You must keep a recipe for slow cooker shredded chicken in your recipe book. The chicken can be frozen if necessary and used in a variety of recipes.
Many emails and messages have asked me how to prepare basic shredded chicken for use in other recipes that call for cooked chicken. You can make the type of poached chicken that some recipes call for by using your crockpot!
The chicken stays moist from the added butter (just a touch) and chicken broth, it is tender and shreds up easily if you have a recipe that calls for a shredded or cut-up rotisserie chicken, and it will work perfectly.
Should I cook chicken on high in the crockpot?
Here’s another surprising thing. Don’t shoot the messenger.
However, unless you like overcooked, dried-out, tough meat, do not cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts on high heat. Always cook on LOW.
I know. It’s sad. It’s hard. But it’s true.
Similar to you, I adore the concept of preparing a meal in the slow cooker in the morning and having it ready when I get home. In recipes like our Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork, Crispy Carnitas, or French Dip Sandwiches, cooking on high DOES work for some cuts of beef and pork, but it does not work at all with chicken. Chicken cooked all day (or on HIGH) will be extremely dry.
I know, I’m broken-hearted, too. But I care about you too much to keep a secret, and the thermometer is accurate.
We wanted to provide you with this free Slow Cooker Cooking Times Chart to prevent you from overcooking or undercooking future slow cooker meals. Download it, print it, snuggle it, and thank us later.
Never again will you overcook (or undercook) a Crock Pot meal by downloading our one-page cheat sheet.
Do chicken thighs or bone-in chicken breasts/thighs cook longer?
Utilize bone-in split chicken breasts or chicken thighs if you do want to cook chicken for a longer period of time. These are excellent ingredients for dishes like our Bourbon Chicken or our Southwest Chicken Marinade.
These cuts can handle longer cooking times and retain their moisture a bit better. Our tests show they reach their internal safe temperature anywhere from 3-4 on LOW. However, America’s Test Kitchen (a source we really trust!), says they can withstand cooking times of up to 4-6 hours on LOW. It’s still not that all day recipe but might be a great meal to throw in the slow cooker around lunch time.
Best Tips for Perfect Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
FAQ
Is 3 hours long enough to cook chicken in a crock pot?
Except for larger recipes (8+ servings or more), it only requires 2 ingredients. 5-3. In the slow cooker, boneless, skinless chicken breast needs to be fully cooked after 5 hours on LOW.
Is it better to cook chicken on high or low in crockpot?
For the best results, always cook your boneless, skinless chicken breasts on low heat. Even if you check it early in the cooking process, I do not advise cooking boneless chicken breast on HIGH because it will become very dry. The chicken comes out drier on high; I consistently get the best results using low.
