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Instant Pot Pulled Chicken Sliders
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4.88 from 16 votes

Instant Pot Pulled Chicken Sliders

Pulled Chicken Sliders are quick and easy to make in your Instant Pot. The pulled chicken is cooked in and then tossed with a spicy, flavorful barbecue sauce, and heaped onto soft slider buns. What's not eaten makes delicious leftovers.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 240kcal

Ingredients

Homemade Barbecue Sauce (3 cups of store-bought or homemade below: See Tip 1):

  • 1 large onion chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup honey
  • ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup Dijon mustard
  • ½ cup soy sauce (See Tip 2)
  • 1 cup hoisin sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Chicken:

  • 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts (See Tip 3)
  • 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs (See Tip 3)

Slider Buns:

  • 24 slider buns

Instructions

Homemade Barbecue Sauce: (See Tip 1)

  • In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add onion; sauté 10 to 15 minutes, or until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili powder, cumin and crushed red pepper flakes. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into wire strainer to remove onions, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Let cool. Store covered in refrigerator. Yield: 1 ½ quarts. 

Chicken:

  • Trim chicken breasts and thighs of all fat. 
  • Add chicken and 1 cup of barbecue sauce to Instant Pot. Secure lid and make sure that pressure valve is closed. Program on high pressure for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, quick release pressure. (See Tip 4)
  • Remove chicken from Instant Pot. Discard liquid.
  • Shred the chicken using two forks. Transfer to large saucepan. Add 2 cups of barbecue sauce. Stir to combine. Cook over low heat 15 minutes or until chicken is moist with barbecue sauce and is thoroughly heated. 
  • Serve heaped onto slider buns with additional barbecue sauce on the side.
  • Yield: 12 servings.

Notes

  1. You can use store-bought barbecue sauce or your favorite homemade barbecue sauce. You will need 3 cups for making the pulled chicken, plus extra to serve on the side. If using the homemade barbecue sauce, you can store what you don't use, covered in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. 
  2. I used low sodium soy sauce.
  3. This recipe used 3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken pieces. I used 1 pound of chicken breasts and 2 pounds of chicken thighs. I've also used half chicken breasts and half chicken thighs. Basically, you can mix and match based on what you have on hand.
  4. You can also make the pulled chicken in a slow cooker. Cook chicken with one cup of barbecue sauce on high for three hours, or until chicken can be easily shredded. Remove chicken; discard the liquid. Shred or pull chicken into pieces using two forks. Place shredded chicken in saucepan. Add 2 cups of the barbecue sauce, stirring well to coat. Cook over medium low heat 15 minutes or until chicken is moist with barbecue sauce and is thoroughly heated. Spoon onto slider buns. Top with additional barbecue sauce if desired. 

Nutrition

Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 658mg | Potassium: 409mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 1.9mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2.3mg