Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal or meal prep for the week. Busy families benefit from this delicious two ingredient recipe that is ready in 30 minutes and easily customizable.
IP Shredded Chicken
This juicy and tender shredded chicken can be used in so many ways. You can use it in chicken fried rice, in buffalo chicken dip, in crockpot king ranch chicken, in lemon chicken orzo soup…or, simply serve it on a bun or with some side dishes. It’s a great base for so many things.
You know i’m a slow cooker girl at heart – I had my Instant Pot for over a year without using it much.
Quarantine allowed me time to experiment and making shredded chicken was one of the first thing I used it for. If you need baby steps like I did, I figured this is a good recipe to introduce you to using a pressure cooker.
Using an instant pot in the summer means not having to turn on the oven and heat up the kitchen. It is more energy-efficient than turning on your stove and it has a faster cook time! If you haven’t brought out your instant pot in a while, now is the time. I think you’ll fall in love.
Easily making shredded chicken in the pressure cooker is so versatile and great for meal prep.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Chicken Stock
Helpful Tools
- Instant Pot – Of course you’ll need an instant pot. I recommend a 6qt if you have a family.
- Tongs – I love using tongs when I’m working with chicken to keep my hands clean.
- Meat Claws – You can easily use forks to shred the meat, but meat claws make it even easier and are even more fun. I also recently got this chicken shredder & I like it even better than the claws.
How to Cook Chicken in the instant Pot for shredding
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Jump- STEP ONE: Place chicken in the body of the instant pot and add the stock. Lock the cover in place, make sure the steam vent is closed, and pressure cook on HIGH for required time.
- STEP TWO: Once chicken is done pressure cooking, allow it to naturally release.
How to shred it
Once the cook process is complete, remove chicken and place in a bowl (or keep in the pot, being mindful of the heat).
Using two forks (or the meat claws I linked above), shred chicken into as fine or as thick of pieces as you’d like. Put back into the pot for the shredded chicken to soak up the remainder of the broth or add your favorite BBQ sauce for added flavor.
Which seasonings should I use?
The broth gives you a good base of flavor but you really have a blank canvas to add whichever seasonings you like.
Salt and pepper, of course, but try poultry seasoning, garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, taco seasoning, paprika, or ranch seasoning mix depending on what your end goal is.
Can I use frozen chicken?
Yes, you can. If you are using frozen chicken, try to separate the pieces from each other first. This may leave the chicken unevenly cooked if it is in a frozen block. Add an extra 5 minutes to cook time if using frozen chicken pieces.
Uses for shredded chicken
When I said shredded chicken can be used for so many things I wasn’t kidding! Think tacos, chicken noodle soup, chicken salad, chicken pot pie, nachos, sandwiches, quesadillas, pizza topping, enchiladas, and more.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Place chicken in the body of the instant pot and add the stock. Lock the cover and make sure the steam vent is closed.1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, 1 cup chicken stock
- Pressure cook on HIGH for 10 minutes for thawed chicken, or 15 minutes for frozen chicken*.
- Pressure time will take about 10 minutes. Once chicken is done pressure cooking, allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes.
- Use in your favorite dishes!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!Did You Make This?
If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
You can also tag me on Instagram – @melissa_ppplates or share a pic in the Persnickety Plates Community Facebook group. I love seeing what you’ve tried!
what a great way to cook chicken. I used this in my Chicken Pot Pie recipe.
So easy, right? Thanks for letting me know, it’s perfect in the pot pie 🙂
This was so simple to follow! Definitely my new go to for meal prep at the beginning of the week. I have now tried this both with thawed chicken and frozen. Melissa’s instructions are bang on!
Yay, thank you, Emily! 🙂