Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken–chicken thighs in barbecue sauce topped with cheddar cheese and bacon. A simple chicken dish that tastes so good and only has a handful of ingredients.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below
Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken
What an easy recipe! And guess what? It tastes so good! With only 7 ingredients you may even have everything you need to make this tonight for dinner. The tender chicken thighs are pressure cooked until tender and then BBQ sauce, cheese and bacon are added to finish the dish off. You can use your oven to melt the cheese or you can use an air fryer lid* if you have one. If you prefer you can make this in the slow cooker instead of the Instant Pot.
Why chicken thighs? I find that chicken thighs come out moist and tender in the Instant Pot and slow cooker. I used fresh thighs for this recipe and trimmed them of fat with kitchen shears*. You can use also frozen thighs for this recipe. I like to buy a big bag of boneless, skinless thighs from Costco for sake of convenience. You may want to increase pressure cooking time by 1-2 minutes for frozen thighs. If you want to use chicken breasts, you can. They don’t come out as moist and tender but they’ll still taste pretty good. To figure out how long to cook chicken breasts see this formula for how to know how long to cook chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. You can also use bone-in chicken pieces like legs and thighs for this recipe. I like to remove the skin before cooking. But that is just a personal preference.
Can I make this low carb? Yes try using a low-carb BBQ sauce like or homemade. Serve with cauliflower rice or steamed vegetables.
Why is it called smoky mountain chicken? This recipe is an Instant Pot take on Ruby’s Tuesdays tasty Smoky Mountain Chicken dish. The liquid smoke gives the chicken a smoky flavor. I love the Great Smoky Mountains so I appreciate any recipe so named.
What should I serve with Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken?
Try serving this barbecue chicken with Instant Pot baked potatoes, corn, and steamed vegetables. A lower carb idea is Instant Pot Mashed Ranch Cauliflower and steamed asparagus.
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Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Chicken thighs in barbecue sauce topped with cheddar cheese and bacon. A simple chicken dish that tastes so good and only has a handful of ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup bacon crumbles
- 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Pour 1 cup water into bottom of Instant Pot. Place a trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Place chicken thighs on top of trivet. Try to lay in one layer. If that’s not possible then stagger the chicken pieces so they are not laying right on top of each other.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 15 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- (If you have an air fryer lid read note below) Place chicken in a 8×8 baking dish. Sprinkle salt and pepper and garlic powder on the the chicken. In a small bowl stir the BBQ sauce and liquid smoke together and then brush the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese and bacon over the top evenly. Place under your oven’s broiler for 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle the green onions on top. Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- For the slow cooker version use 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Stir it together with the liquid smoke. Spoon half of the sauce onto the bottom of the slow cooker. Place chicken into slow cooker and brush the rest of the BBQ sauce on top of the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and garlic powder.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove the lid.
- Sprinkle cheese and bacon on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 10 more minutes until cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle the green onions on top. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Step 4: Alternately, you can do this step in your Instant Pot if you have an air fryer lid. Dump the water out of the pot and lay chicken pieces in bottom of dry pot. Sprinkle salt and pepper and garlic powder on the the chicken. In a small bowl stir the BBQ sauce and liquid smoke together and then brush the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese and bacon over the top evenly. Use the air fryer lid for about 2-3 minutes at 350° F to melt the cheese.
To make this recipe low carb use a low sugar BBQ sauce.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
This looks good and I can’t wait to try it. However it confused me as it is almost identically named to another recipe of yours that you recently posted (I need to go review that one, it was tasty and easy!). I thought I was going crazy reading these ingredients, hahaha!!
haha! Here is the other one: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-smoky-mountain-casserole/
Just a curious question. Why do you not say to sprinkle the spices on the chicken while cooking? Normally you do, plus I personally find the spices are infused into any meat while being presserized. As opposed to adding them before the sauce)
Because the chicken is cooked on a trivet and then the liquid below it is discarded I was worried the seasonings would go to the bottom. So I added them on top of the chicken later when baking in the oven.
I love getting your recipes. I’m really struggling with my weight since Covid. I’m all for comfort food but wish you would at least occasionally add some lower calorie recipes.
You might like my healthy recipes: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_dietary_restrictions=healthy
I’ve made this three or four times, it’s easy and delicious! The first time I made it my husband said we could eat it weekly. The kids like it too! Thanks Karen, I applaud folks brave enough to post recipes, it makes busy people’s lives easier!
★★★★★
Yay! So glad you loved it! We loved this one a lot.
This was really good! I had no idea what to fix for dinner. Saw the email with this recipe, I had everything to make it and the family loved it!! I did a mix of breasts and thighs since I had one pack of each. I cut the breasts in half and quartered them too and it was a good mix. Kept cooking time the same. The air fryer lid to finish it was perfect!!
★★★★★
Yay! I think it is so tasty too! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Can you use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs?
If you want to use chicken breasts, you can. They don’t come out as moist and tender but they’ll still taste pretty good. To figure out how long to cook chicken breasts see this formula for how to know how long to cook chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-cook-chicken-breasts-in-the-instant-pot-frozen-or-fresh/
Can we use chicken breasts in the instant pot version of this recipe? If so, will it change the cooking method (using the trivet)?
If you want to use chicken breasts, you can. They don’t come out as moist and tender but they’ll still taste pretty good. To figure out how long to cook chicken breasts see this formula for how to know how long to cook chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-cook-chicken-breasts-in-the-instant-pot-frozen-or-fresh/
I’d use the trivet.