Shredded Chicken Sandwiches are chicken breast cooked in cream of chicken soup and stock, shredded right back into the juices, then thickened with crushed round butter crackers and a little parsley, garlic and pepper. Scoop the creamy filling onto buns and serve it hot. It takes about 70 minutes in an electric pressure cooker and serves 10, so it’s an easy way to feed a crowd.
How to make them: Pressure cook 3 pounds of chicken breast with two cans of cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of stock for 10 minutes. Check that it reads 165°F, shred it with two forks, and stir it back into the pot. Stir in the crushed crackers and seasonings, let it set up for 20 minutes, and pile it onto buns.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Feeds a crowd: 3 pounds of chicken makes enough for 10.
- Short ingredient list: chicken, soup, stock, crackers and a few pantry seasonings.
- Creamy, not soupy: the crushed crackers thicken the filling so it stays on the bun.
- Stays warm: the pot holds it on the warm setting while people help themselves.
Ingredient Notes
Boneless skinless chicken breast: 3 pounds, raw. It cooks right in the soup.
Condensed cream of chicken soup: two 10.5-ounce cans, undiluted. This is the sauce.
Chicken stock: 1 cup in the pot, plus a little more if the filling gets too thick.
Round butter crackers: 1 sleeve, crushed (about 1 1/4 cups). Keep a few more on hand in case the filling needs extra thickening.
Seasonings: 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and kosher salt to taste. The soup is already salty, so taste first.
Hamburger buns: soft buns, one per sandwich.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (10.5 ounces each, undiluted)
- 1 cup chicken stock, plus more to thin the filling if needed
- 1 sleeve round butter crackers, crushed (about 1 1/4 cups), plus more to thicken the filling if needed
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Hamburger buns, for serving
How to Make Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
1. Load the pot. Add the chicken breast, chicken stock and condensed soup to the inner pot of the electric pressure cooker.
2. Seal the lid. Place the lid on the pot, lock it and turn the vent to the sealed position.
3. Pressure cook. Cook on manual (high pressure) for 10 minutes.
4. Release the pressure. When the chicken is fully cooked, use a manual release to let out the steam, then open the lid. Leave the pot on the warm setting.
5. Check the temperature. Check that the chicken reads at least 165°F on a food thermometer.
6. Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken from the pot and leave the juices in it. Shred the chicken with two forks or tongs, then stir it back into the pot.
7. Stir in the crackers and seasonings. Stir in the crushed crackers, dried parsley, garlic powder and black pepper. Taste, and add kosher salt if needed.
8. Let it set up. Let the mixture set up for 20 minutes. If it is thinner than you like, stir in more crushed crackers. If it is too thick, thin it with chicken stock.
9. Serve. Scoop the chicken onto buns and serve hot.
How to Get the Filling Thick, Not Soupy
The filling gets its body from the crackers, so the timing matters more than the amount:
- Add the crackers last. Shred the chicken first, stir it back into the juices, then add the crushed crackers.
- Give it 20 minutes. The crackers keep soaking up liquid while the pot sits on warm. Don’t judge the texture right away.
- Still thin? Stir in more crushed crackers, a handful at a time.
- Too thick or dry? Loosen it with a splash of chicken stock.
- Keep the juices. Lift the chicken out to shred it, but leave the liquid in the pot; the meat goes right back in.
The secret to shredded chicken: cook it until it pulls apart easily, then use two forks or tongs. For a big batch, a stand mixer shreds cooked breasts in about 20 seconds. Either way, check for 165°F first; pulling apart easily isn’t the test.
Other Ways to Make It
- Slow cooker: put the thawed chicken, 1/4 cup stock and the soup in the slow cooker and cook on low 4 hours, until the chicken reaches 165°F. Shred it, stir it back in with the crackers and seasonings, and cook 30 minutes more. (Never put frozen chicken in a slow cooker.)
- Stovetop with cooked chicken: warm the soup, 1 cup of stock and the seasonings in a large high-sided 12-inch skillet or a 5-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add 2.5 to 3 pounds of shredded leftover or rotisserie chicken, heat it through to 165°F, then stir in crushed crackers until it’s as thick as you like.
- Stuffing mix instead of crackers: stir a 6-ounce box of chicken-flavored stuffing mix into the shredded chicken, cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes more until the stuffing softens. Add a splash or two of stock if it looks dry. It tastes like a roast chicken dinner with stuffing.
- Two soups: use one can of cream of chicken and one can of cream of celery.
- BBQ version: for a different sandwich, mix shredded chicken with BBQ sauce and top it with slaw.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking, or of taking the pot off the warm setting, in shallow covered containers. They keep 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: The filling can be frozen for 3 to 4 months, but cream sauces don’t freeze well and may separate after thawing. Thaw in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave.
Reheating: Reheat covered on the stove, in the microwave or in the oven until it reaches 165°F, adding a splash of stock if it’s thick. Don’t reheat leftovers in a slow cooker. For a party, keep the hot filling at 140°F or warmer.
What to Serve With Them
For a crowd, set the pot out with the buns and add a side or two: pasta salad or good ole fashion mac and cheese. For a second sandwich on the table, make slow cooker Amish beef sloppy joes.
Like the soup-and-cracker flavor? Try it baked in Ritz cracker chicken casserole. For creamy shredded chicken over potatoes or rice, make 5-ingredient slow cooker retro cream chicken, and for a barbecue-style pot, 4-ingredient slow cooker chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you add to shredded chicken for a sandwich?
Here it’s cream of chicken soup and crushed butter crackers, with parsley, garlic powder and pepper. Stuffing mix works in place of the crackers.
What sauce goes on shredded chicken sandwiches?
Condensed cream of chicken soup makes the creamy sauce. BBQ sauce is the other common choice.
How do I know the chicken is done?
A food thermometer should read at least 165°F before you shred it.
Can I make it in a slow cooker?
Yes. Cook thawed chicken on low for about 4 hours to 165°F, then shred it and add the crackers for the last 30 minutes.
How many sandwiches does it make?
It serves 10, one sandwich each.
Final Notes
Cook the chicken, shred it back into the juices and let the crackers do the thickening. If you try the stuffing mix version, tell me in the comments how it went.
Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup 10.5 ounces each, undiluted
- 1 cup chicken stock plus more to thin the filling if needed
- 1 sleeve round butter crackers crushed, about 1 1/4 cups; plus more to thicken the filling if needed
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- kosher salt to taste
- hamburger buns for serving
Instructions
- Add the chicken breast, chicken stock and condensed soup to the inner pot of the electric pressure cooker.
- Place the lid on the pot, lock it and turn the vent to the sealed position.
- Cook on manual (high pressure) for 10 minutes.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, use a manual release to let out the steam, then open the lid. Leave the pot on the warm setting.
- Check that the chicken reads at least 165°F on a food thermometer.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and leave the juices in it. Shred the chicken with two forks or tongs, then stir it back into the pot.
- Stir in the crushed crackers, dried parsley, garlic powder and black pepper. Taste, and add kosher salt if needed.
- Let the mixture set up for 20 minutes. If it is thinner than you like, stir in more crushed crackers. If it is too thick, thin it with chicken stock.
- Scoop the chicken onto buns and serve hot.
