Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
Updated July 11, 2024
- Total Time
- About 3 ½ hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 3 ½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 1½ cups tomato-based barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 to 2chipotle chiles in adobo (depending on heat tolerance), plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 2tablespoons Worcestershire or soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
338 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1058 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
In a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker, stir together 1 cup barbecue sauce, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, Worcestershire sauce and onion powder. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Cover and cook on low until the chicken shreds easily when pulled with a fork, 3 to 5 hours.
- Step 2
Working right in the slow cooker, use two forks to shred the meat into large, bite-size pieces. Stir in the remaining ½ cup barbecue sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Pauline Rogers
This is delicious! I used only chicken thighs since I thought the breasts might be tough. I used the included recipe for homemade barbecue sauce. To cut down on the amount of liquid left at the end, I put the cooked thighs in a bowl and put the sauce from the crockpot into a saucepan, boiled it until reduced by half (about 10-15 mins) and returned it to the shredded thighs. Perfect!
Humbug311
To pressure cook in the Instant Pot, you need to add liquid to the recipe so the tomato-based BBQ sauce doesn't give you a burn error. Start with 1/2 cup of chicken broth then add all the ingredients other than the BBQ sauce and stir. Pour 1 cup of the BBQ sauce on top of the chicken and don't stir. Use poultry setting or 15 minutes HIGH. Natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release. Shred, saute on high (while stirring) to reduce excess liquid, then add the remaining BBQ sauce.
sharon
I use breast meat exclusively and i respect myself. I used it here and it was quite good. People love my cooking. Its also much healthier.
Dana P
I have no faith in breast meat and I use thighs for all slow cooker recipes. In fact, we hired a chef for a dinner party - part cooking class, part “ make our dinner”- and he said no self respecting chef would ever use breast meat. I’ve never looked back. Hopefully, that was your issue with it being dry. I recently made a recipe with 3 pounds of boneless, skinless thighs with about 2 cups of chicken stock among other seasonings like adobo peppers, etc, and 3 hours on high was the magic number.
Caroline L.
I don’t know what I’ve done wrong as I tried to follow the recipe exactly but after 3 ½ hours on low in my slow cooker, there is inordinate amount of liquid and the chicken is kind of dry, not tender and juicy as I anticipated. Almost as if all the fat has been rendered out of it. (I made my own barbecue sauce which I thought turned out very well.) Soooo, i don’t know what to do. Don’t think id make this again!
Marco
I frequently make this but I always add 1 tsp of liquid smoke for more authentic BBQ flavor.
SBrown
I only use thighs as breast meat dries out. You can swap enchilada sauce for the barbeque sauce, add half an onion pureed and 2 minced garlic cloves to make taco meat.
ColleenM
I'm curious how even the comment section on a cooking site could devolve into name calling. What exactly have we become as a community? And I also respect myself as well as my my fellow readers!
Haydee C
Any tips for doing this in an Instant Pot?
Squirrel Butler
No, it's not 'healthier'. Individuals vary in what they need from their diets. For those looking to lose weight, breast meat is usually better. For those looking to gain weight and/or muslce mass, thighs are usually better. Some recent research suggests that thigh meat is better for elderly people, in terms of bioavailability of protein. So we cannot say that one type of chicken meat is healthier than another, as it depends on that given individual.
Mary Ann S
Agreed that breast meat is lower in fat if that’s the main concern, but dark meat is higher in some vitamins and minerals so nutrition is a mix. Half white and half skinless dark worked well for me as compromise here for flavor and dryness, esp because I’m a less skilled cook.
Andy
It could be your chicken is waterlogged. Using chicken labeled "air-chilled" will result in less water in your finished dish.
Carol
Any way that I could use a Dutch oven for this recipe? Ideas? Thank you.
Michelle
If you shred the chicken up in the pot and leave it there for a bit, it will probably soak up some of the liquid. I make a somewhat similar recipe with just chicken breasts and leave it on for about 8 hours on low. There is some excess liquid, but it usually gets soaked up and mixed in after shredding the chicken.
