These Instant Pot Jerk Chicken Sandwiches have a deliciously spicy blend of Jerk seasonings dry-rubbed & marinated in flavorful juices.
The chicken is shredded after cooking & served with Pepper jack cheese on slider buns.
These chicken sliders are a great addition to Game Day and summer celebrations. This Beef Sliders Recipe is another recipe that is a crowd-pleaser.
This recipe for Jamaican Oxtail Recipe has a flavorful sauce with Jamaican spices and a delicious meal made in the slow cooker.
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Ingredients in Jerk Chicken Rub
It takes a lot of seasoning to create a delicious dry rub for pulled chicken sandwiches. It’s worth it and this dry rub creates a flavorful and memorable sandwich.
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Allspice
- Salt
- Ground Nutmeg
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Cayenne Pepper
- Black Pepper
- Brown Sugar
- Parsley
- Paprika
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Cumin
- Thyme
Ingredients in Chicken Marinade
There is plenty of thin liquid in this marinade for these Instant Pot Jerk Chicken Sandwiches so there is no need for water or chicken broth during pressure cooking. The lemon juice and the orange juice is more than enough to allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
- Lemon juice
- Molasses
- White distilled vinegar
- Orange Juice
- Soy sauce
- Garlic cloves
- Ground ginger
- Scotch Bonnet or Serrano peppers
RELATED: Instant Pot Root Beer Pulled Pork
How to Make Shredded Instant Pot Jerk Chicken Sandwiches
It’s simple to make Instant Pot jerk chicken sandwiches in the Instant Pot all it takes are a few simple steps.
Create the jerk chicken dry rub- In a small bowl, combine the ground cinnamon, ground allspice, salt, nutmeg, garlic powder, onion, powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, brown sugar, paprika, parsley, red pepper flakes, cumin, and thyme together. Stir to combine well.
Pat the chicken breasts dry and if needed, slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise if too thick. This will not affect your pressure cooking time, it is just to ensure that you get as much flavor and seasoning on your chicken as possible.
Sprinkle and rub the seasonings into the chicken generously on all sides.
Sear the chicken- Set the Instant Pot to sauté and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken and sear on one side, flip, and sear on the other side. You may need to do this in batches. Press cancel, remove the seared chicken from the inner liner and scrape the bottom of the inner liner to remove any stuck-on bits. This step is very important as it will prevent a burn notice from occurring.
Make the marinade- Combine the lemon juice, molasses, white vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic cloves, ground ginger, and a sliced Serrano pepper. Stir to combine the ingredients well.
TIP: A garlic press is a great kitchen tool to mince fresh garlic.
Prepare the chicken for pressure cooking by replacing the chicken back into the inner liner and pouring the marinade on top of the chicken.
RELATED: Instant Pot Chipotle Chicken Chili
Pressure cook the jerk chicken- Close the lid and ensure the vent is closed as well. Set the timer to 12 minutes. Once the Instant Pot is done pressure cooking, allow it to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure. If you perform a quick release, it will result in dry and not juicy chicken.
Shred the chicken- Usually, I would recommend shredding the chicken using a hand mixer but two forks work great to shred the chicken into thicker strips than a hand mixer.
Transfer the shredded chicken to a plate and discard the liquid in the Instant Pot.
Prepare the Instant Pot Jerk Chicken Sandwiches - I like to put pepper jack cheese on my jerk pulled chicken sandwiches and serve them on slider buns but can choose to omit the pepper jack cheese or top with something else. Serve with your favorite side.
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Shredded Jerk Chicken Sandwiches
Equipment
Ingredients
Jerk Chicken Rub
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon thyme
Marinade
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup molasses
- ⅓ cup vinegar
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves - minced
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 Scotch Bonnet - or Serrano pepper, sliced
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts
- Pepper Jack Cheese slices
- Slider buns
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ground cinnamon, ground allspice, salt, nutmeg, garlic powder, onion, powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, brown sugar, paprika, parsley, red pepper flakes, cumin, and thyme together. Stir to combine well.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and if needed, slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise if too thick.
- Season the chicken with the dry rub making sure to rub the seasonings in well on all sides.
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the chicken and sear on one side, flip, and sear on the other side. You may need to do this in batches.
- Press cancel, remove the seared chicken from the inner liner and scrape the bottom of the inner liner to remove any stuck on bits. This step is very important as it will prevent a burn notice from occurring .
- Combine the lemon juice, molasses, white vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic cloves, ground ginger, and a sliced Serrano pepper. Stir to combine the ingredients well.
- Place the chicken back into the inner liner and pour the marinade on top of the chicken.
- Close the lid and ensure the vent is closed as well. Set the timer to 12 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot is done pressure cooking, allow it to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure. If you perform a quick release, it will result in dry and not juicy chicken.
- Use two forks to shred the chicken into small chunks.
- Transfer the shredded chicken to a plate and discard the remaining liquid.
- Serve the jerk pulled chicken with pepper jack cheese and slider buns.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
Nina says
I was eager to try a carribean chicken recipe and was hopeful as this recipe has 4.9 stars. First, I am a butt confused about the star rating because one can't even leave a star rating on this website. Second, I think there was way too much flavor going on and it was definitely too sweet for my palate. The whole recipe didn't seem to add up, i used a pound of chicken and prepared the rub as written in the recipe but only used half of it. The chicken in the end tasted really vinegary. 1 out of 5 stars
Dana says
Hi Nina,
Caribbean dishes are very bold in flavor and they do have a lot of flavor going on. Also, Caribbean dishes are heavily seasoned which creates those bold flavors.
I'm not sure why there is confusion over the star rating - it is easily accessible on the website.
I'm sad to see that you don't seem to enjoy Caribbean food - though it's not for everyone!