by Diana Rattray
Pulled chicken is an excellent way to enjoy delicious barbecue sandwiches, and the Instant Pot makes preparation and cooking effortless. All you have to do is add the broth, chicken thighs, and seasonings to the pot, then cook! You’ll have perfectly tender cooked and shredded chicken in less than 1 hour!
I prefer chicken thighs for this recipe because they stay juicy and tender, but feel free to use chicken breasts.
You might this recipe for Instant Pot chicken with sundried tomatoes (Tuscan Chicken) or try this Instant Pot honey sesame chicken.
Chicken thighs are added to the Instant pot with chicken broth, seasonings, and barbecue sauce.
The chicken is shredded by hand or with an electric mixer.
How to Store Leftover Pulled Chicken
- Refrigerate leftover pulled chicken in a shallow airtight container and consume within 4 days. You can keep the chicken on the warm setting for several hours, but once the chicken is removed from the Instant Pot, it must be refrigerated within 2 hours.
- Freeze cooled leftover pulled chicken in freezer bags. Label the bags with the name and date and freeze for up to 3 months for best quality. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Instant Pot Pulled Chicken
Pulled chicken is an excellent way to enjoy delicious barbecue sandwiches, and the Instant Pot makes preparation and cooking effortless.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Pressure Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Instant Pot, Chicken Thighs, Sandwiches
- Method: Pressure Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of boneless chicken thighs without skin
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups bbq sauce, divided
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth to the Instant pot, followed by the chicken thighs, and diced onion. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, garlic, paprika, and kosher salt.
- Combine 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce with Worcestershire sauce and spoon over the ingredients in the Instant pot, without stirring.
- Lock the lid in place and ensure the knob is set to the sealing position.
- Set the pot to pressure cook, high pressure, for 15 minutes.
- When the time is up, let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes then release the remaining steam.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 cup of barbecue sauce to the Instant pot and stir; press the sauté setting and simmer until the sauce is thickened.
- Meanwhile, shred the chicken, either by hand, or in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment; add it back to the pot.
- Fill buns with the shredded chicken mixture and top with extra barbecue sauce.
