Learn how to make slow cooker shredded chicken, portion it, store it in the fridge or freezer and use it any time a recipe calls for shredded chicken. Bonus – 4 shredded chicken recipes with amazing different flavors.
Chicken meals happen all the time in my house. And for a good reason. Kids love them, Dustin and I love them, they are easy to prep and incredibly versatile.
Also, you know I like to prep food ahead of time and chicken meal prep is always so quick and easy. However, chicken can be boring if you're not creative enough with it. You know what type of chicken is never boring? Slow cooker chicken meal prep! I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, the slow cooker is this magical kitchen gadget that can make anything taste delicious. And the best thing about it is you don’t even have to try too hard. You just throw everything in and forget about it for a few hours.
Can it get better than that? I really don’t think so.
See where I’m going with this?
Chicken meal prep in the slow cooker!
Yes, but not any type of chicken meal prep but crockpot shredded chicken! YUM, right?
From how long to cook chicken in the crock pot to what to do with shredded chicken, you’ll learn everything there is to know about how to make shredded chicken today.
And don’t forget about the bonus!
FOUR shredded chicken recipes that are totes delicious and perfect for meal prep.
Shall we begin?
HOW TO MAKE SHREDDED CHICKEN MEAL PREP IN THE SLOW COOKER
Shredded chicken meal prep is really the easiest thing ever, especially if you’re using your slow cooker. To make slow cooker shredded chicken:
- put the chicken in the slow cooker;
- add seasoning and chicken broth;
- set the slow cooker and forget about it for a few hours;
- once the chicken is done, remove it from the slow cooker and shred it (more about how to shred chicken later);
- now, you can transfer the pulled chicken to meal prep containers and store in the fridge or in the freezer and grab any time you want a quick and delicious meal.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF CHICKEN
Everybody knows chicken is healthy. That’s why most people cook chicken all the time if they eat healthy. But what are the actual health benefits of chicken?
Well, chicken is…
- a low-fat protein that helps your body to maintain or build muscle mass;
- a great source of minerals including selenium. Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that helps defend the body against chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
- a good source of phosphorus. Phosphorus plays an important role in how our bodies use carbs. And it also helps repair cells and tissue.
- a good source of vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 helps your white blood cells to function properly.
- a good source of vitamin B3. Vitamin B3 lowers the cholesterol levels.
As you can see, chicken is more than good for you. It is actually AMAZING for you.
HOW TO COOK CHICKEN BREAST IN A SLOW COOKER
You probably know that the healthiest part of the chicken is the boneless, skinless chicken breast. It’s also the part with 0 carbs. Yes, ZERO. But more often than not, chicken breast is bland and dry. And you might be tempted to avoid it because of that. However, you shouldn’t. What you should do is to learn how to make slow cooker chicken breast and how long to cook chicken breast in crock pot. Once you do that you can say goodbye to the bland and dry chicken breast forever. Pinky promise!
And making slow cooker chicken breast is almost a hands-off deal. All you have to do is:
- dump the chicken in the slow cooker;
- add spices and seasonings;
- add chicken broth;
- set the slow cooker on low for approximately for 4-6 hours.
I find that it is better to cook chicken breast on low to prevent it from drying out. Also, you can always add some chicken thighs for extra flavor and to prevent the shredded chicken from becoming dry when you reheat it. That makes the perfect combination of health and flavor.
HOW TO SHRED CHICKEN
When it comes to how to shred chicken, you have 2 options. You can do it by hand or with a hand blender.
To shred chicken by hand:
- transfer the chicken from the slow cooker to a bowl;
- allow it to cool;
- then shred the chicken with 2 forks. Hold the chicken with one fork and pull apart with the other one.
To shred chicken with a hand blender:
- remove the chicken from extra sauce and liquid.
- place the chicken into a mixing bowl. I really recommend a deep one to prevent a mess.
- use a hand blender or a blender attachment to shred chicken.
