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.
Servings 8 servings
Equipment
- instant pot OR
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- 4.5-5 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 24 oz jar of pasta sauce
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Sea salt to taste
- Can of tomato paste
- Can of green beans drained
Instructions
- 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.