These Shredded Chicken Recipes are anything but boring with five delicious flavour options that are all great for meal prep.
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How to make shredded chicken
There are several methods you can use to make juicy and flavourful shredded chicken. All these methods are easy, so choose the one that works best for you.
- Poaching – You can poach chicken on the stovetop. Just simmer it in water or chicken stock for about 20 minutes.
- Slow Cooker – If you want to start your meal in the morning and come home to fully cooked chicken that is ready to shred, make it in your crockpot. Cook the chicken on low power for eight hours. When you arrive home from work or school, the chicken will be ready to be shredded. This shredded chicken crockpot recipe is the most hands-off option.
- Instant Pot – If you need shredded chicken immediately, you can use your Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes then do a quick release of the pressure.
How to shred chicken
Chicken is the easiest to shred while it is warm. So, even if you plan to use the meat later in the week, I recommend shredding it as soon as possible after it finishes cooking. There are several ways you can shred it depending on what kitchen tools you have on hand.
- Forks – Warm chicken can be shredded using two forks. Hold one fork in each hand and use the tines to pull the cooked chicken apart.
- Stand Mixer – If you own an electric stand mixer, this may be the easiest way to shred chicken. Fit the mixer with a paddle attachment and add the cooked chicken to the mixing bowl. Turn on the mixer at medium speed and the paddle will shred the chicken for you.
- Food Processor – If you want more finely shredded chicken, you can use a food processor. However, it is important not to process the chicken for very long. Otherwise, you will end up with minced chicken or even chicken pate!
5 different shredded chicken flavours
Below you will find pictures of 5 different sauce combos for shredded chicken, and their associated simple meal idea. Here are the five flavours and meal ideas listed below:
- BBQ – I've added shredded BBQ chicken as part of a sandwich. Just add the BBQ chicken to a hamburger bun and then add some coleslaw on top. Easy peasy!
- Jerk-inspired – This chicken is perfect as part of a salad as you see pictured below. Add some diced red onion, red pepper, mango and lettuce, and you've got the most flavourful salad ever.
- Lemon oregano – The Greek-inspired chicken is pretty versatile but I enjoy it most as a wrap! Add it to a pita with some cucumber, red onion and other veggies. Tzatziki would also be a great addition!
- Chili lime – The most obvious choice for this type of chicken is tacos! Enjoy in corn or flour tortillas with some store-bought salsa, cilantro and red onion. Boom, dinner is served!
- Teriyaki – In order to keep this teriyaki chicken light, I've served it as part of a lettuce wrap. Add it to romaine lettuce, then add some shredded carrots and sesame seeds on top.
BBQ shredded chicken
Jerk-inspired shredded chicken
Lemon oregano shredded chicken
Chili lime shredded chicken
Teriyaki shredded chicken
What to make with shredded chicken
There are tons of things you can make with shredded chicken, which is why it's such a great meal prep option. I put together a few ideas if you're looking for inspiration.
- Use it to make chicken quesadillas or even a shredded chicken taco or burrito bowls
- Instead of cooking chicken fresh, use shredded chicken in meal prep bowls (browse the meal prep archives here)
- In a sandwich or wrap
- Add a cup or two of shredded chicken to a batch of soup (chicken noodle soup or chili immediately come to mind)
- As a topping for nachos, frozen fries or baked potatoes
- Toss shredded chicken with your favourite pasta and sauce for a quick and easy dinner
- Make a batch of chicken salad
Storing and reheating
Shredded chicken is great for meal prep, and you can even double, triple or quadruple this recipe. Shredded chicken will last in the fridge in an airtight glass container for up to four days. You can serve it cold or reheat it in the microwave or in a frying pan on the stovetop. To keep it from drying out, I recommend undercooking the chicken slightly when you're prepping it. You could also add a bit of water or extra sauce over top before reheating.
Freezing shredded chicken
Shredded chicken is super easy to freeze. When frozen in small portions, it’s a pre-measured boost of protein for soup, salad or pasta dishes.
To freeze, bring it to room temperature and freeze in individual portions (about 3/4 to 1 cup at a time) in freezer Ziploc bags or in glass bowls.
You can defrost in the fridge overnight or you can reheat in the microwave for 5-6 minutes. Be sure to sprinkle about 1 tbsp of water overtop if microwaving and stir halfway through the reheating time to avoid that pesky leftover chicken taste.
