This shredded chicken recipe is quick, simple, and the chicken can be used 100 different ways.
I love keeping shredded chicken on hand for easy dinners. It’s perfect for chicken salad, tacos, soups, easy chicken pot pie, and my favorite green chicken enchiladas. With my easy stovetop shredded chicken recipe, you’ll have juicy, flavorful chicken ready in under an hour.
If you prefer a hands-off method, try our slow cooker shredded chicken, but for speed and flavor, this stovetop version is hard to beat.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: The best chicken for shredded chicken is boneless, skinless chicken thighs, as they stay extra tender, but chicken breast works well, too. You can even swap in turkey.
- Aromatics: Onion, garlic, and a bay leaf add so much flavor as the chicken simmers.
- Spices: A simple mix of salt, cumin, and black pepper keeps the chicken well-seasoned and versatile for all your favorite dishes.
- Water or Broth: Water works perfectly (the aromatics and spices add plenty of flavor), but feel free to use chicken broth or vegetable broth for even more flavor.
Find the full recipe with exact measurements below.
How to Make the Best Shredded Chicken
Tip 1: Simmer gently for tender chicken. The best way to make tender shredded chicken is to simmer it gently, similar to poaching chicken.
Place the chicken in a pot with onion, garlic, and spices, then add just enough water (or broth) to cover. Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender enough to shred easily with a fork.
Tip 2: Reduce the broth for more flavor. After cooking, remove the chicken and let it cool slightly before shredding. Return the cooking liquid to the stove and simmer until it reduces by one-third. Then, you can use some of it to spoon over the shredded chicken, making it extra juicy and flavorful. You’ll have some broth leftover, which I highly recommend saving for a bowl of soup (it’s delicious!).
Ways to Use Your Chicken
You can use this so many different dishes. Here are a few of my favorite shredded chicken recipes for inspiration:
- Chicken Nachos
- Green Chicken Enchiladas or Red Enchiladas
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Salad
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Chicken Pesto Quesadillas
Easy Shredded Chicken
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This is my favorite method for making shredded chicken. It’s quick and easy, and the chicken turns out tender, juicy, and flavorful. After cooking, we take one extra step and reduce the cooking liquid before spooning some over the shredded chicken. This easy step keeps our chicken moist and adds extra flavor. You’ll have some broth leftover, which I love turning into a soup (it’s really tasty!).
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
3 pounds boneless chicken thighs (1360g)
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Water
Directions
1Combine chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, cumin, and pepper in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the chicken. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, then remove any foam or scum that floats to the top.
2Adjust the heat so that the water simmers very gently around the chicken. Cook until the chicken is very tender, about 30 minutes.
3Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. When it is cool enough to handle, shred the meat with two forks or your fingers.
4While the chicken cools, boil the liquid left in the pot until it has reduced by one-third or until its flavor has concentrated.
5Spoon about 1 cup of the concentrated cooking liquid over the shredded chicken and toss to coat.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: The chicken and broth will keep refrigerated up to 4 days and can be frozen for 3 months.
- Skin-on chicken: We have made this recipe using boneless, skinless chicken thighs and chicken thighs with skin still attached. Both work very well. If you use chicken with skin, simply remove and discard the skin before you shred the chicken. You may also find that you need to skim some of the fat from the cooking broth before spooning it over the chicken.
- Leftover cooking liquid: You will have cooking liquid leftover. It is quite delicious on its own as a light soup. You can also use it as broth for other recipes. Or, if you’re keeping the chicken more than a day, add a spoonful or two to add a little extra moisture.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
I want to make pulled chicken sandwiches with the seasoning package. When do I put seasoning into the chicken thighs if I use a slow cooker. Thanks
You obviously haven’t had air-fried chicken skins! Once you do, you’ll never ‘discard’ the skin again. Just absolutely delicious, just salted when crisp. Oh and btw I’m making your chicken enchiladas for my birthday dinner can’t wait!
Sounds great, Vivian!
Can this be frozen and how long is it good for if frozen
Hi Laurie, You can freeze the chicken. It should be fine up to 3 months.
I have now been making your recipe for YEARS, it’s memorized. It’s amazing! Thank you!!
This is how I make shredded chicken for tacos or chicken salad. I keep the seasonings basic (onion, garlic, bay leaves). For tacos, I’ll add smoked paprika, chili and sometimes cinnamon when there’s about a quarter cup of water left. This is the first time I’ve seen “my method” anywhere. Usually recipes say to cube and pan fry or use a crockpot for shredded chicken. The secret is out!
