Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
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Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken uses only 4 ingredients and is so simple to make! You can even cook from frozen for a healthy meal prep recipe! Paleo, keto whole30, and perfect for adding to soups, salads or with veggies.
This is the easiest instant pot shredded chicken recipe you’ll find!
Whether you’re an instant pot pro or newbie – I promise this recipe is absolutely foolproof. The chicken comes out perfectly juicy and delicious!
Liz’s top tip for instant pot shredded chicken
- My favorite hack for shredding chicken is to put the cooked chicken breasts into my stand mixer and turn it on low for a few seconds until it’s all shredded. SO EASY!
Ingredients
Substitutions
Chicken: I prefer to use chicken breasts but you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken tenders too! Both come out delicious using this method. You can use bone in chicken thighs or drumsticks too, add one minute to your cook time.
Doubling the chicken: Increase your cook time by 1 minute. For 3 lbs, increase your cook time by 2 minutes
Frozen Chicken: We do not recommend making shredded chicken from frozen chicken breasts. Cooking frozen chicken is a food safety issue because it may not cook all the way through. Additionally, the chicken would be very tough.
Broth: You can use any kind of broth in this recipe (chicken broth, vegetable broth, or beef will work) or you can just use water.
Salt/Pepper: You don’t have to add salt and black pepper to this. You can leave the chicken plain and season as you eat, or you can add other spices to it! It’s good with paprika, onion powder or garlic powder. We have made this with Italian seasoning and it was delicious!
Seasoning: You can use any seasonings on this. We like to use our Healthy Taco Seasoning on it, but any spice mix will do! If you like Mediterranean flavors, try this Greek Shredded Chicken.
Tomatoes: I like to add 1/4 salsa or crushed tomatoes to the pot for flavor. You can also try this Salsa Verde Chicken!
Crockpot: You can cook chicken in the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours or try our crockpot whole chicken.
How to make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Add chicken, broth + spices to the instant pot. Set to Sealing, Pressure Cook or Poultry for 14 minutes.
- When finished – either pressure release naturally or manually release pressure, shred + enjoy!
Best Way to Shred Chicken
You can shred your chicken with two forks or with a mixer.
With Forks: You can shred this chicken simply by pulling it apart with two forks. It will be super tender.
With a stand mixer: My favorite way to shred chicken breasts is by using a mixer. I toss the cooked chicken into my KitchenAid Mixer with the paddle attachment and give it a few whirls. That’s all it takes!
Is it better to shred chicken hot or cold? It’s best to shred chicken when it is still warm, but not super hot. When the chicken has finished cooking it will shred much easier than if the chicken is cold. You can shred the chicken with two forks or use a stand or hand mixer to shred the chicken!
Storage
Storing: This chicken will last for 4 days in your refrigerator in an airtight container. We like to store it with the broth leftover from cooking to keep the chicken moist.
Freezing: I have frozen this shredded chicken in small bags or these containers for freezing. When ready to defrost, simply take it out the night before and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight or simply heat from frozen in the microwave or in a pan. The chicken should last 2-3 months in the freezer.
What to do with dry chicken:
If your instant pot chicken is dry, you may have overcooked it. Don’t worry – you can fix this!
Stir your cooked chicken with 1/2 cup of chicken broth and store it with excess broth. The chicken will absorb the liquid and get a moist texture. Next time, try cooking your chicken for 14 minutes on high pressure.
Can you make shredded chicken in the crockpot?
If you don’t have an instant pot you can make this in the crockpot.
You can cook chicken in the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Or check out this Crockpot Shredded Chicken Recipe.
How to Use Up Shredded Chicken
Here are some instant pot shredded chicken ideas for you! This chicken is so versatile, it really goes with anything!
- We love to add it to our favorite soups like Lemon Chicken Soup, Chicken Pot Pie Soup or Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Add it to a Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
- Use it in chicken salad or make sandwiches with it! Here are some of our favorite healthier chicken salads: Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Everything Bagel Chicken Salad
- Greek Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bake
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip is my favorite way to use up cooked chicken!
- It’s also great in chicken tacos or chicken enchiladas!
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in instant pot base. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour broth into base.
- Cover the instant pot and set to Poultry OR Pressure Cook. Set to Normal, High Pressure for 14 minutes. (If frozen chicken breasts, do 18 minutes). Make sure your pot is set to sealing, not venting.
- Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure + cook. (It should take about 5 minutes to come to pressure)
- Once it is finished cooking, manually release pressure or naturally release the pressure.
- Remove chicken from instant pot and place in separate bowl. There will be extra liquid in the instant pot. You can use this in soups, as cooking stock or discard.
- Shred chicken apart with forks + enjoy! (Note: chicken can also be shredded by placing in mixer on low speed!)
Video
Notes
- Broth – You can use any kind of broth in this recipe (veggie or beef will work) or you can just use water.
- Salt/Pepper– You don’t have to add salt/pepper to this. You can leave the chicken plain and season as you eat, or you can add other spices to it! We have done this with Italian seasoning and it was delicious!
My go to recipe when I want or need shredded chicken. Quick & easy. Most recently used it for the buffalo chicken dip.
Perfect shredded chicken everytime! This recipe has been a staple for me right now since my toddler won’t eat meat except for this.
