This pulled chicken crock pot recipe is super easy and tasty! It makes the perfect weeknight dinner meal and is kid-friendly. Serve it on hamburger buns or lettuce leaves and top with some delicious homemade (or store-bought) coleslaw. Yum. This recipe is high in protein, gluten free, low carb and keto-friendly too - perfect if you have a variety of dietary needs in your house.
Why You'll Love This BBQ Pulled Chicken Crock Pot Recipe
Best Pulled BBQ Chicken Recipe. I'm not partial or anything, but my family LOVES this pulled chicken! If my family loves it - I think it's the BEST! 😉 This recipe has gotten a lot of positive feedback over the years, and I wanted to share it with you!
Easy Slow Cooker Recipe. Who doesn't love a dump and go recipe? When I used to work full time outside the house I would literally make this before running out the door in the morning - super easy. I loved coming home to a finished recipe in the evening. Such a lifesaver when you and your family are busy.
Serves A Crowd. Need an easy recipe that serves a crowd? This is perfect. Simply double or triple the recipe and voila - food for a crowd!
Make it Healthier. This recipe calls for a sugar free BBQ sauce although you can use any kind of sauce that fits your taste preferences and dietary needs. Chicken is high in protein, gluten free, has not added sugar and it's low carb and keto-friendly. The barbecue sauce is the key ingredient you'll need to modify to fit your needs.
Crockpot Pulled Chicken Ingredients
Here are the ingredients and tools you'll need to make pulled chicken in your crockpot:
- Onion
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs or Breasts: My favorite way to make this is with chicken thighs. They add the perfect amount of moisture and depth of flavor to this recipe.
- Garlic Cloves
- Regular or Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Liquid Smoke
- Salt and Pepper
- Optional: Hot sauce
How To Make This Pulled Chicken Crock Pot Recipe
- Spray crockpot with nonstick spray. Add onions, chicken, garlic, ½ of the bottle of BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours or until chicken easily shreds. Remove chicken from the crock pot.
- In a separate bowl, shred the chicken, then add some of the juices from the slow cooker, remaining BBQ sauce, and hot sauce if desired. Mix all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
How To Serve This Pulled BBQ Chicken Crock Pot Recipe
Lot's of things go with shredded BBQ chicken! My favorite thing is to serve the shredded BBQ chicken on a hamburger bun, then top with coleslaw and serve a side of baked beans.
- Serve pulled chicken on hamburger buns or toasted garlic bread.
- Low carb/keto serve on lettuce leaves or a basic chaffle. The chaffle idea is AMAZING!!
- Top with coleslaw.
- If you don't like coleslaw try this easy Overnight Layered Salad. You can make this ahead of time and eat on it over a few days at a time. It's also literally the perfect salad to serve a crowd.
Storage Recommendations
Store crockpot pulled chicken in an airtight container after it has cooled completely. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freezer for up to 4 months.
Pulled Chicken in Crock Pot FAQs
Yes, you can overcook chicken in a crock pot. If it is cooked too long it will become dry and tough, instead of tender. Chicken breasts will dry out faster that chicken thighs due to the higher fat content in the thighs.
Cooking chicken until if falls apart means that you can easily pull it apart with a fork. Boneless chicken can will usually fall apart easily after 4 to 6 hours depending upon the thickness of the chicken and the type (chicken breast or thigh). Bone-in chicken will take a little longer.
The best way to keep chicken from drying out in the crockpot is to not overcook it. Chicken will typically cook in 4 to 6 hours depending upon the type of chicken and whether it is boneless or bone-in. The safe internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees.
Yes and no. 4 hours on high is usually the same as 8 hours on low, but not always. There are a lot of factors - the power of the crockpot, how full the crockpot is, if the meat is boneless or bone-in, how large the pieces of meat are, etc.
Yes, you can put raw meat in the slow cooker. Slow cookers are intended to cook meat from raw. Follow the recipe instructions for temperature setting and ingredients.
Chicken is usually cooked in a crockpot for 4 to 6 hours and should reach a temperature of 165 degrees. While many recipes state an 8 hour cooking time, I always start to checking once an hour starting at 4 hours. Chicken should be cooked to a temperature of 165 USDA Minimum Internal Temperature Chart
Your meat does not need to be submerged in a slow cooker. The coils of the slow cooker maintain a steady heat and the juices are released from the meat itself, and juices from condensation will build within the crockpot keeping the meat moist.
You do not need to flip chicken in slow cooker. It is best to leave the lid on and only remove if you need to add an ingredient per recipe instruction, or to check the doneness of your meat.
You do not need to put water in the bottom of a slow cooker. The juices are released from the meat itself, and juices from condensation will build within the crockpot keeping the meat moist.
The two terms are used interchangeably as the technique of pulling the meat apart is usually done with two forks (although there are other methods). Using the method of pulling the chicken apart - it is very common to call slow cooked chicken pulled chicken. While the chicken is cooked with other methods, the term shredded is often used.
The most common reason that your shredded chicken is tough is that it was overcooked. Sometimes after shredding, the chicken can dry out from a lack of moisture. Add in a little broth, a sauce (like BBQ), and a little butter, or olive oil to remedy this.
You can get the same results using low or high heat - so neither is better than the other. If you need to cook the chicken faster use high heat setting, slower use low. The end result is to remove the chicken as soon as it is done at 165 degrees F and it will cook faster on high heat. Keep in mind that chicken breasts will dry out much quicker than chicken thighs. Use high heat if you will be around to check the chicken after a couple of hours. If not, go with low heat.
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📖 The recipe.
BBQ Pulled Chicken (Crock Pot)
Ingredients
- ½ onion (chopped finely)
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 8 ounces BBQ sauce (sugar free or regular)
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: 1 teaspoon hot sauce if you want some spice!
Instructions
- Spray crockpot with nonstick spray. Add onions, chicken, garlic, half of the bottle of barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke to the slow cooker. Cover, cook on Low 4 to 6 hours or until chicken easily shreds.
- Remove chicken from the crock. In a separate bowl shred, then add some of the juices from the slow cooker, remaining BBQ sauce, and hot sauce if desired. Mix all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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