Shredded Chicken in the Crock Pot

Three to five pounds of chicken, broth, and four seasonings in the crock pot — six to eight cups of shredded chicken, bagged and frozen for the weeks ahead.

I use shredded chicken in so many recipes. While I prefer to make it in the Instant Pot I totally understand that not every kitchen has one, although if you’re on the fence, they are so helpful to have. 🙂

Today, I’m teaching you how to make shredded chicken in the Crock Pot in bulk. This is a great way to make shredded chicken, as if you don’t use it all in one meal, you’ll have it for meals in the future.

I pull from that bag all week. Casseroles and soups take the biggest share of it, and the rest goes into quesadillas, tacos, burrito bowls, salads and enchiladas.

Anything that calls for cooked chicken is already halfway done.

This is the one thing I make on a Sunday that saves me on a Wednesday. Three to five pounds of chicken goes in the crock pot with broth and four seasonings, and eight hours later I have six to eight cups of shredded chicken to portion into freezer bags.

It is not really a dinner. It is the thing that makes four other dinners fast.

Why I Make It in Bulk

Having shredded chicken on hand is always a HUGE blessing for me. I make the shredded chicken in the Crock Pot and then store it in freezer baggies.

This makes it so easy to use for casseroles, soups and anything I need pre-cooked chicken for!

Breasts or Thighs?

Both work and I keep both in rotation, but I use them for diffrent things. Thighs have more flavor, so they go into soups and anything baked like enchiladas where the chicken is going to sit in sauce.

Breast meat is what I want for tacos, quesadillas and wraps, the things that are not going back into the oven. It is leaner and it does not compete with whatever else is going in the tortilla.

How Long It Takes

Season the chicken, lay it in the bottom of the crock pot, and add the broth. Low for six to eight hours is what I do most of the time because I can start it in the morning and forget it.

High for three to four hours works if you started late. The chicken comes out shreddable either way, so the only thing you are choosing is how much of your day it takes up.

The Hand Mixer Trick

Two forks work and that is how I did it for years. A hand mixer on low does the whole batch in about thirty seconds and gives you a more even shred.

Move the chicken to a bowl first. Do not run a mixer inside the ceramic crock pot insert, and use a deep bowl unless you want to find chicken on your backsplash later.

Portioning and Freezing

A batch works out to six to eight cups depending on how much chicken you started with. I bag it in portions of about two cups, which is what most of my casseroles and soups actually call for.

Shredded chicken keeps three to four days in the refrigerator and up to two months in the freezer. Use a zip-top bag and press the air out before you seal it, because that is what keeps it from drying out.

Shredded Chicken FAQ

Do I need to add liquid?

Yes. A cup of chicken broth goes in with the chicken.

It keeps the meat from drying out over a long cook and it gives you something flavorful to spoon over the shredded chicken afterward.

Can I season it differently?

The base is salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder, which is deliberately plain so the chicken works in anything. If you already know a batch is going into tacos, this is the point to add cumin and chili powder instead of deciding later.

How do I thaw it?

Overnight in the refrigerator is best if you thought ahead. If you did not, the bag goes in a bowl of cold water while I get everything else ready, and it is usually loose enough to break apart in twenty minutes.

Can I use frozen chicken?

I start with thawed chicken so the timing in this recipe holds. Frozen breasts will need longer and the times below stop being reliable, which defeats the point of a recipe you can walk away from.

Making chicken in bulk is the least exciting thing I do in the kitchen and probably the one that saves me the most time. A few bags of this in the freezer is the difference between cooking dinner and assembling it.

Seasoning It for What You Will Use It For

The salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in the recipe make a plain batch that works in anything. When I know where it is going, I season it on the way in.

Taco chicken

Add a tablespoon of chili powder and a teaspoon of cumin to the base seasoning. This batch goes into tacos, enchilada soup, and burrito bowls.

Italian chicken

A tablespoon of Italian seasoning with the base. This is the batch for chicken spaghetti, tetrazzini, and anything with a white sauce.

Ranch chicken

Half a packet of dry ranch mix in with the broth. It is a head start on crack chicken pasta and chicken bacon ranch casserole.

Barbecue chicken

Keep the seasoning plain and stir barbecue sauce into a bag of shredded chicken when you reheat it. Seasoned chicken fights with the sauce.

Crock Pot Size and How to Load It

Five pounds of chicken fits a six quart crock pot in two layers. Three pounds fits a four quart. Do not stack it three deep, because the middle layer cooks last and the bottom overcooks waiting.

Pour the cup of broth over the top after the chicken is in. It does not need to cover the meat. The chicken releases plenty of its own liquid.

How to Tell It Is Done

A breast is done when it reads 165 in the thickest part and pulls apart with a fork with no resistance. If a fork meets pink or rubbery meat, give it another thirty minutes.

Breasts are done on the early end of the range and thighs on the later end. Thighs can go the full eight hours and only get better.

Save the Cooking Liquid

The broth in the bottom of the crock pot is better than anything from a carton after six hours with the chicken. Strain it into a jar and refrigerate it.

It is the base for the next pot of soup, the liquid for a batch of rice, or the splash you add when reheating the chicken so it does not dry out.

Thawing and Using a Frozen Bag

Overnight in the refrigerator

The easiest way. Move a bag from the freezer to the fridge the night before and it is ready to use at dinner time.

Straight into soup

A frozen two cup bag can go straight into a simmering pot of soup. Break it up with a spoon as it thaws. It is fully warm in about ten minutes.

In the microwave

Defrost setting for three to four minutes for a two cup bag, stopping to break it up once. Then use it as you would fresh.

Keeping It From Drying Out

Shredded chicken dries out from reheating, not from cooking. Always reheat it with a spoonful of the saved broth or a splash of water, covered, and only until warm.

When you bag it for the freezer, add a tablespoon or two of the cooking liquid to each bag. It freezes into the chicken and keeps it moist.

Ten Dinners From One Batch

• Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
• Chicken Tetrazzini
• White Chicken Enchiladas
• Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
• Angel Chicken Rice Casserole
• Cold Asian Chicken Dip
• Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
• Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
• Crockpot Crack Chicken Pasta

A Batch Cooking Day

When I do this on a Sunday, I run the crock pot with five pounds of chicken while the oven is busy with a casserole and the stove has a pot of soup going.

By dinner there are four bags of chicken in the freezer, a casserole for Monday, and soup for Tuesday. That is the week handled in one afternoon.

More Questions I Get

Can I use frozen chicken?

Thaw it first. Frozen chicken sits in the danger zone too long in a slow cooker before it gets hot enough.

Can I use bone-in chicken?

Yes. Bone-in thighs make the best broth of all. Add thirty minutes and pull the bones and skin out before you shred.

Can I skip the broth?

I would not. The cup of broth keeps the bottom layer from scorching before the chicken releases its own liquid.

Can I shred it in the crock pot insert?

With forks, yes. With a hand mixer, move it to a bowl first. The beaters scratch the ceramic and the chicken flies.

How much is a serving?

Two cups is what most casseroles and soups call for, which is why I bag it that way. A five pound batch gives you three or four bags.