So easy!! Tender shredded chicken in half an hour with chicken broth left over 🙂
I use this recipe all the time and the chicken is tender, easy to shred and declious. Thank You!
Delicious. The recipe results in a wonderfully flavored chicken without competing with how you choose to use it. We put ours on a whole wheat bun, with bbq sauce and avocado slices. Can’t wait to try the coleslaw recipe next. Thank you – this will be a weekly staple.
I used 12 bone in skin on chicken thighs and followed the directions exactly except I left the thighs whole instead of shredding…It was delicious! I kept some for me and gave away some…Never made it to shreds, we used it as whole thighs and just ate them…I used all the broth as a hot drink…I have made my own broth for years, this was the easiest ever, and didn’t dirty up the whole kitchen…Definitely 5 stars…
If I didn’t write the comment above, I could have…Made 10 chicken thighs last night and my house was fragrant all night…Some of them will be chicken salad with halved grapes and pecans, and some will end up in Taco Salad…That is, if any of it makes it to shreds…It usually doesn’t…I just eat the whole thigh, as my protein source…I moved, and temporarily misplaced my recipe, but luckily have it saved online…Thanks again for an easy, delicious and very useful take on chicken and broth…5 stars again…
Could I substitute boneless for bone-in chicken thighs?
Yes, absolutely.
This recipe was so easy and delicious! My boyfriend drank the broth as a soup and I froze the rest. Used it as broth in a later dish. The chicken was amazing and tender too!
Wow! …So good… Very tender, delicious chicken AND broth. Absolutely delicious!!! The broth is delectable on its own. The chicken came out great. I plan to use this in my Chicken Tinga Tacos and maybe even my Creamy Tuscany Chicken. It is so easy, with items you likely have on hand. Thank you so much for sharing this. Wow — Love It!
Could you make this in the Instant pot?
Hi Katrina, While we love the gentle cooking process of poaching the chicken thighs in our recipe above, you can use your Instant Pot to cook chicken thighs. I believe the cook time is 8 to 10 minutes depending on whether or not they are bone-in or not.
Using the recipe now
Would shredding the chicken work if you used the paddle attachment in a stand mixer? I’ve done that would pulled-pork and it works great.. Joe
Yes, absolutely!
Thanks for a fantastic recipe. It tastes sooo good, and the soup is delicious. Will never buy shredded chicken from the supermarket again! Well done!
Absolutely love this recipe, it’s made my whole house smell wonderful and made everyone feel excited for dinner tonight
Do you cover the chicken at any point during the cooking process?
No, we allow the poaching liquid to gently simmer around the chicken and leave the lid off of the pot.
LOVE this recipe!! I use it every time I need to make shredded chicken, and it’s a hit with my boyfriend as well as everyone who visits.
Can one use chicken stock instead of water? Is this overkill?
Hi Sherwin, chicken stock would add a bit more flavor, although water really does turn out nicely. If you have extra stock, go for it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t run to the store or make a homemade batch for this recipe specifically.
This is AMAZING! Since coming across this way of making shredded chicken, I’ve made 4 times. Thank you!!!
Excellent the chicken had a great flavor
The most tender and delicious chicken thighs I’ve ever eaten (the left <3 Will definitely make them again (and again and again…) The leftover broth was also yummy 🙂
Cant wait to try this, I love having shredded chicken in the fridge, i’ve recently found it even easier by shredding the chicken in my kitchen aid. It does a great job pretty quickly!
Hey Everyone,This recipe is far more than 5 stars it’s “over the moon scrumptious!” I added a touch more sour cream to reduce the heat a touch. But my son’s gobbled it up the way it was. What a restaurant quality meal at home. I loved everything from the chicken recipe to the enchilada recipe that followed. I saved out some of the chicken and soup and am going to try them in another recipe. Thanks for the yummy eats, Danna Lowe, cooking in Austin ?
How well does this freeze? Looks flavorful, and with the broth spooned on top I am sure it is moist. Just hoping to make a big batch for the freezer to keep shredded chicken on hand
Hi Karen, this freezes well. I’d freeze for up to 1 month (maybe more).
It was okay. Next time, I will add a tad bit more seasoning. The chicken wasn’t fall apart, oh-my-goodness chicken, however, it wasn’t tough either.
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