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Tips and tricks on how to make shredded chicken, cook it, shred it, use it, and even freeze it! You’ll be able to use shredded chicken in all of your favorite recipes.
Throw it into enchiladas, soups, salads, dips, appetizers and more!
We use it for everything!
Chicken is the best. It’s inexpensive, tastes great when cooked and seasoned properly, and it is delicious in about a million recipes. Plus, it’s such a great source of protein for our bodies!
You can bake Chicken in the oven, grill it outside, cook it in the crockpot, or in a pan on the stove! It’s very versatile.
One of my favorite ways to eat and use chicken is shredded. We use it for everything (so many recipes) and are sharing our top tips for all things SHREDDED CHICKEN.
How to make shredded chicken
As I mentioned, there are several different ways to cook chicken.
Pretty much any method will work for making shredded chicken (including baking it in the oven), but the two methods I’ve found that produce the most tender, fall apart, shredded chicken are in the slow cooker, and the instant pot.
Crockpot Shredded Chicken
- Place your boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot.
- Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper (or add spices for more flavor).
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4. T
- ake out and shred while it’s warm.
Instant pot Shredded CHicken
If you’re in a time crunch, you can always use a pressure cooker!
- Place two pounds of chicken breasts in the Instant Pot with 1⁄2 cup of water and your favorite seasonings.
- Secure the lid and set the Instant Pot to manual for 12 minutes if the chicken is frozen, and 9 minutes if it’s thawed.
- Once it’s done cooking, let the Instant Pot self vent for 10 minutes.
- Then, manually release the remaining pressure in the Instant Pot, open the lid, remove the chicken, and shred.
How to Shred Chicken
There are a few different ways we like to shred chicken once it’s cooked. The most common ones are the hand method or the fork method.
- The hand method is basically just using your hands to shred the chicken into pieces. Make sure your hands are clean and the chicken is completely cooled—hot chicken = ouch!
- The fork method requires two forks. Pull the chicken apart in shreds with the forks. The forks get the job done faster and a little bit easier than the hand method.
Favorite MethoD
My favorite way to shred chicken is the stand mixer method!
Make sure your chicken is still warm and put it into your stand mixer. Put the flat beater, or paddle attachment on and put it on speed 2 for 30-60 seconds. You will be surprised at how fast it shreds. You can also use an electric hand mixer on low speed.
Shredded Chicken breast Recipes
Here are some of my favorite recipes that use shredded chicken, including soups, casseroles, and appetizers!
Soups:
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Chicken Taco Soup
Casseroles + Dinners:
- Chicken Broccoli Casserole
- Chicken Stuffing Casserole
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Chimichangas
- Chicken Enchiladas
Appetizers:
Freeze for Later
We cook up a bunch of chicken at the beginning of each month, bag and freeze it for that meal prep.
FREEZE. Once cooled, put it in Ziploc bags or airtight containers in 1 or 2 cup portions (depending on how much you think you’ll use at a time), and store in the freezer.
If it’s stored properly, the chicken will maintain good quality for about 4 months. It’s still safe to eat any time after that, but it will taste the best within that time period.
When you’re ready to use it in a recipe, you can take individual servings out of the freezer and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Or, if it’s going in something that will be cooked like soup or casserole, you should be able to put it right into the recipe.
For more shredded chicken recipes:
Shredded Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Slow Cooker Directions
- Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- Take out and shred while warm.
Instant Pot Directions
- Place two pounds of chicken breasts in the Instant Pot with 1⁄2 cup of water and your favorite seasonings.
- Secure the lid and set the Instant Pot to manual for 12 minutes if the chicken is frozen, and 9 minutes if it’s thawed.
- Once it’s done cooking, let the Instant Pot self vent for 10 minutes.
- Then, manually release the remaining pressure in the Instant Pot, open the lid, remove the chicken, and shred.
How to Shred Chicken
- MY FAVORITE METHOD: Stand mixer method. Make sure your chicken is still warm and put it into your stand mixer. Put the flat beater, or paddle attachment on and put it on speed 2 for 30-60 seconds.
- The hand method is just using your hands to shred the chicken into pieces. Cool the chicken and wash your hands before beginning.
- The fork method requires two forks. Pull the chicken apart with the forks. This method is a bit faster than the first.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love the shredding with mixer technique! Works great, you just have to make sure the meat is still warm.
Yes it’s true – the meat does still have to be warm. Shredding with the mixer is one of my favorite kitchen hacks! It saves a ton of time and effort!
Needed this. I always come across a recipe that uses shredded chicken and if i’m not getting a rotisserie I just don’t do the recipe because I never wanted to “deal” with having to cook the chicken, but clearly it is super simple AND I can make a lot and freeze. Thanks!!
Yes, freeze the extras!! So glad you found the recipe. Now you can make all those shredded chicken recipes! 🙂
Can’t wait to try these recipes!! Thanks so much for all the tips & tricks!!👍💕
You are so welcome! I hope you enjoy them!
Shredding chicken with a hand mixer is a game changer! Great for meal planning!
Love that I can make so many different meals with this!
Dinner time is so much easier when you have shredded chicken on hand!
This is the Perfect Post. I love leArning all the Ways to shred chicken!
This shredded chicken recipe is awesome. Having chicken that is pre-made and that can EASILY be made into a meal or frozen is a BRILLIANT idea! When i need a last minute dinner resort or need a snack at work how easy this recipe comes in handy! LOVE IT!!
It’s so handy to have shredded chicken on hand. Thanks for a great tutorial.
This chicken is perfect for just about anything!