Why is making bulk cooked, shredded chicken my favorite dinner hack? Let me see if this sounds familiar … it’s the 5:00 hour and you have circling hungry vultures, I mean children, who keep asking the same question, “What’s for dinner?” You’re trying to prepare for the evening which involves multiple kiddos heading to different locations and you’d like five minutes to clean up the house so it doesn’t look like a bomb went off. So in the middle of helping one kid with homework and hugging another who just took a ball to the face while playing outside, you’re trying to come up with something fast and easy for dinner. Story of your life? Mine too and a million other wonderful parents who as Paul and I (sometimes facetiously) say are “living the dream.”
When this scenario strikes, and I know it strikes often, what can save you is having cooked, shredded chicken sitting in your freezer waiting to be the hero of the hour. In a mere matter of minutes you can thaw it and add it to whatever brilliant dinner plan you came up with in your moment of need to get hungry kids fed and take the time to connect before your crew spreads out for their evening commitments.
My favorite dinner hack : bulk cooked, shredded chicken
In a recipe, what often takes the longest and is the most hassle is cooking the meat. If you prepare ahead to always have cooked and shredded chicken in your freezer just waiting and ready to go, it will make your life easier – way easier. In the past I’ve bought a rotisserie chicken or canned chicken but it’s SO expensive compared to fresh chicken breast and isn’t quite the right fit for me. Taking the rotisserie chicken off the chicken takes extra time and mess and the canned chicken isn’t near as substantive as I need for my recipes. By buying fresh chicken breasts in bulk, cooking it, shredding it and freezing it ahead of time, you’re saving time and money for the future. Ready to get going?
Ingredients and tools needed
The great thing about making shredded chicken in bulk is it’s very simple. You need time and a few basic things.
A crockpot – I have a super basic, old 6 quart crockpot. It works great and has fed our family hundreds of times. You don’t need anything fancy or over the top. If you don’t have a crockpot, you can start with this one.
Crockpot liners – I didn’t even know these were a thing until we were preparing to remodel our kitchen (read: move out and not have a kitchen). I was looking ahead to months without a functioning oven, stove or dishwasher. Sounds fun, huh? My mother-in-law mentioned crockpot liners and they saved me! How did I not know about them until then? Now I use them all the time. They are life changing! These are the ones I had for the remodel but if you want something more cost effective, these work just as well.
Tray of fresh chicken breasts – You can also do frozen but I prefer fresh because they cook faster and I can cut off all the fat before I put them in. I love to buy in bulk, so I usually get this tray of chicken breasts at Sam’s Club. Typically, each tray has 5-6 pounds of chicken and 7-9 breasts.
Desired spices – Because we have a large family and eat a lot of different chicken recipes, I do two flavors of cooked, shredded chicken. One is Tex-Mex version and the other is an Italian version.
For the Tex-Mex version, you’ll need spices you probably already have on hand – chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder.
For the Italian version, you’ll need a packet of this Italian Dressing Mix.
Optional: 4 cup glass measuring cup and strainer – these just make your life easier but are not a need
Steps for making cooked, shredded chicken in bulk
Step 1: Trim the fat off your chicken breasts. The quickest and easiest way to do this is by using kitchen shears. I am super particular when I trim chicken so that I’m just left with tender, shredded chicken. Choose how you’ll prep meat for your own family and purposes. Obviously the more picky you are, the less meat you’ll have in the end but I think it’s worth it.
Step 2: Line your crockpot with a crockpot liner. Put down a layer of chicken breasts and sprinkle with half of your spices. Then layer the other half of your chicken breasts and finish by adding the other half of your spices. Pour a cup of water over the top and put the lid on your crockpot.
Step 3: Let cook on low for 4-6 hours. You’ll know it’s cooked when you can easily shred it with two forks. Once it is done cooking, turn off your crockpot and allow to cool for 30 min with the lid off.
Step 4: Begin pulling chicken out of the crockpot in small batches onto a plate and shred with two forks. If there is residual fat, make sure you pull it off and discard it. Once you have all the chicken breasts shredded, let it cool until it’s just warm.
Step 5: Once chicken is no longer hot, measure out the chicken into the portions you’ll use. I always do mine in 2 cups portions. For our family, that seems to be the perfect size to grab and thaw. You may want to do less or more depending on your use. Put the portions in resealable sandwich baggies but don’t yet seal. This is the messiest step – so just know you’ll be glad to have all this cooked, shredded chicken for future and will need to clean your counters at the end.
Step 6: This step is super important so don’t skip it! Pour the broth from the crockpot through a strainer into a glass measuring cup so you just have broth. Or just spoon out broth from the top of the crockpot if you don’t have a strainer and large measuring cup. Pour about ¼ of a cup of broth into each baggie. This helps keep the chicken moist and avoids the gross warmed-over flavor that old, dry chicken has (you know what I’m talking about, right?).
Step 7: Seal the bags trying to get out as much air as possible. Then write the date on the top, stack flat and put in the freezer. I actually have mine in a bin and they stack nicely in there.
Step 8: The next time you’re in need of chicken, just remove it from your baggie and place it on a plate or in a bowl, pop it in the microwave for a minute and voila, you have yummy cooked, shredded chicken ready to go. Remember we added chicken stock to the chicken so if you’re putting it into a recipe, reduce the liquid of your recipe by ¼ cup or drain off excess liquid once your chicken is thawed before adding to your recipe.
Option 1 : Italian flavored chicken
Use one package of Good Seasonings Italian Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix.
This is ideal for most casseroles or recipes that call for mild, seasoned chicken. It’s my go to for Chicken and Broccoli casserole, Hawaiian Haystacks, Chicken Crepes, Italian Loaf and others.
Option 2: Tex-Mex Chicken
Mix up this little recipe to sprinkle over 5-6 pounds of chicken.
2 Tbs chili powder, 4 tsps cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder
This chicken is great to add to recipes when you’d like the meat to have a little more spice and flavor. I add this to Chicken Enchiladas, White Chicken Chili, Chicken Taquitos or simply to put in quesadillas.
Click here for video instructions.
how much cooked, shredded chicken does it make?
It’s worth doing this in bulk, so I get a large tray of chicken from Sam’s Club. On average, for each pound of chicken, you’ll get about 3/4 cup of shredded chicken. As of writing this, I paid $2.68/pound and my tray was just over 5 ¼ pounds. From just over 5 pounds, I had 9 cups of cooked shredded chicken. So it cost about $1.50 per cup.
how much does it cost?
Pricing food is such a tricky business, especially in this ever-changing market. I can tell you that when I was writing this article, the chicken was $2.68 per pound, which ends up costing about $1.50 per cup. The spices add a nominal fee.
How does that compare to other options for flavorful, cooked chicken to add to your recipes?
If you buy shredded, rotisserie chicken today, it costs $4.98 per cup. That’s over three times the price!
See why I do this? By preparing ahead and making cooked, shredded chicken in bulk, you are not only saving money, you’re also being intentional about be ready for family dinner on you.
Set aside a time each week to plan and prep your dinners so when dinnertime rolls around, you’re ready!
What is your favorite recipe that calls for cooked chicken?
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