Name: 5 Ingredient Crockpot Chicken BBQ
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 420 min
Ingredients: 4 Chicken breast (boneless, skinless (about 2 pounds)); 1 cup Barbecue Sauce; 1 Tbsp Brown sugar; 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tsp Smoked paprika

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This simple, yet satisfying crockpot chicken barbeque recipe combines chicken breast with tangy bottled barbeque sauce, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, and smoked paprika to create a tender, savory chicken that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

If your family enjoys barbecue like mine, this recipe is a must! My family loves our local barbecue restaurant, but often I need something that is ready to go at home so that we can eat a meal before heading to practice. We’re in a season of life when our afternoons and evenings are packed with our kid’s activities. It’s just easier (and healthier!) to have dinner ready at home than to have to stop for takeout. But with a busy work schedule, I don’t always have time to cook before leaving for our evening activities and that’s why I love a good crockpot recipe. I can prepare everything in advance so that a healthy meal fits into our hectic evening schedule.

Ingredients

– 4 chicken breasts (about 2 pounds).

-Barbecue sauce I love a sweet and smoky flavor, so my go-to is Kinder’s BBQ Sauce. Not all bbq sauces are created equal, so look for one that fits your needs. If you are trying to reduce sugar, look for one that has no or minimal added sugar. If you are gluten-free, look for a barbecue sauce that is certified gluten-free. I personally like a sweet barbecue sauce, so I don’t opt for sugar-free. I’ve tried multiple brands of low sugar or sugar free bbq sauce, and none were as good as those with a little more sugar. I’m always open to suggestions, so if you can recommend a delicious lower sugar bbq sauce option, please leave a comment.

I do try to avoid certain ingredients in my bbq sauce like high fructose corn syrup and preservatives like sodium benzoate. Both are generally recognized as safe by the FDA, and in small quantities do not cause harm. However, I try to avoid highly processed food additives as much as possible in an effort to reduce inflammation. Yes, sugar itself is processed and inflammatory, but you have to draw the line somewhere and for me, sugar is a must in bbq sauce. 😋

Optional ingredients

-Brown Sugar This is completely optional and if you are following a low sugar diet, this recipe is still delicious sans the extra brown sugar. For people like me who love a little extra sweetness, 1 Tbsp added increases the total amount of sugar by about 13.5 grams. Divide that by the total number of servings (8) means that the additional brown sugar is only adding 1.7 grams per serving. That’s a manageable amount.

-Worcestershire Sauce Like with bbq sauce, look for high quality ingredients. If high fructose corn syrup is in the ingredient list or if there is tons of added sugar, I often opt for another brand.

-Smoked paprika A little goes a long way and imparts the coveted smoky flavor.

These ingredients are optional, but in my opinion they add a sweet smokiness that is makes this bbq over-the-top irresistible.

How To Make Crockpot BBQ Chicken

This process is so easy, the prep work is done in less than 10 minutes.

Prepare the chicken. Trim any visible fat off the chicken breasts. The easiest way to do this is with kitchen shears and lay the chicken breasts in the crockpot.

2. Prepare the sauce- measure out the bbq sauce into a small bowl and add the optional brown sugar, worcestershire sauce and smoked paprika. Give it a quick whisk to combine.

3. Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook for about 6 hours on low or 2 to 3 hours on high. The chicken is done when it registers 165oF. You’ll know it’s ready when it is fall-apart tender making shredding the chicken easier.

4. Shred the chicken with a hand held mixer or with two forks and then mix it into the bbq sauce in the crockpot. Allow it to simmer in the sauce for an additional hour or so.

What To Serve With BBQ Chicken

BALANCING YOUR PLATE

The chicken provides plenty of protein for a balanced plate. To create balance, pair the chicken with a source of starch (preferably fiber-rich), fat and non-starchy vegetables.

Fiber-rich starch: we love our BBQ chicken with baked beans or pinto beans

Non-starchy vegetables: coleslaw and / or green beans pair nicely with chicken BBQ. You can never go wrong with a side salad either.

Fat: Dressing on a salad or on the slaw will provide fat

MEAL PREP

This meal can be part of your weekly meal prep. Depending on how much time you like to spend prepping, here are some considerations.

Chicken- you can trim visible fat off chicken or you could even prepare the BBQ sauce mixture and pour it over the chicken so that you only have to transfer it to the crockpot in the morning on the day you plan to eat your BBQ.

Slaw- you definitely want to make slaw in advance so the cabbage can marinate in the dressing at least overnight.

Green beans- steaming or roasting them doesn’t take much time, and can easily be done as part of weekend meal prep to be re-heated during the week. Or if you have extra time during the week, you can make them just before your meal.

Baked beans- if you’re making them from scratch, you definitely need some advanced preparation because your beans will need to soak. I’m a beans out-of-a-can kind of girl, so I just open the can and eat them up before serving dinner.