Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy

Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy - the most amazingly tender and juicy whole chicken you will ever make with a perfect flavoursome gravy.

Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Whole Chicken

If you have never cooked a whole chicken in a pressure cooker and you actually own a pressure cooker. I demand you to make this whole chicken right now. It's super easy to make and finger lickin amazing!!

It is probably one of the most cooked recipes I make in the Instant Pot because my family love this recipe and if I need cooked chicken for sandwiches, salads, lunches etc, then this is really the perfect recipe. 

The best part of all, the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) cooks a whole 4lb chicken in 25 minutes (not including the natural releasing of the pressure) and the meat is super tender and moist, perfect for your Sunday dinner.

Wondering what an Instant Pot is?

It is basically a 7in1 cooker which can slow cook, pressure cooks, sauté and has a setting for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt.

How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot

When making this Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy, I like to get all the ingredients ready in advance, it makes it much easier to do all the steps and get the chicken into the instant pot cooking.

Setting the chicken aside, I first get all the vegetables prepared, by chopping and washing the leeks, crushing the garlic cloves and roughly chopping the onions. Don't worry about chopping them neatly, or to a certain size, as they will be blended at the end of cooking, to make the gravy, so it really doesn't matter, so long as they are not too big.

Once chopped you, can then set the instant pot to sauté mode. Once hot, spray with some spray oil and add the onion, leeks and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until translucent.

Add in the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and ¾ cup of chicken stock, and stir till well combined.

You can then turn off the instant pot, just while you season the chicken.

Best Seasoning for a Whole Chicken

I mix all the seasoning together in a bowl. Then place the chicken on a board and you can rub the seasoning all over the chicken.

I tend to stick to this basic seasoning blend, as it's what my family love for flavour, you get the additional flavour from all the ingredients that go in for the gravy. 

• Sea Salt
• Paprika
• Black Pepper
• Thyme
• Onion Powder

Once well coated in the seasoning, place the chicken into the instant pot, breast side down (this keeps the breast meat nice and tender), straight on top of the sautéed veg. You can place on the trivet on top of the veg if you like, but I find the trivet isn't needed with all the veg underneath. 

Then you can add the lid, close the valve and set the instant pot to 25 minutes, high pressure (I use a 3.5lb chicken and this was perfect timing for that size of chicken). Ensure you allow the pressure to release naturally, as it will help keep the chicken nice and moist. I do not recommend doing a quick release when cooking meat, always let the pressure release naturally to keep the meat lovely and tender.

Once the pressure has released naturally, you can then remove the chicken from the instant pot. I just grab two forks and stick one in either end and carefully lift it out.

Set to rest for about 15 mins and then you can remove the skin and any visible fat and remove all the meat from the carcass and shred onto a plate.

Look at that lovely tender chicken meat - perfect!!

Instant Pot Chicken with Gravy

Now there are two options for making the gravy. You need to remove the fat from the juices.

So your first option is to use a fat separator jug like this OXO Good Grips Gravy/Fat Separator Jug:

or occasionally I will cook the chicken the day before I plan to eat it. I then add the vegetables, meat juices and 1 cup of chicken stock to a bowl. Place in the fridge until the next day and the fat will set on top and you can spoon it all off.

Once you have completed either of the above, you can then add to a blender and blend till smooth. An immersion stick blender will do the job too if that is all you have. 

After you blend, you can then add the gravy to a saucepan just to reduce down a little and thicken.

This gravy is amazing with the chicken, you will seriously want to make this delicious Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Syn Free Gravy every week.

and if you have any gravy left over, pop in a tub and freeze for another day, you never know when it might come in handy.

Is this Gravy Syn Free?

Following the steps above to remove all the fat, I personally count the gravy as syn free. However, if you are concerned about a small bit of fat that may be soaked into the vegetables from the juices of the chicken before blending, then count a couple of syns per serving to cover yourself.

