This Instant Pot Shredded Chicken is perfectly moist, perfectly seasoned, and it freezes perfectly for your weekly meal prep! The easy way to cook Instant Pot chicken breast for shredding, from fresh or frozen! It’s a healthy addition to soups, salads, pastas or sandwiches throughout the week.
Table of Contents
I know. Instant Pot Shredded Chicken? We hardly need a recipe for that!
It’s not even really a recipe.
But since this here is not just a food blog full of delicious things for you — it’s also a collection of some of my favorite things — I get to say what goes here.
Plus, there are so many delicious shredded chicken recipes that I know we’ll never run out of ways to use it.
The seasoning on this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken is mild but so, so flavorful. It’s not too spicy or too salty or too peppery or too herby. It’s just right.
We all know that Instant Pot chicken breasts are one of my favorite things this year (check out these Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts, Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken Breasts, How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot if you were unsure!), so I’m keeping it.
This flavorful pressure cooked Shredded Chicken is one of my favorite meal prep hacks to have stashed in the freezer. Make a double batch, divide it up into smaller portions and dinnertime is that much easier!
I can guarantee you we will not regret it 😉
No Instant Pot? Check out my Crockpot Shredded Chicken and my stovetop Shredded Chicken instead!
Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken broth: I prefer to use low sodium broth and adjust my seasonings as desired. If your broth is salted, you may want to omit the salt and season at the end of the cook time. Vegetable broth also works great!
- Italian seasoning: A simple blend of herbs that adds subtle, versatile flavor
- Seasoning salt: My secret weapon! Seasoning salt includes a variety of other herbs and spices that give this pressure cooker shredded chicken a hit of flavor. You can use salt and add in paprika, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Pepper: to round out the flavor profile
- Chicken breasts: boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs are preferred for this recipe. Any bone-in cuts of meat do require a longer cook time.
How to Make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken:
Yes, it’s simple — but here are a few step by step photos to guide you! You can find the detailed instructions down in the recipe card.
- Combine broth and seasonings — this helps to ensure everything is evenly distributed.
- Add the chicken to the instant pot.
- Put the lid on and pressure cook — it will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and begin counting down.
- When the cook time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally (be patient!). Then open the lid and shred the chicken.
Tips and Tricks:
I know that this is such an easy recipe that most of you probably don’t need tips on how to make shredded chicken, but there are a few things that I think are key so I’m going to drop some hints anyway!
- Make sure you add enough liquid. The liquid is what makes for a tender, flavorful shredded or “pulled” chicken. Broth adds so much more flavor than water, and more liquid = more moisture in your chicken!
- Season well. You don’t want to go overboard, but keep in mind that meat is best seasoned during the cooking process and not after (as is pasta, grains, vegetables, the list goes on). You will drain most of the liquid afterward, so you will not be consuming the full amount of salt, etc. as is listed in the recipe.
- Breasts or thighs? You can use either boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, or throw some of each in all together! Thighs have a richer flavor, and breasts are leaner. You choose.
How to shred chicken:
There are a couple ways to shred the chicken once it is cooked. Chicken breasts coming out of your pressure cooker are pretty much falling apart without you having to do anything, so you don’t need to get fancy.
I prefer to use two forks, because I’m lazy and I’m not into extra dishes. They do a fine job!
A lot of people will use a hand mixer or stand mixer to shred chicken, but I think it’s overkill. Who wants a huge stand mixer bowl to wash just for a few chicken breasts? Maybe if you’re doing a few pounds at once, it would be worth it.
Be sure to shred the chicken breast in the liquid (or at least some of it!) as it the chicken will reabsorb some of the broth and seasoning as you are pulling it, and it will give you the best results by far!
Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken FAQs
Absolutely! Boneless chicken thighs will cook in about the same amount of time as breasts. You can even use a mix of both!
Shredded chicken can be store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Just be sure it is in an airtight container so it does not get freezer burnt.
Some people do, but I do not. I think that the chicken gets even more moist and more flavorful sitting in those delicious juices.
