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Isabel
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An easy shredded chicken recipe that makes juicy, flavorful, and tender chicken every time. Use it inomelets, salads, tacos, nachos, soups, rice bowls, burritos, enchiladas, and more!
Easy Shredded Chicken
Have you ever looked at a recipe that called for shredded chicken as an ingredient, but it didn’t actually tell you how to make it in the instructions?
When I first started learning how to cook, I needed instructions for everything. It didn’t matter how simple or easy it was (hard-boiled eggs, white rice, steamed veggies); I needed step-by-step instructions on how to make it. Shredded chicken was one of those things. I was a total newbie and needed all the help I could get!
So today, I’m going back to Cooking 101 and showing you how to make one of the most versatile foods in your fridge.
How to Make Shredded Chicken
- First, place your chicken in a large Dutch oven or pot and season it generously with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Don’t be afraid of the salt!
- Next, add 1/4 of a large onion, 2 bay leaves, and 2 cloves of garlic.
- Cover all the ingredients in the pot completely with water. You want the water to be about 1 inch above all the ingredients. Bring everything to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breasts. You could also use chicken thighs if you prefer. Since thighs are usually smaller and thinner, I would the cooking time to about 15 minutes.
- Last but not least, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a plate for shredding.
- Shredding chicken is easier while it’s still warm, so don’t wait too long before shredding it! I like letting it cool on a plate for about 5 minutes and then shredding it with two forks. Alternatively, you could add the cooked chicken to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and mix it for a few seconds. It will shred like magic!
- Toss your shredded chicken with 1 cup of the cooking liquid. This will help it stay moist when stored in the fridge and prevent it from drying out when reheated.
- Use an instant-read thermometer. It’s so helpful to know exactly when the chicken reachesan internal temperature of 165°F, which keeps you from accidentally overcooking it and drying it out. Nobody likes dry chicken.
- Don’t throw away the cooking liquid. Thanks to the onion, garlic, and bay leaves, the broth is infused with lots of flavor, so I recommend storing it in glass mason jars and using it in recipes that call for broth.
Different Cooking Methods
- Slow Cooker: To make shredded chicken in a slow cooker, add all the ingredients to the crock pot, along with at least 1 cup of water or broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- Instant Pot: To make shredded chicken in an Instant Pot, add all the ingredients to the pot, along with at least 1 cup of water or broth. Close the lid and set the valve to the seal position. Press the manual pressure button and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally before manually releasing any remaining pressure.
How to Shred Chicken
- By hand with 2 forks: To shred chicken using 2 forks, let the chicken cool slightly on a plate or cutting board. Use 2 forks to pull and shred the chicken apart into smaller pieces.
- In the stand mixer: To shred chicken using the stand mixer, add the chicken to the bowl of the mixer. Add the paddle attachment, lock the tilt head, and turn the mixer on low for 15-25 seconds. This method is incredibly easy and fast! The only downside is that you have an extra bowl to wash.
Variations
I kept the flavors in this shredded chicken recipe fairly basic by using onion, garlic, and bay leaves since they go well with most recipes that call for shredded chicken. However, you can totally make this your own by mixing in different seasonings like smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, chili powder, or your favorite spice blend like Italian seasoning.
Ways to Use Shredded Chicken
Making a big batch of shredded chicken is a big time saver. You can use it in omelets, salads, tacos, nachos, soups, rice bowls, burritos, enchiladas, you name it! If you’re looking for a little Mexican recipe inspiration, here are a few of my favorites that use shredded chicken as an ingredient:
- Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos
- Chicken Tamale Casserole
- Chicken Enchiladas
- White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Tinga
Storage
Cooked shredded chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
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4.72 from 81 votes
Easy Shredded Chicken Recipe
servings: 12 servings (4 ounces each)
Print Pin Review Save
Prep: 5 minutes minutes
Cook: 25 minutes minutes
Total: 30 minutes minutes
An Easy Shredded Chicken recipe that makes juicy, flavorful and tender chicken every time. Use it inomelets, salads, tacos, nachos, soups, rice bowls, burritos, enchiladas and more!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 large onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- water
Instructions
Place chicken in large dutch oven or pot and season
generouslywith salt and pepper.
Add onion, bay leaves and garlic.
Cover the chicken and other ingredients completely with water (about 1 inch above the ingredients) and bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken, until it is fully cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 165°F.
Remove chicken using a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Let cool for 5 minutes and shred with a fork.
Notes
- To keep chicken from drying out, I recommend mixing the shredded chicken with 1 cup of the cooking liquid before storing in an airtight container.
- To make shredded chicken in a slow cooker: Add all the ingredients to the crock pot, along with at least 1 cup of water or broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- To make shredded chicken in an Instant Pot: Add all the ingredients to the pot, along with at least 1 cup of water or broth. Close the lid and set the valve to the seal position. Press the manual pressure button and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally before manually releasing any remaining pressure.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 4ounces (about 1/12th of recipe), Calories: 112kcal (6%), Carbohydrates: 0g, Protein: 22g (44%), Fat: 3g (5%), Saturated Fat: 1g (5%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 55mg (18%), Sodium: 500mg (21%), Potassium: 212mg (6%), Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 0g, Vitamin A: 0IU, Vitamin C: 1.7mg (2%), Calcium: 20mg (2%), Iron: 0.7mg (4%)
Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore
Category: American
Leave a Reply
Janel
Can I make this in the crock pot?
