This simple recipe takes only a few minutes to get into the pot, cooks while you go about your day and will reward you with meals all week. Use the shredded chicken as is or in one of the flavorful variations below. Either way, it’s great for salads, sandwiches, pastas, quesadillas, tacos, soups or as a pizza or flatbread topping.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 6 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 10 min |
| Yield: | about 6 cups shredded chicken |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 6 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 10 min |
| Yield: | about 6 cups shredded chicken |
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 strips lemon peel, removed with a vegetable peeler, optional
- 1 bay leaf, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Lay the chicken breasts in an even layer in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add the broth, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon peel and bay leaf if using. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a large bowl. Use 2 forks to pull it into shreds. Strain the cooking broth and drizzle about 1/2 cup over the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. If not using the chicken immediately, refrigerate it in an airtight container. Refrigerate the remaining cooking broth separately and use it to moisten the chicken when serving. Or add it to soups and sauces.
- Buffalo: Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and whisk in 3 tablespoons Buffalo-style hot sauce. Drizzle over 2 cups shredded chicken and toss well.
- Lemon Herb: Drizzle 2 cups shredded chicken with 1/4 cup of the cooking broth and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1 teaspoon dried dill. Season with salt and pepper and toss well.
- Barbecue: Warm 1/4 cup of the cooking broth in a small saucepan and whisk in 1/4 cup barbecue sauce. Pour over 2 cups shredded chicken and toss well.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 230 |
| Total Fat | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 0 g |
| Protein | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 124 mg |
| Sodium | 512 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 230 |
| Total Fat | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 0 g |
| Protein | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 124 mg |
| Sodium | 512 mg |
Reviews
Best AND easiest shredded chicken hands down. It makes a delicious stock which I freeze and save for homemade soups. The shredded chicken can be used to make pulled chicken sandwiches with your favorite sauce, then use the leftovers and season as needed to make sheet pan nachos, or a quick chicken pot pie!
Excellent! Cut my chicken breasts in half to cook them quickly. Great week night meal!
If I use frozen chicken breasts, can I put them in still frozen or do I need to defrost them first?
Please remember when commenting not everyone has the same luxuries as everyone else.
I don’t waste time with shredding chicken breasts with forks, I remove skin and bones, if applicable, and place the breasts in a bowl or pan large enuf so it doesn’t fly out of the container while I use my electic hand mixer to shred the chicken. Takes a minute or less and does a supberb job. Just do this while the chicken is still warm, doesn’t work very well with cold meat.
I have been making shredded chicken for years, only I use a pressure cooker. Throw in a few chicken breasts ( about 6 medium sized breasts ) it will take about 45-50 minutes. not 3 hours, 2 cups chicken stock. When it’s done, you have enough chicken for a weeks worth of different meals. Keep life simple☺️
Doubled the recipe, cooked on High for 3 hrs. & left on warm for an hr. Thought for sure it would be dry yet it was so tender it shredded with one fork. Whole family loved this one.
Great way to elevate chicken breasts. Delicious!
Simple to do once a week and have easy go to chicken for all sorts of dishes! Also simple to add anything to the crockpot… additional spices, garlic, onion, veggies like carrots & potatoes. Use 1/3 c. Each this chicken, broth, & puréed salsa for an EZ tortilla soup too!
This recipe was great! I didn’t use the lemon and instead added a few different spices so that I could use the chicken in different types of dishes. I used it to make pita pockets, quesadillas and I mixed it in with some mushroom risotto. It was really nice having a protein on hand all week that was already cooked I just added specific ingredients to what I needed depending on what I was making with it. Super versatile, convenient and easy.