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pulled chicken in an instant pot
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4.95 from 19 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Breast - The Ultimate Guide

This is your ultimate guide to Instant Pot Chicken Breast. I show you how to cook fresh and frozen boneless skinless chicken breast in the Instant Pot, bone-in chicken breast, shredded chicken breast, and poached chicken breast.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: American, Indian, Italian, Mexican
Keyword: gluten free, recipe for instant pot chicken breast
Servings: 8
Calories: 165
Author: Jennifer Banz

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds Chicken Breasts frozen (Please see the notes for cooking times of fresh and bone in chicken breasts)
  • 1 cup Water or chicken stock
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon Chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon Black pepper
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to an electric pressure cooker, lock the lid, and set the valve to "sealing"
  • Set the timer for 10 minutes under high pressure.  When finished cooking, let naturally release for 10 minutes.  Release the rest of the pressure using "quick release" and, after the pin drops, carefully remove the lid.
  • Remove the chicken from the pot and using 2 forks or a hand mixer, shred the chicken or cut into slices. You can use some of the cooking liquid to keep the chicken moist.

Notes

  1. I recommend 1 cup of water or chicken broth, but please follow the instructions for your model of Instant Pot.
  2. Please see the blog post for more details on the cook time for fresh chicken breasts and bone in chicken breasts
  3. Try the seasoning blends above the recipe card for Indian, All purpose, Mexican, and Italian.
  4. This Instapot pulled chicken would be a good addition to soups, stews, casseroles, tacos, salad.  The possibilities are endless!
  5. The chicken will release a lot of water while they are cooking.  You can shred them in the liquid and then serve the chicken with tongs.  You could also remove them from the liquid and shred them, adding a little liquid to keep them moist.
  6. You can also cook these chicken breasts on the rack that came with the pot to keep them up out of the liquid.
  7. The prep time I listed includes the time it takes for the pot to come to pressure and the 10 minutes for the natural release.
  8. Store leftovers in freezer bags and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 165 | Carbohydrates: 0g | Protein: 34.5g | Fat: 4g | Fiber: 0g