Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

One thing I have been trying to do this year is to meal prep better. Nothing says crazy like being the Uber for three kids and their activities, appointments, on top of my own appointments. Now, we’re not in a ton of activities. My budget has its limits.

But living as rural as we do, I like to have things ready for fast meals. I don’t like making dinner when I get home at 8:30 at night with A, and I would rather know that dinner was ready for Hubs, O and B when they get home at 6:30.

Having cooked shredded chicken on hand is something that makes weeknight dinners so fast and easy to make. I used to make our shredded chicken in the slow cooker, but as the kids got older, and their schedules more complex, and I needed something even faster than a few hours in the crockpot.

What makes this worth it is my Instant Pot*. I’ve talked before about how I was intrigued when they first came out, but since we live in a 1800sqft ranch house the last thing I wanted to do was find somewhere to put that beast of an appliance. When I was given the Instant Pot Ultra Christmas on year, I decided to put it to the test. My, oh my, how I was wrong. That beast of an appliance earns its spot in our cupboards.

I can cook an entire pack of chicken breasts in under 15 minutes, not including the time it takes the cooker to come up to pressure. Using my Instant Pot is what saves me an insane amount of time on cooking, thawing, etc. On weeks that I know my meals revolve around shredded chicken, I put it in the Instant Pot and cook it as soon as we get home. That way chicken in this house doesn’t even get the chance to see the inside of my fridge and have thoughts about going bad on our super busy schedules.

How To Make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Ingredients:

boneless, skinless chicken breasts – up to 5 pounds
1 cup water or chicken broth
**optional** – salt, pepper, and other seasonings

Directions:

Pour water or chicken broth in the bottom of your Instant Pot* liner. Add chicken to the top, layering them criss-cross style. If you want to, you can lightly season with salt, pepper and any other seasonings you want to use. You can also leave the chicken plain and season them how you’d like with the final dish.
Add the lid to the Instant Pot. Make sure the lid is set to sealing, not venting.
Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook on High for 12 – 14 minutes. If I have a lot of chicken in the pot, or if it’s still slightly frozen, I’ll select 14 minutes. Otherwise, I select closer to 12 minutes.
When the cooking time on the Instant Pot is done, allow it to natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release.
Carefully open the lid, and use tongs to remove the chicken. Shred the chicken, allow to cool completely, and store in sealed freezer Ziploc Bags* labeled with the date and the contents.