Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Instant Pot shredded chicken is a meal prepping essential! Learn four different variations, each made with only two ingredients! You’ll love this chicken on salads, tacos, burrito bowls, and in soup!

At a glance

What stands out: Having cooked chicken in the fridge or freezer ready to use in recipes is a game changer at meal time. Turn a family pack of boneless chicken breasts, fresh or frozen, into a meal prepping dream!

How long it takes: 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot pressure cooker
Servings: 6

If you’re looking to simplify dinner time preparations, this is the recipe for you. Transform a big pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh or frozen, into a ready-to-use ingredient for all sorts of straightforward and lighter meals.

How often have you gotten home from work and realized that you don’t have anything planned for dinner? Raw meat that’s frozen solid just doesn’t lend itself to a speedy meal.

Often, we fall back on frozen shrimp. It thaws and cooks up quickly for meals like sheet pan shrimp fajitas or shrimp and broccoli stir fry but you can’t eat shrimp every night.

That’s why we always have some of this Instant Pot shredded chicken on hand! Buying a family pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts is usually pretty economical and it’s versatile. You can use it in any number of ways. Keep reading for lots of ideas.

We'll show you how to make four rich varieties of shredded chicken. All of them are straightforward and work in a variety of recipes.

How To Use Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

• Salads: Try this southwestern BBQ chicken salad or add shredded chicken to bagged salads for a straightforward meal.
• Burrito bowls: Start with cooked rice or another grain, add shredded chicken, and your favorite toppings, like black beans, avocado, tomatoes, salsa, etc. for a satisfying and nutritious meal. Add creamy cilantro lime drizzle, if you like.
• Tacos: Mix the chicken with our taco seasoning, warm it up, stuff it in a tortilla, and add your favorite toppings.
• Nachos: We love BBQ chicken nachos and cauliflower nachos (roasted cauliflower takes the place of tortilla chips).
• Enchiladas: Make chicken enchiladas verde with your shredded chicken. They’re straightforward to mix and everyone loves ’em!
• Soup: Creamy chicken rice soup and white chicken chili are a couple of favorites.
• Mac and cheese: Doctor up prepared mac and cheese with shredded chicken, green peas, extra cheddar, and top with diced tomatoes, if you like.
• Loaded baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes: Fill the potatoes with shredded chicken, and anything else you like, and melt cheese on top. So good!

About This Recipe

We make Instant Pot shredded chicken almost weekly. There isn’t much to it. It’s simple and after you make it once, you probably won’t even need to refer to this how-to recipe. We'll guide you through it the first time and give you lots of helpful tips.

Once you master this straightforward recipe, you’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again, especially as you discover how convenient it is to have shredded chicken always on hand.

How it comes together

It all starts with boneless skinless chicken breasts. Can you use boneless skinless thighs? Of course! You can do some of each, if you want. The recipe starts with one and a half pounds of chicken but you can increase it if you like. The cooking time will be the same but it will take the Instant Pot a little longer to come to pressure.

We cover four variations of Instant Pot shredded chicken in this post but it all boils down to this:

1. Chicken + One Cup of Liquid: Salsa, bbq sauce, broth, water, whatever you like.
2. Cook in Instant Pot: Cook on High pressure for 10 minutes, speedy release.
3. Shred: Choose your favorite method to shred the chicken, return it to the liquid in the Instant Pot so it can soak up the flavorful juices, and serve!

Variation #1: Plain Shredded Chicken

Plain and simple, it doesn’t get more versatile than this! All you need is:

• chicken
• chicken broth (or water)

We also recommend seasoning the chicken with pepper and possibly salt too, if you’re using a reduced-sodium broth.

Variation #2: Salsa Verde Shredded Chicken

This is our go-to. Add it to southwestern/Mexican style meals or just wrap it in a tortilla and eat it as is. It’s reliable for these roasted cauliflower nachos!

• chicken
• salsa verde (buy jarred salsa or learn how to make salsa verde)

Variation #3: Salsa Shredded Chicken

Pretty similar to #2 but with tomato salsa. It’s a cousin of our slow cooker shredded chicken that we use for tacos. Here’s what you need:

• chicken
• salsa of your choice – mild, medium, or hot

If you want to spice it up, add from-scratch taco seasoning. One teaspoon will be mild, 1 to 2 tablespoons will give you a spicier shredded chicken. If you like the smoky flavor of chipotle, be sure to try our chipotle salsa.

Variation #4: BBQ Shredded Chicken

This is great on BBQ chicken bowls and also makes a great sandwich on a bun. Shredded chicken is a rich topping for baked potatoes or sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese. It works great for barbecue chicken pizza.

