Meal prep just got easier with simple, hands-off dutch oven shredded chicken. It's a great way to prep for healthy eating throughout the week!
Plain dutch oven shredded chicken is a staple in my kitchen for quick, easy meal prep. It's faster than a slow cooker and makes moist, tender shredded chicken breasts every time!
Quick Look: Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken
⏲️Ready In: 35 minutes
🍽Servings: 4-6 servings
🥗Nutrition: 282 Calories/ 51g Protein
🥘Main Ingredients: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
📋Dietary Notes: Gluten free, Grain free, Nut free, Dairy free
⭐Why You'll Love It: This is an easy way to prep shredded chicken for meal prep or for use in other recipes!
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This easy Dutch oven shredded chicken can be used in all sorts of other recipes like Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Egg Bake or Chicken Bacon Ranch Spaghetti Squash Casserole!
For more easy ways to prep chicken, look to Easy Poached Chicken Breast and Easy Cast Iron Chicken Breast!
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Why use a dutch oven?
Why a dutch oven? There are many recipes out there for slow cooker shredded chicken, but I've found that I prefer using my dutch oven for nearly everything.
Dutch oven shredded chicken only takes 30-40 or so minutes of your time (as opposed to 4 to 5 hours in a slow cooker).
Yes, the dutch oven method is slower than boiling the chicken. But boiled chicken is tough and rubbery. NOT GREAT. Dutch oven chicken is definitely the way to go.
Top tips for dutch oven shredded chicken
This couldn't be simpler.
Preheat the oven to 350. I drizzle just a bit of extra virgin olive oil into my dutch oven. You can totally skip this step. I only do it to prevent the chicken from leaving residue...it makes cleaning that much easier. But since my dutch oven is already enameled, it doesn't stick much anyway.
Nestle in the chicken breasts. Try to avoid too much overlap so each breast cooks evenly. If you pile chicken breasts on top of one another, the cooking time will change.
Sprinkle on some salt. A teaspoon or so should do it.
Put the cover on the dutch oven and pop in the oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Cook until the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165 degrees F. Shred those babies with two forks. DONE.
How to re-use prepped shredded chicken
Okay, so you've prepped your chicken with this recipe for fast, versatile protein throughout your week. Now what?
You can use shredded chicken for every single meal if you're creative and resourceful!
Use these ideas to get you started:
- Salads like Crunchy Thai Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Frittatas
- Egg bakes like my favorite high protein Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Egg Bake
- Casseroles
- Tacos - try Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Pickled Onions!
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on it and eat it as-is
- Toss it in dressing (like ranch or Homemade Peach BBQ Sauce) and pair with veggies for a quick lunch
The best dutch oven to have in your kitchen
Obviously, to make this recipe you've got to have a dutch oven on hand. The main reason I LOVE dutch ovens: you can use them both on the stovetop and in the oven. Coincidentally, that's the main reason I love cast iron in general!
So, get yourself a dutch oven that will last you for many, many years of creating in the kitchen. Fortunately, it doesn't have to cost too much - a Lodge cast iron dutch oven is a great choice!
I recently upgraded to a Misen enameled Dutch oven and I LOVE it. Misen is one of my go-to brands for kitchen essentials. I highly recommend checking them out!
How to prevent shredded chicken from drying out
When I've made shredded chicken in a dutch oven, I haven't found this to be a huge problem. Because you're cooking at a lower heat and the Dutch oven is covered, the moisture stays trapped inside.
However, if you don't get the same results, you can add ¼ cup of chicken broth or water (but preferably chicken broth) to the Dutch oven before you start cooking. Just make sure to drain any excess liquid after shredding!
Recipes that use shredded chicken:
Have more ideas on how to use dutch oven shredded chicken? Let me know how you used it in the comments below, or tag me on Instagram!
Print📖 Recipe
Easy Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Braised
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make shredded chicken in your dutch oven! Faster than a slow cooker and perfectly juicy, you'll be surprised how easy it is to prep a bunch of shredded chicken in under an hour.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
- 2 - 2.5 pounds chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- (Optional) Grease the bottom of the dutch oven with olive oil. I do this just to prevent any and all sticking, but many dutch ovens are enameled so it's not entirely necessary.
- Place chicken breasts in the dutch oven. Try not to overlap too much (overlap could result in extra cooking time). Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt.
- Cover the dutch oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until chicken breasts are cooked through. Shred using two forks.
Notes
The wonderful thing about this "recipe" is how easy it is to play around with it. I've used the same method, but for 40 or so minutes at 300 degrees F. If 30 minutes at 350 degrees F isn't floating your boat, play around with the cooking temp and times (always being sure to fully cook the chicken) to figure out what makes your perfect shredded chicken.
Cyndi says
Can I do this with split breadts?
Chelsea Joy says
Hi Cyndi - yes, the method should be the same! The cook time may differ a bit, though.
RR says
Followed the recipe exactly, and the chicken came out moist and delicious! Will definitely use this method again in the future.
Chelsea Joy says
Natalie says
Hi Chelsea! Have you tried this method with frozen chicken breasts? My dilemma is that I don't always remember to pull out the chicken from the freezer to thaw ahead of time! Thanks!
Chelsea Joy says
Hey Natalie! I haven't tried it with frozen chicken breasts, unfortunately! This weekend when I meal prep, I'll give it a try with frozen breasts to see what happens and how the recipe might need to be adjusted and get back to you!
Chelsea Joy says
Hey Natalie - wanted to follow up with you! I finally got a chance to try this method with frozen chicken breasts. It worked pretty well - I just had to let it cook for 50 minutes and I flipped the chicken halfway through to make sure they cooked evenly/weren't overlapping, since I was cooking multiple frozen chicken breasts that were initually stuck together. I think using thawed chicken breasts is still the way to go, but in a pinch this definitely worked with frozen chicken for a slightly longer cook time!
Chelsea Joy says
David says
Love this! Has been a great pandemic recipe for making lots of extra meals for the kids. Also good for chopped chicken. And great with Trader Joe’s BBQ sauce.
Chelsea says
Thank you, David!
Haileigh says
FINALLY! A quick, hassle-free and reliable chicken breast recipe that even my toddlers can help me out with! This will most likely be my life-long go-to for chicken breast. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
eatfrysmith says
The first time I learned about this recipe, I thought I had to go to the kitchen immediately, it made me curious and excited
Some Wad On The Internet says
Been using this recipe to make shredded bbq chicken sandwiches and just straight up juicy chicken breasts for about a year now, works wonderfully and it's always a hit. Thanks for helping me expand my abilities!
Chelsea says
You're welcome! Glad to hear you like it. 🙂
Keith says
Thanks for sharing this. It has been clutch for me when in a pinch. One tip I read online somewhere else, shred the chicken in a kitchenaid mixer with the beater attachment.
Chelsea says
That would work! I don't have a kitchenaid, so I've never been able to try that tip out. 😉
Jacki says
I use a handheld mixer and it works beautifully!
Chelsea says
Glad to hear it!
Alma says
Love how easy this is to make. Great eating for a diabetic with type 2 diabetes. Thanks 4 sharing.
Chelsea says
You're welcome! Hope this recipe serves you well!