More chicken meal prep recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this shredded chicken into meal prep.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're marinating the chicken then freezing it.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Easy Shredded Chicken Recipes {5 Flavours!}
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
Chili lime
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp salt
BBQ
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Lemon oregano
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
Teriyaki
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
Jerk-inspired
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
Crockpot
- Add chicken and seasonings of choice to crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours, then remove chicken and shred before returning to the pot and giving a good stir.
- Serve as meals pictured in the post if desired - further instructions on how to use each type of shredded chicken are pictured above.
Instant Pot
- Add 1 cup water or chicken broth to the bottom of the Instant Pot then place in trivet. Add in chicken breasts and seasonings.
- Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure, or let the pressure release naturally for more tender chicken (will take about 20 minutes). Remove chicken and shred, then place back in pot and toss to combine.
- Serve as meals pictured in the post if desired - further instructions on how to use each type of shredded chicken are pictured above.
Stovetop
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stovetop. Add chicken then cook for 20 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.
- Remove chicken from water then shred chicken. Drain water from pot, then add chicken back to pot and mix in seasonings of choice.
- Serve as meals pictured in the post if desired - further instructions on how to use each type of shredded chicken are pictured above.
Video
Nutrition
*Nutritional info is for shredded chicken ONLY. Not including sides served with it*
Gina says
Can you cook chicken instant pot from frozen?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes! I actually have a great article on that: https://eatinginstantly.com/instant-pot-frozen-chicken-breasts/
Melanie Jean Shaw says
Will it be just as flavorful if I mix up and add the seasonings after the fact? I already cooked plain chicken tenderloins in the Crock-Pot and shredded them. I seasoned them with salt and pepper.
Taylor Stinson says
It will work to season them after 🙂
Karoline says
Hmmm I put 1lb chicken breast with the Mexican recipe and cooked on low for 8 hours over night and it was burnt really bad. What did I do wrong?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Karoline – I’m sorry to hear about this. That sounds very strange. I’m wondering if the chicken breasts were smaller in size or if the time went over by any chance? Hoping to troubleshoot this further.
Takira says
The same thing happened to me,. I cooked it in the crockpot but there wasn’t any liquid so I think it dried it out a bit. Was there supposed to be a direction to add liquid to the crockpot?
K Soff says
I found the Mexican seasoning to be a bit flat and too salty for my taste. But I love the inspiration offered here.
Molly says
The crock pot recipes don’t require any water?
Taylor Stinson says
No they do not! Chicken naturally releases some liquid so it doesn’t need water in the crockpot. The Instant Pot needs a bit of water to come to pressure so that’s why you see it listed.
Angie says
Do you put any kind of oil in the crockpot before you put the chicken in? I am worried the chicken would be dry and burnt up if no liquid was added to the crockpot
Taylor Stinson says
You don’t need oil in the crockpot (it won’t burn at such a low temp) but you can add some to the bottom if you’d like!
Sarah says
Wow! This is fantastic! This just cut my meal planning time for the month considerably! I can’t wait to make these! I’ll make them this evening and freeze for eating later this month!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you’ve found the post helpful Sarah!! 🙂
Sarah says
Hello,
I was wondering if the pound of chicken was to be split into 5 ways? or is it just a pound of chicken for each type of chicken?
I want to make each of them for meals this week but don’t know how much chicken to buy for the week.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Sarah – it’s 1lb of chicken per flavour. You could buy 5 chicken breasts, cook the chicken altogether and then separate into 5 portions and season with just a little bit of each spice as listed. Or, you could buy 5lbs of chicken then make each seasoning combo as listed. Hopefully that makes sense!
Nancy says
Hi i want to make this recipe but was wondering can i triple this recipe (have 3 hungry teenagers in my house) and if so how many min do i put my instant pot on for. I have an 8 quart . thanks
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Nancy – you can likely triple but I haven’t tried it myself. I would increase the cooking time to 15 minutes then do a natural pressure release. Hope that helps!
Tia Jenking says
Love these other options for chicken! Quick question, at what step do I mix the seasoning in for the instant pot?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Tia! You add them in at the beginning – I have updated the recipe. So sorry the instructions were unclear!
Liz says
Could you ease include times/cook setting for the instant pot? That’s the only thing you do t have anything for. Otherwise, these seem great!
Taylor Stinson says
Oh no! Sorry for not including the cooking time on the recipe card Liz! I have updated the post to reflect the cooking time for the Instant Pot 🙂