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You guys, this dinner hack is so easy, that it’s sort of a no brainer. I had to share because it’s one of my absolute favorite ways to stay sane and a super helpful way to get rushed weeknight meals on the table.
To keep my family out of the drive-thru and the delivery driver away from our house, I always have bags of already cooked and shredded chicken breasts in my freezer.
There are so many uses for shredded chicken that you can seriously never have too much of this chicken stockpiled! It’s perfect for those nights when you’ve totally spaced dinner.
Here’s what you do:
Hit up Costco or Sam’s Club or your favorite grocery store and buy a huge pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can use thighs if that’s what you prefer.
I generally buy around 6 pounds at a time.
Dump the chicken into your slow cooker, add a cup of chicken broth, set it to low, and let the chicken cook for 6-8 hours. I don’t add any additional seasonings so that it’s a blank slate and I can use it in whatever recipe I like.
After the chicken is cooked through, I just remove it with tongs to the bowl of my stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. I load the bowl up (I can fit all 6 pounds in my mixer, but it’s probably easier and a bit less messy to do this in two batches – I’m too impatient for that, though.) and turn the mixer to low. It seriously only takes a minute and you have perfectly shredded chicken breast that you can use in a variety of ways.
It’s the EASIEST way to shred chicken!
You can even do this with a hand mixer, just be sure to start on low speed and use a big bowl so you’re not flinging chicken everywhere.
I portion the shredded meat into small baggies (one sandwich sized baggie is enough meat for one meal for my family of four and I usually get 7 baggies full out of 6 pounds of chicken) and place them all into one large freezer bag. The meat will keep for months in your freezer!
To thaw, just pop it in the fridge in the morning before work. Or, if you’re like me and constantly forget to thaw things, you can totally use your microwave to defrost the cooked chicken!
Looking for some recipes to use up your shredded chicken? I’ve got you covered!
Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
South Carolina Yellow Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Chicken Pot Pie
Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Pesto Chicken Panini
Chicken & Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Corn and Chicken Chowder
Penne Alfredo with Bacon and Broccoli (add shredded chicken!)
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Chicken Tamale Casserole
Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
More shredded chicken recipes from around the web:
Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese by Taste and Tell
Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla Pie by Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Easy Peasy Chicken Pot Pie by Bluebonnets and Brownies
Tex Mex Chicken White Cheddar Spaghetti by Lauren’s Latest
Thai Chicken Pizza by The Novice Chef
Crockpot Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 pounds fresh chicken breast
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon cracked pepper
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts, broth, and seasoning to the crockpot and cover.
- Set to low and cook 6-8 hours.
- To shred with a stand mixer: Remove chicken to the bowl of a stand mixer while still hot. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer to low and let the mixer shred the meat. (Do this in two batches to keep the chicken from flying out of your mixer, if needed.)To shred with a hand mixer: Remove chicken to a large mixing bowl and place a hand mixer fitted with the standard whisk attachments down into the bowl. Turn to low speed and move the mixer around slowly to shred the chicken.To shred by hand: Remove the chicken to a large bowl, one piece at a time, and shred by hand using two forks until chicken is as finely shred as you'd like.
- Separate meat into small baggies. I do 7 baggies worth of meat out of 6 pounds of chicken and each bag has enough meat for one meal for my family of 4, but you may do more or less depending on your preferences. Be sure to press out as much air as possible.
- Place the smaller baggies into a larger freezer bag and freeze until ready to use.
- Defrost overnight in the refrigerator or microwave in short 30 second bursts until thawed enough to break apart and remove from the bag before using.
Linda Dalum says
Hello! At the intro of this recipe, you say to add 6 pounds of chicken and a cup of broth but the actual recipe says 1/2 cup broth. Can you please clarify? Thanks!
Karly Campbell says
Oh sorry about that! A 1/2 cup is plenty! The chicken releases lots of juice as it cooks. ๐
Linda Dalum says
Thank you so much! ?
Linda Dalum says
I don’t know how the question mark got at the end of the previous comment, but I’m truly thankful! ๐
Sharon Gordon says
I never even thought about putting the cooked chicken in my large
mixer to shred the chicken in a large amount. Thank you so much
for this hack! Can’t wait to go to Sam’s club to try this out!
Karly says
It’s going to be a game changer! ๐
Cheryl says
I never thought of doing this in large quantities, so thank you very much!
Karly says
Hope it’s helpful!
Britney Schweinefus says
Love love your recipes!! For this if Iโm making less chicken do I reduce the amount of time in the crockpot?? Thanks so much!
Karly says
Hi Britney! The cook time should be about the same regardless. All crockpots cook differently though, so you really just want to cook until the chicken easily shreds apart with a fork. ๐
Britney Schweinefus says
Awesome thanks!!
Wendy Barnett says
Thank You
Carla Skidmore says
I love recipes using chicken, pork, or shrimp, but what is with the shredding, unless, of course, someone has had dental surgery or is without their teeth?
Karly says
We like to use shredded meat that’s already been cooked in dishes to keep things quick and easy when prepping. You could also chop the meat, rather than shred it if you prefer.
Roe says
Wish I would have found you sooner, I love your sight and I now will be making a lot of new recipes and also quick, can’t wait to see you quick tricks.
Karly says
Thanks, Roe!
Sylvia Russell says
What a great idea. I am sure going to try this. Thank you for the Hack
Ashley Michelle Bolen says
This isn’t related to chicken. I just thought someone could use this useful little hint. Instead of freezing ground beef in the package (or if you buy big packs and divide it) I put 1 lb in quart freezer bags and flatten it out squeezing the air out as I do. It not only saves space in the freezer but it also takes way less time to thaw.
Karly says
Great tip!
Lin Johnson says
Hey. Just wanted to say I am a new subscriber and I am totally amazed and happy I found you! I am also new to cooking and looking forward to trying some of your recipes. This freezing shredding chicken is such a good idea. I am going to try this today. I recently retired and finally have the time to try some new things. Cooking is one of them. Just wanted to say THANKS.
Lin Johnson
Oklahoma
Karly says
Hi Lin!! Congrats on the retirement – what an exciting time for you! Hope you find this little trick useful – it’s a life saver for us. ๐ Enjoy!
trish says
What a brilliant hack! Have you tried doing this with a skin-on chicken, like for leftover roasted chicken?
Karly says
I haven’t tried it! I think I’d probably remove the skin before adding to the mixer, but it may work fine either way. ๐
Kasey says
Recipe looks fantastic! Can’t wait to make it on one of these super hot days we have forecasted coming up.ย
? Karly, do you know if you can shred beef in a stand mixer using the paddle, as well? It would sure make prepping ย beef for my Beefย BBQ a lot easier.ย
Karly says
I’ve never tried beef, but a pork shoulder worked well so I imagine beef would too! ๐
Mikie says
Yes you can as long as it is tender enough.
Arwen says
Hi do you have the link to the stand mixer you recommend?
Karly says
Any KitchenAid mixer works amazing! Here’s the one I use: http://amzn.to/2hrf0ba
Linda Weeks says
that looks like what my mother made, she called them croquettes from ground turkey after Thanksgiving. she really enjoyed them. some white sauce like a roux on top. freeze well too.