Simple Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken

This simple Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken is a great dinner for busy weeknights. An easy recipe that only requires about 10 minutes of prep and perfect for pulled bbq sandwiches and more! Leftovers freeze well too!

Easy weeknight slow cooker dinners are my favorite and this BBQ shredded chicken recipe is always a winner, winner, chicken dinner in our house!

The juiciest, most delicious chicken seasoned and smothered in barbecue sauce is slow cooked for the most flavor. An easy BBQ meal that’s perfect for sandwiches and more!

If you love to make crockpot dinners, try these BBQ chicken tacos, chicken burrito bowls, shredded beef or this 10 minute prep pot roast. The best dump and go recipes for sure!

Why You Will Love This BBQ Shredded Chicken:

• It’s a dump and go dinner recipe. Add everything to your crock pot, cover and walk away. Come back and shred and then allow the chicken to soak in the sauce until you are ready to serve. Doesn’t get easier.
• The chicken is so moist and tender. Adding olive oil and apple cider vinegar to the chicken will make for user juicy shredded chicken. I am not always a huge fan of chicken in the crockpot since it can dry out a touch, but this recipe has been a game changer.
• Super freezer friendly. Make a double batch and save half for another busy night. This will easily freeze for about 3 months in a freezer safe airtight container.
• Great for busy weeknights! If you like to meal prep or if you know you are going to have a hectic night of practices, activities and more, this can be made in the morning and ready when whoever is ready to eat. Feed the whole family without having to hover over the stove!
• Lots of options for serving. Sure you could do the traditional hamburger buns, but there are plenty of ways to change it up as well. We love serving this pulled chicken on toasted Brioche buns, as a lettuce wrap, as tacos with slaw over top, BBQ chicken nachos, on top of salads and more. Think outside the bun, right?

Recipe Ingredients:

• chicken: boneless skinless chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs are ideal for this pulled chicken recipe. The chicken thighs will be a bit more fail-proof as they are less lean and will retain more moisture. But I find the chicken breast to still work very well!
• red bell pepper: the bell pepper adds some veggies and a bit of a crunch, but if you don’t want to add this, you can omit it. You can also use a green bell pepper instead if desired.
• onion: a small onion, very finely chopped. Usually we use yellow onion, but red onion is good as well
• seasoning/spices: I make a spice rub using garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, ground mustard, salt and pepper. If you don’t have smoked paprika, regular paprika will work. Sometimes I add a pinch of cayenne for a bit of heat as well, but not always.
• BBQ sauce: use your favorite BBQ sauce. We usually use Stubb’s original or Sweet Baby Ray’s but the best way to vary this recipe is in the barbecue sauce, so feel free to use any that you love! You could even use homemade BBQ sauce if you have one you like!
• olive oil: I have made this recipe without the olive oil and found that the chicken just wasn’t nearly as moist and tender. I think this is the secret ingredient so don’t skip it!
• Worcestershire sauce: just a touch rounds out the flavor.
• apple cider vinegar: helps tenderize this shredded BBQ chicken as well. Keeps it extra juicy and flavorful!

Step-By-Step Instructions:

• Start by adding the chopped onion and peppers to the bottom of the crock pot.
• Add the chicken and cover with the spice blend and gently rub into the breasts on both sides. I find it’s best to whisk together all of the seasoning first to make a rub and then add it the chicken.
• Whisk together 1 cup barbecue sauce, the apple cider vinegar, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce. Pour mixture over the chicken to cover completely.
• Set slow cooker to cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

• Once the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F, and starts to easily fall apart, you can shred it. Using two forks, pull the chicken into shredded pieces. You can remove it from the crockpot to do this or keep it in.
• Place the shredded chicken back in the crockpot and allow it to cook in the sauce until ready to serve.
• Before serving, stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce.

Ways to Vary This Recipe:

We love this Slow Cooker BBQ chicken as is, but there are plenty of ways also to vary it!

• add pineapple or a touch of pineapple juice
• add chopped bacon
• toss in a diced jalapeño or diced green chiles
• a splash of your favorite hot sauce
• sprinkle in some brown sugar
• vary the BBQ sauce or use a homemade sauce

What to serve with this Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Chicken:

• Most of the time we serve some sort of potato side dish with this meal. This Cajun Potato Salad or these Parmesan Roasted Potatoes are top picks. Our very favorite option for sweet potatoes is this recipe for  Crispy Smoky Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries.
• If you are up for firing up the grill, try this Street Corn with Garlic Feta Butter. You can make the corn in the oven as well if you are not up for grilling!
• This feels like picnic food so one of our favorite side dishes for a picnic is pasta salad! Try this Simple Lemon Zucchini Pasta Salad, Caprese Tortellini Pasta Salad or Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad!
• Chips. You can never go wrong with some chips on the side!
• A salad is always a great option as well. This Strawberry Goat Cheese Arugula Salad would be nice, just skip the chicken!

Other Simple Dinner Recipes:

• Parmesan Crusted Steak and Potatoes Sheet Pan Dinner–The top dinner recipe on the blog!
• Instant Pot Carnitas — Don’t worry, there is a slow cooker version as well, so don’t feel left out if you don’t have a pressure cooker!
• Simple Chicken and Biscuit Skillet Dinner — comfort food at its finest!
• One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese — notice a trend? Love one pan meals!
• Simple Beef and Shells Skillet
• Orange Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

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