FridgeToTable

What to Make With Shredded Chicken: 3 Fast Weeknight Dinners

Shredded chicken is usually already cooked, from a rotisserie bird, a poach, or last night's breasts. Dinner is a quesadilla, a soup, or a crisp skillet with spices, not another bake that dries the shreds out. Heat it in something. These three are all under 20 minutes. Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.

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Quick picks: 3 dinners with shredded chicken in 30 minutes or less

Fastest option: a 12-minute dinner

12 min

Shredded chicken quesadillas

Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Shredded chicken and cheese in a tortilla, toasted in a skillet.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups shredded chicken
  • 4 flour tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Taste the shredded chicken. Salt it only if it is bland.
  2. Fill tortillas with chicken and cheese.
  3. Toast in a dry skillet until the cheese melts and the tortilla spots.
  4. Cut and eat. You are heating cooked chicken, not cooking it from scratch.

Keeps: Filling keeps 3 days.

One-pan or sheet-pan option

15 min

Crispy shredded chicken

Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Cooked shreds pressed into a skillet with cumin until the edges crisp.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups shredded chicken
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp oil

Steps

  1. Heat oil in a skillet. Add the shredded chicken, cumin, and salt.
  2. Press it flat and let it sit so the bottom crisps. Stir once, then press again.
  3. Stop when some edges are brown and the chicken is hot.
  4. Eat it in a tortilla, on rice, or from the pan. Don't keep stirring it into dust.

Keeps: Fridge for 3 days.

The other dinner

18 min

Shredded chicken soup

Total time, start to plate · One pot · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Onion, noodles, and shredded chicken warmed in a salted pot.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups shredded chicken
  • 1 onion
  • 1 cup egg noodles
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Soften the onion. Add the water and salt.
  2. Cook the noodles in the pot until tender.
  3. Stir in the shredded chicken until it is hot. It does not need a long boil.
  4. Taste. Seasoned birds make salty soup. Plain poached chicken needs the salt.

Keeps: Fridge for 3 days.

Make it with leftovers

If the chicken is already shredded and cooked, every card just heats it. If you are shredding raw chicken, poach it first using the frozen-breast method and then come back. Dry shreds belong in the soup, where moisture comes back. Don't fry them hard.

More dinners from leftovers

Pantry staples you'll need

  • Salt
  • Oil
  • Cumin
  • Tortillas
  • Cheese
  • Onion

No tortillas: the soup and the skillet still work over rice. No chicken: canned chicken is the pantry twin, with more seasoning.

When there is nothing in the fridge

Picky-eater and healthy tweaks

Cheese and a tortilla is the easy yes. A plain shred with salt, sauce on the side, is the other. Cumin is optional. The soup can be noodles and chicken.

Shredded chicken doesn't need to be fried in a cup of oil to taste like food. A teaspoon of oil and a spice, or a broth, is enough. Watch the salt if it came from a seasoned bird.

More dinners in under 30 minutes

Have something else in the fridge?

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Related dinners

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Questions

What can I make with shredded chicken in 20 minutes?

Shredded chicken quesadillas takes 12 minutes, start to plate. Shredded chicken and cheese in a tortilla, toasted in a skillet.

What's the easiest dinner with shredded chicken?

Shredded chicken quesadillas is the low-fuss one: one skillet, 12 minutes. Shredded chicken and cheese in a tortilla, toasted in a skillet.

Can I make this with leftover or cooked shredded chicken?

If the chicken is already shredded and cooked, every card just heats it. If you are shredding raw chicken, poach it first using the frozen-breast method and then come back. Dry shreds belong in the soup, where moisture comes back. Don't fry them hard.

What else can I add to shredded chicken for a full meal?

The cards already use shredded chicken, flour tortillas, shredded cheese. A piece of fruit or a handful of frozen vegetables is enough if you want more on the plate. Don't make a second shopping trip.

Is shredded chicken a healthy dinner?

Shredded chicken doesn't need to be fried in a cup of oil to taste like food. A teaspoon of oil and a spice, or a broth, is enough. Watch the salt if it came from a seasoned bird.

How do I make shredded chicken kid-friendly?

Cheese and a tortilla is the easy yes. A plain shred with salt, sauce on the side, is the other. Cumin is optional. The soup can be noodles and chicken.

Can I make shredded chicken in one pan or a sheet pan?

Crispy shredded chicken uses one skillet and takes 15 minutes. Cooked shreds pressed into a skillet with cumin until the edges crisp.

What if I don't have the second ingredient?

No tortillas: the soup and the skillet still work over rice. No chicken: canned chicken is the pantry twin, with more seasoning.