Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Recipe | Great with Breasts, Thighs, & Even Frozen Chicken

This Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Recipe makes super tender, flavorful, and perfectly cooked shredded chicken! Plus, it's just so quick and easy to make too. And, the best part is, you can use fresh or frozen chicken breasts or thighs to make this tasty instant pot shredded chicken. 

Best Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Recipe

So, there's a lot to love about this shredded chicken recipe. It's quick, easy, versatile, and low-cost. 

You can make it as part of your weekly meal prep, or just for a family-style dinner. And the leftovers might be the most delicious part about making this recipe.

By the way, this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe makes five servings. So, if you make it as part of your healthy low carb meal prep, you'll have enough protein to last you the entire work week!

Not to mention, shredded chicken freezes really well, so you can conveniently keep some of it in the freezer for use later.

Not too shabby, eh?!

Oh, also this 3 ingredient stir fry sauce pairs incredibly well with it, so check that recipe out to add a little flavor to this chicken.

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Ingredients

So, you only need a few super affordable pantry staples for this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken.

All you'll need is...

• 2 lbs. chicken breasts (3-4 pieces)
• ½ cup chicken broth, or bone broth
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon Black pepper

Now, you can use fresh or frozen chicken for this recipe and use either boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs.

However, if you want maximum flavor for your Instant Pot shredded chicken, I recommend chicken thighs. They have a little more fat than chicken breasts, but that means you get a lot more of that delicious, savory chicken flavor from the meat.

But take special care to cut off the additional fat before cooking.

All told both options are low carb and perfectly keto friendly so you can't go wrong!

Oh, and if you're choosing to cook frozen chicken breasts, don't forget to add around 3-5 minutes of cooking time depending on their size. For anything below 2.5" thick, opt for 3 minutes, and for anything above that, 5 minutes extra.

By the way, you can choose between chicken broth or bone broth for this Instant Pot recipe.

Both are excellent options for bringing flavor to your Instant Pot chicken.

I personally love using this hearty and healthy chicken bone broth.

How to Make Quick Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

So, as I've said, making this pressure cooker shredded chicken is about as quick and easy as it gets!

The whole recipe takes around 20 minutes to make and yields five servings.

First off, we want to season the chicken breasts or thighs with salt and pepper before arranging them in a single layer in the Instant Pot. You'll want to make sure not to overlap the pieces so the heat can cook everything evenly.

Then, you'll add in your chicken broth or bone broth. Set your Instant Pot to high pressure and cook for 12 minutes (15-20 minutes if you're using frozen chicken breasts).

Cooking the chicken with the broth will ensure it's super tender and also infuse a ton of flavor into the meat too.

Now, after cooking on high pressure, you'll want to let the pressure naturally release. Do this for about 5 minutes or so.

This natural pressure release keeps cooking the chicken gradually, so don't try to use the quick release setting to speed things up. Don't worry; you're going to be rewarded with perfectly cooked chicken that's easy to shred.

Shredding The Chicken

Now comes the fun part – shred the chicken! Once the pressure is released from the pot, you can transfer your chicken to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it. Use the first fork to hold the chicken in place and the second fork to pull and shred the meat.

So, this is the traditional way, but if you don't mind a little extra clean-up you can also use a hand mixer or stand mixer to do this! Transfer the chicken to a bowl and use the paddle attachment on the mixer. Set to low speed for around 3 minutes, and your pulled chicken will be perfectly shredded!

Then all you have to do is transfer all that pulled chicken back into the Instant Pot and toss to coat with the remaining juices. Like I said, totally quick and easy!

Keto Shredded Chicken in the Crockpot

Now I like to make this low carb shredded chicken in the Instant Pot because it gets everything done super fast. But it's honestly just as easy to make this in the Crockpot!

For a Crockpot or any other slow cooker, follow the whole recipe but set the cooking time to 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. It will yield the same deliciously savory & tender shredded chicken as what we get from the Instant Pot!

Keto Shredded Chicken on the Stovetop

Stovetop cooks, this recipe is for you too! Use a large pot with a lid and follow the whole recipe but change the cooking time to about 45 minutes.

Oh, and if you have a stovetop pressure cooker, you can pretty much follow the recipe exactly as stated.

Keto Recipes to Use with Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

You can eat this shredded chicken on its own – maybe with a side of grilled veggies and hot sauce – but you should also try incorporating it into other recipes! 

 One of the BEST ways to use this shredded chicken has got to be in my keto buffalo chicken dip. 

And here are some other recipes that would go awesome paired with this shredded chicken:

• Keto spinach quiche
• Keto mozzarella sticks with dip
• Keto Broccoli cheese soup
• Cauliflower rice to make burrito bowls
• Keto tortillas to make chicken tacos (making chicken tacos is my favorite thing to do with this pulled chicken)
• Keto tortilla chips to make pulled chicken nachos

By the way, the chicken meat can last up to 4-5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer! Pro tip: for freezer storage, portion the shredded chicken in separate containers so you only have to thaw the amount you need.

I hope you enjoy this super quick, easy, low carb shredded chicken for the keto diet. And let me know in the comments how it goes!

Also, if you're looking for a breakfast recipe to make in your pressure cooker, give this Instant Pot oatmeal recipe a shot next. 

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Recipe | Great with Breasts, Thighs, & Even Frozen Chicken

Print Recipe

5 from 2 reviews

This Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Recipe makes super tender, flavorful, and perfectly cooked shredded chicken! Plus, it's just so quick and easy to make too. And, the best part is, you can use fresh or frozen chicken breasts or thighs to make this tasty instant pot shredded chicken.

• Author: The Diet Chef
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 20
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 5 Servings
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Instant Pot / Slow Cooker
• Cuisine: Keto Low Carb

Ingredients

2 lbs. Chicken breasts (3-4 pieces)

½ Cup chicken broth, or bone broth

½ Teaspoon Kosher salt

¼ Teaspoon Black pepper

Instructions

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place in a single layer into the Instant Pot.
2. Add chicken broth.
3. Cook for 12 minutes on High pressure, then let the pressure naturally release for 5 or so minutes.
4. Remove chicken to the cutting board and use two forks to shred it.
5. Transfer back into the Instant Pot and toss with the remaining juices.

Notes

If cooking frozen chicken breasts you’ll need to add 3-5 minutes of cook-time depending on the size of your breasts. If they are below 2.5” thick opt for 3 minutes, and if they’re above, 5 minutes.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: About ½ a Cup
• Calories: 200
• Fat: 2
• Carbohydrates: 0
• Fiber: 0
• Protein: 42

Keywords: Instant pot shredded chicken, shredded chicken instant pot, slow cooker shredded chicken, crock pot shredded chicken, easy shredded chicken, how to make instant pot shredded chicken, how to make shredded chicken in the instant pot, shredded chicken