Instant Pot roast chicken and potatoes

This delicious recipe of Instant Pot roast chicken and potatoes with herb and garlic butter is made in the 8-quart Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer model using the Pressure Cooking + Roasting functions. We provide instructions for using the regular Instant Pot model together with the oven finish. Perfect roast dinner for the whole family, great for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Fall in love with our juicy Instant Pot roast chicken and potatoes slathered with garlic-herb butter. Pressure cooked for speed, then roasted using the Air Fryer lid or in the oven to golden crispy perfection. Cooking broth and drippings are loaded with flavor and make the best gravy to pair with the finished chicken and potatoes.

JUMP TO:

• What is Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer?
• Recipe overview
• Ingredients your will need
• Seasoning chicken & preparing potatoes for cooking
• Pressure cooking step-by-step photos
• Roasting chicken step-by-step photos
• Roasting potatoes step-by-step photos
• If a Food Burn error occurs
• Roasting in the oven option
• Full recipe & nutritional breakdown
• Making gravy

WHAT IS INSTANT POT DUO CRISP + AIR FRYER?

We recently purchased the 8-quart Instant Pot® Duo Crisp + Air Fryer model of the pressure cooker. With 11-in-1 functionality, it’s a pretty cool combo of Instant Pot, Oven & Air Fryer all in one kitchen gadget. It does everything a regular Instant Pot does but comes with an additional innovative air fryer lid, an air fryer basket and a broiling/dehydrating tray. 

It offers a whole new set of cooking techniques including Sous Vide, baking, broiling (grilling), roasting and air-frying. To say that we were very excited to try it out would be an understatement! 

Roast Chicken & Potatoes WITH HERB GARLIC BUTTER

The first thing we decided to cook in our new Instant pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer model was a whole roast chicken and potatoes, all done in one pot. We wanted to see how it could work using both the pressure cooking for speed and Roasting with an Air Fryer lid for that perfect, crispy skin finish. Plus, being an 8-quart pot, there was plenty of room for everything! 

Whether you use the classic Instant Pot model or the fancier Instant Pot Duo Crisp, there are two cooking phases involved: pressure cooking and roasting. Herb and garlic butter is rubbed all over the pre-pressure cooked chicken AND potatoes before they are roasted with the Air Fryer lid on (or in the oven). Leftover chicken broth and drippings can be used to make a quick gravy to go with the finished chicken and potatoes. 

You will find the full recipe and nutritional breakdown for this meal in the recipe card below. Here are step-by-step photos of how to make roast chicken and potatoes in the Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer model. Find the instructions for the classic model and oven finish below.

INGREDIENTS FOR ROAST CHICKEN DINNER

When roasting a chicken you start with a blank canvas waiting to be sprinkled, smeared, and infused with flavor. It’s important to season chicken well! Here is what you need:

• Whole chicken – these differ in size so you have to pick a whole chicken that fits in your pot (it’s okay if it touches the sides) and that will be sufficient for the number of servings you need. If you’re using an 8-quart Instant Pot, you can get away with a larger bird. Free-range is always best! 
• Garlic and butter – a combination made in heaven that will flavor your chicken from inside and out. You can use salted or unsalted butter here, adjust the seasoning if needed. 
• Herbs & Spices – for the rub, we use a simple All-Seasoning Salt, which is a blend of salt with other spices and herbs, often garlic and onion powder, paprika and pepper. There are many store-bought blends of seasoning salt or all-purpose seasoning so pick whatever you’re in the mood for as everything goes with butter and garlic. Mixed dried herbs are added as well; you can do Italian mix, French or solo dried thyme or rosemary.
• Potatoes – you can use medium to large brushed potatoes such as Yukon Gold; large potatoes can be cut in halves while smaller ones could be left whole but the idea is that they are all similar in size and they shouldn’t be cut too small so that they don’t overcook as everything is under pressure for the same amount of time. 

SEASON CHICKEN FOR ROASTING

• Peel the garlic. Thinly slice 3 cloves to insert under the chicken skin, smash 2 cloves to place inside the chicken and finely chop the remaining 2 cloves for the basting butter.
• Sprinkle the inside cavity of the chicken with a teaspoon of seasoning salt and herbs and insert 2 smashed garlic cloves.
• Using fingers or a spoon, gently peel the skin from the chicken breasts and slide a few slices of garlic underneath, maybe 3-4 pieces around each chicken breast and a couple of garlic slices under the wings.
• Sprinkle and rub the chicken on both sides with the remaining seasoning salt and herbs and set aside.

