How to Shred Rotisserie Chicken

If you dread separating and pulling the meat from your rotisserie chicken, you’re not alone –I dreaded this too!

Below I share how you can shred rotisserie chicken quickly and easily to build delicious meals on busy weeknights!

Shredding Rotisserie Chicken

Using rotisserie chicken is my #1 hack to build epic dinners for my family when I need to figure out what I should make for dinner fast. Nothing like stopping at the grocery on the way home from work hoping they still have some left, am I right?

While a cooked chicken is convenient and can be served as is, shredding chicken is the next best thing when you want to build a meal.

While removing the meat from the chicken is simple, there are some things you can do to make it go faster and pull the chicken apart faster. More on this below.

You can shred chicken with your hands, using two forks or a hand mixer (yes, you’ll see!), each yielding better (or faster!) results depending on your needs. Keep reading, and by the end of the post, you’ll be shredding your rotisserie chicken like a pro.

Is it Better to Shred Rotisserie Chicken Hot or Cold?

First, you’ll need to separate the meat from the chicken, a process that has frustrated most of us more than once; except it doesn’t have to.

Shred Rotisserie Chicken Fast 

There are many methods to shred chicken, but when you need to shred a whole rotisserie chicken fast, nothing can beat using a hand mixer! Yes, I mean the hand or stand mixer you use for cake batter. That one! Using the hand mixer, the chicken is shredded fast and in even, fine pieces.

1. Clean the chicken
   First, remove the skin, pull out all the meat from the bones using your hands, and place the chicken pieces in a bowl with high rims. 
2. Quickly Shred the chicken
   Mix at low speed and then at high speed until the chicken is completely shredded. Be careful not to fill it to the top, or you’ll have shredded chicken all over the kitchen! If necessary, better work in batches.

Want to see this 60-second hack in action? Watch this quick video, it’s magic!

How to Shred Rotisserie Chicken Between 2 Forks

Shredding chicken with two forks is super simple, and while it takes a little extra time, you don’t have to clean any gadgets. Just place the chicken on a cutting board, secure it with one fork, and use the other fork to pull the meat away and shred it.

You won’t get fine and even chicken pieces like you do with the hand mixer, but if you don’t need it perfectly shredded and you don’t have to shred a lot of chicken all at once, this is an easy method with very little clean-up!

How Much Shredded Chicken do You Get from a Rotisserie Chicken 

Depending on the size of your rotisserie chicken, you can get about 3 to 5 cups of shredded chicken. The average grocery store chicken will yield about 3.5 to 4 cups, and a large Costco (or Sam’s Club) size chicken will yield as much as 5 to 6 cups of shredded chicken meat!

How to Store Shredded Chicken 

Place the shredded chicken in an airtight container or a zip bag, release any excess air, and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also store it in the freezer for up to 1 year, but I recommend using it within 3 months to prevent freezer-burned chicken (remember to label the zip bag!).

To use frozen shredded chicken, thaw it in the microwave, in the fridge overnight, or in a cold water bath. Since the chicken is in very small pieces, it won’t take long to be ready to use.

Ways to Use Shredded Rotisserie Chicken 

Once you try these recipes with shredded rotisserie chicken, they’ll become a staple at your house! What can be more tasty than Chicken Tacos, Rotisserie Chicken Chili, or Fajita Bowls? Epic!

For nights when you crave a hearty meal that you can serve fast, nothing like this incredible Chicken Alfredo, or a bowl of this cozy Chicken Noodle Soup. You can also grab shredded chicken leftovers and make a salad for lunch, like this Spicy Chicken Salad. Amazing!