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Easy and delicious shredded chicken is the perfect simple and versatile recipe. Use it in nachos, enchiladas, tostadas, salads, soups, and much more! This recipe includes stovetop, slow cooker, and Instant Pot pressure cooker instructions.
Have you ever looked at a recipe that called for cooked shredded chicken as an ingredient, but it didn’t actually tell you how to make it in the instructions?
That’s what I’ll be sharing in this post – how to make shredded chicken so that it’s juicy, flavorful, and never dried out.
This shredded chicken recipe is such a game-changer. You can use it in so many different ways and can easily customize it to make it exactly how you like. It’s the perfect filling and topping for almost any recipe since it has a simple, never-bland flavor profile that pairs well with a variety of ingredients and recipes.
Here’s why I love it:
- Uses simple ingredients. This recipe uses minimal ingredients but doesn’t sacrifice flavor.
- Easy to batch. You can easily make a big batch of shredded chicken and use it differently for every meal, which saves you so much time and keeps dinner exciting.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: Chicken breasts are typically what’s used for shredded chicken. They’re a blank canvas for flavor and seasonings and pair well with almost anything. You can easily swap it for chicken thighs or tenderloins if you prefer.
- Seasonings: A simple mix of kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder gives the shredded chicken a delicious and simple flavor that won’t overpower the recipe you’re using it with.
- Chicken broth: Adding chicken broth helps keep the chicken moist while its poaching and adds more flavor when compared to using plain water. You can also use vegetable broth if that’s all you have.
- Bay leaf and onion: Adding a bay leaf and chopped white onion while poaching the chicken adds an additional layer of flavor. These are optional, but I highly recommend them.
How to Make Shredded Chicken
Season the chicken on both sides evenly with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes on both sides in a pot or skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. You want to sear the chicken just until it’s golden on both sides since it will finish cooking while it poaches.
Add chicken broth, chopped onion, and bay leaf to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 8-10 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Transfer the cooked chicken with a slotted spoon into the bowl and shred with two forks, or into the bowl of a stand mixer and shred on low speed using the paddle attachment.
Stir any remaining cooking liquid from the skillet into the bowl with the shredded chicken and toss to combine. Serve immediately or store until ready to use.
Tips and Variations
- To keep your shredded chicken from drying out, add the cooking liquid back into your shredded mixture. This will keep it juicy and flavorful as long as possible.
- Use a food thermometer. Nothing is worse than chewy and dry shredded chicken. You can easily avoid this by using a food thermometer and keeping an eye on the internal temperature to make sure it doesn’t overcook. You can even remove the chicken when it’s 2-3 degrees short and let it rest before you shred it.
- Swap chicken breasts. You can easily use chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins to make shredded chicken. Just keep an eye on the internal temperature using a food thermometer.
- Spruce up the seasonings. I used a simple mix of salt, pepper, and garlic powder to keep the chicken flavorful but also versatile enough to use in different recipes. You can easily add your favorite seasonings like homemade taco seasoning, chili powder, onion powder, rosemary, oregano, etc.
- Swap the broth. I like to use chicken broth since it adds lots of great flavor while keeping the chicken moist. You can easily swap it for vegetable broth or even water if you’re in a pinch.
Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Cooking Methods
Shredded chicken is an easy recipe that can be made in a variety of ways, like stovetop, slow cooker, and Instant Pot and each will give you easy and delicious results.
- To make shredded chicken in the slow cooker, add all the ingredients to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- To make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot, season the chicken on both sides with salt, black pepper, and garlic. Use the ‘Saute’ function to sear the meat lightly on both sides, then add all of the remaining ingredients. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 9 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes before manually releasing any remaining pressure.
What Is the Best Way to Shred Chicken?
One of the best kitchen hacks I’ve learned is the different ways to shred chicken. It can save you so much time and effort with just a couple of easy steps. Here are two different methods:
- Two fork method. The tried and true method to shred chicken or other proteins is pulling it apart with two forks. Easy and simple.
- Stand Mixer method. Add the paddle attachment and secure the mixer before adding in the chicken breasts, that way the attachment won’t jump up and down while its shredding the chicken. Make sure to shred the chicken on low speed for about 15-20 seconds or it can get mushy. You can also shred using a hand mixer.
Serving Suggestions
Once you’ve got your shredded chicken, there are so many ways you can use it! Here are some of my favorite recipes to make with it:
- Make enchiladas! White chicken enchiladas, easy chicken enchiladas, or enchiladas verdes are all great options.
- Use it as a filling for chicken taquitos, chicken enchilada soup, tostadas, flautas, gorditas, or sopes.
- Use it as a topping on bell pepper nachos, sheet pan nachos, or taco salad for a satisfying dinner.
Storing and Reheating
To store, place the shredded chicken and cooking liquid in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
To reheat, place the shredded chicken and cooking liquid in a microwave safe container and heat in 30 second increments until warmed.
More Chicken Recipes
If you tried this Shredded Chicken Recipe or any other recipe on Isabel Eats, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below! I love hearing about your experience making it!
Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast (sliced or pounded to ½ inch thickness)
- 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ white onion, diced (optional)
- 1 bay leaf, optional
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts evenly with the kosher salt, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken breasts for 3-4 minutes on both sides. (See Notes for different cooking methods.)
- Add the onion, bay leaf, and chicken broth. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Poach the chicken for 8-10 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165℉.
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a bowl and shred with two forks, or place it in the bowl of a stand mixer and shred on low speed using the paddle attachment.
- Add any of the cooking liquid from the skillet back into the bowl with shredded chicken and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately or store until ready to use.
Notes
- Optional ingredients: The onion and bay leaf are optional, but I like to add them to add even more flavor.
- Boiling instructions: Add the chicken, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion, bay leaf, and enough water to cover everything completely plus 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken, until it is fully cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 165°F.
- Slow cooker instructions: Season the chicken with kosher salt, garlic powder, and black pepper on both sides. Add the chicken and the rest of the ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Instant Pot instructions: Add all the ingredients to the pot. 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated with new photos and more helpful tips.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
Made this recipe with chicken thighs. Not only was the chicken cooked perfectly, but it made the most delicious chicken broth!
Turned out moist and delicious. Thanks so much for sharing oh and the aroma in the kitchen was amazing
Great recipe, since I was using it for enchiladas, added a little enchilada sauce!!
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!
I use a 5 1/2 qt Dutch oven. Good size for most recipes that use a Dutch oven, IMO.
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
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!
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!!
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 recipes
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!
Hi! Sorry about the confusion. The pot should be covered when cooking. Hope you enjoy!
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!
Worked out well following her recipe, easy shred, will store per her directions too with 1 cup of left over chicken stock.