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 chicken you need to use up, here are over 50 Shredded Chicken Recipes to try tonight.
Easy Shredded Chicken Recipes
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 shredded 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!
Shredded Chicken Recipes for Dinner
Shredded Chicken is amazing to throw into your favorite dinner recipe. Keep things simple by cooking with cooked shredded chicken tonight!
- Easy Chicken Enchiladas: Shredded Chicken Enchiladas are cheesy, creamy and delicious, and the enchilada sauce is to die for! A perfect dish to feed a crowd on a busy weeknight!
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers: Low in carbs, and high in protein, nutrients, and mouthwatering buffalo flavor, these stuffed peppers are sure to be a new staple in your weeknight dinner routine.
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole: All of the creamy, flavorful fixings of chicken pot pie are baked to perfection with fluffy biscuits on top. This is an easy dinner you can’t miss out on!
- Chicken and Noodles: Make a wholesome and delicious meal in one pan with this recipe for Chicken and Noodles. It’s a comforting meal that will leave you full and satisfied.
- Chicken Bog: Make a wholesome and delicious meal in one pan with this recipe for Chicken and Noodles. It’s a comforting meal that will leave you full and satisfied.
- White Chicken Lasagna: This White Chicken Lasagna is creamy, cheesy with a crispy crust. Perfect for the family, dinner guests, or for keeping all to yourself! Layered with spinach and artichoke, this is next level lasagna!
- Chicken a la King: Who says you can’t eat like a king right in your own home? Consisting of shredded chicken in a rich cream sauce with mushrooms and vegetables, this Chicken a la King recipe is one the whole family will love!
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Bake: This creamy cheesy chicken ranch pasta bake is topped with crispy bacon and is ready to serve in just 30 minutes. Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, this pasta comes together easily and is a perfect comfort food recipe.
- Chicken Stuffed Shells: Dinner is about to get delicious with these tasty chicken stuffed shells. Jumbo shells are stuffed with chicken, ricotta and mozzarella and baked in marinara sauce for pasta dinner the whole family will love.
- Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas: Creamy, cheesy with an addictive salsa verde, these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas don’t mess around! Easy to make and oh so satisfying to eat.
- Salsa Verde Chicken Casserole: Easy to make and full of flavor, this salsa verde chicken casserole is all kinds of delicious! This Mexican inspired dish is creamy, cheesy and a dinner the whole family will love!
- Buffalo Chicken Baked Ziti: It’s a hearty pasta casserole combined with delicious shredded chicken, in an addictive buffalo sauce, topped with cheese. What’s not to love?
- Chicken Tamale Casserole: This Chicken Tamale Casserole is a simple, easy and delicious way to have the flavors of tamales on a weeknight!
Appetizers with Shredded Chicken
Heading to game night? Need an appetizer to enjoy at your family gathering? These easy shredded chicken recipes for appetizers are super quick and simple and sure to please!
- Chicken Fajita Quesadillas: Succulent, seasoned chicken strips with sauteed peppers, onions and melty cheese. These Chicken Fajita Quesadillas are loaded with Tex-Mex flavors, ready in around 30 mins!
- White Chicken Enchilada Dip: Make creamy and cheesy White Chicken Enchilada Dip for taco Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, or any fiesta. This decadent dip is always a hit and disappears quickly!
- Chicken Ranch Wraps: Chicken Ranch Wraps make for a quick, easy, and delicious lunch! Complete with bacon, mozzarella cheese, ranch dressing and more, these wraps are seriously satisfying and totally hit the spot.
- Chicken Folded Tortillas: If you’ve seen the latest tik-tok trend of folded tortillas, you will love these chicken foldover quesadillas! Made with corn, avocado, pulled chicken, cheese and beans and a homemade spicy tomato sauce.
- Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels: Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels are the perfect finger food! So easy to make and so delicious. Succulent shredded chicken in a spicy tangy sauce, rolled in a flour tortilla. An awesome appetizer and a win for game day!
- Mexican Chicken Tacos: Mexican chicken cooked low and slow in the crockpot, it comes out super succulent and wonderfully seasoned, from all the spices. Utterly delicious!
- BBQ Chicken Nachos: These BBQ Chicken Nachos are the perfect appetizer for game day! Baked in the oven on a sheet pan, they are quick to make and perfect for serving a crowd.
- Buffalo Chicken Dip: Easy and quick to make and packed with rotisserie chicken, this will be that star of your next gathering!
