Shredded Italian Chicken (Instant Pot or slow cooker)
Shredded Italian Chicken is an easy & flavorful dump-and-go recipe, and even better, it’s a two-fer! Just shred it up after cooking to serve over pasta, then enjoy the leftovers as sandwiches the next night.
Course dinner
Cuisine Chicken
Keyword chicken thighs, instant pot, italian chicken, shredded Italian chicken, slow cooker
Add the water to the bottom of your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Place the chicken thighs in the pot, skin side up. (I didn’t bother to trim these, since we’ll be discarding the skin at the end anyway.)
Dump in the pasta sauce and seasonings and stir gently to combine, making sure that the chicken remains covered.
In the Instant Pot: Cook for 15 minutes on high pressure, then let natural release for 10 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure.
In the slow cooker: Cook for 5.5 hours on low.
Near the end of the cooking time: Open the tomato paste, open and drain the green beans.
When the chicken is done cooking, leave the Instant Pot or slow cooker on keep warm.
Remove the chicken to a separate large bowl. Stir the green beans and tomato paste into the pot, and allow the sauce to simmer while you shred the chicken.
Shred the chicken, discarding the skin and bones.
Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Taste and add additional salt, if desired. (Mine needed a bit more here.)
Serve half of the shredded Italian chicken over pasta of choice tonight, and use the other half to make Italian chicken sandwiches tomorrow night! You’ll need to reserve about 4 cups of cooked chicken for those.
Notes
The total time in this recipe reflects the Instant Pot directions (including time to come to pressure and NR); allow 4.5-5 additional hours if using a slow cooker.