Today, I'm gonna teach you how to make a whole chicken in the Instant Pot. I am so excited about this because it becomes the juiciest chicken, it's quick to make, easy, and it's not just the chicken. Wait until you see what we do with the drippings, so let's get started. (drums on the table) We start with one whole chicken. If your chicken has a bag of giblets inside, make sure you remove it. Pat dry the chicken all over with a paper towel.
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Ingredients:
►1 Whole Chicken (see size chart below)
►4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
►2 tsp fine sea salt
►1 teaspoon onion powder1 tsp garlic powder
►1/2 tsp paprika
►1/4 tsp black pepper,
►1 sprig of rosemary, minced
►1 sprig of thyme, minced
►8 Tbsp unsalted butter(melted)
►1 cup low sodium chicken broth
►1 lemon, halved, (divided into 1/2 lemon + 1 Tbsp juice)
Chicken Gravy Ingredients:
►3 Tbsp unsalted butter
►3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Cooking Times (Size Chart):
►3 lbs = 18 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►3 1/2 lbs = 21 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►4 lb = 24 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►4 1/2 lb = 27 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►5 lb = 30 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
Place the chicken breast-side up and starting from the drumstick side, loosen the skin from the chicken breast using the back of a spoon to help. Be careful not to tear the skin because we're gonna fill that space with delicious, flavored butter.
For that butter rub, you'll need two teaspoons of salt, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of garlic powder, and half a teaspoon of paprika. Next, remove the leaves from one sprig of fresh rosemary and one sprig of fresh thyme. The easiest way to strip the leaves off is to grab hold of the end and pull the leaves down in the opposite direction. Mince the fresh herbs together and add them to your seasoning mix. Now pour in eight tablespoons of melted, unsalted butter, and add one tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir that all together to combine and set it aside.
This flavored butter will make your chicken and gravy taste incredible. I'm using a six-quart Instant Pot and I will link to the one I have in the notes. Place a rack into the inner pot, and add one cup of low-sodium chicken broth. I'll link to these handy gloves as well, I love keeping a stash of these in my kitchen. Place the chicken onto the rack with the breast side up. Stuff the cavity with half of a lemon, and it's totally okay to use the half that you've squeezed for juice already, and four garlic cloves. Give the butter mixture a quick stir, then pour half of it under the chicken skin and massage gently to evenly distribute it. Pour the remaining half of the butter evenly all over the chicken. Cover with the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 24 minutes, followed by a 15-minute natural pressure release. (upbeat music) After the 15-minute natural pressure release, turn the valve to the venting position to release any remaining pressure.
Carefully remove the chicken using the trivet and allow any excess juices to drip back into the pot. Next, transfer the whole chicken to a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet and season the top lightly with salt, pepper, and a little more paprika for color. A few extra seasonings go a long way and they help to develop that crisp, salty skin. Lastly, place the chicken on the center rack of the oven and broil at500 degrees Fahrenheit for about three to five minutes or until you've reached your desired color. You can also put it in the air fryer for about five minutes. To make the easy chicken gravy, pour all of your pan drippings into a measuring cup through a sieve. For a really smooth gravy, you wanna get rid of any solid pieces that are left in the sieve, then use a ladle or a large spoon to remove any excess oil that floats to the top. We're gonna use the same Instant Pot and there's no need to wash it, set that to saute on medium heat, and add three tablespoons of unsalted butter. Once the butter is melted, add three tablespoons of all-purpose flour, and whisk that together for a minute until it's golden.
Next, add the remaining drippings and you should have about two cups after straining off the fat. And make sure to keep an eye on that chicken, it really only needs no more than five minutes. Take it out of the oven as soon as it's golden brown. All right, all that's left is to put this on a platter and serve it up, oh, and I cannot wait. And the chicken gets so tender, you have to be a little careful with it (laughs). This is never dry 'cause you're gonna love it. Okay, and I love to garnish this with some fresh rosemary or you can use sprigs of thyme because it's in the recipe so it makes sense (chuckles). Looks so pretty. Okay, now we're gonna cut into the chicken breast, and I wanna show you just how juicy this is. So here we go. Take a look inside. Yeah (laughs). Okay. And this is so delicious when you pair it with mashed potatoes because you've got gravy with chicken, yum, yum. Oh my goodness, yum. And then that crisp, salty skin from broiling in the oven is mm, delicious. Okay, and then, just pour the gravy over. It doesn't get any better than this. Ah, juicy chicken, and hot gravy. (laughs) Oh, I cannot wait. And my kids love this because they love anything with gravy, and it helps that it's super soft. Okay, here we go, going for the taste test. Oh, that's a big bite. (laughs) All right, we can handle that. Mm (laughs), mm, mm. Mm-mm-mm, mm, mm.
This literally melts in your mouth tender, and making the gravy out of the pan drippings is brilliant because it holds all those amazing flavors from the chicken. The rosemary and thyme really shine in this chicken and then also that little hint of lemon are so fresh and vibrant, and it also reheats really well because the chicken is so, so, so, so tender. Great over mashed potatoes, great over rice, whatever you wanna serve it with, it's so good. I don't know, this tastes better than Thanksgiving turkey, is that wrong to say? Am I in trouble? (laughs) It is so delicious, mm, I can't wait to eat the rest of this. I'm just gonna go ahead and wolf this down.
