I know. How has it taken me three years to FINALLY release a recipe on a whole chicken? Well that, my friends, is because I just KNEW there’d be a way to pressure cook the chicken to tender perfection in the Instant Pot AND THEN give the skin the perfect, golden crisp IN THE SAME POT WITHOUT TRANSFERRING THE CHICKEN TO THE OVEN!
Thanks to the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid, this is now possible and can also be done in the Instant Pot Duo Crisp! But, of course, if you don’t have an air fryer lid, you can still achieve the same crispy skin in your oven or just forego it completely.
Whichever way you do it, this is going to give you the juiciest and fall-off-the-bone chicken ever!
Here’s How I Made It! (scroll to the bottom for the fully-written recipe):
Start with a carrot (okay – this one is ridiculously big so I’ll just use half of this. Like, it can also easily be used for many other things)…
…and dice it up.
Then take some ribs of celery…
…and slice it up.
Now, rest your trivet on a cutting board (this will make things easier and less messy when it comes time to transfer the chicken to the Instant Pot)…
…and rest the rinsed chicken on it after you remove it from the bag.
Pat it dry with a paper towel.
Then, reach into its tushy and pull out any parts/bags…
…that contain any “other” parts (neck, heart, gizzards, giblets, etc). Discard or freeze for another day. And always wash your hands after touching raw chicken, of course.
Now it’s time to make the amazing butter marinade. Add some butter to a bowl…
…and microwave until melted.
Add in some dried sage, dried thyme, paprika, and lemon pepper seasoning…
…and stir until combined.
Also add in crushed some garlic and stir.
Then, pour about 1/3 of the marinade into a smaller bowl…
…so we have a larger bowl to marinate the chicken before cooking and another for after. It’s important to separate the two to avoid contamination.
Using the larger bowl of marinade, take a silicone brush…
…and lightly brush it on the breast side down part of chicken.
Then, flip the chicken over…
…and channel your inner Norman Bates to create so slits under the skin of the breast, but not into the meat directly. We are doing this so create pockets for the marinade to flow.
Now, use the remaining marinade in the large bowl to brush on the rest of the chicken.
Add some broth to the Instant Pot…
…as well as the carrot and celery…
…and stir until combined.
Now take the trivet where the chicken is already breast side up and resting…
…and lower it into the pot. (This is why we wanted to do everything on the trivet. It for sure would have been a giant mess to handle a butter-glazed chicken into the pot to rest on the trivet!)
Secure the pressure cooking lid and cook at high pressure.
When done, the chicken is going to be SO tender, the cavity of the breast might have opened some. Pay no mind to this as it means your chicken is going to be amazing! (If you wish to avoid this from possibly happening, you can tie the two ends of the legs together with twine before pressure cooking).
Now let’s focus on our remaining butter we poured into a smaller bowl earlier. It’ll have likely solidified by now…
…so pop it in the microwave for a few seconds until melted!
Dab (don’t brush) it all over the chicken (we only care about the breast side).
NOW comes the time to give it the skin a final crisp IN THE SAME POT we pressure cooked in! Take your Air Fryer Lid and place it on top of the pot and broil for 5-10 minutes. (Alternatively, if you don’t have this amazing accessory and wish to crisp the skin, simply transfer the chicken to a foil-lined sheet and pop in the oven at broil for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it as all ovens vary and we don’t want out amazing chicken to dry out!
When done, it’ll say “End Cool” (and how cool this ending is about to be!)
Remove the lid, and VOILA! A beautifully juicy chicken with a roasted finish!
Carefully transfer this super tender chicken to a serving dish and set aside to cool for a few.
Now, let’s focus on all the drippings in that pot and turn it into the most amazing gravy!
Create a cornstarch slurry by combining equal parts cornstarch and water.
Give the pot some heat and once it bubbles…
…stir in the slurry.
Then, kill the heat. As the bubbles die down, add in come cream…
…and more sage and lemon pepper seasoning.
Stir and it will become the perfect gravy consistency!
Transfer some gravy to a gravy boat (and there will still be plenty left!)…
…an pour it around the chicken so it creates a gravy moat!