WHAT TO DO WITH SHREDDED CHICKEN
The real question is… what to do with shredded chicken. Well, you can use slow cooker shredded chicken…
- in salads;
- in enchiladas;
- in sandwiches;
- with brown rice;
- with quinoa;
- in tacos;
- in nachos;
- in soups;
- or in lettuce wraps.
Seriously, the possibilities are endless. Especially when you experiment with different shredded chicken recipes to get different flavors.
MEAL PREPPING SHREDDED CHICKEN
Onto the shredded chicken recipes now. I have 4 delicious and flavorful shredded chicken recipes that are perfect for meal prep. If you follow these recipes, you’ll get juicy, flavorful, and tender chicken that’s perfect for any day of the week when you don’t have enough time to prep lunch or dinner from scratch.
1. SLOW COOKER BUFFALO SHREDDED CHICKEN
This Slow Cooker Buffalo Shredded Chicken is a spicy and tasty and has all the amazing flavors of buffalo chicken but it’s made with clean ingredients.
2. SLOW COOKER BBQ SHREDDED CHICKEN
This Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken is made with a healthy a delicious BBQ sauce that’s finger-licking good.
3. SLOW COOKER MEXICAN SHREDDED CHICKEN
If you love Mexican food, this Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken is for you. The Mexican Shredded Chicken is just perfect in tacos but it’s just as good in salads too.
4. SLOW COOKER SHREDDED CHICKEN
This classic Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken is great for any recipe that requires shredded chicken including chicken noodle soup, tacos or enchiladas.
HOW LONG DOES CHICKEN LAST?
Stored in airtight containers, shredded chicken last for…
- Up to 5 days in the fridge;
- And up to 6 months in the freezer.
When you’re ready to eat the shredded chicken, remove from the fridge and reheat in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes. Or for 3-4 minutes if you reheat it from frozen.
3 MORE HEALTHY SLOW COOKER CHICKEN RECIPES
I’m crazy about my slow cooker and I love to use it for meal prep. As I’m sure you can tell. And, of course, I have 3 more healthy slow cooker chicken recipes for you.
SLOW COOKER CHICKEN BURRITO BOWLS
Make slow cooker chicken meal prep easy with these Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls. They are the perfect low-carb alternative for burrito cravings.
Don’t worry, you still get the amazing textures and flavors of regular burritos. Get the recipe.
CROCK POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
Another slow cooker chicken meal prep I love is this Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup. It’s healthy enchilada so what’s not to love, right?
This Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup is rich, savory, and you can enjoy guilt-free. Get the recipe.
SLOW COOKER CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
I told you earlier that you can use the classic shredded chicken recipe to make chicken noodle soup. If you were wondering how, here is my Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup.
Made with zucchini noodles to cut down on carbs, this Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup is healthy comfort food in a bowl. Get the recipe.
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Meal Prep
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Meal Prep
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
Slow Cooker Buffalo Shredded Chicken
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (3 thighs)
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (3 thighs)
- 1 ½ tsps sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 4 oz can tomato sauce
- ¼ teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (3 thighs)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne Pepper
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (3 thighs)
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth or water
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, combine the ingredients, tossing to coat the chicken.
- Cover and cook for 4-6 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through. Using two forks, shred the chicken. Can also use a hand blender to quickly blend the chicken, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Monica from Bestconsumerratings
Looks so delicious, chicken is my family's favorite food, thank you for sharing the great recipe. I have one more delicious on my list, definitely try it your way. Looking forward to seeing more recipes, I will be back.
Tammy Kelley
Do you cook on high or low for the 4-6 hours?
Dustin
We cook on low. If cooking on high, you would need to decrease the time.
Nbraden
Lacey, I have made the Mexican chicken one and loved it! Today I am making the buffalo chicken one for camping this weekend. On the others you mentioned using in nachos, tacos and all, I was just wondering how you use your buffalo chicken recipe? I was thinking of course of salad, but thought you might have some other ideas?
Dustin
We love the idea of adding to a salad! I like to make wraps or juts have as it's own protein alongside bakes sweet potatoes 🙂
Abbey
Hello! Would the cooking time be the same if the chicken is going in the crockpot frozen? Thanks!!
