Hello! And Happy New Year!! It’s kinda been awhile. I took a bit of a blogging & social media hiatus the past 2 months and it was really nice – peaceful – and full of refection and gratitude. I was able to put lots of time into a self-care & pampering myself a bit – turning a little part of each day into “spa day”. And I have so many juicy details to share about some MAJOR & WONDERFUL improvements I have made health wise as in relation to a new diagnosis I recently got, which I now believe has been at the center of my body falling ill to autoimmunity in the first place. OMG, eye opening revelations have been happening!! But that post will be up shortly. Until then, let’s talk chicken. Like the best damn roast chicken I’ve ever made!! Like this Instant Pot Whole Roast Chicken Recipe that is justification enough for you to run out the door, or more realistically click on over to amazon, and buy yourself an INSTANT POT.
I now refuse to make a whole roast chicken any other way. THIS is roast chicken done right. And it’s foolproof. And super juicy and so tender. And the chicken literally breaks apart in your hands, no knife was needed to separate the entire leg and breast as shown on the plate below. And do you know what the best part about this recipe is?? Other than the fact that this IS the recipe for busy peoples, who want dinner done right with a totally hands off approach, and who thrive with One Pot Cooking Recipes, and the fact that this recipe is FOOLPROOF – the other real reason I love this recipe is that you end up with a pot of chicken bone broth by simply adding water and popping the lid back onto the Instant Pot. Done and Done.
After cooking the bird at high pressure for 25 to 30 minutes, y’all get your servings of perfectly roast chicken, then you fill the pot back up with water, a splash of ACV, a bay leaf, put the lid back on and you’ve got gut healing bone broth ready in just a couple more hours. And no other pots or pans were dirtied in the process. And the meal & broth seriously cook themselves – leaving you with a free break in the afternoon to treat yourself to a little spa bliss – which for me includes a cup of herbal tea, maybe a swim in the pool, or a walk through the woods with the dogs, or a little forest bathing & meditation outdoors, while the Instant Pot does all the work for me. How can you not love that. ♥
Photo below shows step #1 where you brown each side of the chicken before pressure cooking.
Well, it’s more like Step #2 as I had already browned both sides and then set the chicken onto the steamer rack before locking down the lid. You get the idea!
And wa-la! Roast Chicken A-La-Instant Pot is ready below!
It’s flavorful, juicy, and read to serve. You’ll see a section where I accidentally tore the skin with the tongs when I was flipping it before cooking, just ignore that part.
Instant Pot Whole Roast Chicken
A perfectly roasted chicken that is literally falling off the bone after a quick cook in the Instant Pot.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Paleo
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 250 kcal
Author Andrea
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (pasture raised)
1 Tablespoon oil (or butter)
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (or any vinegar)
2 teaspoon rosemary dried
1 teaspoon thyme dried
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole bayleaf
*AIP Notes: omit black pepper, and use oil instead of butter
Instructions
Turn on Instant Pot and set to “Saute” Function. Add in oil.
After oil is nice and hot, gently place whole chicken, breast side up, into Instant Pot to brown the skin. You will brown each side for approximately 5 minutes. I like to also turn the chicken on both sides to brown them for a few minutes each too. I sprinkle herbs and sea salt over each side before browning.
Very carefully using heavy duty tongs, lift up chicken and place the steamer rack (that comes with the Instant Pot) into the bottom of the pot. Set chicken on top of the steamer rack, breast side up, then pour in 1/2 cup water and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice.
Secure lid on Instant Pot. Set to “Poultry” setting and manually increase time for a total cook time of 25 to 30 minutes. (For a smaller 3 pound bird I do 25 minutes, but for a larger 5 pound bird I do 30 minutes.)
Let Instant Pot depressureize for an additional 10 minutes after cooking on the Poultry setting. Gently release steam valve and remove lid.
Serve. This chicken will literally break apart with your hands, you won’t even need a knife to cut it.
After serving chicken, return carcass and any chicken bones to the Instant Pot to make your bone broth.
Recipe Notes
Optional: add any of your favorite herbs and/or a few cloves of garlic.