This easy shredded chicken recipe uses a whole chicken cooked in the Instant Pot. The result is juicy and tender chicken! Add this to your weekly meal prep so you always have a healthy protein in the frig for quick and easy meals.
Shredded chicken is great to have on hand! It can be used in many ways from adding to salads to making a quick soup or casserole. Heck, you can even eat it plain for a high-protein snack.
Lots of shredded chicken recipe call for using just the breast or thighs of the bird. But those cuts are typically the most expensive.
If you have a good number of mouths to feed or big eaters, making shredded chicken with those cuts could lead to a hefty grocery bill.
There is another way!
You can make shredded chicken using a whole chicken. It is super simple when you use an Instant pot or other electric pressure cooker.
As a bonus, you can also use the bones to make homemade bone broth!
This really extends your food budget and leaves you with juicy chicken and nourishing broth to use in recipes like Chicken Noodle soup.
Ingredients for easy shredded chicken recipe
- Whole chicken: Choose a chicken that is anywhere from 3-5 pounds in weight.
- Onion: Ideally you want to use a large onion, about 3″ in diameter.
- Unrefined Salt
- Black Pepper
Tools
An Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker is needed to make easy shredded chicken from a whole chicken.
To shred the kitchen, you may want to use a couple of forks. Your hands will work just fine if you allow the chicken to cool enough before shredding.
You will also need a large bowl, plate, or baking dish to shred the chicken into. I really like using a 9×13 baking dish which allows me to place the cooked whole chicken on one side and the chicken meat on the other.
How long to cook a whole chicken in an Instant Pot
When cooking a whole chicken in the Instant Pot, cook it for six minutes per pound.
For example, a 4-pound whole chicken needs to cook for 24 minutes.
How To Make Easy Shredded Chicken in the Instant Pot
Pull the whole chicken from the refrigerator thirty minutes before you are ready to cook it.
Remove any giblets. Be sure to save them for making bone broth!!
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
Liberally salt and pepper the cavity and outside of the chicken.
Slice onion into 1/2″ thick slices and place in the bottom of the Instant Pot insert.
Place chicken on top of the onions, breast side down.
Add water.
Lock the lid and position the valve to the “sealing” position. Cook on manual at high pressure for the needed time per weight of the whole chicken.
Once the cooking time is complete, turn off the Instant Pot and allow the natural release.
Allow the chicken to cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones & shred it with forks or hands.
Meal Prep Tips
Making shredded chicken in the Instant Pot is perfect for meal prep! It is one of those tasks that take care of itself while you work on other things.
Start the chicken at the beginning of the meal prep session. This gives it time to cook, allows for a natural pressure release, and time for the chicken to cool enough for you to handle it.
Just be sure to listen for the beep letting you know the cook time is done!
Storage and Reheating
Once cooked, store cooked shredded chicken in the refrigerator for up to four days. Or it can be frozen for up to 4 months.1
To reheat the chicken from the refrigerator heat it in a pan over medium-low with a bit of broth. You can also reheat the chicken in a 250-degree oven or toaster oven until warm, 5-10 minutes.
Defrost frozen shredded chicken in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat it in one of the ways previously mentioned.
FAQ’s
To ensure that the shredded chicken is tender and juicy, allow the natural release process of the electric pressure cooker to occur. To do this, once the cook time is complete, turn the machine off and do not turn the valve to “venting”. In about 20 minutes the pressure will be reduced enough to open the lid.
Use plenty of salt to on the inside and outside of the whole chicken to ensure it is flavorful.
Of course you can! Simple remove the onions from the juice, add the bones back to the pot along with any additional ingredients. You can find step by step instructions here.
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Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Use a whole chicken to make tender and juicy easy shredded chicken in an Instant Pot. It is great to include in weekly meal prep so that you can get nourishing and tasty meals on the table fast!
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken, 3-5 pounds
- 1 tsp Unrefined Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Large Yellow Onion
Instructions
- Pull the whole chicken from the refrigerator thirty minutes before you are ready to cook it. Remove any giblets.
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Liberally salt and pepper the cavity and outside of the chicken.
- Slice onion into 1/2" thick slices and place in the bottom of the Instant Pot insert.
- Add 1/4 cup of water.
- Place chicken on top of the onions, breast side down.
- Lock the lid and position the valve to the "sealing" position. Cook on "manual" at high pressure for 6 minutes per pound of the whole chicken.
- Once the cooking time is complete, turn off the Instant Pot and allow the natural release.
- Allow the chicken to cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones & shred it with forks or hands.
Notes
Keep the bones, any juices from cooking and any raw giblets to make bone broth.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 248Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 470mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 28g
All nutrition facts are an estimate.
Sources
- USDA article.