PREPARE POTATOES TO COOK IN THE INSTANT POT WITH CHICKEN

• Cut large potatoes in halves and leave smaller ones whole.
• Add 2 cups of water to the inner pot of the Instant Pot and add one cube of chicken stock (optional, adds extra flavor to the potatoes). You can also use ready-made chicken stock. Place potatoes in the water on the bottom of the bottom. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.
• Place a trivet on top of the potatoes with handles facing up.
• Note: If using a regular 6-quart Instant Pot, you might only need 1.5 cups of water/stock.

Tip: Having whole or large chunks of potatoes allows them to cook just right at the same time as the chicken, with all the juices infusing them with flavor. 

PRESSURE COOK CHICKEN & POTATOES

• Lower the chicken onto the trivet, chicken breast up.
• Place the pressure cooking lid on top and lock it in place. Set to Pressure Cook function and adjust the time to 20 minutes on HIGH pressure. Press Start (on Duo Crisp model). The pressure will take about 10-12 minutes to build up and then the countdown timer will commence. 
• Once the pressure cooking timer is done, quick release the pressure. It’s okay to let it release naturally for 5-10 minutes if you get busy but don’t leave it for too long as the chicken will continue to cook during this stage.

PREPARE THE GARLIC BUTTER

In the meantime, prepare the herb and garlic butter. Add the butter cubes to a heat-proof bowl together with chopped garlic and a pinch of dried herbs. Season with a little salt. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until melted. Stir through and set aside.

PREPARE chicken & potatoes FOR ROASTING

• Open the pot and let off the steam for a couple of minutes. Using gloves or two towels, remove the trivet with the chicken on it and place it on a plate.
• Remove the potatoes to a plate or a bowl and pour out most of the cooking broth. Leave about 1/2 cup in the pot for roasting as it will help to keep the meat moist. 
• Duo Crisp + Air Fryer method: Place the trivet back in the pot with the leftover broth and the chicken on top of the trivet (not inside the air fryer basket!). Handles still facing up. 

ROAST CHICKEN in DUO CRISP MODEL

• Using a pastry brush, baste the chicken with half of the garlic and herb butter. Reserve the rest for the potatoes.

• Pop the Air Fryer Lid on top with lid fins going inside the pot handles. Make sure the Instant Pot isn’t standing too close to anything that might be affected by heat. Select Roast function and adjust the Time using + and – buttons to 20 minutes. Adjust the Temp to 204 C /399 F. Press the Start button. The heat doesn’t take too long to build during this stage and the timer will commence shortly after.

• After 20 minutes, remove the lid and place it on a mat provided. Using towels or gloves, remove the chicken using the trivet handles and place it on a plate to rest for 15 minutes; don’t worry, the residual heat will keep it warm but you can also cover it with foil.
• Pour the cooking juice/drippings into a bowl. You can use it to make a simple gravy in a separate pot or use it as is to pour over the chicken when serving. 

ROAST POTATOES IN INSTANT POT DUO CRISP

• Briefly rinse the inner pot and place it back inside the Instant Pot cooking base.
• Brush the pre-cooked potatoes with the remaining garlic herb butter. You can use a small knife to cut a cross in the potatoes for the butter to soak in better. Set aside. 

• Place the potatoes inside the air fryer basket and season with some salt. Place the basket on the basket base and insert it inside the inner pot. Place the air fryer lid back on top and set to Roast for 10 minutes at 204 C / 399 F. The tops of the potatoes facing up will brown and crisp up as will the bottoms of those touching the base.
• Serve roasted chicken whole with the potatoes on a large platter or carve the meat first. Perfect with a simple gravy or any other delicious sauce of choice.

IF A FOOD BURN ERROR OCCURS

If a ‘Food Burn’ error occurs, simply lift the air fryer lid to have a quick look inside. Place it on a heat-proof mat provided. Oftentimes, it might be one little piece of food that gets stuck to the wall of the Instant Pot that might be getting overcooked or something like garlic or herbs that are getting a little too toasty. Most of the time, all you have to do is adjust the temperature down by about 5-10 degrees and place the lid back on top. The error will disappear and cooking will continue. In our case, we adjusted to 200 C / 392 C after about 5-10 minutes. 