So glad to hear that they like it!! 🙂
Can I use a store bought rotisserie chicken?
My go to recipe for a quick way to cook chicken and use in other recipes. It’s so simple and easy and the mixer method to shred it is the best hack I’ve come across to cut on time! I use a hand mixer but it does the job in seconds 🙂
I love this recipe. It’s so easy and makes great shredded chicken for a simple lunch like chicken salad or for dinner in soups or other dishes. Instant pots always intimidated me but the step by step instructions are so helpful. Thank you!
I thought I saw somewhere in your notes that if we don’t have an instant pot, we can use a crockpot, yet when I went back to ck. I didn’t see the note about cooking the 4 ingredient shredded chicken in a crockpot. I would very much like to make this shredded chicken. Can you please respond back to me?
Thank you in advance
This information is in the post:
You can cook chicken in the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Or checkout this Crockpot Shredded Chicken Recipe.
Hi. How can you make this if you do not have an instant cooker? Thanks!
It’s noted in the post: You can cook chicken in the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. you can also check out this blog post:
Super simple and fast! Used this recipe to cook chicken for the Clean Eating Couple Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe!
Love that this is so easy and plain. I used to do the “salsa chicken” but I’m single so I was stuck with chicken tacos for 3 days! Keeping it plain I can add salsa for a taco or 2, then add some to pad Thai or a chicken salad etc. I won’t get bored and won’t go to waste .
So happy you liked it, Liz!!
I am so scared of my instant pot as well and I have 2!!! I made this just now for enchiladas I am making later for dinner and the chicken came out perfect. This was faster than the crockpot and tested better than boiling.
So glad you liked this recipe, Berni! I hope you conquer your fear of the IP 🙂 it is a little tricky at first!
Any time I need to quickly cook chicken breast for recipes that call for shredded chicken, I use this recipe. Shave so much time, and the chicken comes out perfect every time.
Yay! So glad you like it!
Thank you for this super simple way to do chicken.
Glad you liked it, Ellen!
Chicken came out perfect!
So glad to hear this, Stephanie! Thanks so much!
Will frozen chicken thighs work for this recipe?
Hi Dyan – I haven’t tried it with frozen chicken thighs. If they’re boneless – I would try cooking for 20 minutes. The best way to tell is checking the internal temperature of the chicken. It should be at 165.
Just what I was looking for! I used two pounds and set it for 15 mins and it turned out perfect! This is going to become a staple in my house – so many ways to use shredded chicken!!
So glad you liked it, Lindsey! It’s perfect in so many recipes. We use it in Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad all the time!
I am honestly not a fan of my instant pot at all, but this recipe is wonderful. This chicken is a great staple to make at the beginning of the week and have on hand for many recipes.
I’m not an instant pot fan either at all but this is my favorite way to use it!
I made shredded chicken burritos in the instapot and they turned out awesome. Meal prepped them for my weekly truck meals. Quick and easy.
Awesome!! So glad you liked it, Jim!
No more running to the store when I need cooked chicken for a recipe!! Just made this in my instant pot for first time and it came out perfect!! I doubled the amount of chicken to 2 pounds and increased the broth by 1/4-1/2 cup and extended the time a few minutes….so quick and easy….starting to come around to my instant pot for some stuff I think
So glad you liked the recipe, Christine! It’s totally a fool proof recipe 🙂 Our pulled pork is also great!
This recipe is absolutely perfect for meal prepping for my son who is one and LOVES shredded chicken! So quick and easy!
So glad you liked it, Elizabeth 🙂
When you say manually release, does that mean quick release, or let it naturally release? I’m sorry…just hadnt seen it like that before, and I want to try this since I’ve been unsuccessful with chicken breasts so far.
Hi Sharon – Yes, manually release is quick release as soon as the time is up. Hope this is the recipe you find success with!
Have always been frustrated with instant pot shredded chicken recipes…until now! This chicken actually came out tender and juicy instead of tough and weird like my previous attempts. This recipe is easy and definitely a keeper!
I’m so glad you liked the recipe, Kristi! And glad they came out great 🙂 I honestly am not a huge instant pot fan but this is my favorite recipe to make in it!
If I double the recipe (ex. 2lbs of chicken), how does this effect the cooking time?
Hi Cyrena – I’d add 2 extra minutes and an extra 1/4 cup of liquid if you’re adding more chicken. Hope this helps!
I did 2.2 lbs of chicken, added 1 extra minute of cook time per description in the post, and it came out way over temp (211 degrees). Although, it wasn’t clear the effect of natural pressure release vs. manual release, so I did natural for 5 min. I may just release immediately after next time. About to shred, so I haven’t tasted yet. 🙂
Made this recipe tonight, it’s fast and simple. Most importantly: it’s flavorful!! I throw it on chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with lemon juice and red wine vinegar.
Glad you liked it Harmony!! That sounds like such a good combo – I’m going to have to try it!!
If I wanted to use frozen chicken, do I just adjust the time? I’m a newbie!!! Thanks!
I’m sorry but I have never cooked it from frozen! This post says 15 minutes but I’m not sure if that is long enough because I’ve never tested it! https://amindfullmom.com/instant-pot-chicken-breasts/
Thanks for sharing! The family loved it!
So happy to hear that, Dirk!!