If you have only made this on the grill or beer can chicken in oven We will show you how to make beer can chicken in an Instant Pot! In less than an hour you can cook a whole chicken to fall off the bone perfection for dinner.

Close-up of sliced roasted chicken breast with crispy, golden-brown skin in a glass dish, reminiscent of a perfectly cooked pressure cooker beer can chicken.

This one pot meal was a game changer! Even if you aren't a beer lover, but love super tender chicken made in 30 minutes, you have to to try this easy Instant Pot recipe for dinner tonight.

Ok so we grew up with this good ol' fashioned beer can chicken recipe that was always cooked on the barbecue. It did always come out great but had a much longer cooking time. Then came the pressure cooker! We couldn't stop using it so we thought what the heck, let's give this a whirl too.

One of the biggest factors as to whether this will work in yours is it's size. Both the bird and your pot have to fit right so the lid will close with a bit of space in between. This works best in the Crockpot Express because it is taller but for an 8 quart IP you can do it too.

How does beer can chicken work? The can acts as a trivet of sorts. You put the can of beer into the open cavity and cook! The liquid in the can gets hot in the cooking process and starts to evaporate inside the cavity cooking it from the inside out. This is how we initially made all of our Instant Pot chicken recipes before now!!

Ingredient notes

You want to start with a whole chicken that is 4-4.5 pounds in size. We recommend organic and free range because they are a bit smaller but with the same amount of meat, less fat. The texture is better too.

The type of can of beer you use is totally up to you. We light a light lager but it doesn't matter. The darker the stronger the flavor.

Is it safe to use beer in an Instant Pot?

Yes, we have done it with this recipe as well as making corned beef and cabbage in the Instant Pot. We will tell you at first we left it open overnight so it wasn't bubbly. Then we did our research and everywhere said it was fine. From then on out, the past year, we pour it in and it is fine.

We like to coat the outside with olive oil to allow the seasonings to stick on there well. If we are going to crisp the skin when done we will use a spray of oil too. Lawry's seasoned saltminced garlic and garlic salt is typically what we will coat it with.

Can you make beer can chicken with a frozen chicken?

We figured out how to cook Instant Pot frozen whole chicken last month because we are forever forgetting to defrost meat for dinner. It wouldn't work in this case because the hole would be hard and not pliable enough to slide it on top unfortunately. BUT you could follow the above link and use beer as the steaming liquid to give it a similar flavor!

A raw chicken perched on a beer can inside a pressure cooker, ready for cooking.

How Long to Cook Beer Can Chicken in Instant Pot

You are going to need 25 minutes with a natural release at the end which will continue to cook it slowly for about another 15-20 minutes thereafter. With the time it takes to reach pressure you need to account for about an hour to get this done.

How do you get crispy chicken skin after pressure cooking a chicken?

Put it into a 9″ square oven safe dish. For browning once it is cooked (if you want crispy skin) throw it under your broiler in your oven for 3-4 minutes. OR use your air fryer at 400 for a few too. If you are using a large Foodi you can close the lid that is attached and hit air crisp on the front. At 400F for about 3-4 minutes you'll get the top golden brown with a spray of olive oil.

Ninja Foodi (Option)

If you have the 8 qt. and yours will close with the bird facing up then go for it like this. If not throw it into your Ninja Foodi or other brand to make air fryer whole chicken. You can crisp the skin when done by setting down the lid that is attached at 400F for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.

Tips to Remember

You NEED an 8 qt. pressure cooker – This will NOT work in a 6 qt. size (it will be too tall and not close). We used our 8 qt. Crock Pot Express. You will want to season this to add flavor or it will be rather bland since it is essentially steamed. Best choices are at least some minced garlic and seasoned whether it is baked or cooking beer can chicken in oven.

Remember that natural release means you don't touch the pressure valve once time is up. Wait until timer on front says 10, then release the pressure by flipping the valve quickly. Be careful, it's hot.

Instant Pot Beer Can Chicken Recipe

By Instant Pot beer can chicken is so easy and an amazingly flavorful way to cook a whole chicken in your pressure cooker that falls off the bone! Prep: 15 minutes minsCook: 25 minutes minsTotal: 40 minutes minsServings: 6 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, 4-4.5 lbs.
1 can beer, 12 oz
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Instructions

NOTE: This only works with 8 qt. electric pressure cookers, will not fit in 6 qt versions. Remove neck etc. from inside cavity of the bird if there is one. Discard all innards.
Pour 3/4 of a cup of beer from your beer can into your pressure cooker.
Rub olive oil on the outside of your chicken along with the minced garlic. Sprinkle the seasoned salt and garlic salt on the outside of your chicken as well.
Put your beer can with remaining beer inside on the bottom, middle, of your pressure cooker.
Put the open cavity of your chicken facing down and lower it on to your beer can. Insert as far as it will go inside your chicken.
Close your lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 25 minutes.
Allow to naturally release steam until there is no more left.
Carefully pull out chicken (it will be falling apart)
If you want skin crispy: Set oven to broil. Put chicken in oven safe dish, broil for 3-5 minutes or until outside/skin is as brown/crispy as you'd like it. OR put into large air fryer, spray top with olive oil, set at 400 F for about 6 minutes or as crispy as you want it.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

You make this the same way, in an 8 qt. It doesn't matter what brand you have it will work as great. Here are Ninja Foodi chicken recipes. This one didn't work in our model 6 qt. because their pot wasn't tall enough, maybe the 8 would be. Instructions work for all types of electric pressure cooker models.

Other one pot meals you'll love

Other easy chicken recipes and side items that pair well with this are Instant Pot chicken thighs bone in. But if you like heat we would make our Spicy honey Instant Pot chicken instead. Try our smoked beer can chicken too if you like! As a side item this is the best beer bread recipe our chile rice is great, and potato rolls are yummy. Pair them up and have a great simple meal this week!