This Instant pot Mexican shredded chicken comes together in 30 minutes total! Using the Instant Pot to quickly shred chicken for an endless amount of dishes! This quick and easy instant pot shredded chicken recipe will be your go-to.
Instant Pot
The Instant Pot appliance’s are so versatile, they have a ton of functions such as slow cooking, rice making, sautéing, etc. They are most well known for their pressure cooking abilities. The inside becomes pressurized, leading to your food being prepared more quickly. I was excited because I’ve always wanted one and I won this in a contest for my Bolognese recipe.
Seasoning
I added 2 whole chicken breasts, a cup of chicken broth (depending on the size of your instant pot, it may require more liquid as the minimum), and my favorite spice blend. In the blend is: dark chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
Mix together the spice blend in a small bowl, then sprinkle it on top to cover the chicken breasts.
Instant pot settings
I have the digital version, but the same settings will apply to the other models. I selected “high pressure”, 10 minutes cook time, and my keep warm setting was on. Depending on how many chicken breasts you have inside will affect the preheating time, mine took about 10 minutes to come to pressure. After the 10 minutes of cooking, I do a natural release of 10 minutes. This means do not release the pressure yourself. Once the needle has dropped, you can safely open the pot.
Shredding the chicken
You can shred the chicken in the instant pot itself, but be careful that the pot is hot. I prefer to take tongs, place it on a cutting board, and using two forks shred the chicken.
I place the chicken back into my instant pot and mix it with all the juices. Don’t sleep on how delicious all those juices are at the bottom! The juices also help keep the leftovers moist when refrigerated.
This chicken is so versatile, some of the dishes I use it in are: my chicken enchiladas, shredded chicken fajitas, and it can be used for meal prep too! You can also switch up the spices used for different dishes, such as my pesto chicken pasta bake.
If using frozen chicken, I would add 2 extra minutes to the cook time. Also, if the chicken breasts are extremely thick, consider cutting them in half to be more thin, because I have noticed the chicken will come out tough. I hope you enjoy using your Instant Pot as much as I do!
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Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken
This Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken is cooked quickly in the pressure cooker and comes out so tender/easily shreddable! Perfect for enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas, or meal prep!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp dark chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pour chicken broth into the instant pot and place the chicken breasts side by side into the broth. Mix seasonings together in a small bowl and then evenly sprinkle over the top of the chicken.
- Place the lid onto the pressure cooker and lock into place. Turn on instant pot, select "Pressure Cook" setting, set to "high pressure" for 10 minutes, and start. Allow to come to pressure, depending on how much chicken is inside, can take 8-10 minutes. After it has come to pressure it will cook for 10 minutes.
- Once the timer has expired and the chicken has finished cooking, do not touch it. Allow the pressure to release naturally. This should take about 10-12 minutes. Once the float valve is all the way down, signaling the pressure has released, carefully open the instant pot.
- You can shred the chicken inside of the pot, but the sides will be very hot. I opt to use tongs to remove the chicken breast and place onto a cutting board to shred with two forks. Once you have shredded the chicken, I add it back into the pot, and mix it all up with the delicious juices.
- Use the chicken in your favorite Mexican dish or for meal prep!
Notes
- Different size Instant Pots have different minimum liquid requirements, this recipe was made using a 6QT ultra instant pot. See your user manual for different size pots.
- If your chicken breasts are extremely thick, consider cutting them in half lengthwise to make them more thin. I have experienced toughness with the extremely thick breasts.
- Natural pressure release will vary depending on the size of breasts, do not open the instant pot until it is safe to do so and the valve is completely down.
- If using frozen chicken breasts, I would add 2 more minutes to the cook time.
- Note: the cook time takes into consideration the 8-10 minutes to come to pressure, 10 minute cook time, then the 10-12 minutes of natural release
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 445Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 203mgSodium: 228mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 67g
*Note: Nutrition information is an estimate. Values vary based on different brands and ingredients*
If doubling the recipe how much more time should I add to cook time?
For 4 lbs of chicken I would do 17 minutes
This is such a great recipe! The only thing I do differently is I use the regular sodium broth and I add about half a cup more than what the recipe calls for. It makes for great left overs this way, because the chicken soaks up all the broth.
I’ve made this 4 times in the last month. So easy yet so delicious! It’s great with salads, tacos, and quesadillas.
I’m so glad you love it! Great idea to have more broth for leftovers.
Really good and so easy! I substituted some of the chicken broth with orange juice and vinegar. It gives the chicken a nice, light tang.
Such a great idea! I’ll have to try that next time. So glad you enjoyed it.
This recipe was so helpful, in around 20’ you can have a delicious meal.
Thanks for posting this.
I am so glad you enjoyed it Priscila!
This is awesome. Will keep it on hand all the time. Warm up a flour tortilla throw some of this goodness in it roll it up. Good eats. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Steve!
So good! I have to pass along a shredding hack that works every time, also – stand mixer! I use a KitchenAid but I’m sure a regular one would work well, too. It takes less than a minute and is perfectly shredded 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Julie! I’ve heard great things about shredding chicken with a mixer, I’ll have to try! Thanks
First time using my InstantPot this was amazing
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Mary!
If you double the recipe, is the cook time instructions the same?
Hi Kelly, unfortunately I haven’t doubled the recipe myself so not sure about cook time. Due to the increase in volume, I would believe they would need a few extra minutes.
Made this tonight! Really great recipe! Using some for chicken enchiladas and some for street tacos. Thanks!
What else could you do with chicken. Thanks
Hi Mary, I’ve used the chicken in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, chicken enchiladas, taquitos, over a salad, in a burger bun, over nachos, on the side of rice and veggies, lots of different uses!
Are serving sizes about a cup? So delicious btw!
Hi Amanda! Yes, each serving is about a cup. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This chicken was SO tender and juicy! I’ll definitely be making it again!!
Thanks Jessica! I’m so glad you loved it, it’s such a delicious versatile recipe!