Cook a couple of pounds of chicken at the start of the week, shred it up, and you have the base for an infinite number of quick and easy meals. This version of the meal prep staple (usually so bland, so blah) is so flavorful, you don’t need to do much– or really anything– to dress it up. But if you want to, we have plenty of ideas.
| Total: | 45 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | about 3 cups |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Toss the chicken with the garlic salt, paprika, onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper until evenly coated.
- Place a rack in the bottom of a 6- or 8-quart Instant Pot® and add 1 cup of water. Put the chicken on the rack. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for locking the lid and preparing to cook. Set to pressure cook on high for 7 minutes (see Cook’s Note). After the pressure-cook cycle is complete, follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release and wait until the quick-release cycle is complete. Being careful of any remaining steam, unlock and remove the lid. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and shred with two forks, reserving liquid in the pot. Remove the rack.
- Set the pot to saute on high and bring the remaining liquid to a boil. Let cook (uncovered) until reduced back to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Pour the liquid over the shredded chicken and toss to combine.
- The chicken will keep up to 4 days. Let cool completely before refrigerating.
- BBQ Chicken Sandwiches: Toss the cooked chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve as sandwiches topped with store-bought coleslaw.
- Chicken Tacos: Stir jarred salsa into the cooked chicken and serve in softened corn or flour tortillas with your favorite toppings.
- Pizza Pockets: Spoon jarred pizza sauce over pizza dough and top with the cooked chicken, pepperoni and shredded mozzarella before baking.
- Teriyaki Bowls: Mix the cooked chicken with teriyaki sauce and serve on top of rice with a side of steamed broccoli.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 191 |
| Total Fat | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 0 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Cholesterol | 142 mg |
| Sodium | 358 mg |
Reviews
Made this tonight and used a portion of the very moist and tasty pulled chicken in a bowl with barley and sauteed carrots. I made the barley using chicken broth and used the broth remaining after straining the barley to make a gravy (just Wondra, salt, and fresh ground pepper. Poured the gravy over the chicken in the bowl, and garnished with chives and sliced banana peppers from the garden. Fantastic!
The beauty part is we have enough barley left for two more meals and enough chicken for three more. (There are two of us, but for many applications, such as tacos or sliders, the portions of chicken would easily stretch to three or four)
Great meal starter or meal on its own! Super tender. I always seem to dry out chicken and have make this 3 times, all moist and delicious. First time made with garlic powder because I was out of garlic salt. Next batch was recipe as written with garlic salt and I actually prefer the garlic powder. Also used chicken broth instead of water in last batch and like that better. Mixed with a little Mayo and diced celery, put on ciabatta bread with some cheese for great chic salad sandwich.
Delicious
Fantastic! Great flavor! Used Better than bouillon garlic flavor for the broth instead of water.
Great recipe. Only had garlic powder but it worked fantastic. Great make ahead for busy weeks.
Such great flavor and made multiple amazing meals that were so easy!
I made this exactly as written and it turned out wonderfully as a premade shredded chicken. We mixed some barbecue sauce in a portion one night and had it on rolls. The next night we tried it with teriyaki sauce and rice – it turned out a bit salty but that could be adjusted with a modification to the sauce. In short, this made a great batch of plain, tender, juicy shredded chicken that we will use often as a base for many different meals.