Juicy and tender, sweet and tangy, there’s just no beating this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken. Your family will crave this dinner every week, and the result is impressive enough to serve at a potluck or holiday gathering.
Slow cooker dinners are some of our favorite meals, when seasoned correctly. Our slow cooker carnitas are a reader favorite, easpecially when paired with our homemade guacamole.
Why Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Is The Best
This Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is packed with flavor. You’d never guess it’s this easy to make.
- Since this recipe comes together in a crockpot, it’s a set-it-and-forget-it kind of dinner. As a result, you’ll have more time to pick up the kids from sports, party prep, or snag a few hours of much-needed peace and quiet.
- We’ll doctor up store-bought BBQ sauce for a unique home-cooked flavor without the fuss.
- Depending on your preference, you can spice up this chicken or keep it mild.
Don’t forget dessert! Our peanut butter balls can be frozen and ready in a moment’s notice. Or whip up a slow cooker chocolate cake to enjoy tonight.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – I like drumsticks since dark meat stays moist and flavorful during long cooking times. However, you could use chicken breast instead to create Shredded BBQ Chicken sandwiches.
- BBQ Sauce – My favorite brand is Sweet Baby Ray’s Original, but you can use whatever store-bought BBQ sauce is your favorite.
- Honey – Honey will add sweetness to counteract the smoky and spicy flavors in the sauce. Plus, it creates a thick and glossy coating on the chicken, making them seriously irresistible.
- Yellow Mustard – I like to use it in this recipe because it’s not an overpowering flavor, just a supporting vinegary tang. However, you could use dijon mustard instead for a spicier, more complex flavored sauce.
- Worcestershire Sauce – This sauce is a fermented umami bomb, making this BBQ chicken a standout.
- Tabasco Sauce – Tabasco is optional if you want to add heat to this chicken. Leave it out or double up, depending on how spicy you like your food.
- Salt & Pepper
Easy Instructions
Broil Seasoned Chicken & Transfer to Crockpot – Generously season all sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Then, broil for 12 minutes on each side until you have tasty, crispy brown bits and the chicken is fully cooked. Transfer it into the crockpot.
Mix Together Sauce Ingredients – Whisk together the BBQ sauce, honey, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. If you’re a fan of spicy food, now is the time to add a few shakes of Tabasco. Stir until the sauce is thoroughly combined.
Pour Sauce Over Chicken & Cook – Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. Once the time has elapsed, you’re ready to serve the chicken straight from the slow cooker.
Tips and Tricks
- Keep the chicken 4-5 inches away from the heat when broiling it. This way, it’ll cook through without burning or scorching.
- There isn’t a precise measurement for how much Tabasco sauce you should use in the recipe. The best practice is to add a couple of shakes, then taste the sauce, and continue that process until it reaches your perfect spice level.
- Leftovers- shred up the leftovers to use in our bbq chicken pizza soup recipe!
Serving Suggestions
It’s no secret that this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is delectable. It’s the perfect thing to bring to a potluck spread. However, if you’re serving this recipe for dinner, you’ll probably want a side dish or two to round out the meal.
Classic cookout staples like coleslaw or macaroni salad are perfect pairings for this sweet and tangy chicken. These recipes are served cold and can be prepared ahead of time to make day-of preparations a breeze.
If you’re looking for hot sides that your family will love, try the Best Homemade Mac and Cheese Ever or Baked French Fries. Sweet potato casserole is the true comfort food that pairs beautifully with today’s chicken.
If you added a lot of Tabasco to the recipe, you could whip up your own cooling homemade dipping sauces to put the fire out. Homemade Blue Cheese or Ranch is so delicious that you’ll always want some on hand.
Recipe FAQs
You can absolutely use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of drumsticks. However, you’ll want to skip the broiling step and go straight to the crockpot. Follow the steps as usual, then cook on low for 6-8 hours. Of course, you could cook it on high for 4 hours, but you’ll miss out on the tender, juicy, and fall-apart texture.
The drumsticks are already fully cooked when they go into the crockpot. The long slow cooking process is to ensure the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender. Drumsticks are packed with moist, dark meat, so the 2 hours on high should do the trick. However, if you have the time for the chicken to cook on low for 4 hours, the texture will only get better over time.
