All-Purpose Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
This is one of the most popular recipes on Mountain Mama Cooks for good reason. It’s a super basic recipe but this All-Purpose Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken is something I make all the time because it’s so easy, so good, and so versatile!
SLOW COOKER CHICKEN FOR BUSY PEOPLE
It’s kinda funny that I’m a private chef and people literally pay me to make dinner for them and yet there are so many nights when I can’t get dinner on the table for my own family. I don’t even want to tell you how many times we’ve eaten cereal in the past week. I’ve been trying to come up with recipes that are 1) easy, 2) quick, and 3) relatively healthy. Recipes that can be made ahead and make the nighttime dinner grind easier on this ‘ol gal are an added bonus! This Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken is all of the above and a lifesaver for busy people with full schedules.
USING SHREDDED CHICKEN IN OTHER RECIPES
This isn’t so much a recipe to use on it’s own as it is a stepping stone to like a bazillion other ideas. This all purpose shredded chicken recipe is pretty darn versatile. The idea behind the recipe is that you make it once, freeze the chicken in portions, and then have it ready to go for quick weeknight dinners. Here are some of my favorite ideas to use the shredded chicken:
Weeknight Chicken Noodle Soup
Greek Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
Thai Chicken Wraps with Peanut Sauce
BBQ Chicken Tortilla Pizza
FREEZING THE SHREDDED CHICKEN FOR FUTURE USE
I usually cook like 6-8 chicken breasts. Way more than we need for dinner for our family of 4 but like I said above, I portion the chicken out and freeze it for later use. You could freeze the shredded chicken in glass containers or sturdy plastic containers but my favorite way to freeze the cooked chicken is in plastic bags. I have some awesome reusable ones. I like that I can get all the air out and the bags take up less space in the freezer. The chicken will last in the freezer for up to 2 months or so. Simply take it out a few hours before you want to use it and let it defrost. Easy peasy.
Have a great week and I’d love to hear in the comments what your favorite (EASY) weeknight dinners are! Thanks for reading!! xo, Kelley
photos by Kellie Hatcher/recipe by Mountain Mama Cooks
PrintAll-Purpose Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
A versatile, all-purpose shredded chicken that is made in the slow cooker. Perfect for making ahead and freezing until ready to use. Great for soups, stews, quesadillas and quick sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 4 organic, boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken in slow cooker.
- Sprinkle chicken breasts with all the spices. Add chicken stock. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken with two forks.
- Cool completely and if you want to freeze, divide into baggies or freezer friendly containers.
- This makes just about six cups total and I like to the shredded chicken into three portions with two cups each.
Notes
I posted this recipe years ago and recently updated the photos. The only difference between this recipe and the original is the addition of 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano. I left it out on this version but feel free to add that back in!
113 Comments
Oh man what a timesaver, I know exactly how you feel so I’m all over this. I’ve been on a soup binge and this would come in handy or for my lunch salads too. Or tacos. Or casserole. Or anything! Hope dude feels better.
Thanks girlfriend!!
Love, love, love this Kelley!! So great for all sorts of recipes and especially chicken soup. I’m so into soup these days. Another score my friend!!
We’ve been eating this in everything. It makes meal time so much easier!! LOVE the new avatar, btw. Gorgeous!
I love this Kelley! I have been doing slow cooker chicken every weekend for the last several and then using it all throughout the week. So perfect!
It’s so easy and a real time saver during the week. Great minds think alike!
Oh Kelley, I feel your pain! Walkin in your shoes….I am constantly blowing it when it comes to time management. This is a great idea. I have done it with ground beef, but never thought to do it with chicken. Thank you ; )
And now I get to thank you. I’ve never thought to do it with ground beef. 🙂
Yesssss. I’m actually making crock pot stock today. I’m already starving.
This looks PIMP.
Crock pot stock. What a fab idea!
I just made a big batch of slow cooker shredded chicken last night! It’s destined for enchiladas, chicken salad, and we had taco soup for dinner last night(which I’m now enjoying for lunch!). It is such a time saver, and so much cheaper and easier than using rotisserie chicken.
