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Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken

BBQ chicken on a bun topped with coleslaw on a white plate

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5 from 3 reviews

Easy, quick Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken with that “cooked all day” kind of flavor.

Ingredients

Scale

For the chicken:

  • 23 pounds chicken tenderloins or chicken breasts cut into about 3 strips each
  • ¼ cup chicken broth or water
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ½ cup BBQ sauce – store bought or homemade
  • 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • â…› teaspoon cayenne pepper

 

For the slaw:

  • 45 cups shredded cabbage (green, purple, or both)
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro
  • fresh lime juice
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • fresh ground black pepper

For serving: Rolls or Hamburger buns

Instructions

  1. Add chicken, broth, worcestershire sauce, and vinegar to the pressure cooker pot.  Make sure the chicken is in a single layer as much as possible.
  2. Top chicken with ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustard, cumin, and cayenne pepper.  Do not stir, this will prevent the thick sauces from burning onto the bottom of the pot.
  3. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes.  
  4. When cooking is complete, turn off the pressure cooker and let pressure naturally release for at least 10 minutes.  Quick release any remaining pressure.
  5. Shred chicken right in the pot.
  6. Prepare coleslaw by tossing cabbage, carrots, and cilantro with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
  7. To serve, place chicken on a roll and top with a scoop of slaw.

Notes

  • Cutting the chicken into slices ensures that it is tender and infused with flavor.
  • Make sure ketchup, BBQ sauce, and mustard are on top of the chicken to pressure cook.  This will prevent it from burning.
  • This isn’t a super saucy chicken.  If you’d like a thicker sauce, add extra BBQ sauce after the chicken has been shredded.
  • To make quick work of the coleslaw, use a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix.