Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken: An Easy Way To Make Chicken

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Slow cooker shredded chicken is an easy way to cook chicken for use in soups, casseroles, sandwiches, salads or other recipes.

Need a super-easy way to cook chicken for all your recipes? Learn how to make slow cooker shredded chicken in today’s blog post.

Easy Shredded Chicken in a Crockpot

How to make slow cooker shredded chicken

It seems like nearly every recipe I make these days calls for cooked chicken of some sort. Preparing it allows me to make a huge batch at one time. I can either use the slow cooker shredded chicken immediately for that night’s dinner or freeze it for use in a recipe later.

It is so simple and easy to do — and because it starts with frozen chicken breasts, I don’t have to think about it in advance! I can just decide that morning to throw the chicken in my slow cooker or crockpot and let it cook all day.

What you need:

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Kitchen Tools Needed:

Ingredients

The entire recipe is in the printable card below. But first, here’s a quick list of what you will need from the store in order to make it.

That’s it!

In fact, you can use frozen chopped onion if you want to save time (and tears!).

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Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken: An Easy Way to Make Chicken

Slow cooker shredded chicken is an easy way to cook chicken for use in soups, casseroles, sandwiches, salads or other recipes.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: slow cooker shredded chicken
Servings: 12 Approximately 10 cups of cooked chicken, depending on the size of the chicken breasts you use.
Calories: 91kcal
Author: Carrie Ypma

Ingredients

  • 8 Frozen Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Chicken Bouillon Cube
  • 1 Onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1/4 teaspoon Pepper

Instructions

  • Lightly spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Place frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Depending on the shape and size of the slow cooker, this can be a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Just fit the chicken breasts as best you can. If the lid won’t close, come back and reposition the chicken breasts in an hour or two once the chicken has started to thaw.
  • Put chicken bouillon in water and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir with a fork to dissolve the chicken bouillon in the water and create a chicken broth.
  • Pour the chicken broth over the frozen chicken breasts. Top with the finely chopped onion and sprinkle with pepper.
  • Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for four hours. I find the longer you let it cook, the better it shreds.
  • Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 91kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 292mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 23IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag us on Instagram at @kenarryideas or leave us a comment rating below.

The slow cooker shredded chicken is now ready to use in your favorite soups, casseroles, and other recipes whenever it calls for cooked chicken.

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken on a red plate

How much shredded chicken will this make?

Eight chicken breasts will make approximately 10 cups of cooked chicken.

How to Freeze cooked shredded chicken

I freeze any I’m not going to use that night for dinner. I typically divide the shredded chicken into 2 1/2 cup to 3 cup portions, vacuum seal and freeze it.

We love to use our FoodSaver V2240 to vacuum seal anything we’re going to freeze. That model is no longer available. The latest version is the FoodSaver V2244.

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken: An Easy Way to Make Chicken - Kenarry.com

Suggested Recipe Ideas for Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

I’ve found that this is really foundational to many, many recipes. In addition to using chicken in soups, casseroles and other main dishes, here are some suggestions:

  • BBQ Chicken Sandwiches: Serve it on buns and top with barbecue sauce.
  • Salad Topped with Chicken: Chill it, then toss it on a bed of lettuce along with cheese, carrots, tomatoes, and other vegetables to have a delicious salad for dinner.
  • Chicken Salad: Mix it with mayonnaise, mustard, and spices to create a tasty chicken salad.
  • Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Melts
  • Easy Chicken Verde Enchiladas

What are your favorite ways to use shredded chicken? Please comment and share your ideas below.

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What’s Next?

While you’re here, be sure to check out these other Easy Dinner Ideas on Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® –

Originally published February 2014. Updated March 2020.

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21 Comments

  1. Visiting from Tasty Tuesday! Thanks for posting this! I’m not a whiz in the kitchen, I work full time and anything to make life a little easier for me in the kitchen is more than welcomed!

    1. Thanks for visiting, Lisa! I’m a big fan of easy ideas for the kitchen too. Hopefully this will help make those work days a little easier for you. Enjoy!

  2. I also put chicken in the crockpot so that we have ready to use chicken for recipes such as casseroles. Thanks for the post
    Stopped by from the SITS Girls linkup

    1. Isn’t it convenient! Do you follow a similar recipe/process or do you use any different ingredients? Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Tamara!

    1. Welcome, Amy! I’m so glad you came by from Best of the Weekend. I hope the idea of freezing the chicken to use for other recipes helps save you some time in the kitchen. Have a great weekend!

  3. Oh this is so smart! I make it in the slow cooker all the time, but never thought to freeze it like I do my taco and fajita meats. So convenient!!

    One tip I have for shredding chicken: use your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Just put the warm chicken in the mixer bowl straight from the crock pot, turn it on low speed for around 10 seconds and it’s all done and shredded just like that. Great for doing huge batches like this. You will never use forks again!

  4. I do chicken in the crockpot all the time but it never turns out very moist. You’re looked very moist, I’m going to have to try this one. I LOVE making a lot of leftovers to freeze. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

    1. Hi Carly, my chicken does turn out very moist. I think the frozen chicken breasts and extra water help with that. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

    1. Let me know what you think, Carrie! It is so easy to do. I find the chicken turns out moist, the house smells delicious and the chicken can be used in a multitude of recipes.

  5. Would love to try this and freeze for some yummy chicken salad sandwiches. Those vacuum sealers look really handy too – will have to remember to add that to my shopping list for the week!

    1. Ana, thanks for coming by to check out the recipe for slow cooker shredded chicken. It will be a big time saver for you. We love the vacuum sealer. It really makes the food last longer in the freezer and helps keep it from getting freezer burned.

  6. We eat chicken a lot also, and I don’t know why I never think to make it in the crockpot. Thanks for this.

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