Instant Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken (no sugar, keto option)
With no added sugar, this keto-friendly Instant Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken is your answer for good Southern bar-b-que cravings — but healthy and nourishing! Serve yours with cauli-rice or on cloud bread to stay LCHF or break out the beans and enjoy a truly delicious BBQ meal! Get your FREE 7-Day Real Food Instant Pot Meal Plan here!
I’m a Texas girl.
I may live in Northeastern Minnesota now (where many think ketchup is too spicy), but don’t let that fool you — tacos, chips and salsa, steak, and good bar-b-que are still my love language.
And since I can’t find any real BBQ for quite some distance, I’m forced to make it myself. So, of course, I’m going to pull out my handy-dandy pressure cooker for Instant Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken!
Lacking a smoker, some hickory wood, and a hot summer day, this BBQ scratches the itch. 🙂
Unlike Texas BBQ, however, it has no added sugar — so it’s keto and blood sugar-friendly (assuming you don’t put it on a white bread bun, obs).
If you do need bun options, my friend Megan at Eat Beautiful has this amazing keto/Paleo/GAPS Cloud Bread! Uh-huh. 😉
Or, you can fill a sweet potato or serve this over some cauli-rice for an easy and nourishing meal. Here’s how to make your own cauli-rice in minutes!
Finally, if you’re going for salad,my Creamy Probiotic Ranch pairs really well with this bar-b-que.
If staying low-carb/keto isn’t your thing, nothing beats BBQ and beans — like these Instant Pot Ranchero Beans!
Enjoy this Southern favorite of ours made super easy, tender, quick, and juicy in your Instant Pot!
Instant Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken (no sugar, keto option)
Lacking a smoker, some hickory wood, and a hot summer day, this BBQ scratches the itch. Unlike Texas BBQ, however, it has no added sugar -- so it's low-carb and friendly on your blood sugar (assuming you don't put it on a white bread bun, obs).
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 to 3poundsbonelessskinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, preferably organic
- 3/4cupbone broth
- 7ouncesorganic tomato paste
- 5tablespoons "Dietz Sweet" or 2 doonks stevia extract
- 1/4cupapple cider vinegar
- 2tablespoonsnaturally fermented soy sauce
- 1 tablespoonnatural liquid smoke
- 1tablespoononion powder
- 1-1/2teaspoonsunsulphured blackstrap molasses
- 2teaspoonssalt
- 2teaspoonsDijon mustard
- 2teaspoonsorganic maple flavoring
- 2teaspoonsgarlic powder
- 1teaspoonchipotle powder
- 1/2teaspoonallspice
Instructions
- Place the chicken into the Instant Pot.
- Whisk the remaining sauce ingredients together in a medium-size bowl until smooth.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and seal the vent.
- Press the "Poultry" button, and adjust the time to 24 minutes.
- As soon as it beeps, manually release pressure.
- Using tongs, remove the cooked chicken from the Instant Pot.
- Manually shred the meat with 2 forks. Or, for a faster, easier way to shred, put the chicken into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and turn on low speed.
Our Most Popular Instant Pot Recipes & Posts
Need more no-fail Instant Pot recipes? How about the best Instant Pot information, troubleshooting, and tips? Here are the most popular Instant Pot recipes and posts here at All The Nourishing Things!
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- How To Cook Wild Rice In The Instant Pot
Do you love good Southern BBQ? Will you try this pulled BBQ chicken in the Instant Pot?
Updated 05.02.2018
This was excellent! That sauce is so delicious and I will likely cook up a jar of the sauce to keep for other BBQ recipes. I did not have liquid smoke so I used Smoked Paprika in it’s place. I also used 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup in place of the stevia and the maple flavoring [we are not Keto]. Again, this sauce is excellent and this recipe will be in our regular rotation! Thank you!!!
Hi there…looks like a great recipe, except it says it’s Keto friendly, and yet includes Molasses which are extremely high in sugar, and not at all Keto friendly. Is there a different version of this recipe which maintains the flavors that is truly Keto-friendly? Thank you ~
Hi, Kiersten, there are only 7 grams of carbs in the amount of molasses called for in the recipe, so it does still fall within keto guidelines. If you are very concerned, simply omit the molasses. I don’t have a sub to keep the flavor, however.
Natural flavor means very little and cannot always be trusted as in the organic maple flavor.
I do recommend an organic brand.
Loooove bbq. I’ve been pouring over all the recipes and they sound amazing. We have cholesterol issues so all the tropical and other saturated fats are out. Can we sub avocado oil for anybof the oils? Also, what could I use in place of coconut milk ??? I need these recipes bc of blood sugar issues!
Thanks. Any help would be appreciated!
Feel free to sub avocado oil, sure. Any dairy-free milk of your choice can be used instead of coconut milk, like almond, cashew, or macadamia nut milk (my personal favorite).
Delicious recipe! My family is gobbling up the leftovers right now.
I used 5 pounds of bone-in skinless thighs and just cooked it for a few minutes longer and let the pressure naturally release. I ended up with the perfect amount of sauce. I didn’t have maple flavoring or molasses on hand so I just added a little more Stevia. I cut the allspice in half. Great flavor overall, even with the omissions. The next time I’m sure I’ll try it with the maple flavoring.
I’ll add this to my regular rotation of keto family favorites. Thank you!
Yay! I’m so happy you and your family loved it. Great subs, too!
what a mouth watering recipe! yummy! Thank you for sharing. I will definitely try this one.
This is such a quick and delicious meal. Perfect for weekend brunch or weeknight meals.
Yummy! I am so excited to try this delicious sounding pulled bbq chicken!
Yum ! It looks so moist and delicious. Perfect for meal prep !
I love all of the flavors you have used to season the chicken, YUM! Obviously anything made in an instant pot gets my vote too!
Yum yum yum. All those delicious spices and the cooking method is SO easy! This is perfect meal prep food 🙂
Cracking up that they think ketchup is too spicy!! This sounds and looks awesome!! That sauce!!! YUM!
Yeah…LOL. Those silly Scandinavians! (That’s coming from a spicy food lover who also happens to be over 30% Scandinavian!)
Sounds delicious! I love that you make your own bbq sauce in there with the chicken. I’ve never tried to make anything with liquid smoke. It sounds so… mysterious. Haha.
I grew up on liquid smoke! LOL! The one I’ve linked to is the most natural I can find. And it’s not like we’re eating it everyday!
BLESS YOU. I haven’t tried this yet but I’ve just spent the past half hour paging through google results trying to find a pulled BBQ Chicken Instant Pot recipe that didn’t include “Bottle of BBQ sauce” in the ingredients. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that if that’s what you want to eat but I don’t have one & don’t want one)…
This looks amazing & I can’t wait to try it.
Northerner with family in Texas 🙂
Awesome! I hope you’ll come back and let me know how it turns out!
Yay, Lori! I do hope it meets all your expectations!
As frequent travellers to the South, my husband and I have come to appreciate southern bar-b-que. Considering we call our grills “barbecues” in Canada, it was quite an educational experience!
Ha! That’s funny! Where I’m from, “barbecue” and “grill” mean 2 different things!