Michael’s Chicken can be made in the Instant Pot or Crockpot. It is chicken thighs with a homemade barbecue sauce cooked together at the same time.

Michael’s Chicken (Instant Pot or Crockpot)
While I was perusing the internet I came across a recipe for “Michael’s chicken.” Basically it’s chicken with homemade barbecue sauce. I changed up the original version to fit my tastes and to make it into a slow cooker and Instant Pot recipe. We served it up with some steamed vegetables and fancy potatoes. It made a great Sunday dinner.
In order for the homemade barbecue sauce not to get runny and not to get the burn error message I cooked it using a pot-in-pot dish on top of the chicken. It worked well! I used one of these stainless steel dishes* for cooking pot-in-pot.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Worcestershire sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar
- Liquid smoke–find this in the aisle next to barbecue sauces
- Tomato paste
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon*
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs–can be frozen or fresh. You can also use bone-in chicken (I like to remove the skin first). You can also try this with chicken breasts although they won’t turn out as moist and tender. Use the same cooking time.
- Salt and pepper–I like fresh cracked pepper*
- Cornstarch–to thicken the sauce, you can also use arrowroot*
Steps
- Make sauce: In a pot-in-pot dish whisk together the Worcestershire, vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, liquid smoke and tomato paste.
- Add chicken: Pour the broth into the Instant Pot. Add chicken thighs into the pot. Salt and pepper the chicken.
- Prepare pot: Place the pot-in-pot dish on top of the chicken (you can use a trivet but you don’t have to).
- Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 10 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Remove sauce: Carefully remove the pot-in-pot dish. Drain the Instant Pot of the broth.
- Stir in sauce with chicken: Add the sauce from the pot-in-pot dish into the Instant Pot with the chicken.
- Thicken: If you’d like to thicken the sauce make a cornstarch slurry by stirring together the cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of water until smooth. Turn the pot to the sauté setting and then stir the slurry into the pot until the sauce thickens.
- Serve the chicken with sauce drizzled on top.
Notes/Tips
- To bake in the oven mix up the sauce in a bowl. Place chicken in a baking dish. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. This would be really good with bone-in chicken pieces.
- A variation: Try shedding the chicken and serving it with the sauce on top of toasted buns for a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich. For an extra awesome meal top with a bit of coleslaw.
- Make it with pork: I think this recipe would be really good with pork instead of chicken. Add a pork roast into the pot with the sauce on top. Pressure cook for 75 minutes with a natural pressure release. Shred the pork and stir in the sauce. Perfect for pulled pork sandwiches.
- Serve with fancy potatoes and steamed broccoli.
- Equipment: I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. I used a stainless steel pan* for the pot-in-pot sauce.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To make this gluten-free use a gluten-free Worcestershire sauce.
- Other recipes you can make with apple cider vinegar are Instant Pot Boarding House Meatloaf Bites and Instant Pot Sweet And Sour Country Ribs.
- Other recipes you can make with liquid smoke are Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Casserole and Instant Pot/Crockpot “Smoked” Pulled Pork.

5 More Barbecue Recipes…
Instant Pot Bacon Barbecue Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes
The best flavored meatloaf ever is cooked at the same time and in the same pressure cooker as your mashed potatoes. Add a tossed salad and you have a complete meal ready to go in just a few minutes.
Instant Pot Barbecue Meatballs
Tender meatballs with barbecue sauce made quickly in your electric pressure cooker. Add bacon crumbles for extra awesome flavor!
Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken and Rice
An easy one pot meal of saucy, cheesy chicken thighs with black beans, corn and rice.
Instant Pot Honey Barbecue Chicken
Tender chicken pieces covered in a honey sweetened barbecue sauce.
Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Flatbread
Barbecue Chicken Flatbread starts with an easy, homemade flatbread and is topped with chopped barbecue chicken that’s made in your instant pot or slow cooker. More delicious toppings like crumbled bacon, mozzarella cheese, red onions, cilantro and tomatoes are then added. It’s a perfect dinner that you can personalize to your tastes.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.


Michael’s Chicken (Instant Pot or Crockpot)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Michael’s Chicken can be made in the Instant Pot or Crockpot. It is chicken thighs with a homemade barbecue sauce cooked together at the same time.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- In a pot-in-pot dish whisk together the Worcestershire, vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, liquid smoke and tomato paste.
- Pour the broth into the Instant Pot. Add chicken thighs into the pot. Salt and pepper the chicken.
- Place the pot-in-pot dish on top of the chicken (you can use a trivet but you don’t have to).
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 10 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Carefully remove the pot-in-pot dish. Drain the Instant Pot of the broth.
- Add the sauce from the pot-in-pot dish into the Instant Pot with the chicken.
- If you’d like to thicken the sauce make a cornstarch slurry by stirring together the cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of water until smooth. Turn the pot to the sauté setting and then stir the slurry into the pot until the sauce thickens.
- Serve the chicken with sauce drizzled on top.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- In the bottom of the slow cooker whisk together the Worcestershire, vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, liquid smoke and tomato paste.
- Add the chicken into the slow cooker (no broth is needed for the slow cooker version). Salt and pepper the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Stir, serve and enjoy!
Notes
To bake in the oven mix up the sauce in a bowl. Place chicken in a baking dish. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. This would be really good with bone-in chicken pieces.
- 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.
Excellent, but next time will double the sauce 😀
I have a recipe for tomato free and gluten-free BBQ sauce which I use for the Hawaiian (meat, pineapple and BBQ) slow cooker. This will definitely be good and tasty.
★★★★★
Oh that sounds awesome!