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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!!
I have two whole chickens that I would like to use for this recipe. Can I debone and remove the skin? Would this work? It is for a work potluck so could I make in advance and keep on warm for the morning?
Hi Lee that should work fine to debone and remove the skin. I have instructions on how to cut up a whole chicken on my blog here. 🙂
This was fantastic. Made a batch for a pot luck, everyone loved it. I did add a tiny bit of liquid smoke to the cooking liquid to start, otherwise followed recipe exactly. I also blended the onion with the oil, worst. sauce, and a little bbq sauce because I don’t have a grater, and it worked great!
That’s so great, Corita! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
This looks so good! I have everything to make it too!! Could I use chicken tenders for this, instead of chicken breasts? If so, should I adjust the cook time?
Thanks,
Terri
Hi Terri, I haven’t tried it with tenders just yet. We’ve had people try this recipe with thighs, pork etc. and loved the results. You may have to adjust the cooking time a bit but it should be pretty close. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Have made this several times in the last year and was devoured each time. I even make it a day or two before a camping trip, it makes for an easy and quick dinner for that first night.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review, Kim!
Natasha! You have done it again! This is a keeper, easy and stress free recipe! It was a hit, and best thing with slow cooker, I get to run errands and the slow cooker cooks it for me and it tasted so so so good! Thank you Natasha, I hope you can come out with more slow cooker recipes, looking forward to it.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Amy!
This was so easy to make! Just prepped everything in the slow cooker before bed & shredded the chicken when I woke up in the morning! Made it for a work potluck & it was an absolute hit! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s so great, Jenee! It sounds like you have a new favorite, thank you for the awesome review!
Hello, I want to double the recipe but I’m not really sure how I should do it. I’m afraid if I put double something, like the onion, Worcestershire, or sugar it may be too much and will completely over power the taste..let me know what you think! Thanks in advance(:
Hi Anae, if doubling the recipe, I would do at least 1.5 times the sauce – once you shred the chicken and return it to the pot, it soaks up most of the liquid. If you are concerned about the liquid, you can scoop some out before you return the shredded chicken back to the pot and then add it back in as needed.
I’ve made this for my family of eight and it’s amazing. I’ll be making this next week in roasters for our oldest’s graduation party. I’m making enough for 180 people (just in case everyone invited shows up-we know many large families). I was going to to make 1/4 pound per person, but but I ordered regular hamburger buns just because Aldi is so cheap. Does three pounds fill just 8 buns or does it serve 8 people one or two sandwiches?
Now to decide whether to slice 15 heads of cabbage or just buy bags of shredded cabbage-far less attractive!
Hi Erin, 3lbs made 8 generous sized sandwiches. Sounds like quite a party! so fun!!
It was absolutely perfect for our party. I made three roasters full a few days ahead of time (about 60 .lbs of chicken) and mixed up the coleslaw dressing in mason jars to be mixed with cabbage as needed. My friends were amazing and kept the kitchen going smoothly. My son was so happy with the food at his party :). I love all of your recipes. Thanks for all your work, makes my life easier!
You’re welcome! Sounds like you had a feast!
Which onion is best for this recipe? Yellow onion?
Hi Shari, yes, we use a yellow onion. A white or sweet onion would work as well.
This was delicious. I made the mistake of using a whole chicken since it was for a neighborhood block party. It was a little too shredded since there will be children at the party & I had to make certain there were no bones left in it. It was still delicious. Next time I will use boneless.
Hi Delilah, it’s definitely easier with boneless :). I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried a variation of this today where I used a salsa verde sauce in place of Baby Rays and added some chopped green chiles. I used some of the pulled chicken mixture in some baked enchiladas. Yummy!
I’m glad to hear the recipe was a great success, sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your great review Jim!
I made this today and I think it’d be a great Fourth of July recipe. So excited I found Natasha’s Kitchen.
I’m glad you found my page and are enjoying the recipes Mahta! Thanks for following and sharing your great review!
Looks good! Was wondering, with my work schedule, if thighs were used and cooked on low for 12 hours. Would it still work?
Hi Wayne, it would be very overcooked after 12 hours on low. It would be safer to set it to the time per the recipe and then allow the slow cooker to automatically switch to the ‘warm’ setting. Hopefully your slow cooker has that functionality.
Would this be able to be frozen?
Hi Catherine, I haven’t tried freezing but I think it would work 🙂
I freeze this recipe all of the time. It is just my husband and me so we can’t eat the entire recipe alone. Well…we could but my waistline would protest. This recipe has become a “tried and true” recipe for us and I make a double batch every time and freeze it in plastic freezer bags that hold just enough for a dinner and lunch the next day. I love the flexibility of pulling it out of the freezer whenever we need a quick dinner. It’s so easy and oh so delicious!!! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the wonderful review! I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi I want to make this for a group of 25 people. How can i adjust it? Thank you
Hi Alysha, it depends on what else is on the menu. If this is the the only meat, you might quadruple the recipe and use 2 slow cookers to get the job done :).
i cooked it on high for 3 to 4 hours and put it on low until my family came home.It is delicious and will make it again in the future
I’m happy to hear your whole family enjoys the recipe Brittany! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
Great recipe! I cooked it on low for 8 hours and shredded the chicken rigut in the slow cooker at hour 7. Delish! We used the leftovers to make pulled chicken nachos!
I’m glad your family enjoys the recipe Lisa! Thanks for sharing your great review!
If I were to cut this down so there wasn’t so much (I only need enough for 2) would I need to change the cooking time? I’m thinking only a pound for us instead of three.
Hi Sarah, If you are still using the same size crockpot, my only concern would be if you were to cut down the liquid, you would want it to be enough to cover the chicken so maybe cut the chicken in half lengthwise. It will probably cook faster if you do that – test it after 4 hours on low and turn it off when it shreds easily with 2 forks.
I am looking to make this recipe this weekend for our Cub Scouts potluck. Was going to do sliders to help it stretch to more people but still thinking I want to double the recipe. So if I double the amount of chicken…do I need to double the amount of the other ingredients? I don’t want there to be too much liquid. Thanks!
Hi Lara, I would do at least 1.5 times the sauce – once you shred the chicken and return it to the pot, it soaks up most of the liquid. If you are concerned about the liquid, you can scoop some out before you return the shredded chicken back to the pot and then add it back in as needed. I hope you all love it!
I made this 2 days ago. The flavor was great. But it was so soupy. Next time I will cook chicken w/o the sauce and pour off the excess juice before adding the shredded chicken back to the crock pot. Then add the sauce and let it re-heat.
Hi Alika, 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 🙂
Hi,
Thank you for all your recipes, huge help for someone that knows nothing about cooking and can only follow your clear directions!!! just wondering if i could make this in instant pot? and what would be the time and pressure level?
thank you!
Hi Julia, 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.