Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Published 4/2/2024
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Cooking chicken breast in the Instant Pot is truly the bees knees when it comes to batch-cooking shredded chicken. You need, chicken, a little water, and your favorite seasonings! It’s the method we prefer to use at Fit Foodie HQ because it’s quick and your chicken comes out so moist. You can dice it, shred it, or cut it into strips. Either way, it’s a pretty full proof method to cook chicken.
Shredded chicken is something we batch-cook every week because it’s such a fantastic protein to add to bowls, salads (er, have you tried our dill pickle chicken salad?!), and soups. We’ve tested pretty much every way to cook shredded chicken and the Instant Pot comes out on top. Your chicken will come out evenly cooked and tender every time.
The best part about this method is that you can cook chicken in the instant pot from frozen OR thawed! Thawed chicken breast only takes 8-10 minutes on high and frozen takes 18-20 minutes.
What You Need to Make Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Instant Pot: we use a 7.5 qt. Instant Pot, but any size works.
- Trivet: we recommend using the trivet to prevent the burn notice from happening.
- Chicken Breast: our #1 tip when purchasing chicken breast to shred is to make sure they’re relatively similar in thickness so that they cook evenly.
- Water: water helps add moisture to the chicken while it’s pressure cooking.
- Seasonings: we kept things very basic with salt and pepper.
Cook Times for Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
According to the USDA, you know your chicken is fully cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
From Fresh: If you are using thawed chicken breast, cook on high pressure for 8-10 minutes. If your chicken breasts are larger than 4 oz. each, cook time may be longer.
From Frozen: If you are using frozen chicken breast, cook on high pressure for 18-20 minutes (medium chicken breasts will be cooked after 18 minutes, but another larger will need a longer cook time).
Note: It will take around 10 minutes to build up enough pressure before your Instant Pot starts to count down.
Try it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by using a meat thermometer when cooking any cut of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works every time.
Flavor Variations for Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Seasonings: instead of just salt and pepper, feel free to use different seasonings such as taco seasoning, ranch, Italian, and classic chicken seasoning.
- Sauces: if you’re a sauce person, you can cook your chicken right in the sauce in the Instant Pot and then shred it. Here are some ideas: honey garlic, bbq sauce, and hot honey.
Can I overcook chicken in the Instant Pot?
Yes, it is possible to overcook chicken in an Instant Pot because you are unable to check the temperature of the chicken throughout the cooking time.
If you are using thinner chicken breast or chicken tenders, you’ll likely need to reduce the cooking time to avoid overcooking.
Do I have to use the trivet while cooking chicken in the instant pot?
We recommend using the trivet to prevent the burn notice from happening AKA to prevent the chicken from sticking to your pot. So, yes, please use it!
Can I stack chicken breast in the instant pot?
The beauty of pressure-cooking shredded chicken is that you can double or triple this recipe with no problem!
What types of chicken can I use for shredding?
This shredded chicken recipe is for boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you’re looking for Instant Pot recipes for chicken thighs, we recommend our Moroccan-Style Instant Pot Chicken Thighs or our Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs.
How do I shred chicken?
Shredding chicken is actually very easy! When the chicken is done cooking, take two forks and gently pull the chicken apart until the chicken is fully shredded! Voila! You have Instant pot shredded chicken.
We’ve also had readers comment that they like to use their stand mixer with the whisk attachment to easily shred chicken!
Can I use frozen chicken in the instant pot?
You can cook fresh or frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot for this Instant Pot shredded chicken! Believe it or not, chicken breasts turn out the same whether you pull them right out of the freezer or fresh chicken breasts.
- For frozen chicken breasts: cook on high pressure for 18-20 minutes. While the frozen chicken breast is cooking, you prepare a side and a sauce for your chicken and BOOM. 18 minutes later your chicken is ready to be chunked or shredded!
- For fresh chicken breasts: cook on high pressure for 8 minutes before shredding.
More Ways to Make Shredded Chicken
Don’t want to use the Instant Pot? Check out our shredded chicken tutorials using other methods:
Storage
Store your shredded chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
How to Serve Shredded Chicken
- Chicken Salad: whip up any of our chicken salad recipes: Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad, Southwest Chicken Salad, or Creamy Pesto Chicken Salad.
- Shredded Chicken Tacos: follow our Chicken Salsa Taco recipe, but use the Instant Pot instead.
- Shredded Chicken Burritos: make our freezer-friendly Shredded Chicken Burritos!
- Nachos: swap out the ground beef for shredded Instant Pot chicken breast in our favorite Nachos recipe.
Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed or frozen
- 1/2 cup water, or broth
- optional: salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- First, pour 1/2 cup of water or chicken broth onto the bottom of your Instant Pot and then place the trivet on top of the water.
- Then, optionally season your chicken breast with salt and pepper, to taste. You can also use any other kind of seasoning you want.
- Place chicken breast on top of the trivet and close Instant Pot.
- If you are using thawed chicken breast, cook on high pressure for 8-10 minutes. If you are using frozen chicken breast, cook on high pressure for 18-20 minutes. Medium chicken breasts will be cooked after 18 minutes, but another larger will need a longer cook time. It will take around 10 minutes to build up enough pressure before your Instant Pot starts to count down.
- When the timer goes off, quick release the Instant Pot. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the thickest part of your chicken breast is at least 165ºF. If it's not, continue cooking chicken breast in increments of 2 minutes.
- Once fully cooked, you can prepare it any way you wish. Feel free to dice or shred it.
Tips & Notes
- If Instant Pot flashes the word ‘burn,’ quick release, add an additional tablespoon of water, and reset it. The reason your Instant Pot is probably flashing the word burn is because it needs more moisture. Read more about it HERE.
- This recipe is for 2-3 medium-sized chicken breasts, not one massive 1 lb. chicken breast. Cook time will vary depending on the size of your chicken breasts. The larger the breast, the longer it will take to cook.
- Storage: will last up to 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made it today and it went good. Do you have more recipes available?
amazing recipe
Great recipe, I’ve tried it a few times and it always turned out tasty and amazing.
great ppost
Seasoned my chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, paprika and chili powder then I added some liquid smoke to my chicken broth. Tasted so good and like a smoke chicken breast!
Liquid smoke — what a great idea!
I use my hand mixer to shred the chicken right in the instapot. Quick and easy!
I did 6 breasts and 1 cup of chicken broth for 9 min…got pulled away and they sat for 11 min so not a quick release but I guess a natural release. Came out great
Very amazing recipe
This recipe is so simple and the chicken comes out moist and delicious! I’ve added this to my weekly meal prep repertoire.
My sincere appreciation for this enlightening read!
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how would this be different in terms of time for cooking for an instapot MINI? thanks!
Nope same time!!