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Flavour & Bite Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Pressure cooking forces the spice into the middle of the meat. The two-minute pan step at the end is the entire point — it's the difference between restaurant-grade shredded chicken and sad wet pulled meat.

serves 4 30 mins dinner meal-prep basics
Flavour & Bite Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

why it works

Clean, dense protein with no hidden sugars or industrial fats, and it keeps in the fridge for four days so it turns into instant lunches. Lean chicken breast is about as low as saturated fat gets in a meat protein.

Ingredients

  • 3–4 fresh chicken breasts, whole
  • 1 onion, sliced into thick strips
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 120ml low-salt chicken stock or water
  • juice of half a lemon or lime
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • pinch of sea salt

Method

  1. Mix the spice rub in a small bowl. Pat the chicken breasts properly dry with kitchen paper, then rub the blend all over until they're completely coated and bright red.

  2. Sliced onion, smashed garlic and stock into the bottom of the pot. Lay the seasoned breasts on top of the onions, keeping them out of the liquid as much as you can so the spices don't just wash straight off.

  3. Lid on, valve to sealing, pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. When the timer goes, let it sit for 5 minutes on natural release before venting the rest.

  4. Onto a board, and shred with two forks into thick, substantial strands rather than fine threads.

  5. Now the bit that matters. Frying pan on medium-high with just a tiny wipe of olive oil. Toss the shredded chicken in with 2 tablespoons of the leftover spiced cooking liquid and a squeeze of fresh lemon, and let it sizzle undisturbed for 2–3 minutes. The surface moisture evaporates and the edges of the strands crisp up.

remix

  • Pile it into wholewheat wraps with warm black beans and the cooked burrito sauce
  • Straight onto a salad with the fresh pico de gallo
  • Fold it into the chipotle bean crème for something genuinely rich
  • Add a chipotle chilli in adobo to the pot for smoke
  • No Instant Pot? Poach gently for 20 minutes, then do the pan step exactly the same