Shredded barbecue chicken with bacon, served on a baked potato, and topped with melted cheese and green onion…that is what my family and I ate for lunch on Saturday, and we loved it. Today’s recipe is a delicious lunch or dinner option that your whole family will love! Before I share the recipe, let’s talk about the ingredients and the WW Smart Points first (or you can jump to the recipe here)…
About the Smart Points.
Depending on what barbecue sauce you use, one stuffed potato can be anywhere between 4-6 WW SP. If you use Walden Farms (zero SP) BBQ sauce, it will be just 4 WW SP per serving. If you use traditional barbecue sauce, it will be 6 WW SP per serving. I used traditional BBQ sauce when I calculated the SP and nutrition facts.
About the chicken.
This recipe uses shredded cooked chicken. If you are working with raw chicken, you will need approximately 3/4 pound raw chicken to yield 2 cups shredded cooked chicken.
Directions for making shredded cooked chicken:
There are a few ways you can go about making tender shredded chicken. I used my Instant Pot, but you could also cook it on the stove-top or slow cooker. Regardless of the cooking method, the chicken should always reach 165°F at its thickest part, and once it is cooked, you will use tongs to carefully transfer the chicken to a plate or bowl and shred the chicken with two forks.
Methods of cooking shredded chicken:
Instant Pot:
Add chicken and 1 cup water to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve, and cook for 8-10 minutes at HIGH pressure. Quick release pressure. (Sidenote: My absolute favorite Instant Pot resource is a cheat sheet I taped to the inside of one of my cupboards that Jillee made at One Good Thing By Jillee. It gives perfect IP cooking times for various meats and grains. If you have an Instant Pot, this is a must have!)
(photo credit: One Good Thing By Jillee)
Stove-Top:
Place chicken in a large pot and cover with 1-2 cups water. Cover the pot, set to medium heat, and bring the water to a gentle boil. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer for 8 to 16 minutes, depending upon the size and number of chicken breasts that you are cooking.
Slow cooker:
Add chicken and 1/2 cup water in a slow cooker. Cook 3 hours on HIGH or 5-6 hours on LOW.
Rotisserie chicken:
Some people prefer to use rotisserie chicken to make shredded chicken, because it will shred easily. This method tastes fantastic, but for the purposes of this recipe, I am not suggesting that method as it would alter the nutrition facts and WW Smart Points, and I am trying to create some consistency here for those who need it.
Are you ready to give this yumminess a try?
Here is what you need:
3 (6 ounce) medium potatoes
1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided
2 slices cooked center-cut bacon, crumbled
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
Cooking spray
3/4 cup reduced-fat shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1-2 green onions, sliced
Here is what you do:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Rinse and scrub potatoes clean of dirt. Pierce potatoes with a fork several times so the steam can escape when cooked.
Wrap potatoes with paper towel and microwave them for 10-12 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Cool potatoes for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix 1/4 cup barbecue sauce and bacon with the chicken.
Once potatoes are cooked and cooled, cut the potatoes lengthwise. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes, leaving about a 1/2 inch layer of potato inside the peel. Spray the potato skins with cooking spray and bake 5-7 minutes, or until the outside of the potatoes are slightly crispy.
Meanwhile, using a potato masher or the fork you used to pierce the potatoes, mash the insides of the potatoes that you scooped out and mix in with the barbecue chicken mixture.
Remove potato skins from the oven. Fill each potato skin with 1/6 of the chicken/potato mixture (this should be about 1/3 to 1/2 cup… more or less, depending on how much potato you scooped out). Top each potato with 2 tablespoons cheese. Cook stuffed potatoes 2-3 more minutes in the oven, or until the cheese is melted.
Drizzle 2 teaspoons remaining barbecue sauce on each potato and top with a little green onion.
Makes 6 stuffed potatoes.
One stuffed potato is 7 Green, 6 Blue, and 4 Purple points.
Shredded BBQ Chicken Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 6 ounce medium potatoes
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided
- 2 slices cooked center-cut bacon, crumbled
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
- Cooking spray
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1-2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Rinse and scrub potatoes clean of dirt. Pierce potatoes with a fork several times so the steam can escape when cooked. Wrap potatoes with paper towel and microwave them for 10-12 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Cool potatoes for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix 1/4 cup barbecue sauce and bacon with the chicken.
- Once potatoes are cooked and cooled, cut the potatoes lengthwise. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes, leaving about a 1/2 inch layer of potato inside the peel. Spray the potato skins with cooking spray and bake 5-7 minutes, or until the outside of the potatoes are slightly crispy.
- Meanwhile, using a potato masher or the fork you used to pierce the potatoes, mash the insides of the potatoes that you scooped out and mix in with the barbecue chicken mixture.
- Remove potato skins from the oven. Fill each potato skin with 1/6 of the chicken/potato mixture (this should be about 1/3 to 1/2 cup... more or less, depending on how much potato you scooped out). Top each potato with 2 tablespoons cheese. Cook stuffed potatoes 2-3 more minutes in the oven, or until the cheese is melted.
- Drizzle 2 teaspoons remaining barbecue sauce on each potato and top with a little green onion.
[signoff]
Jan says
You mean 4 hours on high and 8 hours on low when cooking chicken in a crockpot, right? Although mine is generally done in 5-6 hours on low. I guess that depends on the crockpot and how much chicken. This sounds delicious! Thanks. I love your site!
Alisha Hughes says
Thank you, Jan, for catching that. I just made the correction. To be honest, I never thought to do a shorter cooking time, but as I looked into it I found that there are many who are able to successfully cook their chicken fully at lower cooking times so I updated the information. Thanks bunches! 🙂