Making shredded chicken just got a lot easier thanks to your Dutch Oven! Your Dutch Oven will make tender and moist pulled chicken in only 90 minutes or less. Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken is perfect for meal prep, make-ahead meals, and for enjoying warm and fresh out of the oven.

Pulled chicken (dutch oven) in a blue bowl, on top of a blue napkin, with a fork.

In the past, if I wanted juicy, easy-to-pull-apart chicken, I would go straight to my slow cooker. The slow cooker is great for this, but it takes several hours to make pulled chicken this way.

I recently learned that my Dutch Oven will give me the same result but in a fraction of the time! It turns out, I can make shredded chicken in 90 minutes using only 2 ingredients!

Chicken recipes are one of my specialties, so if you also need a good recipe for how to poach chicken, how to air fry chicken, how to cook chicken breast in a cast iron skillet, or how to bake Panko Chicken, I've got you covered!

After you make Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken, you can use your cooked chicken to make my Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup!

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Recipe highlights
Ingredient notes
Equipment needed
How to make Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken
Substitutions
What to make with pulled chicken
Storage instructions
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Recipe highlights

Making pulled chicken in the Dutch Oven yields the same results as a slow cooker, but way faster!
A simple pulled chicken is low-carb, paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, and Whole30 approved!
You only need about 5 minutes of prep time, and then the oven does the rest of the work for you!
You can serve pulled chicken (dutch oven) in a dozen different ways! My favorite way to eat pulled chicken is with BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce.

Ingredient notes

Ingredients needed to make Dutch Oven pulled chicken.

Chicken breast: You'll need boneless, skinless chicken breast. I like to use 3-4 medium-sized breasts. I also like to trim any large pieces of fat.
Chicken stock/broth: Chicken stock and chicken broth will add moisture to the pulled chicken and also some flavor. Since we aren't using many ingredients for this recipe, I like to use a high-quality chicken stock like Pacific Foods Organic Chicken Stock.
Optional ingredients: To add even more flavor you can season your raw chicken breasts with kosher salt, pepper, any other dried seasonings, fresh herbs, or flavor enhancers that you enjoy.

A detailed ingredient list can be found in the recipe card below.

Equipment needed

You'll need a cast iron Dutch Oven with a lid. I use the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. I know many other bloggers like the Amazon brand of Dutch ovens as well!

How to make Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken

Recipe rundown

Place the chicken in the Dutch Oven.
Pour chicken stock over top of the chicken breasts.
Cover and bake for 90 minutes at 350°F.
Shred the cooked chicken.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: After you've trimmed any large fatty pieces from your chicken breast, lay the chicken breast in the bottom of your enameled Dutch Oven.

Step 2: If you'd like, you can season your chicken breast pieces. I like to just do salt and pepper, but you can skip this step entirely if you want.

Pour about 1 cup of chicken stock over top of the chicken breast.

Raw chicken breasts in a Dutch Oven with chicken stock.

Step 3: Place the lid on top of the Dutch Oven and transfer the Dutch Oven to your oven preheated to 350°F. Cook the chicken for 90 minutes.

Step 4: After 90 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven. Transfer the cooked chicken breast to a large mixing bowl. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into stringy pieces. The chicken will easily pull apart!

That's it! Now that you have moist and juicy pulled chicken you can toss it with your favorite sauce (I love teriyaki and BBQ), mix it with mayonnaise for chicken salad or save it for a quick and easy meal later!

Substitutions

Since this is a 2 ingredient recipe, there isn't much to substitute. The only flexibility you have is with the liquid you're adding to the pot.

You can use any chicken broth, chicken stock, vegetable broth or broth concentrate that you prefer. You can even use water in a pinch! If you use water though, I would definitely add some seasonings to your chicken.

What to make with pulled chicken

The list of lunches and dinners to make with juicy, shredded chicken is endless! Here are some of my favorite ideas.

Pizza - Toss the chicken with sauce, I prefer BBQ sauce, and then add it to the pizza shell along with some more BBQ sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.
Nachos - Add some taco seasoning to the pulled chicken and then add it to your nacho toppings.
Tacos - Taco-seasoned chicken is a yummy low-fat protein for tacos.
Sandwiches and wraps - Chicken makes an excellent protein for sandwiches and wraps.
Taquitos - Toss the shredded chicken with cream cheese, salsa, and taco seasoning. Place a dollop onto a corn tortilla, roll it up, and bake until toasty and heated through.
BBQ chicken sandwiches - Serve the chicken tossed with BBQ sauce on a thick, crusty roll. Top it with a slice of cheese and put it under the broiler for a minute or two to melt the cheese.
Baked potatoes - Top a regular baked potato or a baked sweet potato with the cooked chicken. Again, BBQ sauce would be delicious here!
Add it to garden salads!
Toss with your favorite Asian-style sauce (I like Kinder's Teriyaki) and serve over rice.
Creamy chicken salad - I have two recipes for creamy chicken salad. You've got to try my Classic Chicken Salad and my Mediterranean Style Chicken Salad.
Meal prep - If your main focus is getting a protein cooked for lunch and don't plan on adding any sauces to it, then this is a great option! It's delicious and flavorful on its own.

Storage instructions

How to store: I prefer to store leftover chicken in a glass, airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

How to reheat: You can reheat cooked chicken in the microwave or on the stovetop in a small frying pan. The frying pan method is my preference. Personally, I think the microwave changes the flavor of cooked chicken.

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