Reply
Isabel
Yes! To make this in a slow cooker, add all the ingredients to the crock pot along with 1 cup of water or broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. The chicken will be tender and shred easily!
Reply
KS
Thank you for thinking of us! The 5 stars is for the recipe AND for your thoughtfulness. I’m far from a newbie at cooking, but had never really (previously) learned a way to make Good shredded chicken. I can no longer say that, thanks to you. 🙂Reply
Susan
Best shredded chicken ever. So easy, so delicious. Thanks!
Reply
Scott Hilts
Great recipe for shredded chicken that is easy and delicious.Reply
Tony
Excellent flavor every time. I used chicken tenders. Awesome! ThanksReply
Jenna
When you say season generously with salt and pepper, do you mean a teaspoon, a tablespoon, a cup, four cups?
Also, for the chicken, should I leave the skin on or remove it before cooking?
Reply
Ana @ Isabel Eats
Hi Jenna! I would say about a tbsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper more or less. As for the chicken, I would recommend removing the skin.
Reply
Tami
Making your delicious shredded chicken for Enchiladas tonight. Very tasty!! Super excited about this meal! I kept the broth and stored for future use. Our family uses chicken broth in a lot of our dishes. So good!! And we are pairing it with your Avacado Salad. My wife is making refried beans to go along with it as well. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Monique
This is a great go-to recipe when you need to boil chicken. And it doesn’t have that boiled chicken taste. I will always use this when needing to boil chicken. Thanks!Reply
Diane Willis
Great recipe/instructions for shredded chicken. Thanks for sharing!Reply
Parrish
Thank you! Boiled chicken many times for different reasons but never added the specific ingredients. I am making your enchiladas tomorrow (Easy Version). Can’t wait! And serving with the Avocado Salad!Reply
Ana @ Isabel Eats
That sounds great! Thanks Parrish!
Reply
Stephanie
Made this recipe with chicken thighs. Not only was the chicken cooked perfectly, but it made the most delicious chicken broth!Reply
Deb Blount
Turned out moist and delicious. Thanks so much for sharing oh and the aroma in the kitchen was amazing
Reply
Deb burton
Great recipe, since I was using it for enchiladas, added a little enchilada sauce!!Reply
Patrick
Can anyone suggest how many quarts a large dutch oven is? I never used one before so I have no idea on what size to buy. I rated the recipe five stars simply because of everybody’s high approval rate so I expect it will taste good outside figure out what size dutch oven I’m going to buy. Thanks!Reply
Stephanie
I use a 5 1/2 qt Dutch oven. Good size for most recipes that use a Dutch oven, IMO.
Reply
bob
i just thought i’d mention that you don’t need a dutch oven to boil or simmer chicken. any old pot will do the job.It also depends how many people you cook for and how often. Regarding the dutch oven, most folks probably don’t use one very often unless they are cowboys cooking out on the range over an open fire. Good for making biscuits. The lid should have a lip on it to keep the hot coals from rolling off the top when you use it as an oven.They are heavy and can be a pain to clean at times. This is assuming you get the real cast iron type and not some “hey look at my beautiful martha stewart dutch oven” kind of thing. I have three different sizes of which the big one won’t quite fit in my oven. Medium size seems the most likely to be used. I use that one when i am making Mole Nero. They are great if you plan on having it on the fire fro 8 to 16 hours. Make sure to cure (season) the cast iron pot before using it. I hope you are using gas or fire and not electric. Aloha
Reply
B.Greer
This chicken is amazing! I made it to put in my chicken noodle soup. So juicy and the aroma while cooking the chicken is wonderful!Reply
Kim B.
Use this all the time now! My whole family loves it…by itself or in any dishes. I use it a lot in Italian and Mexican dishes. Thanks so much for the great (and easy) recipe!!Reply
Monique K.
I used your shredded chicken recipe and it turned out perfectly! I then proceeded to make your chicken enchilada recipe and my boyfriend said he had never had better chicken enchiladas 😍🍲🍴🍛 Thanks so much and I’ll be sure to try more of your great recipesReply
Dale
I’m confused…I haven’t tried the recipe yet but when I was reading the comments and questions, 2 people asked if you cook the chicken covered. The first one you said uncovered, the 2nd time you said covered…so which is it? I can’t wait to try this recipe and Want to get it right!
Reply
Morgan @ Isabel Eats
Hi! Sorry about the confusion. The pot should be covered when cooking. Hope you enjoy!
Reply
Cherie
Hi I was making the easy chicken enchilada recipe and saw that you had a recipe for the shredded chicken. I did that recipe but only made about 2 pounds of chicken breasts. These were thin sliced so it didn’t take much time at all to reach over 165 degrees. It worked out great and I was moving on to make the enchiladas!
Reply
Rob
Worked out well following her recipe, easy shred, will store per her directions too with 1 cup of left over chicken stock.Reply
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