It can be cooked in the oven, crockpot, instant pot, or even on the stove. It’s always great to have ready to go for adding to recipes or even for making soups, salads, and sandwiches.
Make Shredded Chicken at Home
Chicken is a low-fat, low-calorie, and low-carb protein that can be added to almost any main dish recipe. It’s quick and easy to make at home and costs less than buying it. It’s perfect for soups, salads, chicken casseroles, and more. Change up the seasonings to change up the flavor.
Ingredients Needed for Shredded Chicken
CHICKEN (of course!): Boneless, skinless chicken breast is preferred as they have lots of meat and work well in most recipes. Boneless chicken thighs will work too. If you have bone in chicken breasts (or split chicken breasts) remove the skin before baking and season the meat. Once cooked, remove the breast from the bone and shred as directed below. SEASONINGS: This recipe makes an all-purpose shredded chicken so we’ve kept the seasonings simple. This allows for the chicken to blend well in most recipes. Garlic powder, onion powder, and a dash of salt and pepper are flavorful and delicious. VARIATIONS: Swap up the seasonings with any of the following:
taco seasoning cajun seasoning ranch dressing mix Italian seasoning Greek seasoning poultry seasoning chicken seasoning
How to Make Shredded Chicken
Crockpot Shredded Chicken:
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken (fresh or frozen):
These make great Instant Pot shredded chicken tacos too!
Other Ways to Cook Chicken for Shredding:
Oven Baked Chicken Breasts How to Make Poached Chicken Air Fryer Chicken Breasts Air Fryer Whole Chicken Easy Grilled Chicken Breast Spatchcock a Chicken
How to Shred Chicken
There are many methods for shredding chicken. The secret to shredding chicken quickly is a hand mixer (or stand mixer). For finer shredded chicken: If you’d like a finer texture, the best way to shred chicken is with a mixer because it is both easy and fast. Place the warm chicken in a bowl and use a hand mixer (the same one you use for creaming butter for cookies) on low speed. Shred the chicken with the mixer just until shredded (this goes really fast, do not over-shred). This also works in a stand mixer. For chunky shredded chicken: If you’d prefer thicker bits of shredded chicken, use two forks (like you would shred pulled pork) or break the chicken breasts apart with your hands.
Storage and Freezing
FRIDGE: Keep shredded chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container and use it for meal prep throughout the week. It will stay fresh for 4-5 days. FREEZER: Make an extra batch (or three) and freeze in individual zippered bags for quick and easy meals on the go. Chicken can be frozen for up to 2 months.
What to Do with Shredded Chicken
Classic Chicken Salad Chicken Pot Pie Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad – light & tasty lunch Creamy Chicken Enchiladas Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip – party perfect Loaded Chicken Nachos Chicken Lasagna Roll-Ups – so cheesy & flavorful
What’s your fave way to make Shredded Chicken? Leave us a comment below! © SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
