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Want a simple slow cooker chicken recipe that serves the whole family and guests, with all the summery flavours you need… this is IT! I give you – Honey Barbecue Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken!
Once you’ve tasted this Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken, I guarantee you won’t be going back.
It is so full of flavour but oh-so simple to prepare. It’s ideal for those evenings when you just want something delicious but can’t be bothered to cook over a hot stove.
Here we have gooey loveliness of the honey, the smoky summery flavours of homemade barbecue sauce and the heartiness of the chicken, all simmering along all day in your slow cooker until you’re ready to quickly serve it up with bread rolls and a salad, perhaps some potatoes wedges or chips.
Why you’ll love this Pulled Chicken recipe
⭐️ ‘Dump’ everything in your slow cooker and good to go
⭐️ Easy and inexpensive
⭐️ Summery barbecue flavours
How we came up with this recipe
I wanted to create a collection of slow cooker recipes that were ideal for the summer months to prove that our trusty machines are PERFECT for using in the warmer weather.
Of course, cooking hearty and comforting dishes in winter are obviously wonderful, but if you think about it, slow cooking means no hot ovens, no steamy kitchens and the amount of prep we do is kept to a minimum. Makes sense, no?!
This is one of my favourites in this category.
I wanted this shredded chicken slow cooker recipe to be a ‘dump’ recipe, meaning we throw it all in with no need to chop or brown anything, and after a few tests we realised the barbecue flavours lent itself perfectly to a fakeaway-style meal – making this amazing for a weekend dinner.
Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Ingredients Notes
- Chicken – You can use either breast or thighs. This recipe actually works really well with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but if you use breast just be careful not go overcook as they can dry out a little
- Barbecue sauce – We’re making up our own sauce for this, but it’s really easy and made up of just ketchup, honey, mustard powder, dark brown sugar, cider vinegar and a little water
How to make Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
- Heat the slow cooker to medium and place the chicken breasts into the bottom.
- Make the sauce up by mixing the ketchup, honey, mustard powder, water, sugar and vinegar together, then pour it all over the chicken.
- Place the lid on and cook for 3-4 hours (or 6-8 hours on LOW).
- Shred the chicken and mix into sauce.
Substitutions
- Vegetables – If you fancy some extras with your chicken, you could add onion or peppers for flavour and vitamins
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully before serving or eat cold.
In the freezer This dish freezes well for up to 3 months. In fact, sometimes I like to go large and make a double batch so I have some for the freezer, which I am always happy I did when another day comes. Always defrost and reheat thoroughly before eating.
Top tipS
If you need to thicken the sauce
How runny your sauce is will depend on how much water comes out of the chicken you are using.
If you find your sauce is too thin, take the cooked chicken out at the end of the slow cooking time, put the sauce onto the hob (in the slow cooker pan if yours is suitable for this. If not, a saucepan will do), and reduce the liquid by half until it’s thick and a spoon leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan.
Shred the chicken and return to the sauce, then serve once mixed.
To prepare this the night before
You can save yourself even more time on the day of eating by putting all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, putting it in the fridge and then setting it to cook the next day when you’re ready.
Batch cook
Feel free to double the ingredients and make another batch for the freezer for another day. Always a win for your future self!
More Fakeaway-style slow cooker recipes…
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Slow Cooker
Chicken Enchiladas {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Slow Cooker Curries
Easy Slow Cooker Beef Curry Recipe
Slow Cooker
Red Lentil Dahl {Slow Cooker Fakeaways}
FAQs
I like to use this as a filling in bread rolls and serve it with salad or coleslaw for a real summer-style meal.
But you can do plenty of other things with it – as a pasta sauce, on top of a salad, filled in a wrap or baked potato, with chips or wedges… the possibilities are endless!
The Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker is my all-time favourite because you can use it for initial browning on the hob and it’s really light.
I wrote up a whole slow cooker review though, where you might find another one to suit your needs. Have a read here.
No need! There’s plenty of flavour in this dish without it. Because we’re shredding this too, there’s no need to sear it as we want it to fall apart after cooking.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Honey Barbecue Pulled Chicken {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Ingredients
- 600 g Chicken breast, See notes
- 6 tbsp Tomato ketchup
- 4 tbsp Runny honey
- 3 tsp Mustard powder
- 4 tbsp Water
- 4 tbsp Dark brown sugar
- 3 tbsp Cider vinegar (or other vinegar)
Instructions
- Heat the slow cooker to medium.
- Place the chicken breasts into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Mix the ketchup, honey, mustard powder, water, sugar and vinegar together. Pour all over the chicken.
- Place the lid on and cook for 3-4 hours (or 6-8 hours on LOW).
- OPTIONAL: If the sauce is to thin, remove the chicken breast and set aside. Reduce the sauce down on the hob, by heating over a medium heat for a few minutes, until a spoon leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan (like in the video above). Add the chicken back into the sauce.
- Shred the chicken and mix into sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this today. Such an easy dinner to do when hosting, served with brioche rolls and homemade coleslaw and corn on the cobs. I did have to spend a little while reducing the sauce as explained above but otherwise dead easy!
Absolutely delicious, we had it in a jacket potato, it was yummy and there was also leftovers for the next day. Will definitely be making this again.
Hello ! The is delicious! Are the estimated calories for 1 portion or for the lot?
Utterly delicious! I’ve just demolished this for tea tonight. I used white wine vinegar instead of cider vinegar as it’s what I had in. I did have to reduce the sauce on the hob, deffo worth doing as it was amazing! I served it on a brioche bun with some french fries on the side!
I made this as a freezer dump bag, worked really well, everyone enjoyed it. We served with rice and veggies. Will be prepping again for another easy wholesome meal.