• chicken
• your favorite barbecue sauce (try from-scratch bbq sauce)

Note: If your favorite barbecue sauce is a thick, sweet one, we'd recommend adding ¼ cup water to prevent the sugar in the sauce from burning on the bottom of the pan. Another option is to make the chicken plain (variation #1) and then stir in the BBQ sauce after the chicken is shredded.

How long do you cook chicken breast in a pressure cooker?

10 minutes (high pressure, speedy release) is a pretty sweet spot for us.
We always check the temperature of the chicken breasts with an instant read thermometer when they’re done cooking and if it doesn’t read 165°F, we turn the pressure cooker to sauté, set the lid partially on (don’t lock it into place) and cook the chicken for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until it comes up to temperature. If the temperature is pretty close, just letting the chicken rest for 5 minutes will bring it up to 165°F.

If the chicken pieces are on the small side, it might take slightly less time (8 minutes), but if they’re big and/or frozen, you might want to give them closer to 12 minutes.

Before you start

How To Shred The Chicken

• Using two forks: The most common way to shred chicken is to place it on a plate and use two forks to pull it apart.
• Using a stand mixer: You can also place the chicken in the bowl of your stand mixer and use the paddle attachment on low to shred. Don’t overdo it unless you like mushy chicken.
• Using a hand mixer inside the Instant Pot: This is our favorite way although it comes with a disclaimer: be careful of hot splatters! Use a hand mixer with the normal beaters attached. Turn the mixer on low speed right inside the Instant Pot. Partially cover the top of the Instant Pot with a clean towel to cut down on spatters. This method will shred your chicken in less than one minute, with no extra dishes. That’s why it’s our favorite way.

How it comes together

Of course, the chicken doesn’t have to be shredded. Allow the chicken to cool slightly and dice it. Use diced chicken for chicken salad with walnuts and grapes, curried chicken salad, curried chicken salad, or this creamy avocado chicken salad.

Thinly slice the chicken breasts for sandwiches, if you like. It’s way more economical and healthier than processed lunch meat.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Cool chicken and store in airtight containers. Shredded chicken can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. You can use it for meals all week long.

Freeze: Freeze the chicken in the amounts you will need. Don’t freeze it all in one big container. It thaws quickly if you put it in a resealable bag and spread it flat. Label it with the amount and the date. It will keep up to 6 months.

Reheat: If chicken is frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge if you think of it. If not, partially soften the frozen chicken in the microwave, then add it to the recipe you’re making. If you’re adding it to soup, there’s no need to thaw it first.

Instant Pot Meal Prep Ideas

• Yield: 6 servings
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes
• Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast (boneless skinless chicken thighs are fine, too)
• 1 cup of ONE of the following: salsa verde, traditional salsa, chicken broth OR barbecue sauce

Method

1. If desired, spray the inside of the Instant Pot with nonstick spray. Add chicken and your choice of liquid. We like to put a little salsa (or other liquid) under the chicken as well as on top to prevent chicken from sticking to the bottom of the Instant Pot and to make sure the chicken soaks up tons of flavor.
2. Secure lid and turn valve to seal. Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook (or High pressure) for 10 minutes.
3. When cooking is complete, quick release pressure by turning valve to vent, watching out for steam. When pressure valve lowers, remove lid. Check thickest part of chicken with an instant read thermometer; it should be 165°F (see note).
4. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot, allow to cool slightly, and shred the chicken with two forks. You can also shred it more quickly but VERY carefully with a hand mixer right inside the Instant Pot (see post), but be watchful for splattering liquids! Partially cover the pot with a clean dish towel. The chicken can be diced or sliced, if you prefer.
5. Once meat is shredded, return it to liquid in Instant Pot (if you removed it to shred it) and stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container, with or without liquid, for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it, divided into containers or freezer bags to use within 6 months.

Notes

Nutritional information calculated for 1.5 lbs. chicken and low sodium chicken broth. Please take into consideration the nutritional values of the particular sauce you choose.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts can vary widely in size which affects the cooking time. If they are large, cut them in half lengthwise before cooking.

What to do if the chicken isn’t done: If the internal temperature of the chicken doesn’t reach 165°F by the time it is done cooking, switch your Instant Pot to Sauté and set the lid on so it’s slightly ajar. The chicken will finish cooking quickly on the sauté mode. If the temperature is close to 165°F, simply let the chicken rest for 5 minutes or so. The internal temperature will continue to rise. If you re-pressurize the Instant Pot, it’s likely to overcook the chicken.

Cooking frozen chicken: Cook for 12 minutes, 14 if chicken breasts are large.