Nelly
Hi!! I wanted to ask why does the BBQ chicken recipe has salt and black pepper listed twice ? I first added the 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp salt but then at the end it’s listed again in super small amounts .
Dustin
Sorry for the confusion! Lacey updated the recipe to only include it once - it was originally separated for the BBQ sauce and the chicken, but it can all be combined.
Dustin
It would require more time, as it will need to thaw. Our guess is an additional hour.
Ana
Hi Lacey, do you need to add any chicken stock to the recipes that don't list it? (i.e. the mexican style recipe)? At the beginning you mention it as the 3rd step, then don't include it in some of the recipes! Thanks in advance, recipes look great!
Lacey Baier
Hey Ana! Nope, just use the ingredients in the specific list -- it got a little tricky to share all 4 recipes in the same recipe card -- sorry for any confusion!
Techwhippet
Hi Lacey Baier,
Thanks for your best article about slow cooker shredded chicken.
Keep your good job.
Madison
How many servings does this make? I saw that a serving is one cup, but not how many servings it makes. I need 11 cups of shredded chicken for some postpartum meal prep!
Dustin
This makes 4 servings
Gabriel
How is the best way to thaw the frozen chicken? Especially if needed ASAP.
hoe
lick it till its hot
Roger
This is now my go to shredded chicken recipe. So simple but so good! Thank you for sharing this I’m glad I found it!
Rimmy
Sounds good, but has anyone made chicken salad with this?? Will it change taste, as I usually don’t put anything on chicken when I cook it for chicken salad except salt/pepper.
Confused
I didn’t want to read all the guff at the beginning of the recipe that enables you to put about 50 ads on your page. Do you need to add stock so that it does not dry out?
Dianne
That chowder looks incredible!! 🙂
Richard Tunner
This is an all time favorite! I have made this recipe countless times. Comes out great in the instapot as well as the crockpot.
Joyce
I’ll be trying them all thanks
Magestic
Did you add the chicken broth to any of your recipes such as the bbq one? This is confusing
Dustin
We only add the chicken broth to the basic shredded chicken recipe, as the others have additional ingredients that are liquids.
Robin McBlain
Do you add chicken broth to the Mexican chicken recipe? If so, how much?
Holly
Wondering the same thing..
Dustin
Nope, no chicken broth is needed 🙂
Drew
I don't see anywhere the amount of chicken broth to add, or does it depend upon how the chicken proceeds to cook?
Dustin
We only add the chicken broth to the basic Shredded Chicken recipe.
Dustin
Super helpful meal prep these really came in handy! 🙂
Beth Higinbotham
Lacey, I don't understand the logistics of this meal prep. Do you make each recipe in separate crock pots and therefor on separate days? I've reread this a couple times and I don't see how you can make all of these recipes in one day. Perhaps each recipe is meant to be an individual meal prep day. I love your site and it is my go-to for cooking ideas.
Lacey Baier
Sorry that was confusing, Beth! Each section is its own recipe so you would need to pick one of them and make that one in your slow cooker. You could make more than one at a time if you had more than one slow cooker 🙂
Denise
Lacey, if you freeze your shredded chicken, do you freeze in the glass bowls? Do you wrap them more? I hate freezer burnt looking meat so am trying to avoid that.
Lacey Baier
Denise, while the glass bowls are freezer safe, I prefer using freezer safe gallon size plastic bags to freeze my shredded chicken. I hate freezer burn, too, so I try to use them within a month or so just to be safe, but they will keep for longer than that.
Denise Rose
Okay thanks! I'm going to try this! I hate cooking chicken for some reason so this sounds much easier!
Joe
You can use a vacuum sealer and then plop the bags in a hot water bath as long as you want until are ready. At least 20 minutes to make sure it all gets heated. Never have to worry about it drying out or freezer burn. I did these in the instant pot about 6 breasts at a time and came here for suggestions how to use them... Enchiladas and nachos mmm