Pizza with Shredded Chicken
Pizza Night is SO much easier when you toss in cooked and shredded chicken. Save all the time but skip zero flavor. Enjoy!
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza: This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza is simple to make and full of flavor! Loaded with succulent chicken, smokey bacon, melty cheese and dreamy creamy ranch.
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza: For your next pizza night, mix things up with this buffalo chicken pizza recipe. Easy and quick to make, this pizza is loaded with flavorful toppings that will leave you wanting more.
- BBQ Chicken Pizza: Packed full of flavor and easy to make, this pizza will be a hit with the whole family! You can have this yummy pizza on the table in less than 30 minutes!
- White Chicken Pizza: Made with naan bread with an Alfredo sauce base, this is perfect when you need a tasty pizza fix in a hurry!
- Chicken Taco Pizza: When you can’t decide between tacos or pizza, make Chicken Taco Pizza! It’s assembled and served like a pizza topped with everything you love about tacos. The best of both worlds!
- Chicken Margherita Pizza: Skip the takeout and enjoy this delicious homemade chicken margherita pizza on your next pizza night!
Shredded Chicken Soup Recipes
Almost every soup can be modified to be easier by using shredded chicken. Whether you shred a rotisserie chicken, or quickly bake chicken breasts to shred and throw into the pot, these soup recipes are some of our favorite ways to use shredded chicken on a daily basis.
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup: Warm your soul with this delicious creamy chicken noodle soup. Easy to make, this recipe is perfect when you are running short on time but want something filling and hearty.
- Chicken Taco Soup: Bold and flavorful, every bite of Chicken Taco Soup packs a punch! This homemade soup is loaded with plenty of spice, black beans, corn, and chicken for the ultimate easy dinner recipe.
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup: Pillows of potato gnocchi are mixed with a medley of fresh veggies, white meat chicken, and a deliciously creamy broth.
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup: Soothe your soul with a creamy and comforting Chicken Pot Pie Soup made from scratch. It contains fresh ingredients, including chicken, celery, and potatoes in a creamy broth.
- Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Soup: Topped with ricotta cheese and packed with veggies, it’s going to be a hit with the family, plus it’s really quite simple to put together too!
- Chicken Tortellini Soup: This chicken tortellini soup uses staple ingredients and is simple to make. It’s perfect for a cold day and oh so simple to whip up!
- Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup: This easy slow cooker chicken enchilada soup is the perfect Mexican comfort food. Made with simple ingredients, this flavorsome soup is the perfect dump and go recipe.
- Buffalo Chicken Soup: Creamy and hearty Buffalo Chicken Soup has all of the flavor and spice of classic Buffalo wings, in soup form. Ready in less than an hour, quickly satisfy any Buffalo craving with this homemade soup recipe!
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup: When you are after a big bowl of comfort, nothing beats chicken noodle soup, and when it’s made in the Crockpot, it’s so effortless! Delicious, hearty, and most importantly, easy!
- Bacon Chicken Chili: Stay warm and full with this wholesome Bacon Chicken Chili recipe. Easy to prepare and full of fresh ingredients, it will quickly become a new staple in your household.
- Creamy Buffalo Chicken Chili: Add some flavor to you dinner with this tangy and creamy buffalo chicken chili. Easy to make in one pot, it’s wonderfully comforting and full of flavor!
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.
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 shredded chicken
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.
Kay Allen says
I’ve been using Pinterest recipes for meals for years- this has got to be the most frustrating website I’ve ever come across on Pinterest!!! Can’t even see recipes or directions because of amount of ads! I must’ve been taken to different websites or apps 30x and you can’t even click the back button without another ad taking over. This “blog” (aka ad space) is not remotely worth it- I highly recommend finding somewhere with better recipes that isn’t so desperate for views they sold out every inch of their page
Becky Hardin says
Hi, I’m sorry you’re having trouble navigating my site. While there are ads that allow me to continue providing this content for free, they should never take you to a different website without clicking on them. To go directly to the recipe, please click the “jump to recipe” button! Hope this helps!
David Allen says
Kay, something else has to be going on. I saw an add or two. I even clicked on one for a free recipe book but I easily used the back key to return to the recipe. I usually scroll to where it says PRINT and select Pdf to down load the recipe. Rename the file and save. At the bottom of the pdf you’ll see a link to return to recipe. From there youll be able to select other recipes. Hope this helps you.