Ninja Foodi Shredded Chicken

This tender Ninja Foodi shredded chicken recipe for tacos is great. You can toss with sauce and make sliders for a protein packed, low carb, cheap one pot meal. Ninja Foodi chicken breast pressure cooked to perfection, we make this all the time.

This shredded chicken Ninja Foodi recipe is so versatile! We have used it to make all sorts of easy dinners for our family, and everyone is a winner. Add bbq or teriyaki sauce at the end for bold flavors or just wrap in a tortilla to make burritos with a bit of rice and beans too.

We have shared a lot of different Ninja Foodi chicken recipes over the years. I have no idea why I never wrote this one up, I guess it was just so basic that I didn’t bother. Now I am getting down to the basics and need to cover my basis for those who are new to the game. I have been there and yes this is definitely a new way of cooking for sure.

All you need is 2 ingredients to get this done perfectly. First off there are two lids to this multi cooker pot, you are going to use the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker lid which is NOT attached. That will cook your meat in this case under high pressure, get it tender and lock in all the moisture so nothing escapes.

In this post we are going to explain cooking shredded chicken breasts that have been defrosted or fresh from the store. That is not the only possibility though. Believe it or not, how to cook frozen chicken is easy…we do it all the time and it comes out delicious. No need to wait for it to defrost in the fridge overnight, you can take it out and throw it right in.

Believe me, I wouldn’t share anything that didn’t come out perfectly. If it doesn’t we test again and again until it does and then I write it up to post here. Now if you wanted to do this using your air crisp lid you could, but it would have a crispy outside. For that you’d follow our air fryer frozen chicken breast instructions.

Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken from Frozen

In this case if you have been forgetful (I’ve been there) and still want it to fall apart and melt in your mouth you’d need to read our Instant Pot frozen chicken posts. The brand doesn’t matter in this case it is just a different name on the outside of the pot (and that one doesn’t air fry). Basically it is just a difference of increasing the cook time by 2 minutes, that is it.

Much faster than if you were to boil frozen chicken on the stovetop for sure.

We are going to assume you had everything together or just came home from the store. 😉 I will say that from frozen isn’t ideal as far as the overall texture goes but is a really close second in a pinch. Another variable I will have to talk about is choosing your pieces. Over the years I have really noticed a difference in organic vs. not.

It is your prerogative of course but free range poultry isn’t as tough as the other in our opinion. It is worth a few extra dollars to buy birds that are free from antibiotics. A bit smaller but less fat so overall the same amount of protein and just taste better. All you do is;

You can shred, add more chicken broth with some diced or frozen vegetables + egg noodles on saute to make chicken noodle soup in pressure cooker! Make an under 30 minutes tossed with a bottle of Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce. The list goes on and on, jump to recipe and let us know what you create!!

Ninja Foodi Boneless Chicken Breast and Potatoes

Want it to become more of a one pot meal with the carbs right in the pot?? You can totally throw in a few handfuls of baby potatoes and they will cook to fork tender in this time too. If you wanted to make mashed taters at the end just peel and cut russets into about 8 pieces, that will work too.

Then take the meat out, shred or dice on a cutting board. Leave the broth right in the pot. Use your masher (not a metal one or you will scratch the pot) and smush them right in this inner pot. Add your butter, salt, sour cream and bacon bits until as creamy as you’d like them to be.

Does chicken get more tender the longer you cook it in Ninja Foodi?

Yes it does, up to a point. You do want to cook it long enough under high pressure to fall apart but beyond about 20 minutes breasts or thighs it will get a bit stringy. If air crisped it would get crispier and less tender actually so it depends on what lid you use.

At what temperature does chicken start to shred?

You always need poultry to come to 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be safe to consume however it usually starts to shred easily when it reaches an internal temperature of about 190–205°F

If you want sauced, drain liquid in pot and pour on sauce, use tongs to toss together to coat and serve as pressure cooker chicken sliders on Hawaiian buns, always a fave.