Shredded chicken is a healthy and delicious meat that can be used in a variety of dishes. It can be used in anything from tacos and burritos to salads, and sandwiches. It is also a great way to add protein to your diet.
Ready to get cooking but aren’t sure where to start? Never fear, we have 28 shredded chicken recipes to share, which are sure to please the whole family. Warming chicken pot pie for those blustery months, chicken tacos for Taco Tuesday, or a healthy salad for summer.
So fire up your grill or oven and get ready to enjoy some delicious shredded chicken recipes!
1. Shredded Chicken
Some of you might have been asking how you actually create shredded chicken to make all these delicious ideas? You’re in luck because Downshiftology details it well in this recipe. There is of course the cheat method, which is buying a rotisserie chicken and shredding it with a fork. But if you’re more of a purist, pan-frying boneless chicken and then poaching it for 10 minutes will leave you with chicken you can shred in minutes.
2. Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken
40 Aprons shows us how to cook up a storm with this delicious Mexican shredded chicken. It can be eaten as is for an intense protein hit, or used to top a rice bowl, added to a wrap, or a salad.
3. Shredded Chicken Tacos
Little Sunny Kitchen shares a delicious stove-top taco recipe, using soft flour tortillas and a classic tomato salsa. They make a lovely family meal as everyone can dish up and compile the tacos as they like them, with the fillings they please.
4. Baked Shredded Chicken Tacos
Food Dolls gives an alternate taco option, these are baked in the oven and are perfect if you don’t want a big clean up after eating. The biggest downside of taco night is all the bowls to wash up after! Pre-filling the tacos and baking them eliminates this, and also can be eaten later if anyone is later home.
5. Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Amanda Cooks and Styles uses a yummy red sauce for these cheesy enchiladas. If you use leftover shredded chicken for these it takes away a huge chunk of the cooking time as the meat is already ready to go. It just needs to be put together and baked!
6. BBQ Shredded Chicken
Baking Mischief shares how to create a delicious pot of barbecue-flavoured shredded chicken. This is great to batch cook as is so versatile. It can be eaten with rice, couscous, quinoa, salad, or used in a wrap or pita.
7. Crockpot Pulled Chicken Sandwich
Slow Cooker Meals shares how to make the chicken version of a pulled pork sandwich. The same delicious flavors but with chicken, stuffed inside a brioche bun with plenty of classic coleslaw.
8. Shredded Chicken Pot Pie
Natasha’s Kitchen demonstrates how to use shredded chicken, leftover or fresh, to whip up a homecooked chicken pot pie. Impress friends and family with the Martha Stewart vibes that come with home baking a pie!
9. Shredded Chicken Tetrazzini
This pasta and chicken dish is another wonderful way to use shredded chicken. Belly Full shares how to boost the protein content of a regular pasta dish by cooking a chicken tetrazzini.
10. Mexican Chicken Casserole
We’ve covered tacos and enchiladas, but 40 Aprons brings us a Mexican casserole! All the great flavors and ingredients but baked together in a casserole, easy for a weeknight meal.
11. Shredded Chicken and Rice Casserole
We don’t often think of rice in a casserole, usually, it would be in a risotto, but The Cook In Chicks pulls it off. The recipe uses onion soup mix giving it a really unique flavor, and cream of chicken soup for that creamy sauce. It uses minute rice so it cooks really quickly, perfect for when you need something wholesome but quickly!
12. Shredded BBQ Chicken Casserole
If you need some inspiration for what to do with your shredded BBQ chicken, Andi Anne gives a lovely recipe for a casserole. Sometimes you need a different flavor in a casserole than a creamy gravy!
13. Shredded Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers always seem like so much work but if you have leftover shredded chicken, these are a breeze to throw together. Taste and See demonstrates how to keep them moist and flavorful.
14. Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Zucchini Boats
You can almost forget you’re eating an entire zucchini with this delicious recipe. Midget Momma brings us bacon and ranch mixed with the chicken and we are totally on board with that combination.
15. Costo-style Shredded Chicken Salad
Making your own Costco salad at home amps up the nutrition level, as well as decreasing the fat content. 40 Aprons provides a delightful recipe that will make a great lunch and use up as much shredded chicken as you have on hand.
