This post may contain paid links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.
Learn how to make the easiest pulled chicken recipe! You can shred chicken from fresh or frozen in just a few simple steps and under 30 minutes. This pulled chicken recipe is perfect for sandwiches, pizzas, salads, chilis, soups, and more!
Jump to:
Pulled Chicken
Chicken is a go-to dinner in my household, and one of my favorite ways to prepare it is this easy-shredded chicken recipe. All you have to do is set your seasoned chicken in your Instant Pot, on the stove, or in the slow cooker, let it cook in liquid, and shred it!
Shredded chicken is great for use as an add-in to recipes of all kinds. It’s delicious with BBQ and in soups and chilis, or on sandwiches, salads, and even as a pizza topping (I love it with BBQ Chicken Air Fryer Pizza!).
You can season it however you like, and the result is tasty, perfectly cooked tender-pulled chicken. The best part is, that you can make this easy recipe using fresh or frozen chicken, so you can have it ready with minimal prep.
Wow. This was so easy and so tasty. I love using it for meal prep for the week!
Marya on Pinterest
Recipe for Pulled Chicken Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs (fresh or frozen)
- salt and pepper
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- chicken broth
How to Make Pulled Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Place chicken breasts inside the Instant Pot. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Add chicken broth to Instant Pot.
- Cover and set to pressure cook on high for 14 minutes. If using frozen chicken breasts, cook on high for 18 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally once finished cooking. After the pressure is released, shred the chicken using two forks, or an electric mixer. This procedure also works well when you add the chicken to the bowl of your stand mixer on low speed.
Note: There will be liquid remaining at the bottom of the Instant Pot. You can use this as a soup base or as cooking stock or discard it.
Pulled Chicken Recipes Tips
- You can season the chicken however you like. If you plan on using it for BBQ, use your favorite BBQ seasonings. If you’re making it for tacos, burritos, a southwestern soup, or chili, you may want to use taco seasoning.
- Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F when completely cooked through and ready to shred. Use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature.
- If you want to make more chicken, use ¾ cup of chicken broth for every 1 chicken breast. 2 chicken breasts is enough for about 2-4 people depending on appetite and what the chicken is used for. Just don’t go over the fill line of your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker and keep in mind, the chicken should be completely submerged if cooking on the stove.
One of my favorite uses for this cooked chicken is making chicken tacos! I just add tomatoes, salsa, cheese, and cilantro and top it with avocado crema or sour cream!
Easy Pulled Chicken Recipe (Stovetop)
- Add chicken breasts to a pot on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Completely cover the chicken with water or chicken broth. It is important the chicken is fully submerged.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely.
- Shred using two forks or a mixer.
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
- Add seasoned chicken breasts to the slow cooker submerged in chicken broth.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Shred using two forks or a mixer.
You can make a large batch of crockpot shredded chicken! If you want to cook a whole chicken, see our Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Recipe.
Pulled Chicken Recipe FAQs
The fastest way to shred chicken is to cook it in the Instant Pot. Pressure cooker takes 14 minutes to cook from fresh, or 18 minutes from frozen, so if you want it ready quickly, this is the way to go.
You can use a few different tools to shred chicken – it’s easy to do. Either shred the chicken by hand once it’s cooled enough to handle, use an electric hand mixer, or simply use two forks to pull the chicken apart. The chicken will shred easily using a mixer.
This recipe works really well using pork or beef. Mix it up and have fun! I love to make the big batch and store it in the freezer.
Recipes with Shredded Chicken
📋 Recipe
Pulled Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 6 qt. Instant Pot OR slow cooker OR pot on the stove
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts inside Instant Pot. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.2 chicken breasts, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Add chicken broth to Instant Pot.1.5 cups chicken broth
- Cover and set to pressure cook on high for 14 minutes. If using frozen chicken breasts, cook on high for 18 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally once finished cooking. After the pressure releases, shred the chicken using an electric mixer or two forks.
Video
Notes
- Add chicken breasts to a pot on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Completely cover the chicken with water or chicken broth. It is important the chicken is fully submerged.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely.
- Shred using two forks.
- Add seasoned chicken breasts to the slow cooker submerged in chicken broth.
- Cook on low 4-5 hours, or on high 2-3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Shred using two forks.
- You can season the chicken however you like. If you plan on using it for BBQ, use your favorite BBQ seasonings. If you’re making it for tacos, burritos, a southwestern soup, or chili, you may want to use taco seasoning.
- Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F when completely cooked through and ready to shred. Use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature.
- If you want to make more shredded chicken, use ¾ cup of chicken broth for every 1 chicken breast. 2 chicken breasts is enough for about 2-4 people depending on appetite and what the chicken is used for. Just don’t go over the fill line of your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker and keep in mind, chicken should be completely submerged if cooking on the stove.
Max says
I absolutely love the simplicity of the stove top recipe. The shredded chicken came out very well too.
Isabel Laessig says
Thank you so much, Max! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it!