Slow cooker BBQ chicken sandwiches are a tasty meal that’s good any time of the year, but making them in the heat of summer is always a great past time. You’re going to love this incredibly simple crockpot meal!
These easy BBQ chicken sandwiches are worth the wait and as an added bonus the slow cooker doesn’t heat up the house too much! It’s a great comfort meal that would be a fantastic hit at your next BBQ or turn them into sliders and enjoy them from the comfort of your couch during the next football game.
Making Easy Pulled BBQ Chicken
Unlike other recipes that have chicken breasts and barbecue sauce in a crockpot with nothing else, this one has a few added ingredients. Which of course, adds to the awesome flavor and overall juiciness of the chicken being cooked! I swear I can’t say enough good things about this simple BBQ chicken breast recipe because it’s so gosh darn delicious!
Can You Put Frozen Chicken in The Crockpot?
Yes, you can use frozen chicken although it might take a little longer to cook and the end results may be a little more watery from the ice on the chicken thawing off. But once you shred the chicken it should all mix together well.
How Do You Pull Chicken?
A simple way to do it is to remove the cooked chicken from the crockpot and place it on a cutting board. With two forks start pulling the chicken in opposite directions until it shreds beneath your fork. Continue to work at it until the chicken has been completely shredded and then place it back into the slow cooker.
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches Ingredients
-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
-1 12-oz bottle BBQ sauce
-1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
-8 hamburger buns
How to Make Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Place the chicken in a slow cooker.
In a separate bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce until well blended. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Cover. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.
While it might look like it’s almost TOO much sauce, it really is a perfect amount after you shred the chicken, trust me.
About 30 minutes prior to serving, shred the chicken. You can do this inside the crockpot, or by pulling the separate pieces of chicken out and onto a plate, shredding them, then returning it to the sauce. Honestly though, this part is simple no matter how you do it- the chicken is so tender it shreds easily.
Return the shredded chicken to the crockpot and stir into the sauce. Cook for the remaining 30 minutes. Serve on a bun.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved
- 1 12- oz bottle BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
- 8 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a separate bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce until well blended. Pour over the chicken.
- Cover. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours. It looks like it's almost TOO much sauce, but trust me, after you shred the chicken, it's perfect.
- About 30 minutes prior to serving, shred chicken. You can do this inside the crockpot, or by pulling the separate pieces of chicken out and onto a plate, shredding them, then returning it to the sauce. Honestly though, this part is simple no matter how you do it- the chicken is so tender it shreds easily.
- Return shredded chicken to the crockpot and stir into the sauce. Cook remaining 30 minutes. Serve on a hamburger bun and ENJOY!
What kind of BBQ sauce should I use?
You can use any bottled barbecue sauce of your choosing, but I personally prefer a sauce that has a good bold and spicy flavor kick to it. Please note that whatever sauce you use will greatly affect the end results.
Should you let chicken cool before shredding?
Yes, at least for a minute or two. If you shred the chicken while it’s still practically boiling level hot, you risk burning yourself with the meat of juice splashing as you shred it. Give it a moment to cool down enough so that you won’t be hurt and then shred the chicken. The warm chicken shreds great, but cold chicken is difficult to shred so make sure you don’t let it sit out for too long.
What goes with pulled BBQ chicken?
Several great examples include traditional picnic foods such as coleslaw, fruit salad, corn on the cob, french fries, broccoli salad, and more. You really can’t go wrong with side dishes for this simple meal because even potato chips or fresh fruit can be a great compliment.
Check out these other Amazing Chicken Recipes!
- Mexican Chicken Lasagna
- Fiesta Ranch Chicken Pasta Salad
- Chile Lime Smoked Chicken Wings
- Chicken Dumplings
- Orange Chicken
- Mexican Chicken Alfredo Pasta
- Baked Chicken Taquitos
- Chicken Parmesan Sliders
- Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
- Homemade Chicken Strips
- Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Mexican Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Ranch Chicken Cheese Dip
- Grilled Spatchcock Chicken
- Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken
You’re going to love this simple recipe. This slow cooker BBQ chicken sandwiches recipe is simply the best! Packed with flavor and with hardly any effort, you get more time to chow down on a tasty sandwich thanks to this slow cooker meal.
Erin @ Simple, Sweet & Savory says
YUM! I don’t know which part I like better. The fact that it’s BBQ chicken or that it’s made in a slow cooker. This looks like the perfect weeknight kid-friendly meal. Pinning!
Lisa Ehrman says
This looks wonderful and I love Slow-Cooker meals 🙂
Traci says
I order my chicken from say on as well. I cut my breast in half when freezing, do you use 6 halves or 3 whole breast (6) pieces? I was just wondering. Thanks
Traci says
My chicken from Zaycon.
Jessica says
I used 3 chicken breasts, then I halved them- so there were 6 pieces total. 🙂
Jennifer says
I have a question. I just ordered 40 lbs of zaycon chicken. We usually cook our chicken breasts on the grill, but the Zaycon chicken is cooking so much differently than grocery store chicken. It is turning extremely dry and unedible in my opinion. I’ve been googling like crazy trying to find a logical reason for this. I’m desperate to find a solution since I just bought 40 pounds of this stuff! Have you encountered this before.
Jessica says
That is so odd!! I’ve grilled mine many, many times- haven’t had anything abnormal happen. My only thought is that Zaycon chicken breasts tend to be gigantic. Did you cut them up at all before cooking? Just wondering if maybe the more narrower sides are drying out on the grill before the thick middle section is done? I haven’t notice that it cooks differently in any way- I usually bake a batch, put others in the crockpot, etc. The only thing different is the size, and because they’re so much larger, I usually cut each breast into 3 sections and cook 5 sections at a time per meal. I’m sorry I’m not more help!
Sue Hall says
If you double or triple the recipe, do you do same to seasoning ingredients? I need to cook for 25-30.
Sue
Alison says
Yes double or triple everything!