Tip: What’s cool about the Air Fryer lid is that you can open it during the cooking to check how things are going, which isn’t really possible while pressure cooking as the lid is tightly locked under pressure. If something looks done, you can Cancel the roasting or air frying function at any time. Vice versa, if your food needs a little longer, simply adjust the time or temperature.

Roasting in the oven instead of using the Air Fryer lid

After pressure cooking the chicken and potatoes in the Instant Pot, transfer them to a large baking tray (or two trays if needed) with a little cooking broth added to the bottom. Brush the chicken and potatoes with garlic and pop in the 200 C / 392 F oven, middle shelf, for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the chicken to rest but leave the potatoes in for 10 more minutes to crisp up further. You can move the tray under the broil for 5 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE SUPER EASY CHICKEN GRAVY

• Melt about 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, a little onion powder and a touch of pepper. Mix into butter with a wooden spoon or whisk. While stirring, slowly pour in 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the cooking chicken broth/drippings liquid.
• Once incorporated into the flour-butter roux (it will thicken quickly), add another 1/2 cup. If you don’t have 1.5 cups of liquid, make up extra stock using a stock cube or powder. 
• Stir for 1.5 – 2 minutes until it thickens to a gravy consistency (it’s quick as water is already hot). Taste, add more salt and pepper if needed.

MORE INSTANT POT CHICKEN RECIPES

• Instant Pot Chicken Meatloaf With Honey Mustard Glaze
• Best Instant Pot Chicken Recipes For Every Taste
• Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry (Only 5 Ingredients!)
• Instant Pot Orange Chicken (Step-By-Step Recipe)

Full recipe for Roast Chicken & Potatoes

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Description

Fall in love with our juicy Instant Pot roast chicken and potatoes slathered with garlic-herb butter. Pressure cooked for speed, then roasted using the Air Fryer lid or the oven to golden crispy perfection. Cooking broth and drippings are loaded with flavor and make the best gravy to pair with the finished chicken and potatoes.

1 whole chicken, medium size (about 6–8 lb)

2 tablespoons All Seasons Salt (like this ) or All-Purpose Seasoning

2 tablespoons mixed Italian herbs (like this)

2 – 2.2 lb white potatoes (medium to large size, cut in halves, such as Yukon Gold)

3 oz (60 g) butter

7 large cloves of garlic

2 cups water or chicken stock

Salt and pepper

For gravy

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.5 cups chicken broth with drippings

Prepare the chicken

• Rinse and pat dry the chicken all over. Set aside.
• Peel the garlic. Thinly slice 3 cloves to insert under the chicken skin, smash 2 cloves to place inside the chicken and finely chop the remaining 2 cloves for the basting butter.
• Sprinkle the inside cavity of the chicken with a teaspoon of salt and herbs and insert 2 smashed garlic cloves.
• Using fingers or a spoon, gently peel the skin from the chicken breasts and slide in a few garlic slices underneath, maybe 3-4 pieces around each chicken breast and a couple of garlic slices under the wings.
• Sprinkle and rub the chicken on both sides with the remaining seasoned salt and herbs and set aside.

Pressure cook chicken and potatoes

• Add 2 cups of water to the inner pot of the Instant Pot and one cube of chicken stock. You can also use ready-made chicken stock. Cut potatoes in halves and place them in the water on the bottom of the bottom. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.
• Place a trivet on top of the potatoes with handles facing up. Lower the chicken onto the trivet, chicken breast up.
• Place the pressure cooking lid on top and lock it in place. Set to Pressure Cook function and adjust the time to 20 minutes on HIGH pressure. Press Start. The pressure will take about 10-12 minutes to build up and then the countdown timer will commence.
• In the meantime, prepare the herb and garlic butter. Add the butter cubes to a heat-proof bowl together with chopped garlic and a pinch of dried herbs. Season with a little salt. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until melted. Stir through and set aside.
• Once the pressure cooking timer is done, quick release the pressure. It’s okay to let it release naturally for 5-10 minutes if you get busy but don’t leave it for too long as the chicken will continue to cook during this stage.
• Open the pot and let off the steam for a couple of minutes. Using gloves or two towels, remove the trivet with the chicken on it and place it on a plate. Remove the potatoes to a plate or a bowl and pour most of the cooking broth into a bowl. Leave about 1/2 cup of the liquid in the pot for roasting as it will help to keep the meat moist.