So much cheaper than rotisserie and I actually prefer the taste as well!
Everybody is in love! I just want to know what is 1/2 chicken stock!?
1/2 cup chicken stock. Thanks for catching the typo!
Love this! We make big batches of salsa chicken, but a more ‘plain’ chicken that can be used in so many more things, done deal!!!! I can’t wait to make this!
I love the idea of a salsa chicken too. We eat so much Tex-Mex around here we’d love that version too!
splendid idea! love that it freezes well and you can just whip it out whenever you need it. i’m busy busy with working full time so this is perfect for that type of lifestyle 🙂
It’s perfect just for that. Easy to through into just about anything!!
I can’t tell you how many times frozen shredded chicken has saved me. I don’t usually make it in the crock pot like this – I definitely need to try it!!
Deb, once you try it, you won’t go back. It’s SO easy!
Yaay, love using the slow cooker to make things like this.
From the slow cooking queen herself! 🙂
Such a great way to get ahead during this busy time of year! Hope your little guy is feeling better.
He is, thank you!!
Im always looking for more ideas for a slow cooker!
Ohhhh KELLEY! This is on my MUST make list for the weekend. What an amazing time AND $$ saver. I just love you! (I love you for more that this of course)
It is a time saver for sure. Makes weeknight dinners less painful! And I love you too 🙂
Looks great! Haven’t used a slow cooker in ages, maybe I should change that. =)
You should remedy that. The slow cooker is the best!!
i love anything that’s stock-pot friendly and can make more than one meal. totally making this next week and using it in EVERYTHING!
That’s what we do. We literally use it in everything!
My slow cooker has gotten more use in the past couple of weeks than I use to use it in a whole winter…thinks like this are why. I’m making a batch today; I feel ya when it comes to the time thing…and my kids don’t even live at home anymore!
I just made two soups that are on the blog this week that I made in a slow cooker and then froze portions to be reheated as I need them.
I love this recipe too; it includes braising an entire bag of onions in the crockpot; then they can be frozen and used as needed. A HUGE timesaver.
http://www.creative-culinary.com/2011/02/french-onion-soup-with-some-italian-style/
Thanks for the link!!
I have a bunch of roasted frozen tomatillo sauce, sooooo
I need to make some of this for green chili tacos!
Want to share some of the tomatillo sauce? I’d be a happy taste tester! 🙂
Love this! I am always so pulled in so many directions too, it’s hard to keep my brain on track. I need to make a big batch of this chicken in the beginning of the week and have it ready for those time when life throws us a curve ball.
Thrown in a tortilla with some of your blender salsa and dinner is served! 🙂
All-purpose?
Slow-cooker?
Count me in!!!!
Making this tomorrow…thanks for the great idea to freeze in portions.LOVE!
Great! It makes weeknight dinner so much less stressful, enjoy!
Thank you for this. I really love the simple “go to” stuff. I like to do make and freeze mini meatballs for similar purposes.
I do the same. I love being able to grab a few meatballs and throw them in with some sauce already made, of course, and dinner is a cinch!
Ilike this
To easily shred the chicken if you’re in a hurry, you can chuck still warm chicken into your kitchen aid mixer. Put in the paddle blade and mix! Shredded chicken in no time and without burning fingers.
🙂
Great tip, thanks!
I have a small, round, 2qt crock pot (crockette as it’s often called), but I’ve never actually used it. I make shredded chicken all the time, but i usually just bake it. How would I adjust the recipe?
Cut the recipe in half. Same cooking time though!
I love this recipe.
Would you consider adding a Pinterest pin? I would love to add this to Pinterest.
I’m in the processing of giving my site a makeover and a Pinterest pin over the photos will be included. Until then, you can add any picture by using adding the pin it bookmark to your browser!
Can I throw my chicken breasts in frozen? Or does it work best with fresh/thawed? Making this today!
I don’t see why you couldn’t use frozen though I’ve never actually tried it. I usually use fresh. Give it a go and let me know how it turns out!
