Crockpot BBQ Chicken: Easy Pulled Chicken With Sweet-Tangy Sauce
By Emma Collins
Prep
5 min
Cook
150 min
Total
155 min
Servings
8
Level
Easy
Set this Crockpot BBQ chicken on the slow cooker setting that fits your day: it needs 5 minutes of prep, then 2.5–3 hours on high or 5–6 on low. Boneless chicken breasts cook in a sweet-tangy sauce of barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire, ready to shred for sandwiches.
Trimmed breasts get a direct coating of salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder before going into the cooker. The sauce combines barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, and light brown sugar, with Honey BBQ specifically recommended for a sweeter, tangier result. Fat-free dressing is the stated option, though any Italian dressing works. Whisking first distributes everything evenly before it covers the chicken.
While it cooks, the chicken should become tender enough to pull apart with two forks; shredding it in the cooker lets it take up the surrounding sauce. The frequent problem is leaving boneless breasts cooking beyond the needed time, which can make them dry and tough. Start checking at the earliest listed cooking time rather than assuming every slow cooker runs alike, and stir the shredded meat through the sauce.
Pile the pulled chicken onto large buns or slider buns, or use it on pizza, salads, tacos, nachos, baked potatoes, rice, or tortillas. For a crowd, sliders make the filling straightforward to portion. Leftovers can be portioned for later meals, then warmed in the microwave or in a pot over medium heat.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Saves active cooking time because five minutes of prep leaves the slow cooker to handle the chicken while you get on with the evening.
- Keeps cleanup lighter because the chicken cooks entirely in one crockpot, and a disposable liner is offered for avoiding a scrubbed-on sauce mess.
- Relies on a short grocery list of chicken, bottled barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and dried seasonings rather than specialty items.
- Avoids special equipment because a crockpot, medium bowl, whisk, measuring tools, and forks handle mixing, cooking, and shredding from start to finish.
- Works around a busy schedule with either high or low cooking options, so the same recipe can fit an afternoon or a longer day.
- Makes leftovers flexible because the sauced chicken can move into pizza, tacos, nachos, salads, potatoes, rice, or tortillas on another meal.
Ingredients
- •non-stick cooking spray (for spraying the slow cooker)
- •2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (fat trimmed off)
- •1.25 cup barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ recommended)
- •0.5 cup Italian dressing (fat-free recommended)
- •2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- •0.25 cup light brown sugar (can reduce to 1/8 cup or omit for less sweetness)
- •1 tbsp garlic powder
- •1 tbsp onion powder
- •salt (to taste)
- •black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Liberally spray the inside of a large crockpot or slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray, or use a disposable slow cooker liner.
- 2
Season the trimmed chicken breasts with salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- 3
Place the seasoned chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot.
- 4
Add the barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, light brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce to a medium mixing bowl.
- 5
Whisk the sauce mixture until combined.
- 6
Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the chicken breasts.
- 7
Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 2.5–3 hours or on low for 5–6 hours.
- 8
Check the chicken at the earliest listed cooking time with a meat thermometer.
- 9
Serve the chicken whole or shred it with two forks directly in the crockpot so it absorbs the sauce.
- 10
Serve on buns, or use on pizza, salad, tacos, nachos, rice, or by itself.
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