Instant Pot Pulled Chicken

Instant pot pulled chicken is a fast and easy way to make delicious shredded chicken that’s perfect for recipes and meal prep. Make extra to put in the freezer for more meals throughout the month.  

We eat a lot of chicken at our house. A few of our other favorite chicken recipes are Instant Pot chicken pesto pasta, Air fryer chicken legs and crockpot chicken fajitas. 

This Instant pot pulled chicken is super versatile and is something that’s great to make for recipes throughout the week. We love using it for a many things like wraps, salads, tacos and more. 

Why you will love this Instant pot shredded chicken

• Easy – Just a few simple ingredients needed. 
• Quick – Done in about 30 minutes
• Delicious – Juicy tender chicken that’s full of flavor.

Ingredients needed for Instant pot chicken

Chicken breasts – I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. 

Chicken broth or water – Chicken broth keeps chicken moist and helps in the cooking process. You can substitute with water or vegetable broth if you prefer. 

Chicken seasoning – I like to use our favorite chicken seasoning or another blend like taco seasoning, Italian seasoning or Jamaican jerk seasoning to add flavor to the chicken. Feel free to substitute with salt and pepper or seasoned salt. 

How to make Instant Pot pulled chicken

Scroll to the bottom for full, printable recipe, ingredients and video.

1. Prepare: Pour chicken broth, seasonings and chicken into Instant Pot. 
2. Cook: Cover with lid, set valve to sealing. Pressure cook for 12 minutes and then naturally release for another 10 minutes. (This cooking time helps make it easy to shred.)
3. Shred: After 10 minutes of natural release, flip the valve to venting. Once the pin drops, remove the lid. Using two forks, shred or pull the chicken. 
4. Serve: Remove the excess liquid and serve or store for meal prep. 

How to shred chicken

There are a few ways to shred chicken after it cooks. Two forks works really well and it’s easy clean-up.

You could also use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to get a good shred. My husband loves using a mixer to shred his pulled pork.  

Can you cook frozen chicken in Instant Pot?

You can use frozen chicken for this recipe. Add about 3 extra minutes to cook time (so 15 minutes.)  

How to store

Store: Let chicken cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I love using these clear storage containers for meal prep. 

Freeze: Make sure that chicken cools completely and then store in a freezer safe bag. Try to remove as much air from the bag as possible. It will stay good for up to 3 months in the freezer. 

How to use pulled chicken

You can use shredded chicken for so many different recipes. One of our favorites is adding BBQ sauce to the chicken and using it for BBQ chicken sandwich. Here are few other suggestions: 

• Buffalo chicken wraps 
• Buffalo chicken pasta
• Chicken salad
• Chicken croquettes
• Chicken lasagna
• BBQ chicken pizza
• Chicken broccoli cheese pockets

More easy Instant pot recipe

• Instant pot country style ribs – Fall apart, country style ribs with bbq sauce. 
• Instant pot German potato salad – Warm potato salad with vinegar and bacon.
• Instant pot vegetable soup – Easy to make vegetable soup. 
• Instant pot french toast casserole – French toast casserole made in the pressure cooker. 
• Instant pot spaghetti squash – Make spaghetti squash fast and easy in the pressure cooker. 

*** If you made this recipe, please feel free to leave a comment and star rating below.