Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Recipe - pulled chicken with sweet pineapple BBQ sauce cooked in pressure cooker. Perfect served as sandwiches!
This easy chicken dish is a favorite, along with my Instant Pot Pulled Pork and served with my Homemade BBQ Sauce.
One of the fastest chicken dinners I make during summer is a slow cooker BBQ chicken. It is as easy as placing chicken in the crock pot and topping it with BBQ sauce. I jazzed up the idea and converted it to use in my Instant Pot and now I have a new family favorite! And it's as easy yet much faster to make!
This Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken is the perfect summer dinner! You do not need to stand over a hot grill or heat up the house with an oven. Simply add chicken, pineapple with juice and BBQ sauce to your IP and let it cook. If you have pork on hand, you have to try my Best Instant Pot Pulled Pork too!
Ingredients:
- chicken breasts
- pineapple chunks in juice
- BBQ sauce
Instructions:
Pulled chicken (and pork!) in barbecue sauce is very easy to cook in the Instant Pot. It's a quick and easy way to make a summer dish without a ton of ingredients.
- Simply place boneless skinless chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, add pineapple juice and pineapple chunks and stir.
- Next, pour BBQ sauce over chicken. You can use your favorite brand or try our Homemade BBQ Sauce recipe. Do not stir or turn the chicken over.
- Close the lid, turn the valve to sealing position and let the IP do it's magic! After 12 minutes, release the pressure, shred or pull the chicken with two fork, return to the sauce and serve in buns. I love topping it with creamy coleslaw, like out KFC Coleslaw Copycat, or a simple purple cabbage and red onion slaw.
What pineapple is best for this dish?
I used canned pineapple because it's easy. For two chicken breasts, I used only ½ cup of the juice and 1 cup of pineapple chunks. You can use the whole 21-ounce can for a double amount of chicken. You can use fresh pineapple as well! Simply chop it into bite size pieces, add 1 cup of them to the IP. Use store-bought pineapple juice or use chicken stock.
Serving:
I like to serve the pulled BBQ chicken in a bun, topped with a simple coleslaw. You can serve potato wedges, fries or potato salad alongside. I also love to make baked potatoes and top them with this Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. So delicious!
More BBQ recipes:
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Check out my Instant Pot Guide for Beginners, filled with all the info you need to get started with your new appliance!
Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken recipe
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 1.5 cups BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Make sure the stainless steel insert is in your Instant Pot. Place chicken breasts on the bottom of the insert. Add pineapple juice and stir. Arrange pineapple chunks over chicken and along side, make sure no chunks are under the chicken.
- Pour BBQ sauce over chicken. Do not stir.
- Place lid on your Instant Pot, switch the valve to "sealing" position. Press "manual" button and adjust timer to 12 minutes. The IP will beep shortly and start coming to pressure.
- When the timer is done, the IP will beep. Press "cancel/off" button. Carefully, switch the valve to "venting" position to release the pressure.
- When all pressure is released, carefully and away from your face, open the IP. Remove chicken breast onto a plate and shred or pull with two forks.
- Return chicken to IP and stir with the sauce.
- If the sauce is too runny to your likings, you can set the IP to saute function and let the chicken simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Serve in buns, topped with coleslaw, if desired.
Marv Beachler says
This is a great recipe and I recommended it for beginners and seasoned instant pot users. I’ve been using my instant pot for about three years now. As a matter of fact I have two Instant pots. I use my instant pots more than any other pots or pans with the exception of the three French ovens. Thx for the recipe!
Tricia says
I made this, and I used crushed pineapple. I took the chicken out to shred it, and I added a little brown sugar and thickened the sauce just a bit. We had it on buns one night, and I put a vinegar coleslaw on mine, and it was quit tasty. With the leftovers, I make some yellow rice, and we had the Hawaiian chicken over the top. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Happy cooking to you all!
Anna says
Hi Tricia! That sounds perfect! I love that you used leftovers with rice. Thank you so much for trying my recipe!
Elizabeth says
Hello, new to IP and hoping you can tell me good cooking time for tenderloins. Thanks!
Prestina says
I made this for my Husband with 6 strips of chicken a little extra juice, pineapple tinkers and BBQ sauce for 15 mins came out Excellent... My Husband did not leave enough for another meal....
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
That's fantastic! I am so glad you both enjoyed it! Thank you so much, Prestina!
Emily says
How much barbecue sauce? It’s says 1,5??
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Emily! It means 1 and 1/2 cup of sauce. Hope this helps!
Peggy says
How long would I cook the chicken under pressure if I doubled the recipe , using 4 chicken breasts?
Merry says
OMG this looks beautiful and delicious all at the same time! I love your recipes!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Merry!
Izzy says
Can you do this with frozen chicken?
Camino Turtle says
I made it with frozen chicken breasts and increased time to 20 minutes. It came out great.
Amy says
I love delicious meals like this from and instant pot!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
So easy and flavorful! Thanks, Amy!
Catalina says
This is a must try recipe! I love chicken and pineapple!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
I hope you love it, Catalina!
Abeer says
Pineapple and bbq chicken are so great together!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
I agree! I wish I could eat it every day this summer!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
My family would LOVE this!! It looks and sounds incredibly delicious!!!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Katerina! I hope you guys love it!
Sabrina says
I love Hawaiian flavors! What a perfect use of the instant pot!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
It's currently a favorite here!
Patricia says
So delicious! I love these sandwiches, and the IP makes it so much faster to get my hands on them! Yum!
Dee says
This looks amazing! I love Hawaiian flavors for summer!
Dorothy says
My Instant Pot is becoming my favorite kitchen tool! I love how quickly dinner comes together. Plus all of that flavor!