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This crockpot pulled chicken is so easy to make – everything just goes into the slow cooker without any special prep. It’s fall-apart tender, juicy and delicious. We put it on rolls with our coconut coleslaw and crisp dill pickle chips.
It was sweet, salty, savory and so satisfying. I invited my family over for crockpot bbq chicken sliders and everyone loved them. My son even asked for refills on the chicken (which is a big deal). l’m pretty sure all of the adults had seconds. Great reviews all around on this one! If the picture above hasn’t convinced you yet, the next one will!
This is a great way to make meat for company or your family when you don’t have time to stand over the stove. You can throw everything in your slow cooker before church and it’s ready when you come home. Such a treat! PS. the coleslaw can be made when you start the chicken – just refrigerate it until ready to serve..
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken:
3 lbs (about 5-6 count) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce (Try Homemade BBQ Sauce or Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ)
1/2 medium onion, grated (with juice)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
How to Make Crockpot BBQ Chicken:
1. Stir together all sauce ingredients in a 5-6 qt slow cooker.
2. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and cook on high 2 to 3 hours or on low for 6 to 7 hours. Check on it early since timing can depend on the thickness of your chicken and the size of your slow cooker. It will also cook faster if making a smaller batch. Chicken is done when cooked through to an internal temperature of 167˚F and easy to shred.
3. Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred each breast using two forks. Place shredded chicken back in the crock pot and stir to coat with the yummy sauce
↑↑↑ Wishing I had leftovers…
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken breasts, (boneless, skinless)
- 1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce, I used Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ
- 1/2 medium onion, grated (with juice)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Stir together all sauce ingredients in a 5-6 qt slow cooker.
- Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours or for 6 to 7 hours on low. Check on the chicken earlier if using smaller chicken pieces, if making a smaller batch, or if you know your slow cooker runs hot. Chicken is done when cooked through to an internal temperature of 165˚F and is easy to shred.
- Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred each breast using two forks. Place shredded chicken back in the crock pot and stir to coat with the yummy sauce.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Serve in buns with the best coconut coleslaw and dill pickle chips. Yum!!
Hi Natasha,
Do you think this could be made in the instant pot?
Hi Kelly, I think that would be a great experiment but without testing it, I really can’t provide specific instructions. I love my instant pot, but things don’t always translate the way I hope they would to the instant pot. I will add it to my list, but if you experiment before I do, let me know how it goes.
I made this for a party last weekend and it was the star of the show! So many compliments and requests for the recipe. And I was happy to direct them here 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this!!
You’re so welcome, Elle! I’m happy you all loved that!
It’s great and simple to make! It was a hit at dinner on a lazy Sunday! I wish I could find it on MyFitnessPal.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Do you think that I’d be able to make 4 1/2 lbs in a 6 qrt slow cooker?
Hi Marina, That may be cutting it close but it may work. We were able to fit 3 lbs into our 6 quart just fine :
Making as i type this. Smells so good so far. Should be ready for the 8pm CFB games.
That’s perfect!! I bet it smells amazing! Thank you for sharing your great review!
This is delish! The only changes I made was used chicken thighs with the bone in (removed when shredding) and added a diced can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce as well. Makes EXCELLENT spicy BBQ pulled chicken. I make this about once a month when the craving hits.
Thank you for sharing that with us David! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
This is really good. I made a few changes though. I cut the chicken breasts in half, butterfly style. I seared both sides in a hot, almost dry pan. (Just the tiniest bit of oil.) After that, I used the onions and about two tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan. I also added about half teaspoon of crushed Thai chili pepper flakes. (My feeling is that anything that can be spicy should be.) I also used about a third less barbecue sauce. I find that less liquid works better in the crock pot, since you can always add more sauce/liquid as needed at the end.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
This recipe is the best pulled chicken recipe I have found. Made it exactly the way it was shown and it turned out amazing.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I followed the recipe and the chicken turned out great, but there was about a cup of liquid still .. I used more that 5 or 6 breast but they were thin sliced so not sure if that was the deal .. did I do something wrong ? I put exactly what you said ..
Hi Anita! if you shred the chicken, it soaks up most of the juice and makes the chicken really moist. It might be a good idea to remove some of the liquid if using less chicken and you can always add it back to taste and preference 🙂
Anita, I have made this a few times, most recently this past weekend. Until you shred the chicken it does look like it is so much liquid. But once I shred up the chicken, like Natasha said below, it soaks it all up. Trust the process!
was great!
Thank you for the wonderful review!
Yummy and so delicious! So easy to make! Will make again and again!
That’s so great Ellen!
Hi Natasha! Looking forward to trying out this recipe….quick question for you….do I need to grate the onion or can I just chop it up finely? Thanks so much!
We grated them for this recipe
Delicious and very easy. 10-15 mins prep, cooked on low 10 hours while I worked. Chicken fell apart. Added a couple tablespoons Bragg Organic Vinegar, very good on Jasmine Rice at the end of a long tiring day. Thanks!
P.s. Do you have some cool Ukrainian / Russian recipes? I worked in Kazakhstan 20 years & traveled all over. Love the regional food!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Genuinely impressed with this delicious salad. Thanks.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Made this today and delicious. Looking for great chicken recipes and this does it. Used Paul Newman s BBQ sauce
Thank you for the awesome review, Marlene!
Great recipe but possibly a little too sweet for European tastes. I used a savoury BBQ sauce (not honey), and half the amount of sugar, and it was still much sweeter than anything like this that we’ve had before. I will use this recipe again, just without the added sugar!
Thank you for your feedback, Grace.
Can I use frozen thin sliced chicken breasts instead of thawed?
Hi Cameran! haven’t tried this particular recipe with frozen chicken but have experimented with other recipes. You should be able to keep to the same timings – probably on the higher side of the timings (i.e. 7 hours on low). Once the chicken pulls apart easily with forks, it’s ready 🙂
Hi Natasha, just wondering if you were to slow cook this in the oven, what temp and how long should you do it for? Sarah
Hi Sarah, You can bake or cook it on the stovetop. I think it’s a little easier (hands off) and less time consuming in the oven. You can follow the baking instructions outlined in my sweet and spicy baked chicken post
Hi, I’m thinking about doubling the recipe. How do you think that will affect the cook time? Thanks!
Hey Sara! That should work fine to double it as long as your slow cooker is large enough to fit everything. It will probably require a longer cook time though – I would aim for the higher end of the cook times (i.e. 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low) to check for doneness.
Just started college and I want to thank you for posting such a delicious dish. Surprisingly it came oh so tasteful, Icant get enough. So simple Thanks again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Akia! Thank you for the great review!