Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is made in the crockpot with a sweet and savory bbq sauce! Make it with chicken breasts, thighs, bone in or boneless.
Love crockpot chicken breast recipes? Try this Crockpot Shredded Chicken, this Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup or these Crockpot Tuscan Chicken!
Table of Contents
Every time I make this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken, I’m reminded just how good it is!
We love having a variety of crockpot chicken recipes in our back pocket, and this sweet and tangy chicken is one of our favorites! (Along with this juicy Slow Cooker Chicken Breast, this Tomato Basil Chicken, and this Crockpot Pineapple Chicken)
I used my Pineapple Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce as inspiration, and added in a good amount of our favorite barbecue sauce.
The result? Incredibly juicy, incredibly flavorful chicken that is perfect on its own or on a sandwich (try it with these Homemade Hamburger Buns!), over rice, or on a salad!
Below you’ll find tips and tricks for different variations or substitutions, and lots of ways to use up your leftovers! (Is that a thing? 😉 )
Variations on this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken:
- Like I mentioned above, you can stick with your favorite store bought bbq sauce if you’re short on time. We all do it sometimes. No one here will judge!
- Add spice! Stir a bit of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or sriracha sauce to your sauce for extra kick.
- This sauce would be awesome over smoked sausages and peppers, a turkey breast, meatballs, meatloaf… you name it. Feel free to experiment a little with your protein once you’ve tried the recipe as it is!
- If you like your sauce a little less sweet or more tangy, feel free to tweak the sauce to your tastes. Nothing in the sauce needs to be cooked before tasting, so feel free to adjust before you dump it on your chicken.
What if I don’t have pineapple juice?
Pineapple juice is my all-time, hands down favorite way to make this recipe. The flavor is just seriously good.
You can swap in another juice, but if you can wait until you get pineapple juice, I would recommend it.
My next favorite juice to use would be mango, but orange works as well (with a distinct change in flavor).
What kind of chicken is best in this recipe?
This recipe is incredibly versatile! You can use boneless or bone in chicken, just watch for the varying cook times.
Regardless of what kind of chicken you’re using, I recommend removing the skin as it will only be soggy and unappetizing in the crockpot.
I have tested this recipe over and over (which is why this post is so long) and one important thing to note is that the fuller the slow cooker is, the slower it will cook, so allow a little leeway for that as you’re going.
Bone in chicken, skin removed:
- I tested this recipe with bone in chicken thighs and found that 6-7 hours on low is ideal for tender chicken thighs.
- Chicken drumsticks and wings can be slow cooked on low for 3-4 hours. Either remove the skin or you may want to crisp them under the broiler afterwards.
Boneless chicken breasts and thighs:
- Boneless chicken breasts and thighs cook relatively quickly in the slow cooker, and are great if you are making BBQ pulled chicken because you don’t have to worry about removing the bones.
- Boneless chicken breasts can cook in 2-3 hours on low, depending on how hot your slow cooker is, but a full slow cooker will take a little longer to cook so allow up to 4 hours in this case.
- I’ve found that boneless chicken thighs cook in about the same amount of time as breasts, so feel free to mix and match so everyone gets what they want.
Got leftovers?
What to do with leftover crockpot bbq chicken:
- Make BBQ Chicken Pizza with pizza crust or mini naan breads for a quick lunch.
- Sandwiches or quesadillas
- Stir it into pasta or top mac and cheese with it
- Stir in a little taco seasoning for BBQ chicken tacos
- Freeze it!
How to freeze this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken:
Place in a large freezer bag (or several smaller bags for smaller portions), seal and squish as flat as possible.
Freeze flat and keep frozen for 3-6 months.
To thaw, simple leave at room temperature for 3-4 hours, in the refrigerator overnight, or place in a sink of cool water for 30 minutes.
What to serve with this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken:
- Easy Potato Salad Recipe (or this Instant Pot Potato Salad!)
- German Potato Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Creamy Ranch Bowtie Pasta Salad
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- salt and pepper
- ¾ cup barbecue sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for more spice)
- ½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a 3-4 quart slow cooker and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Pour barbecue sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion powder and red pepper flakes over chicken breasts.
- Whisk together pineapple juice and corn starch. Pour over chicken and give everything a good stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, or on high for 2 hours.
- Remove chicken breasts from the slow cooker and shred with two forks or serve whole. You can shred them right in the sauce in the slow cooker, but I find it harder to see what I'm doing. Add the shredded chicken back into the sauce in the slow cooker and stir to coat.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Stephanie Elizabeth Halsey says
Is the nutrition info per serving or for the entire dish? My daughter is diabetic and I want to make sure that she is not eating too many carbs at one time or overdosing for insulin. If it’s purserving what is serving size?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi! The nutritional information is based off of one serving. I’ve not measured this out in cups.
Jennifer says
I haven’t tried it yet but I’m going to very soon! Did you only use your pineapple brown sugar bbq sauce? or did you add another one to it?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jennifer, I added another one to it. Enjoy!
Kat says
This was absolutely fabulous! We all loved it. I added the red pepper flakes and it had just the right amount of kick. This recipe is a keeper!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kat! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Val says
This was so good! We served it on buns and the kids couldn’t get enough. The pineapple juice added such great flavor. This will be replacing our usual slow cooker bbq chicken recipe!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Val! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Candice Lee. says
This was good for a quick dinner. I somehow had everything in my kitchen already. 😄
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Candice! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Amanda says
Have not tried the recipe yet but excited to do so. I was wondering if I were to try to prep this recipe ahead of time and freeze it would that be possible. If yes can I combine everything in a freezer bag and keep frozen until ready to cook. If yes how would you recommend thawing it prior to putting it in the slow cooker?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Amanda, I’ve only tested the recipe as written, so I wouldn’t be able to say for sure. I have had great success in cooking it and then freezing it later. Those directions are in the blog post. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Wendy says
Can you use pork instead of chicken if so how much of a change in time?
Xavier Turner says
I put too much pineapple juice in the recipe. Do you know how the taste will be affected
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Xavier! Oh no! I’m sorry I don’t. How was it for you?
Shelley says
Looks great! I think I’ll try it tonight. 🙂 I wanted to LYK that in step five, it says “add the shredded chicken bacon into the sauce in the slow cooker and stir to coat.” I thought, “Did I miss something? I didn’t see bacon mentioned in the ingredients.” 😂
Ashley Fehr says
Ahh, typo! Lol. It should be “back into”
ARP says
Thanks for the recipe! I made this today and it tasted amazing!
I didn’t have pineapple juice so I used apple juice as a substitute.
Thanks
Ashley Fehr says
I’m glad you liked it!
Marie says
Made a this for dinner – was very good. It’s home-made BBQ sauce, but I think it’s tastier and thicker than store-bought BBQ sauce. Chicken was very moist and flavorful.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Marie! I’m so glad you liked it!
Olga says
Ashley, this recipe sounds so delicious! Looking at the list of ingredients, I think this chicken will turn out so flavorful. I cannot wait to try it. Slow Cooker meals are such a time-saver and it’s so easy to fit them into the menu when cooking for guests! 🙂
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Olga! I’d love to hear how you like it!