Instant Pot Pulled Chicken Recipe (Shredded Chicken)

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

The Perfect Instant Pot Pulled Chicken Recipe! 3 Different ways to make shredded chicken in your instant pot! Start with your choice of seasonings/sauces, then sear the chicken, and cook it under pressure. Shred and use in countless different ways!

Learning how to make Instant Pot Pulled Chicken makes your life 10x easier.

Not only does it mean that you can replace every recipe that calls for shredded rotisserie chicken (52 different ones here) with a homemade version. It also means you can make those recipes without having to grab the keys and run to the store.

And don’t even get me started on how helpful this would be when football season is around.

Making buffalo chicken dip?

Make instant pot pulled chicken.

Planning on doing a bbq chicken nacho spread?

Make instant pot shredded chicken.

Need cooked chicken for enchiladas?

Make pulled chicken in the pressure cooker.

Making tandoori chicken sliders?

You’ll want to make tandoori flavored shredded chicken in the instant pot.

That’s why I’m sharing three different recipes in one.

With a simple swap of the seasonings and sauces, you can easily make a convertible recipe for what kind of chicken you need. So that raw chicken is truly a blank canvas.

Use the all purpose chicken recipe for soups, sandwiches, chicken salad, and more. The buffalo chicken is perfect for dips and sliders. The tandoori chicken is my favorite! I like to use it to make pizzas, tacos, hand pies, and more.

The flavors just explode on your tongue and the possibilites are truly endless!

Ingredients for Instant Pot Pulled Chicken:
Making Shredded Chicken in a Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot Pulled Chicken (3 Flavors!) Recipe

Ingredients for Instant Pot Pulled Chicken:

For all recipes: You’ll need some oil or a knob of butter for all three of these recipe. Feel free to use either. I tend to use oil for my tandoori chicken, while opting for butter for the buffalo chicken and all purpose chicken recipes. Feel free to swap the butter for ghee as well! You’ll also need chicken. I like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts. If they are on the larger side, I’ll slice then down the center horiztonally for more even cooking. Boneless chicken thighs also work though.
Making Tandoori Chicken: I use thinly sliced onions, kosher salt, tandoori chicken seasoning, chili garlic paste, ginger garlic paste, chicken broth, and lemon juice.
Making Buffalo Chicken: You’ll need some sort of garlic and herb seasoning mix as well as some buffalo sauce.
Making All Purpose Chicken: This one is a bunch of seasonings that are pantry staples and some chicken broth (or vegetable broth). You’ll need kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and broth. I typically make a big batch of this one and stash some in the freezer for days when I want protein that’s ready at my fingertips.

Making Shredded Chicken in a Pressure Cooker

Sear the chicken. Start by hitting the saute button on the instant pot. You want it to heat up so that the chicken sears and doesn’t stick. Add the butter or oil and let it melt.
If you’re making tandoori chicken. season the chicken while the pressure cooker heats up. Then sear the chicken for 30-45 seconds on each side. Hit the off button. Add the sliced onions, sambal, ginger and garlic paste, chicken broth and lemon juice. Place the lid of the pressure cooker on and seal the valve. Cook on manual high pressure for 10-12 minutes depending on the chicken breasts. Semi frozen chicken takes about 12 minutes, whereas fully defrosted chicken takes about 10 minutes.
If you’re making buffalo chicken. Season with the garlic herb seasoning. Then sear the chicken the same way. Hit the off button. Pour some of the buffalo chicken sauce on the bottom of the pot, and some over the chicken. Cook on high pressure for the same amount of time as the tandoori chicken.
If you’re making all purpose chicken. Combine the seasonings in a small bowl. Sprinkle this over the chicken. Sear in the pan the same way. Then add the chicken broth. The cooking time remains the same as the other two recipes. Pressure cook the chicken on manual high pressure.
When the dish is ready. When the chicken is done, I typically like to do a natural pressure release to give the chicken time to sit in the liquid to maintain tenderness. If you’re in a hurry you can also do a quick release. Then use two forks to shred the chicken. You can also pop them into a bowl and shred with a hand mixer, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. I bought this nifty little device that shreds the chicken and it works beautifully. Pop the chicken into an airtight container. And keep in the refrigerator for meal prep, or use in your recipe immediately.

Other pressure cooker chicken variations

Make taco chicken for bowls!

Swap the seasonings in the all purpose chicken recipe for taco seasoning. Then add the chicken broth and cook for the same amount of time.

Give it a peperoncini twist!

I love making my pepperoncini chicken recipe. It’s quick and easy and great for burritos, bowls and tacos!

Make Chicken Carnitas!

It’s one of my favorite instant pot chicken recipes.

Make Chicken Tinga Bowls!

a saucy shredded chicken recipe that’s great to serve with cilantro lime rice, quinoa, black beans, corn and more!

Keep it simple.

Add 1 cup salsa over the seasoned chicken breasts. Cover and cook for the same amount of time! That’s exactly how I make the crockpot shredded chicken with salsa and black beans!