Stretch your grocery dollars by cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker to make shredded chicken and homemade chicken broth.
Learn how to cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker, and you’ll end up with a double dose of $$ savings and chicken for dinner or your freezer!
Welcome to the first post in the “31 Days of Freezer Cooking Recipes” series!
This is our 4th “31 Days” series and I love that we are going to share what feels like a bazillion recipes, concepts and ideas with you this month!
I am a ‘freezer shopper’…meaning that I often times shop from my freezer when it comes time to prepare dinner. I am quite the bargain grocery shopper and prefer to never pay full price for anything at the store.
And as a result, I’ve learned the fine art of stockpiling food in the freezer…just about everything goes (minus a few things!)…from sandwich bread to fresh fruit to blanched broccoli heads to meat sauces to meatballs to shredded chicken (more on that below) and lest we not forget the cookie dough.
(Freezing cookie dough is generally a failed attempt at keeping myself from eating it. Because I think I prefer to snack on it right out of the freezer. I’ll just keep trying to fool myself!)
The reason that I wanted to start with the ‘cooked, shredded chicken concept’ is because I always have some on hand in the freezer because it can be used in so many different recipes, doesn’t add any prep time to meals on busy weeknights and really has a small ‘hands-on’ time when you’re picking the meat off the bones.
AND…because you get homemade chicken broth from the chicken too. (See below for the deets.)
Let’s get to it shall we…
Drop the nekkid bird into the base of the slow cooker. No need to add any liquid…it will release plenty of juices and we will dilute them later for homemade broth!
Season as you wish.
I usually use garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, whatever!
Add some onions, garlic, carrots, celery…which will give the broth more flavor.
Slow cook on low for 8 hours.
See how much liquid it releases. Don’t discard that, you can use it for broth!
Remove bird, onions and garlic.
Pull skin off, pull drumsticks off, pull meat off.
Run your knife down the center breast bone and pull the breast and tenderloin off. Pull off as much meat as you can.
Flip the bird and pull off the thighs and any meat from the back.
Pile the meat you want to shred all up!
Toss in the onions and garlic for added flavor. They are really soft and will almost ‘melt’ in with the chicken!
Using 2 forks or your stand mixer, shred the chicken.
Kaboom.
You have shredded chicken to use in any of the recipes below.
I can usually get 2 or 3 meals worth from 1 whole chicken, depending on the meal!
To Freeze: Let the shredded meat cool completely before adding in 2-3 cup portions in a plastic freezer baggie or container.
Thaw in a bowl of warm water before reheating or using in the recipe.
Recipes Using This Shredded Chicken
How to Make Chicken Broth
Strain liquid.
Let sit for a few minutes.
Skim off the fat, and then…
Dilute with about the same amount of water that you have liquid.
Let it sit for a bit and then skim off the fat again, and dilute to your preference/taste. I generally dilute to get about 5-6 cups per whole chicken.
To Freeze Homemade Broth: Pour the cooled broth into a plastic container or freezer baggie in 2 cup portions to use in recipes that call for chicken broth.
Recipes that Use Chicken Broth
- Oven Baked Brown Rice – chicken broth adds so much amazing flavor!
There you have it…a whole chicken becomes multiple meals of shredded chicken and homemade broth!
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Pamela Gardner says
I never thought to put a whole chicken in the slow cooker then shredding it for a couple of dinners.
Jenn K says
Try it and you’ll love it! NO better way! 🙂
Carmen O says
Love this idea. I noticed that you cooked the chicken breast up. Does this method lend itself to carving the breast into slices, and would it still be moist?
Jenn K says
You probably can’t carve a chicken from the slow cooker. It works much better to cut into chunks or shred.
Mary P says
In my town a whole raw chicken costs as much as a rotissery chicken already cooked. the slow cooker does tend to over cook the meat. you can slice a rotisery chicken breast and if you see them after 7pm they are 1/2 price here in St Louis Mo But I love your sight so many great ideas
Cindy M. says
Just a question…Can you cook the chicken frozen, or do you have to thaw it in the fridge first?
Thanks for a quick and easy way to get that bird done!
Jenn K says
It’s going to take a lot longer to cook frozen which could possibly dry it out as well as keep it at an unsafe temperature for too long in the slow cooker.
Alethea Crossman says
Ditto….can I cook it frozen?
Jenn K says
It’s going to take a lot longer to cook frozen which could possibly dry it out as well as keep it at an unsafe temperature for too long in the slow cooker.
Dianne l says
I always cook my chicken frozen as long as you have washed it before freezing
Sabrina Hill says
Thanks for the idea! I don’t know why I had never thought of that before, but I’m constantly buying those rotisserie chickens to cut up for other meals. This would be much more cost effective.
Barbara says
What kind of slow cooker do you use? Mine cooks everything very hot, even on low. If a recipe calls for cooking something 6-8 hours, I usually can figure about 4-5 hours. Frustrating, to say the least.
Jo says
What a brilliant idea – cooked today – got a meal tonight, sandwiches for tomorrow and a curry for my childminded kids tomorrow – amazing and so cost effective!
Cindy says
How the heck do I get rid of the whole”pinteres, facebook, tweeter etc. icons on the side. It is so frustrating and so many sites have these now, instead of just having them on top on the page. It is the most frustrating thing to me. Or if someone knows how to move it or hide please let me know.
Thank you.
Jenn K says
Cindy, I’m sorry they annoy you! Unfortunately, it’s part of the how the site is set up and they cannot be hidden by readers.
Michele says
Hover over the bottom icon and a set of double arrows will appear. Click on them and it will hide the row of icons.
Cindy says
Sorry for the typos, but I was trying to type this while trying to work around the icons. *Pinterest
Sarah says
I often will put foil wrapped potatoes under the chicken and then the bottom of the chicken isn’t soggy with fat. The potatoes are nicely roasted inside.
Nancy says
Don’t toss the bones! Put them BACK in the slow cooker with the drippings. Cover with water and add 2 T Apple cider vinegar (no, you won’t taste it!). Add more onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set your crock pot on low and leave it 12-24 hours. NOW you have the best chicken broth…full of the minerals from the bones, wonderful gelatin, and guy healing properties. Waste not, want not! 🙂
Amanda says
I just made this. I’ve been starting slowly with making meals for the freezer and this I knew I defitnely had to do. I was so skeptical at first..actually the first 4hrs, j kept looking at it wondering if it was okay. I’m so used to roasting and taking only a few hours 😊. Thank you for the step by step. Was so helpful. I’m going to go follow you on pinterest now!!
BJ says
I’m a novice so please forgive the question-
A whole chicken was donated to me. It was already frozen so I put it in the freezer. When starting with this recipe- do you start with chicken frozen or dethaw?
Barth says
I’m a novice and had a whole chicken donated to me but have never dealt with anything whole. It’s frozen now- do I need to defrost before putting in crockpot