Go on. Show off this amazing (and easy) thing of beauty to your family. (And looka that! Shorter hair from the start of the recipe – you can even snip your hair while the chicken cooks. It’s that simple!)
And when you dig in (meaning, cut up or just rip into it), marvel out how fall-apart the meat is.
So juicy and glisten to admire!
And then once paired with the gravy? Fuggedaboutit!
Dinner is served! Goes GREAT with my Garlic Mashed Potatoes!
Instant Pot Whole Chicken + Gravy (with Air Fryer Lid)
There's nothing like roasting your own chicken to juicy and tender bliss. Up the ante when it comes with the best gravy ever. This also utilizes the air fryer lid (or your oven) for a final, beautiful roasting step, should you wish.
Ingredients
The Chicken
- 3-5 pound whole chicken, giblets removed and discarded from cavity if applicable
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) salted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried or rubbed sage
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 2 teaspoons crushed or minced garlic
- 3/4 cup chicken or garlic broth (use 1 cup if using an 8-quart Instant Pot)
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 ribs of celery, sliced into 1/4” pieces
The Gravy
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water to form a slurry
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or half & half (or even milk)
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried or rubbed sage
Instructions
The Chicken
- Place the butter in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds in the microwave until melted. Add in the paprika, thyme, sage, lemon pepper seasoning and garlic and stir until combined. Keep 2/3 of the butter marinade in the bowl and pour 1/3 into a separate bowl for later. NOTE: This is for sanitary reasons since we are about to baste a raw chicken using the larger amount of marinade whereas the smaller amount is for after the chicken’s cooked.
- Remove the chicken from packaging, reach into the cavity and discard the loose parts such as neck, heart liver, giblets (they often come in a bag) and discard (or freeze/save for a rainy day). Rinse the chicken thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Place the trivet on a cutting board and rest the chicken on it (this is wise for easy transport to the Instant Pot). With the breast side down, use a silicone brush to lightly baste the bottom of the chicken with the larger 2/3 bowl of the butter marinade and then flip it over on the trivet so the breast side is up.
- Though optional, if desired for extra flavor, use a pairing knife and slightly stab little slits into the skin in the breast but not through the meat. Just little slights to create opening BETWEEN the skin and the meat. This creates more flavor for the meat once we baste this side of the chicken.
- Generously baste the rest of the chicken with the remaining marinade from the larger bowl (the smaller bowl should still be untouched).
- Add the broth and the carrots and celery to the Instant Pot and stir. Lower the trivet with the basted chicken on it (breast side should still be up) into the pot, secure the lid, move the valve to the sealing position and hit Pressure Cook or Manual at High Pressure for 6 minutes per pound of chicken. I used a 5 pound chicken, so that’s 30 minutes. If you used a 4.5 pound chicken, that would be for 27 minutes and so on. Regardless of the size of the chicken, when done, allow a 10 minute natural release followed by a quick release.
- Once the pressure cooking lid comes off the pot, don’t worry if a little of the chicken begins to come a little loose and the wings are barely holding on. This is normal because of how tender it will be! Now, use the smaller 1/3 remaining butter marinade (which may have solidified by now – just put it in the microwave for 10 seconds and stir) and, with a clean silicone brush (remember, it touched raw chicken earlier), dab (don’t brush) the top of the chicken with the marinade.
- Should you wish to give your chicken a suggested nice crisp and beautiful color either do it all in the same pot by simply using the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid on the Broil setting for 5-10 minutes (I went for 5 minutes) or transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and pop in the oven for 5 minutes on broil (keep an eye on it as all ovens vary). Just be careful not to go for too long so you don’t dry it out. If you don’t care for a lovely crisp, you’ll get to eat your chicken a little earlier.
- Carefully remove the finished chicken to a large serving plate and remove the trivet. Now let’s make some gravy with all those glorious drippings in the pot!
