Zesty Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken (Effortless!)
Make incredibly easy Zesty Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken! This recipe uses frozen chicken breasts, BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire for perfectly tender shredded chicken
Ingredients
(Based on 1x column)
- ▢ 6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (approx. 2-3 lbs total)
- ▢ 1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
- ▢ ½ cup Italian salad dressing
- ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ▢ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ▢ (Optional, not listed but good: Salt and pepper to taste, though sauces are salty)
For Serving (Suggestions):
- ▢ Hamburger buns or slider buns
- ▢ Coleslaw
- ▢ Cooked rice
Instructions
1. Prepare Sauce and Add Chicken to Slow Cooker:
- Place the frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves directly into the insert of your slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, packed brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce until well combined.
2. Pour Sauce and Cook:
- Pour the prepared barbecue sauce mixture evenly over the chicken breasts in the slow cooker, ensuring the chicken is mostly covered.
- Place the lid securely on the slow cooker.
- Cook on the LOW setting for 6 to 8 hours OR on the HIGH setting for 3 to 4 hours. The chicken should be very tender and cooked through (internal temperature 165°F/74°C).
3. Shred Chicken and Combine:
- Once the cooking time is complete, the chicken should be fall-apart tender. You can shred the chicken directly in the slow cooker using two forks, pulling the meat apart into shreds.
- Alternatively, carefully remove the chicken breasts to a large plate or cutting board, shred them there, and then return the shredded chicken to the sauce in the slow cooker.
- Stir the shredded chicken thoroughly with the sauce in the slow cooker until all the chicken is well coated and moistened.
4. Serve:
- Serve the Zesty Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken hot. It’s classically delicious piled onto hamburger buns for pulled chicken sandwiches.
- Also great served over cooked rice, in salads, or used for tacos or nachos.