Seasoned Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken – Easy Recipe
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This easy dutch oven shredded chicken is moist, flavorful, and extremely versatile for so many different uses! It goes great on its own with rice or potatoes or can be transformed into chicken tacos or barbeque sandwich meat. It’s so easy and comes together in less than 30 minutes!
Shredded chicken is pretty easy to make in the slow cooker, and that’s often how I make it. However, have you ever been out carrying on your tasks of the day when suddenly it dawns on you that you never got your dinner in the crockpot? That’s happened to me more times than I can count!
It’s good to have a backup plan, and that’s why I love this dutch oven shredded chicken. It’s a great way to make shredded chicken baked in the oven and ready in just 30 minutes. What could be better? Dare I say…this is even easier than using a slow cooker!
This is a great meal prep recipe to get a lean, healthy protein ready for several delicious meals throughout the week. BBQ chicken one day, buffalo chicken the next, ranch style chicken, taco style chicken…this recipe is so versatile that you can eat it as is and still have plenty of flavor, or adapt the chicken with your favorite sauces to suit your cravings.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs are great choices for this easy dinner recipe–whichever you prefer. Combined with some chicken stock and some simple seasonings you’re almost sure to have on hand, you’ll have a hearty delicious dinner in no time.
This is the best way to get tender shredded chicken cooked quickly! This has become one of our favorite recipes for moist and tender shredded chicken.
Ingredients
To make this easy dutch oven shredded chicken, you will need the following ingredients:
- Boneless Chicken Breasts or Boneless Thighs – You can use either one or a mix of both!
- Chicken Broth or Stock – This cooking liquid will keep the chicken moist and flavorful while it cooks.
- Spices – Sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika give a beautiful flavor profile to this chicken.
- Dried Herbs – A little dried parsley, rosemary, and thyme add earthiness and fresh flavor.
Instructions
To make this easy shredded chicken in the dutch oven, follow the steps below:
1. Preheat Oven
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Trim & Prep Chicken
Trim off any excess fat from your chicken. Cut your chicken as needed to create pieces of even size. I usually leave small chicken breasts alone but cut big ones in half.
3. Add Ingredients to a Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Add your chicken to a heavy-bottomed dutch oven followed by your chicken stock and seasonings. Place the lid on your dutch oven.
4. Bake Chicken
Place your dutch oven in the oven and bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes cooking time, until your chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. If cooking chicken thighs, dark meat can be cooked to a higher temperature to get juicy. Aim for at least 175.
5. Rest Chicken
After removing your Dutch oven from the oven, take the lid off and allow the meat to rest for 5-10 minutes so the juices can redistribute.
6. Shred Chicken
Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with two forks. Add it back to the juices in the Dutch oven to stay moist.
Serve your Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken however you would like! We love eating this with rice or spaghetti squash. Leftovers go great with some BBQ sauce and roasted potatoes!
Tips & Variations
This easy shredded chicken recipe is flavorful, but its flavors can be dressed up several different ways with some easy additions.
If you want to add some smokiness, add 2-3 tsp chili powder or use smoked paprika instead of regular.
You can also use this chicken in Mexican recipes. It would be great for tacos by adding a couple of tablespoons of taco seasoning and top with hot sauce and a squeeze of lime juice with a dollop of sour cream.
Add a couple of tablespoons of Italian seasoning to take on more of a Mediterranean flavor profile.
A packet of ranch seasoning would also be delicious! It would be similar to my Ranch Chicken Poutine Instant Pot recipe (another great recipe if you forget to get that crockpot going!)
Serving Suggestions
Serve this simple recipe with some air fryer butternut squash, air fryer sweet potato wedges, or some garlicky mashed potato squash.
Leftover chicken would be perfect to add to my Minnesota chicken wild rice soup or a low-calorie chicken salad.
Other Chicken Recipes
Want to try another one of my healthy chicken dinners?
You’ll love my Moroccan-inspired Mediterranean Sheet Pan and my Smoked Whole Chicken.
Nutritional Information
This recipe makes 8 servings. For one serving of this recipe, the nutritional info is as follows:
- Calories: 131
- Protein: 24 grams
- Fat: 4 grams (.6 grams saturated)
- Carbs: 1 gram
Recipe Notes
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will be good for 3-4 days.
FAQ
To quickly shred a large amount of chicken breasts, you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed.
It is easier to shred chicken while it is still warm.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Please leave a comment and review! It means the world!
Easy Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Take out a cast iron dutch oven that can easily fit 2 lbs of chicken in a single layer–I use a 6 quart dutch oven.
- Remove your chicken breast from its packaging and trim any excess fat. If the chicken breasts are very large, cut them in half to create pieces of uniform size for even cooking.
- Put your chicken breasts in the Dutch oven followed by 2 cups of chicken broth, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Place the lid on your Dutch oven.
- Put the Dutch oven into your oven and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F for breasts for 175 F for thighs.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Remove the lid and let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes for juices to redistribute.
- Remove the pieces of chicken from the Dutch oven and shred them with 2 forks. Add the shredded chicken back to the juices in the pot for serving.
Video
This was so easy and I can use the chicken in so many ways. A great go-to chicken recipe!
No problem!