I usually make my shredded chicken straight from frozen. Takes a bit longer than your quoted time. Usually about 6.5 to 7 hours. I’m going to try your seasonings out. The last batch of chicken I made came out pretty tasteless, not so good for salads…
P.S A box of Zataran’s Jambalaya mix is a perfect use for shredded chicken.
Thanks for the tips!
I use frozen all the time just because I usually haven’t thought ahead enough to buy fresh at the store. The way I do it though (because it’s kind of hard to season frozen chicken breasts) is by throwing them in the crock pot on low for about 1 1/2 hrs. To defrost them. Then, you can take them out, trim fat, discard any unwanted fat in crock, season and put them back in crock for another 2 1/2 – 4 1/2 hours. It works great, just takes a little more time up front, but for me, it’s nice to always keep chicken breasts in my freezer!
Marcy, did you ever try it with frozen chicken breasts? I want to try it, and don’t want to do it if it won’t work. Thanks!
Brittany –
It works great with frozen chicken breasts. Just add an hour to the time like Ben mentioned. My batch last night was great with the seasonings.
It’s hard isn’t it, cooking for others and then not having time to make dinner for yourself. When I was a private chef, there were so many nights I would come home from making a beautiful spread for my clients only to have popcorn for dinner by myself.
I love this idea of making a big batch of plain chicken that you can use for nearly anything. To shred it faster, you can use a potato masher instead of two forks. You don’t even have to take it out of the cooker, but it works best with smaller pieces, like quartered breasts. It’s a big time-saver.
Love the tip, thank you!
I discovered your site while looking for a slow cooker shredded chicken recipe – it turned out great! Lots of flavor and I am excited to make it again in the future. Thanks 🙂
One thing I have used the chicken in is a soup recipe from Cooking Light. The chicken really made this soup awesome! It was a big hit with my husband and our 3 and 1 year old kids. Here’s the link if you want to check it out: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-pasta-pea-soup-50400000115796/
Thanks for the link, looks delicious!
This may seem like a dumb question, but can you use broth instead of stock? .
Not a dumb question at all. Yes, you can use stock or broth!
Just what I was looking for. Shredded chicken quesadillas for dinner tonight!
Can I make a bigger batch? Would I double the whole recipe?
You could easily double the recipe. I make larger batches all the time and freeze the portioned out cooked chicken for quick use when I need it!
My sister does her chicken like this, but she shreds it in her Kitchen Aid mixer with the big plastic paddle attachment. Works like a charm!
When you say 4 chicken breasts who much is that pound wise?
I always buy from SAMs and they are huge there so I always go by pounds
I don’t want to over or under season it
Since I don’t weigh, this is just a estimated guess… I’m going to say @ 1.5 lbs.
The chicken is in the slow cooker as we speak. I am going to use some tonight for a chili bean rice casserole and freeze the rest. How do I reheat the frozen shredded chicken without it becoming dry? I would assume the microwave would dry it out. I’m kind of new to the cooking thing, but I’m learning! Thank you!
I would pull it out of the freezer the morning before you intend to use it and let it defrost in the fridge. When it’s totally thawed out, heat the chicken on medium-low in a sauté pan. If it seems dry, add a tablespoon or two of chicken stock or water.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that this was a HUGE hit at our gathering yesterday. My son plays in a band, and they were doing a show with a bunch of other bands who had been on the road for a while, probably living off of ramen noodles and the Dollar Menu. I made your chicken for sandwiches (brought along barbecue sauce and hot buffalo sauce), sloppy joes, mac and cheese, baked beans and coleslaw. The chicken was the first thing gone, along with the mac and cheese – turns out they were mixing the chicken and mac. Thanks so much for sharing – this is going into my permanent recipe file.
So glad to hear! Thanks for the kind comment and thank you for reading!
This is my go to recipe now for chicken! It’s so easy to make, easy to stock my freezer, and best of all, easy to make delicious meals with! I’ve used it in all sorts of casseroles and pasta dishes, cold and reheated…it brings all my dishes up a notch with its seasoning. Love it! I’ll never use another recipe for basic, all-purpose chicken again!
This recipe has come in so handy for me. Easy, hassle-free, tasty, all-purpose. I like all those words. I’ve been recommending it to all!
