Best way to cook chicken for a salad

Cooked shredded chicken and cooked diced chicken are listed as ingredients in many recipes, but have you ever had a recipe that called for them, without any direction for how to go about cooking the chicken in the first place? This step-by-step tutorial for how to cook shredded chicken is your answer! I’ll go over the easiest way to make shredded chicken breasts. This simple method works for shredded chicken thighs too.

Whether you need to know how to make shredded chicken for chicken enchiladas (like these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas), chicken tacos, chicken sandwiches, Greek yogurt healthy chicken salad (or Whole30 chicken salad), shredded chicken enchilada dip, or just to munch straight from your refrigerator when you’re hungry and in total desperation mode, this is the post for you!

While you can cook shredded chicken in the oven or slow cooker, the method I show step-by-step below (cooking the chicken in a pot on the stove) is by far the fastest and easiest way to make it. The chicken comes out perfectly moist and juicy every time.

You can also refrigerate the chicken for up to 4 days or freeze it, so it’s perfect for meal prep too!

While there are a variety of different methods to cook chicken for shredding or dicing, poaching (gently cooking the chicken in water) is the one I’ve found to be the quickest and easiest, with the smallest amount of clean up. You don’t need any equipment other than a pot to make it.

However, if you own an Instant Pot and prefer that route, check out this post for how to cook Instant Pot chicken. I also have great resources for making Crock Pot Shredded Chicken and Baked Chicken Breast (which you can shred)!

In today’s post, I’ll be reviewing:

• How to cook shredded chicken via the poaching process
• Seasoning tips
• Ideas for ways to use shredded (or diced) chicken
• How to make shredded chicken for a crowd
• Storage
• Serving size and yield

You scroll down to see step-by-step photos, check out the video with a how-to after the photos, and finally you’ll find a recap for the steps at the very end of the post.

How to Make Shredded Chicken: Recipe Step-by-Steps

• STEP ONE: Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) in the bottom of a large pot, then season them.
  • For seasoning, I opt for a generous pinch of salt and pepper. If you like, you can add other seasonings, such as a bayleaf, poultry seasoning, or a few springs of fresh herbs.
  • This shredded chicken recipe is meant to be more of a blank canvas to add to a wide range of recipes. Because I know I have some fellow Tex-Mex fans, if you are looking for Mexican shredded chicken options, I recommend these Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos and this Instant Pot Mole Chicken.

• ARRANGING THE CHICKEN: If you are cooking a larger number of chicken breasts or thighs, you can overlap them slightly.
  • If you have a lot of overlap, I’d suggest upgrading to a larger pot or using two separate pots.
• STEP TWO: Cover the chicken with 1 inch of water (not broth!).
  • YES, water! If you like you can use chicken broth, though I find that with this cooking method, you don’t need it. Unless you have some that you need to use up, save yourself an ingredient and make this shredded chicken without broth.

• STEP THREE: Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer or is no longer pink in the center, about 8 to 16 minutes, depending upon the size and number of chicken breasts that you are poaching. A 10-ounce chicken breast will need to simmer for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the chicken from water and let rest until cool enough to handle. Dice, slice, or shred as desired.

  Whether stuffed into a sandwich, piled on top of some greens, or scooped up with some crackers, it's hard to think of a better lunchtime option than chicken salad. Typically featuring cooked chicken bound in some type of a creamy dressing that's very often mayonnaise-based, the dish is almost infinitely customizable, with common additions including chopped apples, nuts, dried fruit, fresh herbs, and spices such as tandoori and curry blends (via Martha Stewart).

  If you like chicken, then it's a safe bet that you've whipped up your fair share of this old standby dish over the years. But even if you're an experienced salad maker, you may not have settled yet on the most basic aspect of the dish: How to cook the bird that's in it. Techniques vary, with some advocating for roasting the chicken prior to chopping and dressing it (via Food Network) and others stating that leftover grilled chicken works just fine (via Allrecipes). But there's one cooking method to rule them all when it comes to chicken for chicken salad, according to Cook's Illustrated, and that's poaching.

  Poaching keeps chicken soft and moist

  Colin Hui/Shutterstock

  If poaching isn't a cooking method you often rely on, let us break it down for you. Poaching consists of placing a protein — usually, chicken or fish — into liquid such as water or stock, bringing it to a simmer, and then gently cooking it through (via Serious Eats). And while poaching often gets a bad rap for producing dry, rubbery chicken, Serious Eats points out that if you start your chicken in cold water and simmer it until just cooked, you'll wind up with a result that's far from tough but rather moist, tender, and juicy.

  Cook's Illustrated concurs, naming poaching as the ultimate way to cook chicken that's bound for chicken salad. The outlet states that the technique retains the fat and moisture of a piece of chicken much better than dry-heat cooking methods such as roasting or searing. Plus, when poaching in simple salted water, the chicken comes out tasting neutral, making the method a great choice for then slathering the meat with tons of flavor by way of creamy dressings and fresh and dried herbs.

  The outlet even has a super-gentle approach for poaching, recommending slipping chicken breasts into salted water, bringing it to a "sub simmer" at 175 degrees Fahrenheit, then turning off the stove and letting the meat cook by residual heat only — a method that produces the softest, most tender chicken. So the next time chicken salad is on the menu, grab your stock pot and get poaching.

  What is the best cooking method for chicken?

  Baking/roasting For baking, Wings, drumsticks, chicken thigh cutlets and whole chickens are best. As these cuts have a bone in the centre, it takes these cuts longer to cook all the way through. By baking, the drumstick will be cooked by an even heat all over, while gently cooking the skin at the same time.

  What is the best way to cook chicken to keep it tender?

  Instructions.

  Flatten the chicken breasts. ... .

  Season the chicken breasts. ... .

  Heat the pan. ... .

  Cook the chicken breasts over medium heat for 1 minute without moving. ... .

  Flip the chicken breasts. ... .

  Turn the heat down to low. ... .

  Cover the pan and cook on low for 10 minutes. ... .

  Turn off the heat and let sit for an additional 10 minutes..

  Is it better to boil or bake chicken?

  Boiled birds retain more of their iron, folate and vitamin E than roasted chickens. The nutrients lost through simmering aren't necessarily gone forever, either. Most are simply transferred to your cooking liquid, and you'll still benefit from them -- especially those B vitamins -- if you eat the broth.

  What is the easiest method of cooking a chicken?

  6 Easiest Ways to Cook Chicken Breasts—Including Grilled, Fried, and More.

  Broiled..

  Poached..

  Grilled..

  Fried..

  Baked..

  Pan-Seared..