This Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken recipe is made by slowly cooking bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces in a light and easy tomato sauce. It can be dressed up by serving it over brown rice with steamed asparagus, toasted crunchy bread crumbs, and garnished with parsley.
The chicken is cooked on low heat for a little over an hour so that when it is done, the chicken falls of the bone and takes very little effort to shred. It is a great meal for leftovers and comes together in a few very simple steps.
This recipe is easily customizable. You can use a whole chicken quarter, or any combination of chicken breasts, thighs, wings, etc. Just be sure to choose roughly anywhere between 2-4 lbs with some pieces that are bone-in and skin-on.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Tender Chicken: The chicken is so soft it falls off the bone, with only a little over an hour of cooking time.
Customizable: You can use a variety of different cuts of chicken and the sauce can be adjusted to whatever you have easily accessible.
Great For Leftovers: This recipe makes enough for plenty of leftovers for another meal or two during the week.
Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken. I have separated the ingredients below into two categories:
- Primary Ingredients: Shredded chicken in a light tomato sauce.
- Optional Items: For suggested serving.
Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil if possible.
- Yellow Onion: Use a small onion, diced (I prefer dicing into fairly small pieces).
- Garlic: Minced, adds flavor.
- Diced Tomatoes: Use canned diced tomatoes. Look for cans that are BPA free if possible.
- Roma Tomatoes: I like to add fresh diced Roma tomatoes because they add flavor and extra water content creating a lighter sauce.
- White Wine: Adds a subtle layer of flavor, but it is optional. If you prefer not to add wine, just leave it out. Use a dry white wine.
- Oregano, Bay Leaves, Red Pepper Flakes: Spices to add flavor.
- Chicken: You can use any combination of bone-in, skin-on pieces roughly 2-3 lbs.
- Salt: Add salt to taste. If you don't know where to start, add ¼ teaspoon and increase from there as needed.
Optional for Suggested Serving
- Brown Rice: For serving.
- Asparagus: Sliced at an angle and steamed.
- Panko: Toasted in a saute pan with olive oil.
- Parsley: For garnish.
How to Make Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Bring a large Dutch oven to medium heat. On an electric stove this would be a "4" on a scale of "1-10". Add the olive oil and allow to warm through. Add the onions and sauté stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes.
Step 2. Add the garlic and sauté stirring occasionally for 1 minute.
Step 3. Add the white wine (if using, otherwise skip to the next step), and allow to simmer until it no longer smells like wine (3-5 minutes).
Step 4. Add the canned tomatoes, diced Roma tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.
Step 5. Add the chicken, cover, and bring to a slow boil. Then immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer. This is often on a setting of "1" or "low". Simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes until the meat is falling off the bone. Keep the pot covered while simmering. This will help it to retain liquid in the pot rather than it evaporating.
Step 6. Using tongs, remove the chicken one piece at a time and place it on a cutting board. Using the tongs and a fork or two forks shred the chicken. Be careful to ensure that small bones are removed. Discard the bones and skin and return the shredded chicken to the pot. Stir to combine with the sauce.
Optional Steps for Recommended Serving
The below steps are optional, but they will give you a few ideas for serving.
Step 7 (optional). Make Brown Rice: Add 1 cup of brown rice and two cups of water to a small pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Remove when all the water has been absorbed and the rice is soft and fluffy.
Step 8 (optional). Steam Asparagus: Place an inch of water in a small pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Add the asparagus to a mesh strainer and place it over the boiling water and cover it with the lid. Allow to steam for 5 minutes. Thicker asparagus may take longer and thinner asparagus may take less time. Adjust as needed anywhere between 3 - 7 minutes, err on the side of less time.
Step 9. Toast Panko: Bring a saute pan to medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and allow to warm through. Add 1 cup of panko. Stir occasionally until golden brown.
To Serve: Add the rice to low shallow bowls and top with chicken, sauce, asparagus, toasted bread crumbs, and parsley.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat
- To Store: Place the chicken and sauce in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-5 days. Store any leftover panko, brown rice, and asparagus separately, each in their own containers. The brown rice and asparagus should be stored in the fridge. The panko can be placed in a plastic bag and stored on the counter until ready to use.
- To Freeze: This recipe is an excellent recipe to freeze and reheat at a later time. To freeze, place the chicken and sauce in a large airtight container, or even large gallon-sized freezer bags, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat:
- Fresh: Place in individual bowls and microwave at 50% power for 1 minute at a time until heated to your preferred temperature.
- Frozen: Add the remaining shredded chicken and sauce back to a Dutch oven and bring to a medium-low temperature until thawed. Stir thoroughly to combine.
Common Issues and How to Avoid Them
- Dry Chicken: To prevent dry chicken, bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Make sure it is not boiling while it is cooking for the 1 hour 15 minute to 1 hour 30 minute cooking time. The temperature may need to be set quite low to ensure a low simmer. Also, do not cook for longer than directed. The meat should be falling off the bone by the 1-hour 30-minute mark.
- Lack of Flavor: Using canned and fresh tomatoes as the base of the sauce along with a few spices like oregano, bay leaves, and a small amount of red pepper flakes will add plenty of flavor to this dish. Additionally, at least half of the chicken pieces should be bone-in, skin-on. The bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces will add a lot of flavor to the dish, even when you remove and discard the skin and bones when shredding.
- Insufficient Liquid: There should be enough liquid from the can of tomatoes, the Roma tomatoes, and the white wine to cover most of the chicken. If there is not enough liquid you can add chicken stock to the Dutch Oven. However, the longer it cooks the more water is released from the tomatoes and fat is released from the chicken, which will help to cover the chicken.
If You're Interested in More Chicken Recipes, You May Love These:
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Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 2+ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 4 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 cup white wine optional
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 2-3 lbs assorted pieces of chicken (breast, thighs, etc. – some bone in skin on)
- salt to taste
- 1 cup brown rice optional
- 1 bunch asparagus, sliced at an angle into one-inch pieces optional
- 1 cups panko optional
- ½ bunch fresh parsley, chopped optional
Instructions
- Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven at medium heat. Add the onion and sauté stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the white wine (if using, otherwise skip to the next step) and allow it to cook until you can no longer smell the wine, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes, plum tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Add the chicken. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until the chicken begins to fall off the bone.
- Using tongs, remove the chicken from the pot and place it on a cutting board. Using two forks or a knife and two forks take the chicken off the bone and shred it into pieces. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Discard the bones and skin. Be sure to remove all small bones and not add them back to the pot with the shredded chicken.
- Prepare the brown rice (optional): Add 1 cup of brown rice and 2 cups of water to a small pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer. Remove from heat when the rice has absorbed all the water and is light and fluffy.
- To Toast the Panko (optional): Bring a sauté pan to medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and allow to warm through. Add the panko breadcrumbs. Stirring occasionally and watch carefully until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown. Set aside.
- Steam the Asparagus (optional): Add a small amount of water to a pot and bring to a boil. Place the asparagus in a fine mesh strainer over the pot of boiling water and cover for 5 minutes to steam. Do not overcook. For thinner asparagus, you may only need 3 minutes, for thicker asparagus you may need up to 7 minutes.
- To Serve: Serve the chicken and sauce over brown rice in bowls, add the asparagus, and sprinkle with parsley and breadcrumbs.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from Mediterranean slow-cooked chicken in Good Food To Share by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan.
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