Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
This Crock Pot BBQ Chicken is so easy! Just toss all the ingredients together and let the crock pot do all the work for juicy, fall apart tender BBQ chicken, perfect for sandwiches.
Crock pot BBQ chicken is one of my go to weeknight dinners. It’s so easy to throw together and there’s usually leftovers for lunch the next day. Usually, we shred the chicken and serve on buns with coleslaw for sandwiches, but I’ve also topped nachos, made BBQ chicken tacos, BBQ chicken pizza with pickled red onions and cheddar cheese and loaded up a baked potato. Lots of meal possibilities out of one recipe!
Serve these juicy sandwiches up with a side of Crispy Oven Fries, Potato Salad, Pasta Salad or a simple side salad.
What you’ll need
Find the full, printable recipe with exact measurements at the bottom of this post. Read on for more details and tips!
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- 6-7 quart crock pot
- Chicken breast– boneless, skinless
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar– light or dark
- Honey– for that sweetness
- Apple cider vinegar– or regular white vinegar works
- Worcestershire sauce
- Seasonings– paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper
OR just use a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and call it a day. 🙂
How to make Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
Add the chicken to the bottom of a nonstick sprayed 6-7 quart crock pot. Sprinkle over the spices.
Mix together the sauce ingredients: ketchup, honey, brown sugar, worchestershire sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 2 1/2 hours.
When the chicken is finished cooking, shred the meat. I love using a hand mixer right in the crock pot to easily shred the meat in minutes! Pro tip: don’t do that if you used a nylon crock pot liner! Don’t ask how I know. 🙄
How to Serve Shredded BBQ Chicken
Typically we serve the meat on sandwich buns or sliders with coleslaw or a slice of cheddar cheese and dill pickle chips.
It’s also amazing on a pizza! To your pizza dough add extra BBQ sauce on the pizza dough, the shredded chicken, pickled red onions, and shredded cheddar cheese and bake as directed.
Try it over a big plate of nachos or on tacos. I also love this over macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, or a baked potato. There really are so many possibilities!
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⭐ Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section.
Tips and Suggestions
- If you don’t want to bother mixing the ingredients just use 1-2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce and slow cook as usual.
- Use a hand mixer to easily shred the chicken (but not in the slow cooker if you used a slow cooker liner!) Or add the meat to a stand mixer and shred using the paddle attachment. This tip will change your life!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove until warmed through.
Try these Crock Pot Recipes
- Buttery Beef and Potatoes
- Beef and Broccoli
- Game Day Chili
- Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Apple Cider Pork Loin
- Italian Beef Sandwiches
- Mississippi Pot Roast
- Ravioli Casserole
- Pork Tenderloin
- Peach Glazed Meatballs
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Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast or thighs (4-5 chicken breast)
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Add chicken to a lightly sprayed crock pot, sprinkle on all the seasonings and spices.
- In a small bowl mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over the chicken
- Cook on low 5 hours or high 2 1/2 hours
- Shred the chicken and serve on sandwich buns, in mac and cheese, on a BBQ chicken pizza, over baked potatoes, over fries, tots, nachos or in tacos
Video
Notes
- If you don’t want to bother mixing the ingredients just use 1-2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce and slow cook as usual.
- Use a hand mixer to easily shred the chicken (but not in the slow cooker if you used a slow cooker liner!) Or add the meat to a stand mixer and shred using the paddle attachment. This tip will change your life!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove until warmed through.
Not only did the house smell amazing, the chicken was so delicious. I did the high temperature @ 2 1/2 hours with my own bbq sauce. I wasn’t sure if I was still suppose to add the seasonings with my bbq sauce so I left them out.
Definitely a keeper recipe.
So happy to hear! Thank you for sharing!
This was delicious. I served it over baked potatoes. But there was so much sauce for 2 pounds of chicken. I wound up freezing the excess to use again. Next time I would add more chicken or halve the sauce ingredients.