When I serve this pulled chicken as sandwiches for dinner or a potluck, I get zero complaints. This is one of those recipes that is always popular and tastes so satisfying. Using my crockpot method, it’s one of the easiest and most versatile proteins to prepare. Below I share several ideas for how to serve it.
Recipe Highlights
Fast and simple: This is one of those recipes that’s so simple it’s almost too good to be true. After stirring together the sauce ingredients, all that’s left is to put everything into the slow cooker.
Less sugar: I like that the simple homemade BBQ sauce is still sweet but doesn’t have too much added sugar, like Sweet Baby Ray’s. For me, it’s a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and salty, and another great healthy chicken recipe.
Makes a lot: This recipe makes 6 cups of shredded BBQ chicken, which is enough to make about twelve ½-cup servings piled onto sandwiches or over baked potatoes. It’s a great recipe for potlucks of meal prepping to have leftovers.
Flavorful: A more seasoned and saucy version of plain shredded chicken, I love this delicious, sweet-tangy shredded chicken recipe for serving as sandwiches, over baked potatoes, and on top of salad. It’s a great source of protein, low in saturated fat, and a good source of vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.
A Few Real Food Ingredients
Even if going the homemade sauce route (which I recommend) it requires only a few more pantry ingredients than what I have listed here. These are the very basics:
- Chicken – use either high quality boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs (or a mix). I tend to use 1 pound of each when making this recipe. The thighs will shred easier, but I liked the mix of both. It tastes delicious when shredded and tossed back together with the sauce ingredients in the crockpot.
- Onion – I use one large or two small sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced and placed at the bottom of the slow cooker.
- BBQ sauce – to simply press the easy button, use 1 cup of a favorite store-bought BBQ sauce in place of the homemade BBQ sauce ingredients and add ½ cup water. Even if going the homemade sauce route (which I recommend) it requires only a few more pantry ingredients.
Find the ingredient list with exact measurements in the recipe card below.
Quick Prep And A Few Simple Steps
The beauty of this recipe is that the slow cooker does almost all the work in this crockpot BBQ chicken recipe. Here is a quick step-by-step of the few hands-on tasks involved:
- Make the BBQ sauce – this step involves stirring together a few ingredients in a bowl, including the tomato paste, water, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and dry spices.
- Fill the slow cooker – next, place the sliced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker, place the chicken on top of that, and pour the BBQ sauce over top. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set it to cook on the high or low heat setting.
- Shred the chicken — remove the chicken and onions from the slow cooker and shred it with two forks or shredder claws. Then return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and toss it with the sauce for the saucy best chicken you’ve ever tasted.
For serving size and the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition analysis, listing calories (kcals), protein, carbohydrates/carb, fiber, sugar, sodium, cholesterol, and more per serving.
Best Ways To Shred Slow Cooker Chicken
There really isn’t a difference between pulled chicken and shredded chicken – they are the same thing. But there are a few different ways to shred chicken and tools that help. Some people swear by shredding chicken in a stand mixer, but that’s not the best option for a saucy recipe like this. Instead, these are my go-to ways:
- Shred with two forks – simply use two forks to pull and shred the chicken in opposite directions.
- Use a meat shredder tool – this rotating chicken shredded tool makes fast work of shredding chicken and requires less muscle. I find that it tends to create bigger shreds of chicken, so if larger pieces are desired, use this method.
- Use shredder claws – I received a set of these meat shredder claws for Christmas a few years ago and they are my favorite hand-held tools for making quick work of shredding chicken. They look like sharp bear paws and work well to make smaller pieces.
My Favorite Ways To Serve
Most often, I serve this slow-cooked BBQ pulled chicken as sandwiches or sliders, tucking a generous portion of the saucy shredded chicken onto a bun and topping it with coleslaw, a few pickles, or these pickled red onions. Then I round out the plate by adding sides of these crispy roasted potatoes and air fryer green beans or oven roasted green beans.
