Instant Pot BBQ Chicken + Veggie Finish
Asher Sadler·43 min·Serves 4Tender, shred-and-sauce BBQ chicken made fast in the Instant Pot, with vegetables cooked right in the same session so dinner (or meal prep) is automatically balanced. The chicken pressure-cooks in a lightly sweet-tangy, lower-sodium BBQ-style sauce, then gets finished on sauté for sticky edges. While the chicken rests, you’ll steam a pile of crisp-tender veggies in the pot so everything’s hot at once without extra pans.
- weeknight
- low sodium
- meal prep
- instant pot
Ingredients
- BBQ Chicken
- •1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- •1 tsp smoked paprika
- •1/2 tsp garlic powder
- •1/2 tsp black pepper
- •1/2 tsp mustard powder (optional)
- •1 tbsp neutral oil (optional, for sauté)
- Quick Lower-Sodium BBQ-Style Sauce
- •1 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
- •2 tbsp tomato paste
- •2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- •2 tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup
- •1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (choose lower-sodium if possible)
- •1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- •1/2 cup water
- •Pinch cayenne or chili flakes (optional)
- Vegetables (steam after the chicken)
- •4–6 cups vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces (broccoli florets, green beans, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, or a mix)
- •1/2 cup water (for steaming)
- •Lemon wedges or extra vinegar, for finishing (optional)
Instructions
Build the sauce
In a bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, Dijon, water, and cayenne (if using). Taste—it should be tangy-sweet and a little intense; it will mellow on the chicken.
Pressure-cook the chicken
Sprinkle chicken with smoked paprika, garlic powder, pepper, and mustard powder (if using).
Pour the BBQ-style sauce into the Instant Pot. Add the chicken and turn pieces to coat.
Pressure cook on High: 10 minutes for thighs, 8 minutes for breasts. Let it natural release 8 minutes, then quick release the rest.
Lift chicken to a plate. It’s done when it shreds easily with a fork and the thickest part is no longer pink.
Thicken + glaze
Hit Sauté. Simmer the sauce 5–10 minutes, stirring, until it looks glossy and coats a spoon.
Shred chicken (two forks) or slice. Return it to the pot and toss to coat.
Keep on Sauté 2–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken looks lacquered and slightly sticky at the edges. If it ever looks too thick, loosen with a splash of water.
Steam the vegetables (same pot)
Scoop the chicken to a serving bowl and cover to keep warm.
Pour 1/2 cup water into the pot (if there’s thick sauce stuck on, give it a quick rinse first).
Set in a steamer basket. Add vegetables.
Pressure cook on High: 0 minutes for broccoli/zucchini/green beans, 1–2 minutes for carrots/cauliflower (or do carrots first, then quick-steam tender veg). Quick release immediately.
Veg is perfect when it’s bright, crisp-tender, and you can pierce it with a fork with slight resistance. Finish with a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar.
Serve
Serve BBQ chicken alongside the steamed vegetables. Great over rice (rice cooker) or on lavash with crunchy veg.
Notes
Low-sodium angle: using no-salt-added tomato sauce keeps sodium down; avoid adding salt unless you truly need it at the table. If you want smoky depth without salt, add 1/2 tsp liquid smoke or extra smoked paprika. No steamer basket? Put veg in a foil packet on the trivet with 2 tbsp water inside the packet; steam times stay the same. Storage: keeps 4 days refrigerated. Reheat chicken with a splash of water to loosen the glaze; steam or microwave veg separately so it stays crisp-tender.