Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Why This is the Best Recipe

While I often use a rotisserie chicken when I want quick shredded chicken for dinner, you can easily make your own in just minutes with the best Instant Pot shredded chicken recipe because:

1. Lean Meat, No Skin: When you cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you don't have the added calories from the skin. This is a great light alternative to a rotisserie chicken.
2. Budget Friendly: When chicken breasts go on sale, you can prep a big batch of them and freeze them already cooked and shredded for quick meals.
3. Freezer Friendly: Store the cooked chicken in 1 cup baggies in the freezer so you only have to thaw what you need for each recipe. Nothing goes to waste!

Ingredients

This simple recipe only needs three ingredients:

1. Chicken: I used plain boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you could use this method on chicken thighs, too. Chicken tenderloins would cook more quickly though so be careful you don't overcook them.
2. Chicken Stock: If you don't have chicken stock or chicken broth on hand, you could use just water. I like the stock because it gives more flavor to the chicken.
3. Lemon Pepper Seasoning: You could just use salt and pepper to season the chicken, but I think lemon pepper adds a nice burst of freshness to the final shredded chicken and it pairs with almost any dish you'd want to add the chicken to.

Cooking Instructions

Pour the chicken stock (or water) into the Instant Pot bowl.

Season the chicken on both sides with the lemon pepper and then nestle it into the cooking liquid.

Cover the Instant Pot with the lid and set to sealing. Cook on HIGH pressure for 15 minutes.

Let the pot rest for 5 minutes and then quick release the Instant Pot.

Shred the Chicken

You should be able to easily shred the chicken using two forks.

I tend to break it up into fairly large chunks because it can always be cut down smaller later.

Chicken is so tender, it tends to fall apart if you stir it too much or leave it to simmer too long in a soup. By shredding it into larger chunks, you give yourself some wiggle room when you add it to another recipe later.

Make Ahead and Storage Tips

You can keep the cooked chicken in the fridge for up to 5 days for adding to countless shredded chicken recipes.

If you need it longer than that, you'll want to freeze it for up to 6 months.

To freeze the chicken, be sure to let it cool completely before packaging it up. I like to store it in small bags of 1 cup servings so I can thaw only what I need for future recipes.

How to Use Shredded Chicken

Keeping cooked shredded chicken on hand is one of my favorite basic dinner shortcuts. I've been using it to make countless dinner recipes for my family for as long as I've been cooking.

I made a huge list of all my favorite shredded chicken recipes here, but some of my very favorites include:

Sprinkling chicken into homemade quesadillas or making air fryer chicken chimichangas, stirring it into my favorite Tuscan chicken soup, or using it as the base to make my easy lighter chicken pot pie with frozen vegetables.

How to Cook Quesadillas Family-Style

Air Fryer Chicken Chimichangas

Tuscan Chicken Soup

Lighter Chicken Pot Pie

Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Jalapeños

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza