2 Ingredient Crockpot bbq chicken with thighs or breasts are great for a party, for soft tacos and cooks by itself all day. With Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce on low you get fork tender shredded meat, even if using frozen meat.

This is such an easy recipe! We make this one when we find meat on sale and know we won't have time to cook that night. That's pretty frequently. You throw it in and enjoy it later! One of the best crockpot recipes for our family.

You can use any type of sauce you want but this is cheap and delish. We got this idea when we needed a quick and easy meal one night. We used a bottle of sauce out of the pantry with meat like our 2 Ingredient Pulled Pork but with poultry. We couldn't believe how simple it was to prep and came out ultra tender.

You only need to throw in 2 main ingredients for the tenderest meat ever here, we add pineapple for an extra bit of sweetness. Serve it over ninja foodi rice or in tacos for the best meal ever.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken with Frozen Chicken

If you are starting off with Crockpot frozen chicken right out of the freezer the cook time will not change as long as they are separated. If not, run under cool water to separate. We know, totally surprised us too but doesn't matter. They steam to tender as well as if you took the time to defrost them or used fresh from the butcher.

Ingredient notes

You will want one jar of your favorite BBQ sauce. We buy what is on sale but this one is our favorite to use in this and our air fryer bbq chicken wings too.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts are by far the best so when done you can shred away. You can use bone in but it makes our life easier if we buy without bones. My personal opinion is that organic are your BEST bet. There IS a difference in the texture of cheap poultry vs. spending a bit more if you want super tender meal.

You could add a small can of chunk pineapple (with the juice) if you wanted to add some sweetness and a bit more texture.

This is great to make homemade soft chicken tacos this week! To add a dry rub instead you should try our Crockpot jerk chicken instead.

Occasionally we will add a few tablespoons of either soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce too if we have it on hand. It gives it a bit more of a salty sauce mixture kick.

with Chicken Thighs

If you love dark meat better than white, or if they are on sale, go for it. Since these are smaller you should use the timing for boneless chicken thighs in slow cooker instead. Still use boneless without the skin ideally and it will get to be shredded in less time.

How long does it take to cook boneless skinless chicken in the Crockpot?

Well it depends on what else you might be adding into your pot first off but generally it takes 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high temp. We are adding a thick barbecue sauce to this one and it doesn't alter the timing. What will drastically change how long it takes to get fall apart tender slow cooker chicken is how thick your meat is. We would NOT buy thick chicken breasts or thighs. In order to get the middle tender but not overcook the outsides is almost impossible.

A supermarket display showcases various chicken packages, including thighs and drumsticks. Labels, like O Organics, feature green and white packaging. Some highlight special features or promotions for crockpot cheesy chicken and rice recipes.

Tips

We would choose to use medium size breasts, always. If all you have is thick you should slice them in half so they're thinner, or maybe into thirds if they are quite large. Thaw your meat before adding. You can use frozen but for the best results we would defrost them before adding them into your pot.

We like to shred the meat 30 minutes before you're ready to serve it, leave it in the sauce, cover and allow it to soak it up more. Then serve it up in a bowl so it's nice and coated like you see here.

Do you need to put water in slow cooker with chicken?

You do not need to add some sort of liquid because the meat when heated will emit chicken broth, keep that in mind. We usually will add a bit, like 1/2 cup at the beginning to get things going but at the end there will be a lot more than that in the pot.

Is it better to cook chicken on high or low in Crockpot?

You will hear us say it again and again, and yet again that chicken in a Crockpot should always be cooked on the low setting. Do not cook chicken on the HIGH setting unless you like overcooked, dried out, tough meat. Always cook on LOW!!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Recipe

By Easy crockpot bbq chicken recipe with only 2 ingredients and full of flavor. solid slow cooker shredded chicken with Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce for tacos! Prep: 5 minutes minsCook: 5 hours hrsTotal: 5 hours hrs 5 minutes minsServings: 6 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

1 jar barbecue sauce
3-4 medium chicken breastsboneless, skinless, cut thick ones in half so they come out tender

Instructions

Put 1/2 bottle of barbecue sauce on bottom of crockpot, put chicken on top of that.
Pour remaining jar of bbq sauce on top, and if you want to add a small can of pineapple chunks/tidbits (with 1/2 c. of juice) on top of that do so now. (if you like a bit more salty taste add 3 tbsp soy sauce on top too)
Turn crockpot on low and cook for approx. 4-6 hours or until breasts are cooked and soft enough to shred easily.
If breasts are frozen cook for 6-8 hours on low.
Open and shred chicken 30 min. before serving, put lid back on. serve over rice or in small tortillas with spicy jack cheese, lettuce, etc.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Serve it with

Add tender chicken into tortillas with cheese and avocado immediately for the best results. If you want to cook this even faster use the recipe for Instant Pot shredded chicken here. Our pulled pork is pretty darn good too.

We either serve Crock pot bbq chicken it inside flour tortillas with shredded cheese and lettuce, or it's good served over rice too. Kids love this inside slider buns with a bit of coleslaw in there too. It is great when people come over or during a party too. If you move your slow cooker setting to “keep warm” it can sit there for hours and get better because it soaks up all the juices.

Does slow cooking make meat more tender?

YES! This and putting it inside our Instant Pot are game changers and the only way to go for us. Slow cookers work well for soups and stews too where less tender cuts of meat are cut into chunks or small pieces. The moist heat and steam they provide softens the connective tissue helping chicken or beef to fall apart more easily. You can even cook frozen chicken and then shred from there!!

Kitchen questions

How do you keep meat from drying out in a slow cooker?

Keep it moist y'all, with some liquid such as chicken or beef stock, water, or vegetable juice. This is especially true with large thick pieces such as a roast. Better yet, include a gravy or sauce that is thicker and will add to the moisture.

Can you double a slow cooker recipe?

Yes we have done that but use a larger pot so chicken doesn't overlap as much and each piece gets nice and tender. We are telling you that using a thick flavorful bbq sauce on beef or chicken in a slow cooker does wonders vs. broth or water.

Why is our slow cooker meat dry?

When you're cooking meat in the slow cooker the leaner the cut, the drier it tends to get. If the meat comes with skin or a fat cap, leave that intact to keep the meat from drying out. We didn't do that here because there is plenty of sauce to keep it moist.

Other Crockpot Chicken Recipes You'll Love

Crockpot chicken taco meat is the bomb on Tuesdays. So cheap and versatile. Cheap crockpot chicken fajitas are popular as well Try our tasty crockpot salsa chicken as well some night. Try our Crockpot bbq beef recipe too! Super simple and tons of flavor in this slow cooker recipe.