44 Ways to Use Shredded Chicken

Shredded chicken is a staple in so many recipes. It’s also one of those simple things to make that you can keep in your refrigerator or freezer to use any time. So if you’ve got some leftover shredded chicken you need to use up, here are some easy ideas for ways to use it!

Shredded Chicken

I use shredded chicken in SO many of my recipes. It’s a great base for dinner recipes, and it’s also a great way to quickly add lean protein into any dish.

You can add it to salads, soups, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, pasta…the list goes on! There are so many easy ways to use it.

Whether you’re picking up a rotisserie chicken, looking for a few ways to use that leftover chicken, or planning to make a bunch of shredded chicken to use in future meals, here are 44 ideas for how to use it.

These are all simple, easy, and delicious chicken recipes you’re sure to love!

How to Shred Chicken

You can do this with chicken cooked in any way, whether it’s roasted, boiled, grilled, poached, or cooked in a crockpot.

I find that poached/boiled chicken breast is the easiest to shred, so if you’re cooking chicken specifically for that purpose, use one of those methods. However, if you’re just using leftover chicken, it doesn’t matter how it was cooked.

Tip: You can pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store if you’re short on time. It’s already cooked, so you can just shred it up to use in whatever dish you’re making, easy!

By hand: Place chicken on a cutting board, and use two forks to pull at the meat in opposite directions.
In a mixer: Place chicken in a stand mixer and let it do the shredding for you. This is great if you’re shredding a lot of meat at once.
In a blender: Place chicken in the blender and pulse it at a low speed. Once the pieces start to get smaller, you can increase the pulse speed until the chicken is shredded to your liking.

Can you freeze shredded chicken?

Yes! Once you have your chicken, you can easily store it in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on how long you need to store it.

Keep it covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Place it in freezer-safe bags in the freezer for up to 2 months.

How to reheat it

The best way to reheat shredded chicken without drying it out is to use the oven. Place the chicken in a baking dish and cover it, then heat at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

If you’re short on time, you can reheat it in the microwave until warm, but this does tend to dry the chicken out quite a bit.

Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie chicken is often my go-to when making shredded chicken recipes for dinner. It makes weeknight dinners so much easier and faster, because I get to skip cooking the chicken, and go straight to shredding and adding it into my dish.

So if you’re looking for a quick shortcut when making any of the recipes below, just grab a rotisserie chicken and you’ll be ready to go!