Greek Shredded Chicken
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Greek Shredded Chicken is a high protein dinner that’s full of Mediterranean flavor. The tender braised chicken is great for meal prep to use in pitas, salads, and soups!
This easy Greek chicken recipe is a staple in our weeknight meal rotation. Made in one pot, it’s a simple, high protein dish. Protein-packed meals help keep you feeling full, and this has over 30g of protein per serving!
It’s a big time-saver because it can be prepared in advance and enjoyed throughout the week!
Shredded and pulled meats like this are super versatile, too. The Greek shredded chicken is delicious eaten as-is, but it’s also a great addition to other recipes.
This braised chicken recipe is easy to make, and the Mediterranean spices will make your kitchen smell fantastic!
Liz’s Tips for this Recipe
- This recipe works best with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Bone-in breasts take longer to cook.
- To prevent the shredded chicken from drying out, store it in a bit of sauce or broth.
- If you’re crunched for time, you can cook the Greek chicken in a crockpot! See the recipe card for instructions.
For a plain shredded chicken recipe, try our Instant Pot Shredded Chicken.
why we love this recipe
- Easy to make – We like to make this in a dutch oven, but you can also make it in the crockpot. The slow cooker directions are below!
- High Protein – Protein packed meals help keep you fuller for longer, and this has over 30g of protein per serving!
- Versatile – Serve it with rice, a greek salad, or with greek dressing – it’s delicious no matter what!
Ingredients
Here’s what we use to make our greek chicken breast:
Substitutions
Olive Oil: You can substitute with avocado oil or butter.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but if you do, we recommend using less oil.
Broth: You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, and vegetable broth will all work. I always use low or no-salt broth.
Red Wine Vinegar: We don’t recommend substituting the red wine vinegar with anything except maybe white wine vinegar. Do not skip this ingredient—it’s essential to the Mediterranean flavor.
Herbs de Provence – if you don’t have herbs de Provence, substitute with 1/4 teaspoon each: dried basil, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and garlic powder. This is the herbs de Provence we like to use. A sprinkle of dill is also a nice addition here!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Greek Braised Chicken
This is just a summary of the steps involved in making the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full instructions, or click on the Jump to Recipe button, below.
- Cut each chicken breast in half (as seen in the picture). Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- In a Dutch oven, sear the breasts on all sides, turning to evenly cook.
- Stir in seasonings, chicken stock, red wine vinegar and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and braise the chicken for 1 hour.
- After an hour, remove the lid. Use two forks to shred the chicken, stirring it back into the sauce in the Dutch oven. Serve and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Here are some ideas for how to serve the pulled Greek chicken:
- Chicken Gyros: Serve the shredded meat in a pita bread with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced red onions, lettuce, and tzatziki or Greek yogurt sauce (as pictured). Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top, and don’t forget the feta cheese!
- Salads: Add it to a Greek Salad, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, or Broccoli Salad
- Soup: The shredded chicken is a fantastic addition to Lemon Chicken Soup and Instant Pot Potato Soup!
storage
Refrigerator: This dish will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: In freezer-safe containers, it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before enjoying, or heat directly from frozen.
Reheating: You can reheat the Greek chicken in a toaster oven, oven, or in a skillet on the stove. We do not recommend microwaving, as the chicken can get bouncy. It’s best when heated in a pan on the stove or in the toaster oven. You can add a little chicken broth to it to re-hydrate it if it feels dry.
Other healthy dinner recipes
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these Healthy Dinner Recipes or grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Greek Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano Greek oregano preferred
- 1 tablespoon herbs de provence
Instructions
- Remove the chicken from the package, clean it to your liking and cut each piece in half (not butterfly, just cut the chicken into 2 smaller pieces). This is optional, but we cut it in half to provide more surface area for browning. It also cooks quicker if it’s halved.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix together and let the chicken marinate for a few minutes.
- Take out a large dutch oven or pot. Add the olive oil to the pan and turn to medium heat, get the pan hot just to the point of seeing a slight shimmer in the oil before it starts to smoke.
- Add the chicken to the pan and sear on all sides, about 10 minutes of total cook time.
- Once the chicken has a nice browned color to it, add the dried oregano and herbs de provence. Stir, cook together for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken stock and red wine vinegar, stir together and put a lid on the dutch oven.
- Turn the heat down to medium low and slow cook in the dutch oven for 1 hour. At the 30 minute mark I like to open the lid and give it a good stir, close the lid and finish the cook.
- Once cooked, shred the chicken with two forks and mix it into the sauce that’s leftover at the bottom of the pan, this has great flavor to it and keeps it tender and juicy.
- Add to a pita, top over a bowl of rice, or eat this on top of a salad. This is a perfect meal that can be prepared in advance and enjoyed throughout the week!
Crockpot Instructions
- Follow steps 1 – 4 as shown above.
- Once the chicken has a nice browned color to it, remove from pan and transfer to crockpot base. Add the dried oregano and herbs de provence. Stir, cook together for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken stock and red wine vinegar, stir together and put a lid on the crockpot.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. We don't recommend cooking on high.
- Once cooked, shred the chicken with two forks and mix it into the sauce that’s leftover at the bottom of the crockpot. It has great flavor and keeps the shredded chicken breasts tender and juicy.
- Serve as desired. Refrigerate leftovers and use within 5 days, or cool completely and freeze in freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Refrigerate leftovers and use within 5 days, or cool completely and freeze in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months.
I am looking forward to making this tomorrow.I see that herbs de Provence is an ingredient but do not see where it’s needed in the instructions.
It’s in step 5 🙂
I didn’t sear the chicken. I just put the chicken and all the ingredients in the crockpot, on low for 5 hrs. It was delicious!!!
Made this tonight using the instapot. This was delicious. It is hard to believe I just had comfort food for less than 400 calories! I did add peas at the end as well as extra garlic and salt just for personal preference. We will definitely be eating this again!
That’s a really good idea to add peas! Sounds delicious – so happy you enjoyed it!
This looks great! Would you recommend cooking this in the insta pot, and if so, how?
No I wouldn’t recommend making this in the instant pot. I’ve never tried it so I can’t be sure! I’d recommend following the instructions in the recipe 🙂