16. Southwest Chicken Salad
With Sweet Honey shares a sumptuous recipe for southwest chicken salad. Often southwest style foods are thrown into enchiladas or burritos, but this is a much healthier option that does not sacrifice on any flavor at all!
17. Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
Pregnant or not, let’s face it pickles are delicious. They are tangy and vinegary and hit the spot in the same way (maybe more so?) than salt and vinegar potato chips. The Skinnyish Dish shows us how to theme a chicken salad around dill pickles, and it’s 100% more satisfying than chips!
18. Chinese Bang Bang Chicken
Omnivore’s Cookbook shows us step by step how to take leftover shredded chicken and transform it into an Asian-inspired dish. You’ll never go back to Panda Express after trying this recipe, and your body will thank you for it!
19. Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
On an autumnal day, this creamy soup from The Cozy Cook is the perfect meal. Shredded chicken is perfect for tortilla soup, as it’s the perfect shape for a soup. That sounds a bit strange, but who wants big chunks of chicken in their soup? Shredding it is the perfect way to serve it up in a soup!
20. Pollo Mechado
This Venezeulan shredded chicken dish from All Recipes is a little different from your usual chicken recipes. It’s fun to mix it up with different worldly cuisines every now and then so you don’t get stuck in a flavor rut, and this is packed with plenty of vegetables to keep you healthy in the winter months!
21. Jerk Chicken Tacos with Mango-Lime Slaw
Charlotte Shares an adaptation of your usual chicken taco recipe. The jerk seasoning is delicious and makes a change from the usual paprika and cumin combo, and the mango-lime slaw added on top gives a beautiful sweet and sour flavor and a soft texture.
22. Shredded Chicken Noodle Casserole
If in doubt, make a casserole! Taste of the Frontier demonstrates how to throw together a noodle casserole with that leftover shredded chicken. As with most pasta/noodle dishes, it’s sure to be a winner for the whole family or if you have a few friends over. It can also be made ahead of time and then popped in the oven to cook when you’re ready.
23. Shredded Chicken Sheet Pan Nachos
A little rule of thumb in life, if you can make tacos with shredded chicken, you can make nachos. Life In The Lofthouse shares a great recipe where all the toppings are piled on the tortilla chips and naked together in the oven to create a delicious appetizer.
24. Couscous Chicken Soup
Soup Addict shares an interesting soup combination. We’ve all heard of lentils or beans in soup, but couscous? Not so common! However, it is so nutritionally dense, why not? If we can add other grains like wild rice to soup, why not couscous? Combined with the chicken, you’ve got a protein-packed meal, without any of the heavy carbs.
25. Vietnamese Chicken Salad
The Vietnamese get their flavors right, and Recipe Tin Eats knows this. This salad recipe is refreshing, crunchy, and satisfying, all at once. Asian food is notorious for being delicious but fattening, but with this salad recipe you’ll enjoy all of the deliciousness with none of the saturated fat.
26. Red Chicken Chili
Chili is a great meal to whip up if you are at a loose end, or have ingredients you want to use up. It’s so versatile you can make it with almost anything. Get On My Plate shares how to make a red chili with shredded chicken. This means it’s a tomato-based chili, which translates into being pretty healthy! Especially when using chicken instead of beef.
27. White Chicken Chili
The Cozy Cook shows us how to make a white chili, as opposed to the red above. This is a creamier recipe so if that’s what you’re craving, or perhaps need to build in some extra calories and a tomato-based just doesn’t work for you, this recipe is delicious and pretty easy to put together. Chili also freezes in batches really well.
28. BBQ Chicken Pizza
Finally, the last recipe is a beauty of a recipe. I Heart Naptime shares how to use shredded chicken on a pizza. There are many ways to make a chicken pizza, but how can you ever beat the BBQ chicken combo? If you disagree, that’s fine and you can go ahead with a tomato base. But if you’re a BBQ sauce fan, slather than on the base and enjoy a delicious homemade pizza!
And I’ll leave you with one of my favorite ways to use shredded chicken–chicken enchilada soup!
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped (110 g)
- 1 pound shredded chicken, 450 g
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (425 g)
- 4 cups chicken broth, 950 ml
- 2 stalks celery, chopped (120 g)
- 2 carrots, chopped (120 g)
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained (425 g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and oregano and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Add the chicken broth and tomatoes, stir very well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken and kidney beans, cook for 10 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