The Gravy
- Hit Keep Warm/Cancel and then hit Sauté and adjust so it’s on the High or More setting. once it bubbles, immediately stir in the cornstarch slurry. Allow it to bubble for about 30 seconds and then hit Keep Warm/Cancel turn the pot off. Stir in the cream, lemon pepper seasoning and sage. Stir until combined and you will have the perfect gravy.
- Pour the gravy on our around the chicken on the serving plate and enjoy!
Jeffrey's Tips
Feel free to roast the chicken until the desired crispiness of the skin is reached. This can be between 5-10 minutes on broil either using the Air Fryer Lid or in the oven.
If you wish to avoid the breast from possibly opening up a little after pressure cooking, you can tie the two ends of the legs together with twine before pressure cooking.
msSally
One more I’ve got to try!
Amanda
This was the best chicken and gravy I’ve ever had.
Jeffrey
Fantastic! Thrilled you enjoyed 😘
Betty
Made this for Christmas dinner last night. I changed a few things, I had planned on doing a roast chicken in the oven but it was still frozen. Enter instant pot. So I stuck with my original plan of olive oil instead of butter and I used the fresh herbs I had, similar to your choices. I appreciate the instructions. I haven’t liked chicken in the instant pot before but this turned out great. I am a novice to both the instant pot and the air fryer lid. Thank you for the instructions.
Carly
You can use the air fryer lid with liquid in the bottom?
Jeffrey
Of course. There shouldn’t be a lot but some is fine.
Cynthia
Hi, can I use a frozen chicken? How would I adjust the cooking time and setting? Thanks!
Debbie Stern
This is hands down the best whole chicken I’ve ever made. I’ve tried to find a good recipe and tried making it in the oven and in the smoker with so so results. This will now be my go to chicken recipe. Thank you!!
Barbara
Loved the finished product, but had to add more cornstarch to get gravy thicker.
Krystina
I made this tonight and the whole family loved it! I used a 6lb chicken and think I should have probably increased the seasoning a bit due to it being more chicken, but still delicious! We especially loved the gravy.
Rick
I just bought the new air fryer lid for my instant pot and went straight to your site to learn how to use it to make delicious and easy meals using your recipes. My entire family thanks you since they reap the benefits of what I have gleaned from your videos.
Lana Wilson
Would this work with a couple of Cornish Hens or would they fall apart?
Kathryn Grant
I can’t wait to try this, but I like to stuff my chickens with bread stuffing. Does this affect the cooking time? If so, how long should it cook for?
Monique
Made this for dinner tonight. It was 7.5lb chicken so I doubled the spices and garlic broth and this was so good. Thank you for your delicious recipe.
Cynthia
Hi! Can I use a frozen chicken? How would I adjust the cooking time?
Melissa
This was so good! I added some Montreal chicken seasoning to the gravy and it was perfect!
Paulette
Loved it just need to cut back on garlic
Beck & Bulow
Made this for the first time, served with rice. It was so good I went back for seconds and packed it for my boyfriend’s lunch the next day. I asked him if he liked it and he said “I licked it off the bones”. 😂 Super simple and super delicious! We are also offering online meat delivery Services. please visit: https://www.beckandbulow.com
Dawn
I just got my 8 qt Duo-Crisp today and have been wanting to try the whole chicken. So RELIEVED to find this recipe! Thank you for thinking ahead of me!!! LOL!!!
Christie
What is the setting roast used for? It keeps asking for lid. Am I suppose to use air fryer lid with roasting? Do I pressure cook the chicken. First and then use the roasting
Marty
do you leave the Celery and carrots in the gravy or scoop them out. sorry if I missed that
Judy
This is the best ever.
Martie
I have been wanting to see how my instant pot could handle a whole chicken, always moister tastier than individual pieces but alas, so much more time consuming. OF COURSE – Jeff from Pressure Luck would have all the details worked out perfectly. Great recipe, great instruction, great options on crisp skin if one prefers or just remove skin after pressure cooking and have super moist super flavorful meat. And the GRAVY? Easy, quick, and utterly delicious. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks Jeffrey!
Jeffrey
I am so happy you loved it!
Jenny
So good made this tonight! 10/10 try this!!!