How to Cook Chicken in a Pressure Cooker

Learning how to cook chicken in a pressure cooker can result in the perfect home-cooked meal and one the whole family will love. Chicken pressure cooker recipes have been handed down from generation to generation. In fact, your family may have a traditional pressure cooker recipe that you normally follow.

However, cooking in a modern pressure cooker is much different than what grandma used to do use so you may need to tweak the settings and adjust a recipe to get the best results. Additionally, today’s pressure cookers are safer than ever before so when used properly you won’t have to worry about a flying lid or an exploding pot.

Fall Off the Bone Chicken

Do you want to cook a healthy meal in a hurry? Then a pressure cooker will be an invaluable appliance and one that you find yourself using often. This recipe for fall off the bone chicken is reminiscent of the way grandma used to make it, with the addition of some modern tweaks to cooking times and temperature used.

For more information on how to get the most out of your pressure cooker, stop by and read my article on the top six tips on how to use a pressure cooker.

Getting Started

Get ready to be blown away by how impressively fast this pressure cooker can cook an entire chicken to perfection, in just a fraction of the time it takes in the oven. Think of how much time you’ll save in the kitchen, not to mention the money you’ll save on your weekly food budget if you use the leftover chicken for future meals such as tacos, pot pies, and more. This recipe not only works for a whole chicken, but it can also be used for cheaper parts of the chicken as well, such as the wings and thighs.

With a pressure cooker, you can make even the toughest cuts of meat tender in under an hour. You can easily create rich, deep flavors that you could only normally achieve after a chicken has spent hours in the oven slow cooking. You can even produce the juiciest whole chicken in just half an hour.

For most people, a whole chicken prepared simply is a family favorite. Normally, it’s a major process to infuse a chicken with flavor for juicy fall off the fork-tender results. Additionally, it can be difficult to get the chicken fully cooked and still keep the meat tender.

Most people will try marinating or using a brine or marinating the chicken in the fridge overnight. Using butter and garlic in every nook and cranny is also common, but the result is usually chicken that’s dried out and overcooked if it’s spent hours in the oven.

So, if you’ve never used a pressure cooker before to make a whole chicken, then you’re in for a real treat. If you’re shopping around for a new model make sure you stop by and read my buyer’s guide which will detail all the features you should look for in your next model. If you’re looking for a top seller that has a high user rating then I recommend the T-Fal pressure cooker.

Your New Pressure Cooker

If you just purchased a pressure cooker, then it’s time to take it for a spin. You’ll be blown away by how life-changing the simple device can be when it comes to how much money you spend weekly on meals and how it can help meal planning in general. It will also save you plenty of time in the kitchen and will allow you to get work done around the home instead of babysitting the oven.

To learn more about how to keep your pressure cooking performing the way it should, read my article on how to clean a pressure cooker.

Throw Together a Meal in a Fraction of the Time

Follow the cooking times closely, since you don’t want to be left with an overcooked or undercooked chicken. Cooking times can also vary depending on the size of the chicken you cook. For more information click here to read my article on important pressure cooker cooking times to use.

The following chicken recipe below is packed with flavor and very simple. You don’t need to worry about basting or brining, or marinating the chicken overnight. And considering how fast it cooks, you’ll have plenty of time to make all the side dishes before dinner time. This meal would be best paired with some homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, a big green salad, and some steamed veggies.

Grandma’s Chicken

This chicken should only take you about 10 minutes to prepare, with a cook time of half an hour.

To make, you’ll need to use a 4 pound whole chicken, one teaspoon of coconut oil, 1 teaspoon of paprika, one and a half cups of chicken broth, half a teaspoon of thyme, a dash of black pepper, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, and 6 cloves of minced garlic.

Prep Instructions

Take a small bowl and combine the pepper, salt, thyme, and paprika. Rub the seasoning evenly all over the outside of the chicken.

Next, add the oil to a large pan and turn the heat up to simmer. When you place the chicken inside the pan it should be breast down. Cook the chicken for 7 Minutes. Next, you’ll flip the chicken over, and add the garlic, lemon juice, and chicken broth. Next, place the chicken in the pressure cooker and engage the pressure cooker lid lock and set the cook time for 25 minutes on high.

Once the timer goes off remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before you start carving. And that’s it.

Super Moist Chicken

This next recipe for a whole chicken focuses on using just a few basic ingredients for super moist chicken loaded with all-natural flavors. This chicken recipe it’s so amazing that you’ll find yourself adding it to your weekly meal plans. If you’ve never used a pressure cooker before then this one-pot meal is a great choice for the beginner.

Since you’ll be cooking the chicken in a fraction of the time it would take in the oven you’ll also have dinner ready in under an hour. The final result is a chicken that’s infused with delicate flavors and meat that’s tender and fall-off-the-bone tender.

Prepare the chicken as you normally would before it goes in the oven. You can leave the skin on or off. I recommend removing the skin simply because it will not come out crispy like it does in the oven. Mixed together one teaspoon of salt, a dash of pepper, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of butter, and a dash of thyme.

Completely coat the outside of the chicken with this mixture before placing the chicken in the pressure cooker breast down. Set the timer to 30 minutes and place the temperature setting to high. The lid will release once the pot has had time to depressurize. Once the lid lock releases give the chicken 10 to 15 minutes to rest and allow the juices to be evenly distributed. At this point, you can carve and serve.

Garlic Honey Chicken

This garlic honey chicken recipe offers a new take on a classic. It’s super-fast and easy to make and packed with flavor. This recipe consists of just six ingredients which most home cooks will have on hand.

To make all you’ll need is half a cup of honey, one cup of ketchup, half a cup of soy sauce, 2 cloves of minced garlic, two tablespoons of cornstarch, one whole chicken, and two tablespoons of water.

You’ll start off by combining the garlic, honey, ketchup, and soy sauce in a large bowl. Next, you’ll coat the entire chicken with the sauce. Place the chicken inside the pressure cooker. Next, lock the lid in place and set the timer for 35 minutes. The temperature should be set to high. Once the time is up, your pressure cooker will shut down automatically and will unlock the lid once the pot has been depressurized.

Wait for 5 to 10 minutes after it has been depressurized before attempting to remove the chicken and wear gloves to prevent burns. When you remove the chicken leave some liquid in the pot. You can continue to simmer the sauce and bring the liquid to a boil for 5 to 10 minutes. After this point, you can place the sauce in a separate serving dish and allow family and guests to spoon on more sauce over their carved chicken.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to cook chicken in a pressure cooker can save you so much time and money every week. Leftovers can easily be turned into shredded chicken tacos, chicken salad sandwiches, or even chicken soup.

If you plan on making soup with the leftovers make sure you hang onto the bones so you can boil them and make a delicious broth. As you can see, there are no shortages of whole chicken pressure cooker recipes to choose from. The ones I’ve included here are beginner-friendly and loaded with flavor and fall off the fork-tender chicken that the whole family will love.

Originally posted 2019-11-16 15:26:06.