SLOW COOKER ZESTY BARBECUE CHICKEN
Chicken breasts slow cooked in a delicious zesty barbecue sauce cooked to tender perfection. Serve chicken piled high on buns or hoagie rolls, over rice or noodles, potatoes and more. Simple to make, so darn good. Perfect for a busy day, parties, game days and more!
Read rave reviews from people who tried this recipe from Pinterest!
This is another great find years ago on AllRecipes – the recipe was submitted by Suzanne Mastaw, with over 3600 reviews.
I give this recipe 5 stars after making two slight changes – I used fresh chicken breasts and added chopped onion. So good.
All you need to make this awesome slow cooker recipe – boneless skinless chicken breasts, barbecue sauce, Zesty Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, onion (optional, but highly recommended) and brown sugar – that’s it! Don’t be scared of the combination of ingredients…they work so well together.
This was a huge hit with my whole family. My youngest can be a pretty picky eater and she gave this one rave reviews and my husband was actually excited about leftovers.
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Give this awesome recipe a try – you won’t be disappointed.
Slow Cooker Zesty Barbecue Chicken
Slightly adapted – Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue by Suzanne Mastaw, allrecipes .com
- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (fresh)
- 1 cup onion, chopped (optional, but highly recommend)
- 1 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
Directions
Lightly spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
Place chicken in single layer in slow cooker. Top chicken with diced onion (optional). Mix remaining ingredients (bbq sauce, Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar). Pour sauce over chicken.
Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, until chicken is tender and easy to shred. When ready, shred with two forks. Reduce slow cooker temperature to low and cook an additional hour. Cooking the extra hour allows the yummy sauce to absorb into the chicken.
Serve chicken pilled high on your favorite rolls along with your favorite barbecue sides – coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, baked potatoes, french fries, veggies, salad and more. Enjoy!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Cheers!
Lori
How could I double the recipe? What I have to cook it longer?
Betty Bilnoski
I have this cooking in my slow cooker today. Thank you so much for the recipe! ❤️
Mary Neumann
Enjoy, Betty! Love this recipe. And thank YOU. 🙂
Linda Henderson
Could I dice chicken pieces 1st instead of shredding at the end??????
Roberta Marsh
Sounds good. I will be busy today and this dish will make dinner a lot easier. LOVE bbq chicken 🐔.
Mommytoboys
How many calories are in this per serving and how many grams is a serving size?
APeacock
This recipe exceeded my expectations. We ate it on toasted hamburger buns with dill pickles. It was very good.
Beth
Could you cook this on low for 6-8 hours instead of high?
Mary Neumann
Sure – just adjust the cooking time to how fast/slow your cooker cooks on low, Beth.
Linda
This also makes awesome BBQ Chicken Nachos. Place a layer of white corn tortilla chips on cookie sheet covered with non stick Reynolds Wrap, then put a layer of shredded cheddar cheese on top of chips, a layer of chicken, a layer of cheese, repeat layers once or twice more, ending with cheese. Bake in preheated 400 Oven until cheese is melted and bubbling. You may top with jalapeño slices before baking if desired. These are always a hit. This works great with pulled pork too! Just make sure to add BBQ sauce to the pulled pork if it doesn’t already have it.
Roberta Marsh
My mouth is watering already. It’s only 4AM
Carolyn Rosenberg
I’ve tried it and enjoyed, but will not use suggested BBQ sauce…. it still contains high fructose corn syrup!!
beck
I bought the no sugar added bbq sauce with no high fructose corn syrup.
Anonymous
WITH the zesty Italian dressing, is it spicy?
Debbie
No, it’s not spicy.
marysweetlittlebluebird
Hi Elisa! Yes, you can use dark brown sugar.
Elisa McGinn
Can you use dark brown sugar?
Elisa McGinn
Can you use dark brown sugar?
Anonymous
Can you use another kind of Bbq sauce
Anonymous
Would it still turn out the same if I cook it on low for 6-8 hours?
Thank you!
Ginger L.
This flavorful recipe is the very BEST! It's so easy, too. Thank you for sharing it!
Anonymous
thanks for the prompt response. definitely want to try this.
marysweetlittlebluebird
If you used 2 lbs of chicken chicken and each serving is 1/4 lb, that makes 8 servings. To be safe, I'd say it makes 6 "healthy" servings.
Anonymous
Can you tell me how many this recipe feeds? Want to hold a "non BBQ" barbecue and this would be perfect.
Thanks!