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Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Vegetables

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If you’re looking for a complete one-pot meal, you can’t beat this Instant Pot Whole Chicken and Potatoes with Vegetables. Just throw everything in the Instant Pot and let it do all the work!

The vegetables infuse the chicken with flavor and the meat falls right off the bone. This is one of the easiest (and tastiest) Instant Pot chicken recipes.

a collage of a whole chicken with vegetables with title text reading Instant Pot Whole Chicken

Since dinner time is so chaotic in our house, I love Instant Pot dinners because the pot does all the work for me and leaves me with fewer dishes to wash after dinner. And unlike the crock pot version of this recipe, I don’t have to wait several hours to get tender-fork veggies and fall-of-the-bone chicken.

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Like many of my other dinners, I made this in my Instant Pot because I prefer to spend the time before dinner doing other things rather than standing at the stove.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
  • 1 tablespoon + 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of liquid (either water or chicken broth)
  • 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 lemon
  • 4-6 potatoes
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic or 1 1/4 teaspoons of garlic powder

Feel free to omit any seasoning you don’t like and add ones you do. Sometimes I’ll add onion powder to kick up the onion flavor.

A sprinkle of paprika adds a nice color as well as interesting flavor. If you like a little heat, add some cayenne pepper.

How to Make Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Potatoes and Vegetables

I’m super visual which is why I always try to include in-process shots. This way you know things are supposed to look like when you’re comparing your version to mine.

Note: If you have a frozen chicken, make sure to place it in the refrigerator 24 hours before you plan on cooking it in order to give it enough time to thaw completely.

Step 1: Prep the Chicken

Before you u begin, remove the neck and giblets from the cavity. Next, pat down the surface of the chicken with a paper towel. You want the skin dry so that the seasoning will stick to it and to improve the texture of the skin.

Set your Instant Pot to sauté mode. Wait for it to get hot, then add one tablespoon of olive oil before setting the chicken in.

Brown for five minutes on both sides. Then turn off the Instant Pot.

Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and set it aside.

Now we just have to do a few things to finish getting the chicken ready. Insert lemon slices inside the chicken cavity.

a hand putting a lemon slice into the cavity of a whole chicken

Then, rub olive oil all over the outside of the chicken.

Step 2: Add the Vegetables

Place the trivet that came with your Instant Pot in the bottom of the inner liner. Add the water or chicken broth.

Slice the carrots, potatoes, and onions into large chunks and add them to the pot.

large chunks of carrots, potatoes and onion in an instant pot

Then, you’ll add the herbs and spices – garlic (either garlic powder or minced garlic cloves), salt, pepper, olive oil, thyme and rosemary.

Step 3 – Add the Chicken to the Pot

Next, place the chicken in the pot on top of the vegetables. Season the chicken with thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.

a whole chicken with seasonings on it in an instant pot with vegetables

Now you just need to secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest of the steam.

To make sure the chicken is fully cooked, check the internal temperature by inserting a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. It should read 165 degrees.

Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and set it on a baking sheet or in a broiling pan. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes to brown the skin.

Your dinner is ready!

chicken with vegetables in an instant pot

Leftover Suggestions

One of the best things about making a whole chicken is having leftovers you can use for easy lunches throughout the week! Leftover roast chicken is perfect for making chicken salad sandwiches, adding substance to a salad or soup, or as the star of a wrap.

Ready to make this Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Vegetables? Here’s the complete recipe with measurements:

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📋 Recipe

Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Vegetables

Corinne Schmitt
Super simple and healthy dinner for the whole family!
4.10 from 159 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
2 minutes
Total Time 52 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 349 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 4 pound whole chicken
  • 6 Tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lemon sliced
  • 4-6 potatoes chopped
  • 2 carrots chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons minced garlic

Instructions
 

  • Set Instant Pot to "Sauté" mode. While pot heats up, dry chicken with paper towels. Once pot is hot, add one tablespoon of oil to the inner liner, then brown chicken for five minutes on each side. Turn off Instant Pot. Remove chicken and set aside.
  • Cut up the lemon and insert into the cleaned chicken.
  • Rub the outside of the chicken with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and then season with remaining thyme and rosemary, and then salt and pepper to taste.
  • Place trivet in bottom of inner liner. Add liquid.
  • Chop up potatoes, carrots and onion and place in Instant Pot along with the garlic. S
  • Return to chicken to pot (set on top of the vegetables). Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle on the sprigs of the thyme and rosemary.
  • Select the manual setting or pressure cook (depending on your model), set to high, and increase time to 25 minutes.
  • Natural release for 10 minutes to let the chicken rest and then quick release until steam is complete.
  • Remove chicken from pot and place on baking sheet. Set the oven to broil and place the chicken under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes to crisp up the skin.

Notes

Weight Watchers Freestyle = 16 points per serving

Nutrition

Calories: 349kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 7gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 153mgPotassium: 1099mgFiber: 8gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 5167IUVitamin C: 48mgCalcium: 99mgIron: 8mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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15 thoughts on “Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Vegetables”

  1. 4 stars
    This looks delicious & plan on trying it tonight.

    I just wanted to add a note about Instapots. They’re what previous generations called “pressure cookers”, with the exception that pressure cookers cooked on the stove, gas or electric, &, depending on the style, even when camping. They are excellent when used to tenderize tough cuts of beef or other meats.

    Reply
    • Hi Melissa, the chickens I get from our local grocery store are typically right around 4 pounds. I’ll add that detail to the recipe. In general, you’ll need about 6 minutes of cook time per pound. And yes, this is for a fresh chicken, not frozen. Thanks for the questions!

      Reply
  2. So….I read your tip about using the handles on my instant pot to hold the lid…..I just cannot figure it out. I’m thinking that maybe only SOME of them work that way! Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just me?
    Thank you!

    Reply
  3. I really would love to try this recipe tonight, I have all the ingredients, but am new to the IP and so far the two recipes I have tried have failed pretty badly. I’ve been battling the “burn” message and am afraid that this recipe will also get things that stick to the bottom as it is coming to pressure and I will see that dreaded BURN sign again. I have a 6qt pot. How do I try and prevent this from happening with this recipe. Is 1/2 cup of broth enough or would it hurt the recipe to do at least a cup of liquid?

    Reply
    • I use a 1/2 cup because otherwise it’s too brothy for me, but adding another half cup definitely won’t hurt. If you increase the liquid, definitely set the chicken on a trivet to keep it out of the liquid as much as possible (otherwise the bottom tends to fall apart). The trivet will also help you avoid the dreaded “burn” message.

      Reply

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