A chicken for every Instant Pot!
Apparently, one of the hottest gifts last Christmas was the Instant Pot (aff link). In case you didn’t happen to find one of these under the tree, it’s a pressure cooker that can make basically everything – meat, poultry, soups and stews, rice, even oatmeal – in record time. Better still, it’s programmable, so you can load up the pot and set it to have your meal on the table any time in the next 24 hours.
So, since so many people out there are now the proud owners of shiny new Instant Pots, I figured they could all use some new recipes for things to make in them. And here’s a great one to start out with: Flavorful Instant Pot Chicken Breast.
The pressure cooker is a great way to cook chicken. When you roast a chicken in the oven, you always have to keep an anxious eye on it to keep it from drying out. But a pressure cooker just seals in the juices, so it always comes out moist and tender.
And this particular Instant Pot chicken dish couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is put the chicken in the pot, season it, pour in some broth to provide the necessary liquid, seal it up, and push the “poultry” button. Seriously, that’s it!
When the valve releases, the chicken will be tender enough to shred with a pair of forks, so you can use it in any recipe that calls for shredded chicken. Or you can just slice it up and make some lovely, juicy chicken sandwiches. The choice is yours.
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breast
INGREDIENTS:
1.5-2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place chicken in your Instant Pot. Season both sides of chicken with garlic salt and pepper.
2. Pour in chicken broth.
3. Seal Instant Pot, making sure your valve is set to sealing. Press poultry button. ( if you do not. have the poultry setting, it is 15 minutes on HIGH pressure.) Once done, wait for Instant Pot to depressurize on it’s own, known as natural release.
NOTE: If you are wanting to use the “quick release” method, I suggest adding 5 extra minutes to the Instant Pot cooking timer. If you do this, once timer goes off, you can switch your valve to “venting” which will cause a faster release.
5. Place chicken on a cutting board and shred with 2 forks, OR slice chicken breast.
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Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Place chicken in your Instant Pot
- Season both sides of chicken with garlic salt and pepper.
- Pour in chicken broth.
- Seal Instant Pot, making sure your valve is set to sealing. Press poultry button. ( if you do not. have the poultry setting, it is 15 minutes on HIGH pressure.) Once done, wait for Instant Pot to depressurize on it's own, known as natural release.
- NOTE: If you are wanting to use the "quick release" method, I suggest adding 5 extra minutes to the Instant Pot cooking timer. If you do this, once timer goes off, you can switch your valve to "venting" which will cause a faster release.
- Place chicken on a cutting board and shred with 2 forks, OR slice chicken breast.
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Melissa says
Do you know if you can use frozen chicken breasts or do they need to be thawed?
Corey says
According to the Instant Pot webpage, you can use frozen chicken breasts. I have only used fresh, but have seen many people posting success with frozen chicken. I hope that helps Melissa!
Jamie says
Do you know how much time to set for a regular pressure cooker?
Pam Kaufman says
Thank you for the recipe. I received the Power Cooker for Christmas and, being new to pressure cooking, it’s nice to have some recipes to follow while I get used to pressure cooking. I have to say I love this machine! My husband and I are like kids getting a present every time we use it. It’s so great to be able to cook meals that used to take hours in a matter of minutes!
Corey says
I know Pam, isn’t it great!!! I have a new Instant Pot recipe coming up each week for the next two week and have been busy developing more 🙂 Make sure to check back or sign up for my email subscription so you don’t miss them 🙂
Nikki says
Delicious ? thank you for the the recipe!
Kevan says
I have used frozen breasts at about 30 minutes. But the big news is I shred them using my hand mixer! 2 minutes vs 20 be the fork method. I know it seems weird, but it really works well.
Ray says
For non frozen, did 25 minutes manual (don’t have poultry setting). Worked great.
Brandi says
So my husband came home tonight with an instant pot … surprise! I was totally not prepared but of course, wanted to use it right away. Holy smokes, this was fast, easy, minimal ingredients and tasted great – thank you so much!!
PS – it won’t let me give it 5 stars, it’s either 4 or nothing but I want to give it 5!
Nikki says
Hey all! Great recipe! I just wanted to share a tidbit I learned from Pinterest: take your cooked chicken breast while they’re warm and place them in your stand mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, beat for a minute or two, enjoy easily shredded chicken!! This is such a timesaver for making quick shredded chicken.
Diane says
I put the chicken in the Instant Pot only to realize there was no poultry setting! I set it for 15 minutes, normal , high pressure. Fingers crossed!!
Nancy says
What changes are needed for 3# of chicken? More water? Longer cooking time. HOw much?
Jen says
Same Q?? Did you find an answer?? ???♀️
Nancy says
I just put in 3-4 large pieces of chicken with spices and the water and cook it on the poultry setting. Always works.
catherine says
Hi There- about how long to naturally depressurize? waiting now and impatient family…;0) Thank you, so excited! c
Virginia_NY says
I thought you have to use a minimum of 1 cup of liquid in all recipes?
Jennah Rioux says
Have you ever tried doing a large amount of chicken to shred it? I was going to do about 12 breasts for a big party and wanted to know if that’s doable.
Rachel says
Not all instapot have a poultry setting. It would be useful if the recipe included a manual time to set. Thanks.
Marvw says
Like everyone else here, my Ultra Instant Pot does not have a poultry setting. What is the correct time for this on manual or pressure cooking setting?
Steve D says
15 minutes will cook it for 2 to 3 large pieces of chicken.
telephonelady says
a great quick way to do chicken for tacos.
Haley lowry says
Does anyone know how to do this in a regular pot? I don’t have an instant pot but really want to use this recipe!