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Instant Pot Whole Roasted Chicken

You’ll never buy another grocery store rotisserie chicken again.

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If you haven’t fallen in love with the Instant Pot, that must be because you just don’t have one yet. To know it is to love it; they truly make life in the kitchen so much easier. To wit: you can cook a perfectly juice whole “roasted” chicken in the Instant Pot in 45 minutes. That’s less than an hour. With that kind of convenience, is there any reason to buy store-bought rotisserie chicken anymore? We think not. It’s cheaper to buy chickens whole, they’re such a versatile protein, and they’ve never been easier to cook!

One of the greatest things about the Instant Pot is that you can sauté your food right in the same pot, which is the key to getting a nice and crispy skin on this chicken. You start by coating the chicken in oil, stuffing the cavity with fragrant garlic and onions, and then seasoning it well with salt and pepper before you sear it on both sides in the Instant Pot. While it sears, you can mix up a quick seasoning blend. We love a combination of garlic and onion powders, basil, cumin, and chili powder, but you could absolutely use about two tablespoons of your favorite seasoning blend instead.

You rub the seasoning into the chicken, pour a little broth or water in the pot, and put the chicken back in to cook. You might worry that the liquid will make the chicken soggy (it won’t), but don’t skip it! It’s necessary for the pressure cooker to work correctly. Close your pot, set it to 25 minutes on manual, and go put your feet up for a minute.

When the Instant Pot beeps to let you know it’s finished, let the pressure release naturally, which will take 10-15 minutes. Serve it with a side salad and some rice, and dinner’s good to go! Leftovers are great for soups, salads, or even a chicken pot pie. We seriously can’t believe how much easier the Instant Pot Whole Roasted Chicken has made our lives; you have to give it a try!

Yield(s): Serves 4

45 minutes

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Ingredients
  • 1 whole chicken, about 3 lbs
  • 1 cup chicken broth or water
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
  1. Rub chicken thoroughly with one tablespoon of the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Stuff chicken cavity with onion and garlic and use kitchen twine to tie the legs together.
  2. Turn Instant Pot to "sauté" and pour remaining olive oil into the bottom of the insert. Once hot, sear chicken on both sides.
  3. While chicken sears, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, and basil in a small bowl. Remove chicken from Instant Pot rub seasoning mix into the skin.
  4. Pour broth into pot and place chicken back in, breast side up. Close lid and make sure the valve is in "sealing" position. Set pressure cooker to "manual" at a cook time of 25 minutes on high pressure.
  5. When the timer beeps and cooking time is done, allow the pressure cooker to release pressure naturally. Allow chicken to rest 10-15 minutes prior to serving. Enjoy!

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