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–+ servings
A white bowl with shredded chicken and two forks on the side.
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Easy Shredded Chicken and Chicken Broth

Learn how to boil chicken breast to make shredded chicken and broth to use in a wide variety of recipes - easy tutorial with step-by-step photos!
Course Condiment
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 2 cups shredded chicken
Calories 165kcal
Author Ana Frias

Equipment

  • 5 qt dutch oven or large stock pot

Ingredients

  • 2 large skinless chicken breast with or without bones
  • ¼ white or yellow onion
  • 1-2 carrots, cut into big chunks washed and stem removed
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 1 large garlic cloves peeled
  • ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
  • 15 black peppercorns
  • A few fresh parsley leaves optional
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 bay leaves

Instructions

Cook

  • Place chicken breasts in the pot and add 5 to 6 cups of water over medium-high heat.
  • Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, cover with lid and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low heat and skim the foam off the top. Discard foam.
  • Add the spices: salt, pepper, dried oregano and bay leaves.
  • Simmer gently (bubbles should barely break the surface at irregular intervals), covered until the chicken is cooked through.
  • Boneless breasts for about 25-30 minutes or bone in chicken breasts for 40-45 minutes . Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer or is no longer pink in the center.

Shredded chicken

  • Remove the chicken from broth and let rest until cool enough to handle. Shred by pulling apart with your clean fingers or using two forks. It can also be shredded with a hand mixer on low speed.
  • Add 1 ½ cup of the cooked broth to prevent the chicken from drying too much.
  • Use in your desired recipe or store in refrigerator once is cooled.

The Broth

  • Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer. Place in a large bowl and chill covered overnight in the refrigerator.
  • The next day, using a spoon, scrape off the accumulated fat from the top of the broth and discard.
  • Pour and fill – pour the broth into plastic jars, leaving about 1” of space from the top to allow room for the broth to expand as it freezes.
  • Store – store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

This recipe makes about 2 cups shredded chicken and 7 cups of chicken broth. 

Nutrition

Serving: 100grams chicken breast | Calories: 165kcal | Protein: 31g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 256mg