This pulled chicken is also delicious served over top of a fluffy baked potato or baked sweet potato with other toppings, such as a fresh cilantro-lime slaw and some pickled red onions.
I’ve also used this pulled chicken recipe to make wraps inside of tortillas with crispy romaine lettuce. And I think it would be really tasty in this BBQ rice bowls recipe, replacing the pulled pork for the BBQ cooked chicken. And it could be a fun variation on taco by placing the delicious chicken inside taco shells and topping with slaw and sliced jalapeño. One more idea: This BBQ pulled chicken would be absolutely delish in this chicken salad recipe, replacing the grilled chicken and served chilled and tossed with smoked almonds, tomatoes, corn, and red onion.
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“So easy, so delicious! I can’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow! The perfect weeknight meal!” ~ Mindy R.
Storing And Reheating Leftovers
Store leftovers of the BBQ shredded chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Or, freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, I place the leftovers in a saucepan over medium heat on the stovetop and heat until it’s warmed throughout, adding a few tablespoons of water or chicken broth to loosen up the meat and sauce mixture. To reheat from frozen, I thaw the frozen meat overnight in the refrigerator before heating it on the stovetop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, raw chicken can be placed in the slow cooker. After adding the chicken and any other recipe ingredients, cover the slow cooker and set it to cook for at least 2-3 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low.
No, it’s not recommended to place frozen chicken in the slow cooker. The time it takes to thaw and then reheat again places chicken in the “danger zone” temperature range (40°F to 140°F) for too long, which increases the risk of food-borne bacteria and potential food poisoning.
BBQ Pulled Chicken Recipe
This easy recipe calls for simple ingredients and a quick stir-together BBQ sauce that infuses the shredded chicken with delicious sweet-tangy sauce flavor. Serve it as BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches, wraps, or over baked potatoes.
Ingredients
For the BBQ Sauce:
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder (or onion powder)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons regular or smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Chicken:
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (or 1 lb of each)
- 1 large or 2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
Get Recipe IngredientsInstructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, the tomato paste through black pepper, until well combined.
- Place the sliced onion in the bottom of a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Place the chicken on top of the onions.
- Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken.
- Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on HIGH or for 5-6 hours on LOW.
- When the slow cooker time is up, remove the chicken to a sheet pan or platter. Using two forks, a meat shredder, or shredder claws, shred the chicken into pieces.
- Add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and toss to coat with sauce. Keep on the WARM setting until ready to serve.
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Notes
In a pinch for time? Use 1 cup bottled barbecue sauce plus ½ cup water in place of the homemade sauce ingredients.
Instant Pot directions: Place the onion, chicken, and BBQ sauce in the Instant Pot. Add an additional ½ cup broth or water. Lock the lid into place and set on the Poultry setting or High Pressure cooking for 13 minutes. After 13 minutes, press Cancel and let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes, then manually release any remaining pressure. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks then return it to the Instant Pot to toss with the sauce.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/12th of recipe, about 1/2 cup shredded chicken
- Calories: 117
- Fat: 3 g
- (Sat Fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 284 mg
- Carbohydrate: 9 g
- (Fiber: 1 g
- Sugar: 7 g)
- Protein: 18 g
- Cholesterol: 44 mg
Dietary
Recipe Changelog
- January 2026: We previously published a version of this recipe that was made in the Instant Pot instead of the slow cooker. It called for a bottled BBQ sauce (Tessemae’s) that was added in two stages, as well as additional water or broth. It included an optional serving suggestion over baked sweet potatoes with broccoli slaw. Download the previous version here.
The photos in this post were taken by Megan McKeehan.
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So easy, so delicious!! Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!!! The perfect weeknight meal!
Isn’t that the best when you’re excited about the leftovers?
This looks amazing! Hoping to make for a friend tomorrow. If using the slow cooker could I double the recipe (all ingredients)? And would using chicken thighs be the same?
Hi Morgan, for doubling this recipe you would want to use 4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast and/or thighs! Follow instructions as is and place chicken in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender. Enjoy!