Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

Let’s talk about one of my favorite crockpot chicken recipes. This shredded chicken recipe will revolutionize your weekly meal prep and make weeknight meals so much easier.

When there’s shredded chicken in the fridge or freezer, you are minutes away from chicken tacos, enchiladas, soup, salad, casseroles, or 100s of other healthy chicken recipes.

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

• It uses minimal ingredients. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken stock, and a few seasonings are all you need for this recipe.
• Healthy. This chicken recipe is gluten free, paleo, keto, and low carb!
• Cooks in the crockpot. In less than 5 minutes, you’ll have all of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Then turn it on. That’s it!
• It is a super versatile recipe. Use this shredded chicken in all your favorite recipes.
• Can be made ahead and frozen. You can make shredded chicken in bulk to freeze use in recipes later on. 

Ingredients

• Organic boneless skinless chicken breasts give the best results in this recipe; you’ll get tender, juicy chicken every time!
• Chicken broth adds flavor.
• Seasoning blend (onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper) for another layer of tasty flavor.

Supplies

• Programmable Crockpot
• Hand Mixer
• Mixing Bowls
• Souper Cubes
• Pyrex Simply Store Glass Containers

How to make crock pot shredded chicken?

Don’t blink because these instructions are quick.

• Start by adding the chicken breasts to the bottom of a 5 – 6 quart slow cooker.
• Sprinkle the seasonings on top of the chicken breasts. 
• Then pour in the chicken broth. 
• Cover and cook the chicken breasts for 5-6 hours on low. If you must cook the chicken on high, I recommend cooking on high for 3-4 hours. 
• Remove the cooked chicken from the crockpot and place it into a bowl. Then, using a fork or a hand mixer, shred the chicken. Add some of the liquid from the slow cooker into the chicken. 

Use the shredded chicken in your favorite recipes. See all of my shredded chicken recipes for ideas.

How to shred chicken? 

There are two popular ways to shred chicken, and each method will result in a different texture and size. 

Using two forks.

• Take two forks and pull apart the chicken until it shreds into pieces. 
• This method will create larger chunks of shredded meat.

Using a hand mixer.

• Turn the hand mixer on low, place it into the center of the chicken breasts, and move around until the chicken is shredded. 
• This method will result in smaller pieces of shredded chicken. 
• For this method, you’ll want to use a larger bowl, so you don’t end up with shredded chicken on the walls. 
• Of course, if you want to get your stand mixer out, you can do that too. Use your paddle attachment to shred the chicken.

Substitutions

This simple recipe doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, so there aren’t many substitutions. However, I’ve experimented with some, so here are my recommendations.

• Use bone-in chicken breasts. If all you have is bone-in chicken breasts, use them. Bone-in chicken breasts might take longer to cook. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature is 165 degrees before removing it from the slow cooker.
• Use water instead of broth. Chicken broth gives the shredded chicken extra flavor. However, if you don’t have chicken broth, then water will work too. You can also use vegetable broth; beef broth is more robust in flavor and not recommended.
• Switch up the seasonings. You can use onion flakes or dried minced garlic in place of the powders, and you can also use Italian seasoning for additional flavor. If you’re out of dried herbs, cook it in broth and add flavor when using the chicken in recipes.

Cooking Tips

I’ve been preparing crockpot shredded chicken for over a decade, so I’ve learned some tips for getting the juiciest, most flavorful shredded chicken.

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts work best for slow cooker shredded chicken. Boneless chicken thighs will work, but they are fattier than chicken breast resulting in a greasier shredded chicken. Chicken thighs taste different and will bring a distinct flavor to other recipes. Chicken breasts are more of a blank canvas and absorb the recipe’s flavor better.
• For the juiciest shredded chicken recipe, I don’t recommend cooking chicken breasts longer than 6 hours on low in the crockpot or at high temperature. Most chicken recipes only need 5 hours of cooking time at low temperature. If you must cook on high, only cook between 2-3 hours and keep an eye on the chicken because it can dry out fast.
• Before shredding the chicken, I recommend removing it from the crockpot and placing it in a bowl. Liquid settles at the bottom as the chicken cooks, resulting in mushy chicken if shredded directly in the juice. I like to shred the chicken in a separate bowl and add extra liquid.

I learned a lot about cooking chicken in a crockpot from the American’s Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook. I recommend getting this cookbook; it offers many tips for getting the best results when cooking chicken, and other foods, in the slow cooker.

Storage tips

• To store. You can store the shredded chicken in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Glass containers work best to keep cooked chicken fresh.
• To freeze. You can store shredded chicken in the freezer for up to 6 months. Freeze into 1 ½ – 2 cup portions to have ready for recipes. I like using Souper Cubes for this (pictured below).
• To reheat. If you can, thaw chicken overnight in the refrigerator. You can also reheat the chicken in the microwave. Place the frozen chicken, or thawed chicken, in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot.

How to Use Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken in Recipes

The sky’s the limit for the variety of ways you can use shredded chicken in recipes.

Here are some favorites.

• Chicken salad or sandwiches. This greek yogurt chicken salad is delicious.
• Chicken enchiladas. Substitute chicken for beef in this easy enchiladas recipe.
• Buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese. Stir some hot sauce before adding to baked macaroni and cheese, and you’ll have an epic comfort food recipe.
• Make this healthy buffalo chicken dip.
• Add it to mason jar salads. This southwest chicken salad and chicken caesar are delicious.
• Put together chicken wraps. Throw into a wrap with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and ranch for a new twist on a BLT
• Whip together a one-pot dinner or casserole. Have this one pot chicken and rice recipe on the table fast when shredded chicken is ready. 
• Throw into soups. Low carb chicken soup, buffalo chicken soup, creamy chicken and rice soup or easy chicken tortilla soup can all be prepared with slow-cooked chicken that’s shredded. 
• Stir in lime juice, beans, corn, cilantro, homemade taco seasoning, pico de Gallo and some sour cream to make delicious creamy Mexican chicken to eat over rice.

Other Crockpot Shredded Chicken Recipes

• Crockpot Buffalo Chicken
• Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken
• Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken
• Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

See other healthy slow cooker recipes.

Have you tried this recipe? 

Have you tried this Crock pot Shredded Chicken recipe yet? If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences. Also, it would be awesome if you could share a picture on Instagram and tag it #organizeyourselfskinny. I can’t wait to see it!