Jayne
Is it possible to make this without a instapot or slow cooker?
Grace
I used chicken breast and boneless thighs as the recipe said and the meat from both was pretty tender and flavorful. I used the recipe for bbq sauce that was linked and it tasted great. My only issue was that it turned out a bit liquidy at the end. If I make it again I might follow the suggestion to reduce the sauce after, though that will be another step and more work.
Kikihughes
The nutritional information says that *each* serving has 1058 milligrams sodium. The American Heart Association’s recommended daily intake is 1500 mg/day. So, one serving is two-thirds of daily sodium. Any suggestions for reducing the sodium? Omit added salt, of course, but can one skip the Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce and still have a good result?
Kim
Cooked as written, except substituted 1 tsp ground dried Chipotle chilies for the canned variety. Used the 'homemade' BBQ sauce recipe, and got rave reviews! I took the lid off the slow cooker for the last half hour to reduce the liquid a bit. Meat was tender and super-flavorful! Great for a crowd.
geteb
Meh. Used my homemade bbq sauce & while it was ok, just didn't have a lot of oomph (umami?) Used chickie thighs as America's Test Kitchens said to never slow cook breasts. Might try Pauline's suggestion to cook down liquid in crock pot at the end. Might try bone-in thighs next time. And definitely chop up chipotle peppers.
SteveD
Make this a day ahead if you can; we liked it the night I made it, but the leftovers were terrific after the flavors had time to meld. Next time, I’ll try adding a bit of liquid smoke as suggested by another reviewer. I brush it onto ribs before baking them for a nice approximation of slow-smoked with zero fuss. I liked the combo of thighs and breasts for the mix of flavor and texture; try adding the breasts after a half hour or so if you’re concerned about overcooking them.
Paige
Little too runny for my taste - eating them on buns was a mess. Flavor was ok but not as rich as I had hoped with the Adobo. I'll do again but will burn the liquid down before shredding the chx.
Illinois
Very easy and delicious. I used the BBQ sauce recipe here. I think next time I will add a little bourbon. It became a little watery with cooking, so I drained most of the sauce into a saucepan and cooked it down to a thicker consistency.
Binkster
Great recipe. Does produce a lot of liquid at the end. I had to remove some before I put the rest of the bbq sauce in.
Sk8dva
I used breast meat exclusively, and I use the recipe for the homemade sauce. As another cook pointed out, after 3 1/2 hours the breast meat was not shred-able, and it was chewy, and the sauce was completely liquid. I would not make this again. Lathe BBQ sauce is tasty, though!
Pama
This is so good and easy! I made it with 2 very meaty chicken breasts last night and used a full bottle of barbecue sauce. Served it on sesame rolls with sides of potato salad and pepper cabbage. My husband said that I can make this again anytime. That’s the best compliment I can get on a new recipe!
mods
Used just thighs!
Susan Sweet
Excellent. Made it as written. It did have extra liquid, but it soaked the bun nicely. Changes I would make are few. One would be to use only chicken thighs. Breasts are just too dry. I also cooked it for 4 hours on low in my crockpot. Will definitely make again.
Patricia Jay
Should have made more barbecue sauce; ended up grabbing some Jack Daniels BBQ sauce from the fridge at the last minute. I used the sauce recipe linked here.
Tyler
I had a little bit more than 2 lbs (both thighs and breasts) and used a store bought BBQ sauce. Cooked on high, like other commenters. At 1.5 hrs I mixed it around to get the meat into different heat spots. At 3.5 hrs I shredded it up thoroughly with two carving forks right in the pot. Then I let it stay on high with the lid off for 10 minutes just to let a little liquid evaporate out. The chicken was juicy but well mixed without doing a sauce reduction on the stove. Served with slaw and pickles
Grammy
Made this last night in my InstantPot. Four hours on the “Slow Cook” setting, using both thighs and breasts. Turned out delicious. My family’s telling me to “save that recipe.”
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