Overcooking chicken can dry it out quickly, especially when we are using white meat. That’s why I recommend a shorter cook time than some — with the time to build and release pressure, 10 minutes cook time is plenty for a few chicken breasts.
What can I make with shredded chicken?
This chicken is great for meal prepping because it can be turned into so many different meals! Here are a few of our favorites:
- Add it to this Garlic Parmesan Orzo Pasta or this Creamy Cavatappi Pasta.
- Swap it for meat in this Rigatoni Pasta Bake
- Swap it for the beef in this Dorito Taco Salad or use it in this Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup
- Use it in this Chicken Corn Chowder, Easy Chicken Vegetable Soup or this Chicken Wild Rice Soup.
Staring with frozen chicken breasts?
I recommend adding 3-4 minutes to the cook time.
See my post here on cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot.
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes?
You might want to start with The Best Instant Pot Chicken Recipes! Then check out these other favorites:
- Instant Pot Pork Chops with Bacon Apple Glaze
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Garlic Herb Rub
- Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
JUICY Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- ¾ teaspoon seasoning salt
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 lbs of chicken)
Instructions
- Place broth, seasoning salt, Italian seasoning and pepper into the Instant Pot inner pot. Stir.
- Add the chicken breasts (no trivet necessary!) and put the lid on.
- Turn valve to sealing, and select Manual (or Pressure Cook), high pressure for 10 minutes (they will be cooked at 7-8 minutes, but a couple extra minutes makes them fall apart tender). It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and start counting down.
- Once the cook time is over, turn the Instant Pot off and let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (i.e., don’t touch it!).
- Open the lid and drain about half of the liquid. Shred the chicken breasts with the remaining liquid in the pot, and serve as desired. To freeze, let cool to room temperature before placing in freezer bags.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Gia says
Hi. Thanks for the tips. If I cook
only 2 thawed boneless breasts (on the larger side)… should I shorten the cook time, or release time?
Thanks
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gia! Yes, I would say shorten the cook time if you are using less than two pounds. I’d decrease it by 2 minutes but again it will be trial an error since I haven’t tried reducing it myself. Enjoy!
Gia says
I had a 2 breasts about 8 oz ea. Cooked 8 min & natural release for 8 min. Came out perfect. Have made several times since. 🙂
The Recipe Rebel says
Yay! Thank you!
livingcontrast says
Thank you! Where do you buy your chicken breasts? How big are each of them and how trimmed of fat are they? I have tried a shorter time on frozen and they always come out raw. Yet many blogs have a shorter time than 36 min on high which I tend to do. I’m thinking this might be key.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi! I’m in Canada and I normally just get them from my local grocery store. Enjoy!
Krista says
I used your recipe to cook 20 chicken breasts (not even tenders) in my 8 quart Instapot. 20 minutes with plenty of release time did beautifully!
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to know Krista! So glad it worked out!
Anne says
I was making Chicken Torilla Soup today and decided try your recipe for chicken in my instant pot. This was so easy! Put the chicken breast tenders and flavored broth in the pot. Cooked for 10 minutes, cooled down and poured some of the broth off. Easy shredding and looked good. Added it to my soup along with some of the extra broth. Easy clean up! Thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Anne! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the kind review!
Gail says
I have not made this yet but from the reviews I am sure it is going to be great. I plan on making it tomorrow. I know it says 8 servings how many cups would that be. I have a recipe calling for 4 cups of shredded chicken. Need to know if I need to double this. Thanks
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gail! I’m sorry but I haven’t measured this out in cups but you should definitely get 4 cups of shredded chicken out of it.
Trilla says
My freezer died suddenly and I had 8 chicken breast I had to cook along with a lot more meat. Your recipe worked beautifully. I did a 10 min cook and 8 min release. Juicy shredded chicken.
The Recipe Rebel says
I’m so sorry to hear that Trilla! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Katherine says
I used this recipe to make shredded chicken for lunches this week. I’ve got enough to save in the freezer for later, which is awesome.
It wasn’t quite as tender and shreddable as I hoped, but still nice and juicy and tender enough for our meals. Thanks for the easy to follow instructions!
