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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), about 5-6 count
- 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!!
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
REALLY delicious and the recipe was very much appreciated!
I’m a single guy, a TERRIBLE cook, and it’s too easy to hit the drive-thru, so this was a risk to attempt. EXCELLENT, and thank you! I LOVE the Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce too, but i dared to try this with half of a sugar-free, calorie free BBQ sauce, and it still turned out great! THANKS!!!
I’m so happy you loved it and thank you for sharing about the sugar free calorie free BBQ sauce! It’s great to know that would work!
Is it okay if I stick the chicken in still frozen?
I’ve added chicken that was partially frozen and it worked well so I think frozen chicken would be ok.
I used frozen chicken breasts, but i let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and it was great! (Frozen chicken works well for most recipes, esp those that require baking or using in a crock pot, since they essentially thaw and then cook, in a sped-up fashion…frozen chicken does not do very well in any stove-top made- recipes. )
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing that!
I made this tonight and it was super easy and fast but most importantly delicious!!!
I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you for sharing your awesome review 🙂
This looks yummy, can’t wait to try it! Another great recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen to add to my collection. Just one question, maybe a silly one – the recipe calls for onion, grated (with juice)…what does that mean?
Great question! When you grate an onion on a grater, it releases juice in addition to pulp, so you want to add the pulp and the juice. 🙂 Enjoy!
That makes sense…thanks 🙂
Once again I tried another one of your recipes and fell in love!! The pulled chicken is out of this world!! I will make this again and again and pass it along to friends as must make recipe. Thanks again!! Being a Texas girl anything BBQ screams my name and this chicken Gets an A++ in my book!
That is the best review! Thank you so much for sharing that :). You’re awesome!
can I double this recipe in a 6 quart crock pot?
That sounds like it should work. I believe it will fit 🙂
Hi
Just wondering if you have nutrition info? Thanks!!
I don’t typically include calorie counts, but if you go to caloriecount.com you can plug in the ingredients and servings and figured out pretty easily that way. I hope that helps!
Hi, question for you. 5-6 breast is way to much for my family of 2.5. If I reduced this to 3 breast and halved the other ingredients how long do you think I should cook this on low for? I don’t wanna dry it out and I’ll be setting a timer since I’ll be at work all day. Maybe 4 hours on low?
Hi Natalie, I think 4 hours on low would work if you cut the recipe in half. Check for doneness by shredding it with a couple of forks – if it pulls apart easily, it’s done! 🙂
I made this last night for tonight’s dinner. The whole house smelled this wonderful meal. I am so excited for my 1st crockpot meal. BUT I am worried that I cooled it overnight and kept the juices inside the Tupperware. Please tell me my food is not ruined! I am worried for dinner now that I am not sure if I made a mistake! Help!!
I’m not sure what you mean. Did you take the chicken out of the juice to shred it and not add it back to the juice?
I made this last night and my family devoured it!!! I used chicken thighs instead of breast meat. I also made my own cole slaw. The sauce was VERY good! My family says this recipe is a keeper!
That’s so great Susette! It sounds like you have a new favorite 😁.
Hi! The breasts came out a bit over cooked. Would 3 1/2 on LOW be too short a time as opposed to the suggested 6+ hours? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Sarah, are you using a very large crock pot or is it standard sized? Also, did you make sure to add of the ingredients listed? I think 3 1/2 only would be too short. You could probably get away with putting it on low for 5 hours, but check to make sure it is tender and easy to shred.
4.5 QT crockpot but you’re right I should just check in on it! Thanks so much and love the help with cookin for my family 🙂
I made this and it was good. I wonder if it would be good frozen for later
I haven’t tried freezing it but I think it would work fine 🙂
You are so right, this was actually really really delicious! Guess my style of tasting as I cook fooled me 🙂 Made this for my friends and they were in love. I do like the hot sauce I added, though, cause I like spicy BBQ.
Hi Katie, I’m so happy you liked it. Yes!!! I do love your idea of adding hot sauce for a spicy BBQ.Mmmm 🙂
If I plan on doing prep the night before, can I throw everything in the slow cooker, refrigerate, and just take it out in the morning? Or should I keep the chicken and sauce separate overnight and then combine in the morning before cooking?
Hi Leslie, I would make the sauce and keep it separate from the chicken then combine in the morning before cooking.
Can I cook this and then freeze it to use later. I am having a party for about 60 and it sound great.
I think that would work fine.
Just finished making it! Awesomeness!
Thx for sharing the recipe😉
You are welcome and thank you for the nice review 😁.
I’m very excited to try this recipe out tomorrow. I’m new to crock pot cooking. There will be six of us. How many chicken breasts should I use? I would like to save a little for leftovers. Thank you again for posting this recipe.
Hi Trish, it depends on how many leftovers you want. As is, this recipe serves 8 🙂
This was a hit at new years and making a repeat performance for the big game tomorrow. Good tasty stuff right here.
I’m so happy you loved it! Great choice for the big game! 🙂
Trying this for Superbowl Sunday… can’t wait for the outcome 😉
This is a great choice for Super Bowl! It’s also really good at sliders!
What are your thoughts adding boneless thighs and breasts together?
Rachel, that should work just fine. Let me know how the recipe turns out 😁.