Transfer the BBQ chicken and leftover sauce to an airtight container. It’ll keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
The best way to heat the leftover bbq chicken is to slather it in leftover sauce and pop it into the oven or toaster oven until it’s heated through. This way, it won’t dry out or become rubbery. Instead, it’ll be just as delicious as the day you cooked it.
More Dinner Recipes:
- Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe
- Firecracker Chicken
- Instant Pot French Dip
- Chicken Enchilada Chili
- Chicken Curry
- Meatball Subs
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Salad and Side dishes that go great with BBQ Chicken!
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Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds of chicken drumsticks
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups Sweet Baby Rays original BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons worchestershire sauce
- tabasco sauce optional
Instructions
- Place chicken on broiler pan and sprinkle chicken generously with salt and pepper, on both sides.
- Broil 4-5 inches from heat for 24 minutes (12 minutes on each side) until browned and fully cooked.
- Transfer to crockpot.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the bbq sauce, honey, mustard, worchestershire sauce and a couple shakes of tabasco. Stir until blended and pour over chicken.
- Cover crockpot and cook low for 4 hours.
Notes
- Keep the chicken 4-5 inches away from the heat when broiling it. This way, it’ll cook through without burning or scorching.
- There isn’t a precise measurement for how much Tabasco sauce you should use in the recipe. The best practice is to add a couple of shakes, then taste the sauce, and continue that process until it reaches your perfect spice level.
- Leftovers- shred up the leftovers to use in our bbq chicken pizza soup recipe!
Video
Nutrition
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is tangy and sweet and the perfect dinner to make on a weeknight and impressive enough to serve friends!
I’m unsure if I’m supposed to broil it on Lo or Hi…. I chose Lo. Hopefully that’s right!
Our family loves this recipe. We’ve made it three times in the past six months or so. It’s first on the list when we want drumsticks. We use Trader Joe’s Organic Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce to avoid the high fructose corn syrup. I’m going to add a roughly chopped onion on the bottom tomorrow, like we do when we’re preparing shredded chicken breasts. Some shakes of rub after broiling is something I’m considering, as well
Can I use the breast and thighs in this recipe?
Sure, you may just have to adjust the initial broiling time to make sure they are fully cooked 🙂
Why broil? Could you just stick it in crockpot on low for 4 hours?
I supposed you could. But I like the texture it gives the chicken, similar to putting it on the grill!
Do you follow the recipe the same if you use chicken wings instead of the drumsticks?
Yes, except you can cut the broil time down to 8-10 minutes per side, depending on size of wings.
Confused – we’re broiling it till fully cooked and THEN putting it in the cp on high? Doesn’t that result in it literally falling apart?
Two hours on high (at least on my crockpot) results in tender chicken…but NOT falling apart. More than that? Yes, maybe. But this is a great dish to make ahead of time and serve a crowd. It’s also the best BBQ chicken ever 🙂
What i really like about using slow cooker is that the chicken can really absorb the flavor.
I am and interested in and looked at Amazon for the Ninja and saw 2 or 3 different models. Which would you recommend?
This is the one I have and LOVE: http://amzn.to/2eESMxv
I love my Ninja, too, and am always looking for new ways to use it. These look perfect!!
My slow cooker is one of my all time favorite appliances! My family loves bbq chicken, so can’t wait to try this – it looks wonderful!
I love easy recipes like this! I know this chicken would be a hit at our house!
You can’t go wrong with BBQ chicken especially when it’s as easy as sticking it in that Ninja slow cooker! It looks so juicy and I’m glad you coated it with plenty of barbecue sauce!
I am going to have to take a look at that Ninja Slow cooker. My slow cooker just died 🙁 And I love meals like this!
Not gonna lie, if my Ninja ever quit working, I’d be on Amazon getting a new one ASAP. Best crockpot I ever owned (did I mention how easy it is to clean?)
Manually lighting gas fueled things make me a little nervous also, so that’s a great idea! This chicken looks fantastic!
Maybe this is a dumb question but do I broil it on high or lo?
High 🙂