How many times have you been making dinner and thought, “This would be even better with chicken”? Unfortunately, this has happened to me more often than I would like. That is why I have started keeping some shredded chicken on hand. This recipe for slow cooker shredded chicken is so versatile and super easy.
I’ve used this shredded chicken in lots of recipes, including my Baked Chicken Taquitos and my Italian Pesto Sliders. Below is the filling for my Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas and is how it looks when adding cream cheese and cutting back on the broth. Check out the Additional Recipes section below for different variations and ways to use this versatile shredded chicken.
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts
- ½ cup chicken broth
Directions:
- If frozen, thaw chicken breasts first.
- Cut chicken into strips. (This is optional, it cooks faster this way!)
- Place chicken in slow cooker and cover with chicken broth. (If adding seasonings or cream cheese, now is the time!)
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Take chicken out of broth and shred with two forks or a hand blender.
Additional Recipes:
For any recipe that cuts back on the amount of broth, leave the chicken in the broth (and whatever else you add!) when you shred it. This is best done with a hand blender, as it will mix all the ingredients together too!
- For Creamy Green Chili Enchiladas or Baked Chicken Taquitos
- Cut back broth to 1/4 cup.
- Add ½ block of cream cheese (4 oz.) and taco seasonings.
- For Italian Pesto Sliders
- Add Italian seasoning in
slow cooker before cooking.
- Add Italian seasoning in
- For Buffalo Chicken Sliders
- Add 1 cup buffalo sauce, a packet of ranch seasoning, and 1/2 block of cream cheese (4 oz.)
- Leave out chicken broth, but make sure the buffalo sauce is fully covering the chicken breasts to keep them from drying out.
Tips:
- Shred Chicken by using a hand blender. (Be careful not to shred the side of your slow cooker!)
- If you want to shred the chicken in the slow cooker, you can take out some broth before shredding to make sure it’s not soupy.
- If adding cream cheese, only use 1/4 cup of broth unless otherwise noted.
- I’ve heard that you can put the chicken in the slow cooker frozen. I haven’t personally tried it, but if you do make sure to adjust cooking times!
I’m still learning, but this recipe is so easy that I don’t have to worry about messing it up. Get creative and tell me in the comments what you’re using your shredded chicken for.