This is the healthiest and tastiest gravy you will ever make and I see it as the one time I eat this, which is not every day, I count it as free. 

Sides for Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy

Looking for some sides to go with the Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy?

Check out these recipes:

• Syn Free Roast Potatoes
• Low Syn Sage, Sausage and Onion Bulgur Wheat Stuffing
• Syn Free Mashed Potatoes
• 1 Syn Yorkshire Puddings
• Garlic and Herb Roasted Potatoes
• Maple Glazed Carrots
• Potato Gratin
• Roasted Vegetable Gratin
• Cheesy Vegetable Bake
• Roasted Fennel and Mixed Peppers
• Crushed Roast Potatoes
• Rustic Garlic and Parmesan Mash
• Syn Free Sweet Potato Mash
• Roasted Paprika Butternut Squash
• Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Parsnips and Carrots
• Extra Crispy Golden Potatoes

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 900 delicious Slimming World and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, syn value and smart points etc

So many amazing sides to compliment this dish.

Make this Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy today.

"But what if I don't have an instant pot?", I hear you say. You will be pleased to know that you can also make this in the slow cooker on the low setting for 6 hours - perfect!!! or check out my Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe

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Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy

Yield: 1 whole chicken (with gravy) - Serves 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Gravy - the most amazingly tender and juicy whole chicken you will ever make with a perfect flavoursome gravy.

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Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (approx 4 lbs/1.8kg)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 leek, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbs of tomato paste
• 1 tbs of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp of paprika
• 1.5 tsp of fine sea salt
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• ½ tsp of onion powder
• ¼ tsp of black pepper
• 1.75 cups (420ml) of chicken stock
• cooking oil spray (I used avocado)

Instructions

1. Set the instant pot to sauté mode and spray the pan with cooking oil spray.
2. Once it displays hot, add the onion, garlic and leek and sauté for a few minutes until translucent.
3. Add the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and ¾ cup (180ml) of chicken stock and mix to combine.
4. Turn off instant pot.
5. Mix the paprika, salt, thyme, onion powder, and black pepper together and rub all over the chicken.
6. Place the chicken directly on top of the vegetables, breast side down.
7. Add lid, close valve (if not self sealing) and set to 25 mins manual high pressure.
8. Once cooked, allow the pressure to release naturally, then carefully remove the chicken and allow to rest for about 15 mins before removing the skin/fat and shredding the meat off the carcass.
9. Drain the juices from the vegetables and use a fat separator jug to remove the fat (or If cooking the chicken the day before, you can skip the fat separator jug part, and add the juices, vegetables and 1 cup of stock to a bowl, place in the fridge and then the fat will have set on top and the next day you can skim it all off with a spoon.)
10. Add the vegetables, meat juices (with fat separated) and the remaining cup of stock to a blender and blend till smooth.
11. Add to a pan and heat to reduce down and thicken.
12. Serve the chicken and gravy with your choice of sides and enjoy!.

Notes

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, paleo, Whole30, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly

• Slimming World - syn free per serving
• WW Flex/Freestyle Points - 4 per serving
• Gluten Free - use gluten free stock

*suitable for freezing

Slow Cooker - follow steps 2-3 in a pan over a medium heat. Then add to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours, then you can follow the steps of the gravy.

NOTE: See recipe write up re: gravy

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Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  OXO Good Grips Gravy/Fat Separator, 500 ml
• 
  Russell Hobbs Food Collection Hand Blender 22241, 200 W - White
• 
  Ninja BL682UK2 1500W Food Processor with Nutri Auto-iQ
• 
  Instant Pot Duo V2 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Qt, 5.5L 1000 W, Brushed Stainless Steel/Black, 220-240v, Stainless Steel Inner Pot

Nutrition Information

Yield 1 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 250Total Fat 8.2gSaturated Fat 2.1gCholesterol 157mgSodium 938mgCarbohydrates 7.2gFiber 1gSugar 2.6gProtein 38.9g

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