Healthy Pulled Chicken | Fast or Slow Cooked

Gluten-free | sugar-free | no added fats | dairy-free | low carb 

Makes: 6 Servings
Prep time: 15mins
Cook time: Varies

This delicious Pulled Chicken recipe comes straight from my award-winning cookbook, Bridget’s Healthy Kitchen. This recipe is free from gluten, sugar and dairy, making it a fabulous gut health recipe and fantastic for anyone watching their calorie intake. 

This has to be one of the easiest recipes to master, as all you do is bang everything into a pressure cooker or slow cooker and walk away. The results? Chicken that’s so incredibly tender and delicious you can flake or pull it with a spoon! No fingers or forks are required.

Hints, Tips & Tricks

I used a pressure cooker, which took just over 30 minutes to become succulently moist and beautifully cooked. You can also cook this recipe overnight in a slow cooker set on low or in a crockpot on your stove, on low heat for 3-4 hours. 

Before you start, you’ll need to prepare my Kombu Water. Kombu water is my healthy broth alternative and one of my favourite foundation recipes. If you need the recipe, you can find it here.

As this dish creates quite a large amount, you can store any leftovers in the freezer for up to 1 month. 

Ingredients 

• 120 ml (4 fl oz) Kombu Water 
• 120 ml (4 fl oz) low sodium tamari 
• 150 ml (5 fl oz) strong black coffee 
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 tsp allspice 
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• 2 tsp fresh or dried basil or thyme 
• 1 tsp chilli flakes 
• 1 tsp paprika 
• 8 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped 
• 3 tbsp freshly grated ginger 
• 2 medium onions, peeled and diced 
• 1.5 kg ( 3 lbs) chicken breasts or chicken thighs, skin removed 

Method 

1. Whisk together the kombu water with the tamari, coffee, black pepper, garlic and ginger. Also, whisk in the allspice, cinnamon, basil or thyme, chilli flakes and paprika. Stir in the garlic and ginger. 
2. Place the onions and chicken into the bowl of your pressure cooker or slow cooker, pour over the liquid mixture, and stir to combine. 
3. If using a pressure cooker, cook on medium to high for 30 minutes, once the steam has built up or as per the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking a pot roast. 
4. If using a slow cooker, cook the chicken on low for 6-8 hours until tender or per the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking a pot roast. 
5. If using a heavy-bottomed pot, cook on low heat for 3-4 hours, occasionally stirring to make sure the meat doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. 
6. When the meat is tender, check the sauce for flavour, adding more tamari or pepper if necessary. If the sauce seems a little watery, you can bring the chicken liquid to a boil and allow it to reduce in volume until the sauce thickens to your liking. 
7. Pull the chicken when cool enough to handle and serve with your preferred accompaniments and some of the reduced chicken sauce poured over the chicken. 

I served my Pulled Chicken with a purple cabbage slaw mixed with Bridget's Zesty Dressing and some finely chopped coriander.