Dinner made simple! Only 4 ingredients are needed for BBQ Chicken Drumsticks. With just 5 minutes of prep, the instant pot does the rest!
Jump to RecipeRecently, since the boys started back at school and I have been sub teaching a lot this fall, the Instant Pot has been my go-to for dinner. I love how quickly it can make dinner, and I don’t have to do a lot of work.
Any teacher knows the fatigue after being in class all day, especially at the elementary level. When I get home, I want something easy. But easy doesn’t have to mean sandwiches or frozen meals.
Sometimes I will get things started in the slow cooker before heading to school. But only if I know Justin will be home. I don’t like leaving it going all day without someone here. So, that’s when I break out the instant pot!
My boys will eat chicken cooked in almost any way. That’s why we end up eating a lot of chicken meals here. I don’t care for dark meat, and the boys prefer white meat, too (much to Justin’s dismay). But, this time, I told him I would compromise with the drumsticks. I don’t usually like the texture of dark meat, but these aren’t as bad.
A flavor I know everyone likes here is BBQ. And, we happened to have everything we needed except the chicken when I made our meal plan and grocery list. This means we were able to use some food that didn’t go to waste and save money. Always a win in my book!
I used the same seasoning that we use on hamburgers to make our BBQ Chicken Drumsticks. Then we had some BBQ sauce to slather on at the end. The boys don’t care for the sauce as much, which is why I didn’t cook the chicken in the sauce.
BBQ Chicken Drumsticks Step by Step
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken drumsticks
- 2 tbsp bbq seasoning
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup bbq sauce
Preparation
Sprinkle the bbq seasoning on all sides of the chicken drumsticks.
Pour water into the bottom of the instant pot. Place the wire rack in the instant pot and put the chicken on the rack.
Cook on high pressure for 10-15 minutes (10 for thawed chicken, 15 for frozen). Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure. Remove the chicken and either coat with the bbq sauce or serve with sauce to dip in.
Leftovers
Keep any leftover bbq chicken drumsticks in a container in the refrigerator. They will stay good for up to 2-3 days. We like the chicken cold the next day. But, if you want it warm, I suggest placing it in a toaster oven or oven at 350F until heated through, about 5-8 minutes.
Recipe
Originally Published On: October 13, 2020
Last Updated On: September 14, 2023
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken drumsticks
- 2 tbsp bbq seasoning
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup bbq sauce
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Sprinkle chicken drumsticks with bbq seasoning
- Pour water into the bottom of the instant pot
- Place the wire rack in the instant pot and put the chicken on the rack
- Cook on high pressure for 10-15 minutes (10 for thawed chicken, 15 for frozen)
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure
- Remove the chicken and either coat with the bbq sauce or serve with sauce to dip in
Notes
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Other BBQ Flavored Recipes
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
- BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
- 3 Ingredient BBQ Ranch Chicken in No Time
- BBQ Chicken and Black Bean Tacos
- Easy Corn Bread Muffins (Dairy-Free)
- BBQ Pork Potatoes in the Slow Cooker
- Justin’s Famous BBQ Burgers
- BBQ Chicken Melt with Only 5 Ingredients
- BBQ Waffle Chips from Scratch
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Beef
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Beef and Broccoli in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot French Onion Roast Chicken
- Instant Pot Lemon-Garlic Chicken
- Orange Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
- Butter Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
- Instant Pot Turkey Roasted to Perfection
Oh my god. This looks so good. Thanks for this awesome menu. I will try with chicken wings
Oh, chicken wings would be good, too! Enjoy 🙂
BBQ is a favourite around here too. If all else fails, we BBQ! And between you and me, we have several bottles of Sweet Baby Ray’s around; we’re so scared of running out of it lol!! This looks delicious.
Hah, can’t let that happen, it would be a tragedy! 😉
ahhhh…This looks so so good! I would love to make it, can’t wait, can’t wait! The recipe is very easy to follow.
It’s super easy, but comes out so good!
These sound so good! I really need to find new fun ways to make chicken and this just went to the top of my list!
We are always looking for new chicken recipes, too. We eat a lot of chicken here so it’s fun to try something different.
I have been so tempted to buy an instant pot. I love barbeque chicken too. Your recipe looks simple and perfect for a weeknight meal. I love how have everything set up to serve and cook.
I didn’t use my instant pot a lot at first. But after a few times, I realized how versatile it can be!
Oh yum! My husband would love this 😍 I can’t wait to make these BBQ chicken drumsticks for him!
They were so good! And the instant pot makes it so easy.
These sound great, we eat a lot of chicken and I am always on the look out for new ideas that the whole family will eat, that are also easy to make. Will have to try this
Hey! Thank you for the recipe. Will definitely try this. Our boys love chicken so much that I run out of ideas on how to cook other chicken recipes. This is something new to them. Thanks.
The more instant pot recipes I see, the more I want an instant pot. I am hoping for one for Christmas!
These look so good and my husband will love them! I am for sure pinning this one as I need more Instant Pot recipes to add to my menu arsenal 😉
Chicken is my favourite meat. Therefore, would love to try out this recipe. Needless to say, this looks mouth-watering. The great part is it takes less than an hour to prepare!