Crock Pot Shredded Chicken
A big batch of tender, lightly seasoned chicken cooked low and slow, then shredded in its own juices. Serve some for Sunday dinner and portion the rest for four fast weeknight meals.
What you'll need
- 7.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (half breasts, half thighs), fully thawed
- 1.25 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1.25 teaspoons black pepper
- 1.25 teaspoons smoked or sweet paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups cooked rice (or 4 soft rolls), for serving Sunday dinner
How to make it
Stir the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and paprika together. Pat the chicken dry and rub the seasoning over every piece.
Lay the chicken in a 7-quart or larger slow cooker, thighs on the bottom and breasts on top. Pour the broth around the edges and tuck in the bay leaves. The cooker should be no more than two-thirds full; if yours is smaller, cook in two batches.
Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours, without lifting the lid. A full cooker takes longer, so start checking at the early end: the chicken is done when the thickest piece reads 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer and pulls apart easily.
Lift out the bay leaves. Shred the chicken right in the cooker with two forks, then stir it so every strand soaks up the juices.
Spoon about 4 cups of the chicken, with a ladle of juices, over rice or into soft rolls for tonight's dinner.
Divide the rest into four shallow containers with a spoonful of juices in each: 3 cups for Monday's salad, 4 cups for Tuesday's enchiladas, 3 cups for Wednesday's sandwiches and 3 cups for Thursday's quesadillas. Label them, let them stop steaming, and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Freeze Thursday's portion and move it to the fridge Wednesday night to thaw.
Chef's secrets
Use fully thawed chicken. Frozen chicken stays too long at unsafe temperatures in a slow cooker.
A mix of thighs and breasts stays juicier over several days than breasts alone.
Slow cookers run hot or cool by model, so trust the thermometer over the clock.
Keep a little cooking liquid with each portion; it stops the chicken drying out in the fridge.
Good to know
Refrigerate the cooked chicken within 2 hours of cooking, in shallow covered containers at 40 degrees F or colder. Cooked chicken keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, so a Sunday batch is good through Wednesday; freeze Thursday's portion (and any you will not use by then) and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Reheat leftovers until hot all the way through (165 degrees F).
This is the make-ahead. Cook it Sunday, keep three labeled portions in the fridge and one in the freezer, and Monday to Thursday dinners start with the hardest part already done.
- Monday: Chicken Green Salad (3 cups)
- Tuesday: Baked Chicken Enchiladas (4 cups)
- Wednesday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches (3 cups)
- Thursday: BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (3 cups)