The Recipe Rebel says
You’re welcome Katherine!
Heather says
I just cooked this last night and used chicken breasts that were mostly frozen. I think because the breasts were in such a thick chunk, they did not cook all the way thru. I also did not find the breasts to fall apart. I recommend adding more time. Flavor was great!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Heather! It will definitely make a difference if they are in one big chunk. I would recommend adding more time as well.
Sheryl says
Tried it today and doubled the recipe with chicken breast They turned out great. And is super easy. Lots of moisture and flavour is not over powering. I used this in chicken quesadillas tonight and will use the left over chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches. This one’s a keeper!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sheryl! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Jennifer says
Did you use the same amount of liquid when you doubled the chicken or did you add more of that too?
Darlene says
Finally a recipe for shredded chicken that doesn’t take all day in a crockpot – and the chicken comes out juicy, not dry! Thank you!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Darlene! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Shiv says
Just made this for the first time. Chicken is shreddable but not fall apart tender. Slightly rubbery. Any tips for making it more tender? Should I try cooking longer or natural releasing for longer? Or maybe shorter? Thanks!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Shiv! I would try just a minute or two shorter.
Patty says
Yes I’m doing it again right now and I have found that if I brine my chicken I don’t care what I cook it in its tender I love it and I don’t even measure add water and salt not a whole lot of salt though, perfect every time
Amber Hurley says
I know it says to use boneless breasts but if I were to use bone in should I just add a couple minutes?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Amber! I’ve only tested the recipe as is but you likely would need to add a few minutes. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
jbbeaty76@gmail.com says
This was yummy and easy! I used frozen chicken breasts. They were a little stuck together, so I added a few minutes and still worked out great.
The Recipe Rebel says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Erica says
Hi! How many more minutes did you add?
Laura says
Came out perfect, thank you. Perfect for food prepping.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Laura, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Stephanie says
If I wanted to double the chicken, what else would I need to adjust.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Stephanie! I haven’t tried to double the chicken but I know some have added 6 pieces without having to adjust the time. If you decide to experiment with more, let me know how it goes.
Stanley Szczsponik says
Great recipe. I will use the shredded chicken in a soup or salad. Depending on how fine you shred it, leaving it a little bit chunky, I think it will make a nice addition to a Caesar salad.
Btw…I’m not into extra dishes either so I used my hand mixer right in my stainless steel insert.
Frances says
I was looking for a recipe to make shredded chicken in our Ninja Foodi for homemade chicken noodle soup, and I’m SO glad I stumbled across this one. The chicken was amazing!! This one is definitely a keeper. 💜
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Frances! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Ty says
The last two times I’ve made this I’ve used the leftover liquid (I’ve just been winging the broth/seasonings by feel) to make a couple cups of rice in my rice maker! Yummy and useful.
Ashley Fehr says
That’s a great idea!
Jean Rhyner says
It also works great for rehydration dried vegetables for instant soups. Perfect for a single serving
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear Jean!
Maritza says
So smart!
Marty says
Tried this today in a 3 qt Instant Pot, with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I typically cook them in a small slow cooker over night (10-12 hours on low). The thighs today are much more rubbery than when I slow cook them. I used plenty of liquid (almost too much). I’m glad it works well for others in a 6 qt IP. But I’ll need to stick with my little slow cover. Thank you for the recipe though!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing Marty!
Sam says
Chicken turned out great! A super simple meal prep idea for healthy lunches – this chicken plus mozzarella, grape tomatoes and fresh basil. And just before eating, top with mixture of balsamic vinegar/olive oil. Delicious!
Ashley Fehr says
That sounds delicious!
John says
Chicken is OK, but I’m leaving 2 stars due to the obvious inaccuracy of the timing here. You say 15 minutes total time, but you also say 10 minutes to get up to pressure, 10 minutes cooking, then 10 minutes of natural pressure release. People should plan for 35 minutes.
Steohanie says
That’s all pressure cooking recipes.
Tammy says
Perfect! I’ve tried different methods and this is the first method that consistently yields perfectly cooked, juicy chicken. Thanks!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Tammy!