How to make super easy Crockpot BBQ Pulled Chicken. A simple, homemade bbq sauce simmers with chicken breasts and thighs for these easy BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches.
If you love to break out that slow cooker, you also need to try these Italian Beef Sandwiches or Slow Cooker Cuban Ropa Vieja.
I always laugh when people think that my kids eat everything that I make. While I strive to make everything family friendly, my kids are just so darned picky that it’s pretty hard to find something that everyone will eat. They don’t tend to love anything overly spiced or super bold.
This is one of the reasons I love this Crockpot BBQ Pulled Chicken so much. It is delicious, but still mild enough for any child – even the picky ones.
I know a lot of people throw some chicken into the slow cooker and cover it with a bottle of store bought barbecue sauce. This recipe might take 7 minutes longer than that, but it is so worth it.
And really – I keep all of these ingredients on hand, anyway, so why not make it from scratch when you can adjust things to your liking?
BBQ Sauce Ingredients
This is such an easy, homemade bbq sauce, and the flavor is amazing. Here is what you’ll need:
- Butter
- Onion
- Ketchup
- Lemon Juice
- Brown Sugar
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Cider Vinegar
- Dry Mustard Powder
- Salt
- Red Pepper Flakes
What Kind of Chicken to Use for Pulled Chicken
I have mentioned before that I often struggle with the texture of meat made in the slow cooker – especially chicken. Boneless skinless chicken breasts tend to have a weird texture to me when they are cooked in the crock pot. I will often just use chicken thighs, but I love that this recipe has a mixture of chicken breasts and chicken thighs. The extra fattiness from the thighs is really needed here, and makes a pulled chicken recipe that is just perfect.
I use half chicken breasts and half chicken thighs. You could, of course, use all of one or the other, but I think the texture you get from using the combination is the best.
Serving Suggestions
We like to eat this pulled chicken on hamburger buns. My kids like to keep it simple (just the chicken and the buns), but I also like to sometimes add some coleslaw.
But you can’t forget the side dish!
Here are some of my favorite recipes that you could serve alongside this slow cooker bbq chicken:
- Potato Chips
- Scalloped Corn and Broccoli
- Broccoli Salad
- Baked French Fries
- Artichoke Pasta Salad
- Potato Salad Recipe with Corn and Poblanos
- Crown Ruby Fruit Salad
- Easy Baked Beans with Bacon
Storage Instructions
If you have leftover chicken, store it in the refrigerator in a covered container.
You can also freeze the leftovers. Transfer the cooled chicken to freezer safe bags or containers, and store in the freezer for up to 4 months.
More Crock Pot Chicken Recipes
Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Frito Casserole
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken
Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Tools Used to Make this Crock Pot Pulled Chicken
My slow cooker is similar to this one. I love that it has a medium heat setting – a great compromise when you need to cook it a little hotter, but high is too much.
The easiest way to get the chicken from the crock pot to your sandwich is with a pair of tongs.
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Crock Pot Pulled Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 8 hamburger buns
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, make the bbq sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened. Add the ketchup, lemon juice, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, dry mustard, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place both the chicken breasts and the chicken thighs in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the bbq sauce over the top, then gently stir to coat the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until cooked through.
- When the chicken is cooked, use 2 forks to shred the chicken right in the slow cooker. Stir to combine completely with the sauce.
- Cover and cook on low for an additional hour.
- Serve the chicken on the hamburger buns.
DP says
I made this today for a Culinary Club picnic. It received rave reviews.
It’s the best pulled chicken recipe I have made. The sauce is perfectly balanced and the mix of dark and white meat kept it moist and tender.
Kathryn says
This is my go to recipe for family events. Today I doubled it for our annual church picnic. Last year it got 5 star reviews!
imsen says
This is the best recipe I have found for chicken in the slow cooker. And the tip for using your stand mixer to shred it is so good! It worked perfectly. All of your tips and suggestions are great, thank you for sharing.
stackedfivehigh says
I have a "Not Your Mother's…" and I wasn't a big fan – not that I have a problem with the quality of the food, I'm just morally opposed to any real prep work for a slow cooker meal, and too many of these wanted me to do 20-30 minutes of prep. Just not worth it.
Julie says
All your dishes look great, esp that cinnamon toast casserole, yum!
Kim says
Great roundup of dishes! The barbecue sauce for the chicken sounds great. Definitely a great recipe to have on hand.
I agree with you about pictures in cookbooks. It's what sells the book as far as I'm concerned.
grace says
don't tell my pork-loving family, but chicken barbecue is my favorite. this seems like a swell cookbook!
Maria says
I like to see photos too! Great round up!
Gina says
I love my slow cooker and use it a lot. I do a similar recipe with either pork or beef. I agree that dumping store bought BBQ sauce over the meat is easy….but it lacks a depth of flavor. The mix of ingredients in this recipe is similar to what I use and the result is heaven!
Joanne says
I have the Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook and really like it. Some of the recipes need a little spicing up, but in general they are quite delicious. Love the sound of that barbecue chicken!
Sweet and Savory says
From my understanding it is MUCH more expensive to publish a cookbook with photos…even though those are the ones people want to buy! My dream is to publish and cookbook, so I'm hoping mine has many, many photos!
I make similar shredded chicken – but just with chicken breasts, barbecue sauce and some seasonings. Great, easy meal, yum!
Pam says
The shredded chicken looks and sounds delicious! I don't understand why some cookbooks have no pics either, it just adds to it and makes you want to try this dish! Your photos look great!