Can I double this recipe? Does the cooking time change? Thanks!
Double away. You might need to add an hour or so but everything else should be the same!
Would you double the broth amount also? Thanks for your reply.
I had no idea that slow cooked plain chicken could taste so good! I will never buy another rotisserie ever again! It’s in the slow cooker again as we speak! Thanks so much – this is a huge (and delicious!) time saver!
You are so welcome. Glad you like it! It’s so darn easy to make and SO versatile!!
Just finished this — WOW! I mean i know it said there would be a lot, but somehow 4 chicken breasts doesn’t seem like so much until I shredded it lol.
I know this is an older recipe, but I’m currently making it, and I had a question: Is the chicken stock suppose to completely cover the chicken? A lot of the chicken is sitting, uncovered, in the crock pot, and I didn’t know if it would cook evenly not being fully in the liquid. Thanks!
The stock doesn’t cover the chicken- it’ll be just fine!
Hi, how long will cooked shredded chicken last in the freezer? thanks!
Up to three months.
If frozen, when defrosted does it taste ok still in salads???? Also is the half a cup of stock enough or do I need to cover with more water???? Thanks
Frozen is ok, and 1/2 cup of liquid is plenty!
How do you keep your shredded chicken from getting freezer burn? That is my biggest issue with freezing chicken.
I put it in a ziplock container and let all the air out before sealing. I also use the chicken within a few months.
Found this recipe this morning, bought chicken, going in the slow cooker in 5 minutes. Thanks!!!
Enjoy!
I made this chicken for several of my go to recipes. Soups, pot pies, tacos, etc. After making this wonderful and delicious chicken I no longer buy a rotisserie chicken. I used thyme instead of oregano bc thats what I had in my pantry. It was beyond delishious. I’m actually making more today and love freezing it for grab and go meals in the future.
This is in my crock pot right now. We use a food saver to portion out everything. We have also used this recipe for shredded beef and pork. Just change out the seasonings and the kind of broth.
I made this today!!!! 7/10/2015…. So tender, so juicy and I used the “mixer trick”. Egg beaters to shred the chicken.. So easy even I could do it! This is a game changer for sure this fall. Beef , chicken, pork… Oh my
Do you use the juices or discard them?
I save the juices. There isn’t that much and I find it keeps the chicken moist when I reheat it.
I just did this, but with a bottle of dark lager beer for the liquid instead of chicken stock (didn’t have any of the good stuff and didn’t want to use a cube). It’s still a winner. Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious Recipe!
Thanks kelley
love Shredded Chicken!
I will give 100 out of 100 points to the Slow cooker.slow cooker is the perfect tool for this task.
Is there any reason this needs to be cooked on low? Could I cook it on high to reduce the time needed?
You could certainly cook it on high for less time. However I find that cooking chicken on high tends to try it out faster.
Used this for BBQ chicken my LO is still under the honey age and was perfect to pull some out for her, and add honey BBQ sauce to the rest!
How long does it store in the fridge for? If freezer, how do you defrost?
It will last 2-3 days in the fridge and freeze up to 6 months!
Hi there! I’m not really a fan of oregano, can you please suggest a substitute? Thank you!
You can simply omit it!
Hi! Cool recipe! Can I use water instead of stock? Training right now and don’t think I can have it. Also, any word if you can throw the breast in there frozen? Thanks and God Bless! AZ
Water is great! I use it often in this recipe.
I just found this recipe on Pinterest. It just came out of the slow cooker. Oh my goodness this is amazing!!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. I put them in frozen & let them cook for about an hour and half (like some one suggested). Drained the liquid and seasoned as recipe then cooked another 2 hours. It’s cooling now. Cannot wait to use. Thank you, thank you l, thank you. I so do not feel like cooking when I get home from work and this will be a time saving.
I’ve made it with leftover chicken bones as well!
Did you recently update this recipe? I really loved making this chicken the original way. Is it possible to get that recipe?
The recipe is the same. I just updated the photos!
Hello! Can you please repost the original recipe that included oregano and seasoned salt for the chicken? We love it! Thanks
This is the same recipe- just updated photos. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt if you like!