you may notice that the site has a fresh new look. Thanks to the team at J. Louis Technology, my logo and the site have a gorgeous new design. There’s a new section of blog posts coming soon, too, called bites of life. Those posts will discuss topics that are important to me, and hopefully helpful for you! Topics will include things like emotional wellness, home living, and since we now have three fur-babies in our house, there will likely be posts about pets, too.
But this site has always been and will always be primarily about delicious, easy to make recipes, like today’s Instant Pot recipe for BBQ chicken. Because food is my love language.
I’m also excited because I recently purchased a full frame, DSLR camera! I’m still learning how to use it, so these photos aren’t the best. But eventually, it will help me give you gorgeous food photos to look at!
Monthly Themed Recipes
Oh, there’s one more reason I’m excited about today’s post. I’m part of a community of bloggers who love and support one another. Although I’ve only met a few of my fellow bloggers in person, I consider them all friends. A few of us formed a monthly recipe group so that we can bring you a bunch of new recipes, all at one time! We’ll be posting our recipes on the first day of every month. Our theme for this month is game day sliders, which is why I’m sharing this easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken sliders recipe with you.
Here are the other game day sliders recipes being shared this month. Be sure to bookmark or Pin a few of your favorites to make on game day!
Amy made Chicken Parmesan Sliders
Barb made Southwest Chipotle Burger Sliders
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Sliders (scroll down to get my BBQ chicken sliders recipe)
Becky made Jalapeño Popper Turkey Burger Sliders
Carrie made Asian Chili & Garlic Pork Sliders
Deb made Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Emily made Club Sandwich Sliders
Gina made Easy French Dip Sliders
Jenni made Monte Cristo Sliders
Julie made Hawaiian Pizza Sliders
Kat made Philly Cheesesteak Sliders
Kate made Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken Sliders
Rebecca made Pizza Sliders
Wendy made Baked Hot Pastrami Sliders
If you have any questions about making the Instant Pot BBQ Chicken recipe, don’t hesitate to ask. Just leave a comment for me below!
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Sliders
Ingredients
For the BBQ Chicken
- 4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, fresh or frozen
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce*
For the Coleslaw
- 3 cups coleslaw mix
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add the chicken and seasonings, but not the barbecue sauce, to the electric pressure cooker.
- Lock the lid into place, close the pressure valve, and manually set to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes if chicken is thawed or 20 minutes if chicken is frozen.
- Once the cooking time is complete, carefully turn the pressure valve to "venting" and do a quick pressure release. Be sure to turn the vent away from your body to avoid burns.
- Use tongs to remove chicken from the pot and transfer to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken, then return chicken to the pot.
- Change setting on your cooker to "simmer" or "saute" and add barbecue sauce. Stir until warm, or allow chicken to simmer for 5 minutes in the sauce for the best flavor.
Coleslaw Instructions
- Place coleslaw vegetables into a serving bowl and set aside.
- In a small bowl, use a whisk to combine mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, celery salt, and black pepper. Taste and if desired, season with kosher salt and additional black pepper.
- Toss coleslaw vegetables with the dressing and use immediately, or store covered in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Serving Suggestions
- Slice slider buns in half. Add shredded BBQ chicken to bottom half, top the meat with a scoop of coleslaw, then add the top bun.
- Serve with mustard potato salad and bbq baked beans.
Recipe Nutrition
Amy says
If I double the recipe do I need to inrcrease the cooking time?
Thanks,
Amy
Bec says
Hi Amy,
No, you won’t need to double the time. That’s part of the magic of an Instant Pot! However, try to have your chicken breasts as close in size as possible.
Anna says
Do you cook the chicken directly in the inner pot with some form of liquid like water? Or add the liquid into the inner pot and then cook the chicken on a trivet?
Bec says
Hi Anna,
You’ll place the chicken breasts directly onto the bottom of the inner pot. I use frozen chicken breasts when I make this recipe, so I don’t add any liquid… it’s not needed because there’s plenty of liquid in the frozen chicken. If you want to make this using fresh chicken, you can add a cup of water, chicken stock, or even beer to the inner pot. When the chicken has finished cooking and you pull it out to shred it, be sure to empty any liquid from the pot before placing the shredded chicken back inside.
Ellen Taylor says
Looks delicious and yummy. I have no electric pressure cooker, what will the be the alternative I can use for this recipe?
Bec says
Thank you, Ellen!
You can try cooking the chicken in a slow cooker on low for a 4-6 hours. I’ve haven’t tried it for this particular recipe myself, however, I have made shredded chicken in a slow cooker before with no problem.
Garner says
OMG these chicken sliders look delicious! You presented these pics perfectly. Why shouldn’t I try one! Is there any alternative to apple cider vinegar?
Becca says
Thank you, Garner! You can certainly substitute white vinegar for the apple cider vinegar.
Jenni says
Ooh, these sound amazing!
Barbara Schieving says
Perfect game day food and so easy in the pressure cooker!
Laura says
Can these be made in a crock pot or on the stove instead?
Becca says
Absolutely, Laura! If you want to use a crock pot, I suggest following my recipe for slow cooker pulled chicken. I’ve never prepared pulled chicken in an oven, because it would be pretty easy for the chicken breasts to get dried out, but I suspect that you could poach the chicken breasts in a pan on the stove top if you’d like. Then shred and toss with barbecue sauce from there.