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Ingredients:
►1 Whole Chicken (see size chart below)
►4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
►2 tsp fine sea salt
►1 teaspoon onion powder1 tsp garlic powder
►1/2 tsp paprika
►1/4 tsp black pepper,
►1 sprig of rosemary, minced
►1 sprig of thyme, minced
►8 Tbsp unsalted butter(melted)
►1 cup low sodium chicken broth
►1 lemon, halved, (divided into 1/2 lemon + 1 Tbsp juice)
Chicken Gravy Ingredients:
►3 Tbsp unsalted butter
►3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Cooking Times (Size Chart):
►3 lbs = 18 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►3 1/2 lbs = 21 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►4 lb = 24 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►4 1/2 lb = 27 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
►5 lb = 30 minutes on high pressure with 15-min natural release
Place the chicken breast-side up and starting from the drumstick side, loosen the skin from the chicken breast using the back of a spoon to help. Be careful not to tear the skin because we're gonna fill that space with delicious, flavored butter.
For that butter rub, you'll need two teaspoons of salt, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of garlic powder, and half a teaspoon of paprika. Next, remove the leaves from one sprig of fresh rosemary and one sprig of fresh thyme. The easiest way to strip the leaves off is to grab hold of the end and pull the leaves down in the opposite direction. Mince the fresh herbs together and add them to your seasoning mix. Now pour in eight tablespoons of melted, unsalted butter, and add one tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir that all together to combine and set it aside.
This flavored butter will make your chicken and gravy taste incredible. I'm using a six-quart Instant Pot and I will link to the one I have in the notes. Place a rack into the inner pot, and add one cup of low-sodium chicken broth. I'll link to these handy gloves as well, I love keeping a stash of these in my kitchen. Place the chicken onto the rack with the breast side up. Stuff the cavity with half of a lemon, and it's totally okay to use the half that you've squeezed for juice already, and four garlic cloves. Give the butter mixture a quick stir, then pour half of it under the chicken skin and massage gently to evenly distribute it. Pour the remaining half of the butter evenly all over the chicken. Cover with the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 24 minutes, followed by a 15-minute natural pressure release. (upbeat music) After the 15-minute natural pressure release, turn the valve to the venting position to release any remaining pressure.
Carefully remove the chicken using the trivet and allow any excess juices to drip back into the pot. Next, transfer the whole chicken to a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet and season the top lightly with salt, pepper, and a little more paprika for color. A few extra seasonings go a long way and they help to develop that crisp, salty skin. Lastly, place the chicken on the center rack of the oven and broil at500 degrees Fahrenheit for about three to five minutes or until you've reached your desired color. You can also put it in the air fryer for about five minutes. To make the easy chicken gravy, pour all of your pan drippings into a measuring cup through a sieve. For a really smooth gravy, you wanna get rid of any solid pieces that are left in the sieve, then use a ladle or a large spoon to remove any excess oil that floats to the top. We're gonna use the same Instant Pot and there's no need to wash it, set that to saute on medium heat, and add three tablespoons of unsalted butter. Once the butter is melted, add three tablespoons of all-purpose flour, and whisk that together for a minute until it's golden.
Next, add the remaining drippings and you should have about two cups after straining off the fat. And make sure to keep an eye on that chicken, it really only needs no more than five minutes. Take it out of the oven as soon as it's golden brown. All right, all that's left is to put this on a platter and serve it up, oh, and I cannot wait. And the chicken gets so tender, you have to be a little careful with it (laughs). This is never dry 'cause you're gonna love it. Okay, and I love to garnish this with some fresh rosemary or you can use sprigs of thyme because it's in the recipe so it makes sense (chuckles). Looks so pretty. Okay, now we're gonna cut into the chicken breast, and I wanna show you just how juicy this is. So here we go. Take a look inside. Yeah (laughs). Okay. And this is so delicious when you pair it with mashed potatoes because you've got gravy with chicken, yum, yum. Oh my goodness, yum. And then that crisp, salty skin from broiling in the oven is mm, delicious. Okay, and then, just pour the gravy over. It doesn't get any better than this. Ah, juicy chicken, and hot gravy. (laughs) Oh, I cannot wait. And my kids love this because they love anything with gravy, and it helps that it's super soft. Okay, here we go, going for the taste test. Oh, that's a big bite. (laughs) All right, we can handle that. Mm (laughs), mm, mm. Mm-mm-mm, mm, mm.
This literally melts in your mouth tender, and making the gravy out of the pan drippings is brilliant because it holds all those amazing flavors from the chicken. The rosemary and thyme really shine in this chicken and then also that little hint of lemon are so fresh and vibrant, and it also reheats really well because the chicken is so, so, so, so tender. Great over mashed potatoes, great over rice, whatever you wanna serve it with, it's so good. I don't know, this tastes better than Thanksgiving turkey, is that wrong to say? Am I in trouble? (laughs) It is so delicious, mm, I can't wait to eat the rest of this. I'm just gonna go ahead and wolf this down.
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