Roast the chicken

• Place the chicken on the trivet back inside the inner pot (not inside the air fryer basket!). Handles still facing up. Using a pastry brush, baste the chicken with half of the garlic and herb butter. Reserve the rest for the potatoes.
• Pop the Air Fryer Lid on top with lid fins going inside the pot handles. Make sure the Instant Pot isn’t standing too close to anything that might be affected by heat. Select Roast function and adjust the Time using + and – buttons to 20 minutes. Adjust the Temp to 200 C /392 F. Press the Start button. The heat doesn’t take too long to build during this stage and the timer will commence shortly after.
• After 20 minutes, remove the lid and place it on a mat provided. Using towels or gloves, remove the chicken using the trivet handles and place it on a plate to rest for 10-12 minutes. Pour the cooking juice/drippings into a bowl. You can use it to make a simple gravy in a separate pot or use it as is to pour over the chicken when serving.
• Briefly rinse the inner pot and place it back inside the Instant Pot cooking base.

Roast the potatoes

• While the chicken is roasting, brush the pre-cooked potatoes with the remaining garlic herb butter. You can use a small knife to cut a cross in the potatoes for the butter to soak in better. Set aside.
•  Place the potatoes inside the air fryer basket and season with salt. Place the basket on the basket base and insert it inside the clean inner pot.
• Place the air fryer lid back on top and set to Roast for 10 minutes at 204 C / 399 F. The top of the potatoes facing up will brown and crisp up as will the bottoms of those touching the base.
• Serve roasted chicken whole with the potatoes on a large platter or carve the meat first. Perfect with a simple gravy or any other delicious sauce of choice.

Roasting in the oven instead of using the Air Fryer lid

• After pressure cooking the chicken and potatoes in the Instant Pot, transfer them to a large baking tray (or two trays if needed) with a little cooking broth added to the bottom. Brush the chicken and potatoes with garlic and pop in the 200 C / 392 F oven, middle shelf, for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the chicken to rest but leave the potatoes in for 10 more minutes to crisp up further. You can move the tray under the broil for 5 minutes.

Make easy gravy using chicken broth/drippings

• • Melt about 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, a little onion powder and a touch of pepper. Mix into butter with a wooden spoon or whisk. While stirring, slowly pour in 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the cooking chicken broth/drippings liquid.
  • Once incorporated into the flour-butter roux (it will thicken quickly), add another 1/2 cup. If you don’t have 1.5 cups of liquid, make up extra stock using a stock cube or powder.
  • Stir for 1.5 – 2 minutes until it thickens to a gravy consistency (it’s quick as water is already hot). Taste, add more salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

• Coming to pressure: 10 minutes | Pressure Cooking: 20 minutes | Pressure Release: quick releases or max 10 minutes NPR | Roast chicken: 20 minutes 200 C / 392 F | Roast potatoes: 10 minutes 204 C / 399 F. 
• If a ‘Food Burn’ error occurs, simply lift the lid to have a quick look inside. Place it on a heat-proof mat provided. Oftentimes, it might be one little piece of food that gets stuck to the wall of the Instant Pot that might be getting overcooked or something like garlic or herbs that are getting a little too toasty. Most of the time, all you have to do is adjust the temperature down by about 5-10 degrees and place the lid back on top. The error will disappear and cooking will continue. In our case, we adjusted to 200 C / 392 C after about 5-10 minutes and then down to 190 C for the last 5 minutes.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/5 of the chicken with 2 potatoes + 3 tbsp gravy
• Calories: 665
• Sugar: 3.9 g
• Sodium: 1766.7 mg
• Fat: 29.6 g
• Saturated Fat: 13.1 g
• Carbohydrates: 39.6 g
• Fiber: 5.6 g
• Protein: 57.9 g
• Cholesterol: 194.8 mg

Keywords: Instant Pot, Instant Pot Duo Crisp, Air Fryer, Roast, Roast Chicken, Chicken, Roast Potatoes, Dinner

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