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Flavorful Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken is a great way to make simple chicken in the slow cooker that has plenty of flavor, and many different ways to use it and put together in less than 10 minutes.
Check out my slow cooker creamy chicken pasta, lemon chicken thighs, or a whole chicken recipe, all made in the slow cooker.
🔍 Quick Look: Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
- ⏰ Ready In: 5 hours
- 🛒 Recipe Ingredients: Chicken breast and simple seasonings
- 🍽️ Servings: 5-6
- 👩🍳 Difficulty: Easy
- 🧊 Make-Ahead Friendly: Freezer Friendly for 2 months, Stores for 4 days in fridge
- 📍Before You Make This: Use any broth you have on hand for added flavor
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
You are going to love this recipe as much as I do because there is truly so many great things about my juicy boneless skinless chicken breasts recipe.
- Only pantry ingredients needed
- Can cook all day for a quick dinner recipe during a busy weeknight
- Plenty of flavor while still knowing what is exactly in this chicken recipe
- Can be serve with rice, with veggies, or even as a simple chicken sandwich
For more sandwich recipes, my slow cooker chicken Philly sandwich or honey mustard sandwich are more great ways to use your slow cooker.
Made With Love,
Recipe substitutions:
If you want to keep this recipe super simple, feel free to leave out any seasonings you know that you are and your family don’t enjoy.
Chicken broth can be replaced with either water or vegetable broth.
Another easy chicken recipe is slow cooker chicken tacos, which are similar to this recipe but with a few different seasonings.
Key Ingredients:
- Chicken breast: When making this easy recipe, you can use either fresh or raw chicken breast in the crock pot
- Chicken broth: Often, people will use water for the cooking liquid, but I love to use chicken broth for easy added flavor to this
- Paprika: Paprika is a great way to add some spice to the chicken, however, you can always leave it out or switch it up with a little cayenne pepper
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Slow Cooker Recipes:
How to Make Shredded Chicken:
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning evenly over the chicken.
- Pour the chicken broth over the seasoned chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 5–6 hours, or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and transfer to a cutting board.
- Shred the chicken using two forks.
- Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to soak up the juices.
- Serve warm with roasted ranch potatoes or easy dinner rolls.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tips:
- Serve with avocado corn salad for a simple way to add veggies and color
- Always return the chicken to the cooking to keep the chicken from drying out
- Lessen the paprika for if your family isn’t a huge fan of spice (however, I don’t find this recipe to be very spicy)
- Add a block of cream cheese an hour before done cooking to get creamy chicken like my creamy chicken pasta
Storage Instructions:
Fridge: Put any leftover chicken into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Using a freezer safe container or freezer bags, store any leftover chicken in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ’s:
For this recipe, either fresh or frozen chicken will work with this recipe. I have made this recipe both ways, and it always turns out great. You can also use chicken thighs if you don’t have any chicken breast.
I cook chicken in the slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low for 2-4 hours on high when using raw chicken breasts.
For frozen chicken breast, I will add an hour to the cooking time.
Most of the time this is caused by undercooking the chicken. Be sure to give the chicken enough time to cook through to get tender and juicy.
Make sure to return the chicken back to the slow cooker and mix it into the juices. Then I always grab at least a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the cooking liquid when storing the chicken.
Easy Chicken Recipes:
If you liked Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken, make sure to tag me on Instagram @julia.pacheco.cooking and let us know how much you liked the recipes!
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ⅔ cup chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning evenly over the chicken.
- Pour the chicken broth over the seasoned chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 5–6 hours, or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and transfer to a cutting board.
- Shred the chicken using two forks.
- Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to soak up the juices.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- Always return the chicken to the cooking to keep the chicken from drying out
- Lessen the paprika for if your family isn’t a huge fan of spice (however, I don’t find this recipe to be very spicy)
- Add a block of cream cheese an hour before done cooking to get creamy chicken
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
