Apple Cider Pulled Chicken in the Instant Pot

I love recipes that play with sweet, salty, and acidic components.

This apple cider pulled chicken in the Instant Pot takes a day-long dish and speeds it up – but you can totally make it in a slow-cooker if you prefer. Either way, served over sweet potatoes, this is a perfect paleo-friendly, easily adaptable meal that fits with most meal plans. (It’s one of the featured meals in Refined Journey – my 40 day course that provides a meal planning framework with printable shopping lists and journaling pages, along with devotional content to help you nourish both your body and your soul. You can grab your free one-week sample of Refined here!

This is the Instant Pot I’ve had for years – it’s the basic model and I use it twice a week, most weeks. (My favorite use for the Instant Pot so far is making PERFECT hard-boiled eggs. Second favorite? Coconut milk yogurt.)

Making pulled chicken in the instant pot also has the added benefit of making it more tender. But if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can absolutely make this into slow cooker pulled chicken!

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Apple Cider Pulled Chicken (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

This tangy chicken is tender and perfect to top baked sweet potatoes and serve with quick slaw.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: gluten-free, paleo

Keyword: Instant Pot

Author: Angela Sackett | Everyday Welcome

Ingredients

PULLED CHICKEN

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
• 1 large sweet onion thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1½ teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 cup apple cider
• Quick Slaw recipe below, optional

QUICK SLAW

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bag pre-shredded cabbage or slaw mix

Directions

Instant Pot/ Pressure Cooker:

1. Set cooker to “sauté” and drizzle olive oil into pot.
2. Sauté chicken 3 minutes on each side, or until skin is lightly browned, working in batches to avoid overcrowding.
3. Place browned chicken into bottom of pressure cooker. Top with sliced onion.
4. Stir together vinegar, honey, mustard, tomato paste, salt and pepper, then stir in apple cider.
5. Pour sauce over chicken and onions and set pressure cooker to “poultry” if available, and set for 35 minutes.
6. After 35 minutes, gradually release pressure and use a fork to shred chicken.

Slow Cooker:

1. Layer onion slices in slow cooker and top with chicken breasts.
2. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
3. Cover and cook on high heat for 1 hour, then reduce to low for 6 to 8 hours.
4. Using two forks, carefully shred chicken.
5. Serve over baked sweet potatoes and top with Quick Slaw, if desired.

Quick Slaw:

1. Stir together mayonnaise, mustard, honey and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Toss dressing with cabbage mixture.

What’s your favorite fast weeknight recipe? Share it with us in the comments below! And if you make this one, post a photo to social media with the hashtag #refinedjourney so we can see it, too! (Don’t know about Refined Journey? Use the link below to get your free sample week.)

Inspiring (quick and delicious) welcome,

Angela