Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

Name: Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 245 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken breasts (boneless skinless (thighs work well too)); 1 large onion (thinly sliced); 2 cups sliced peaches (fresh or frozen); 1 cup barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought); 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (minced); 12 ounces beer (optional)

Updated: November 20, 2022 / 39 Comments

1 Ingredients
2 How To Make Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
3 Frequently Asked Questions:
4 Recommended Sides
5 Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

Sweet, smoky, tangy, and slightly spicy – this Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken is made with chipotle peppers and juicy peaches.

This slow cooked BBQ pulled chicken is one I have been making for years, especially towards the tail-end of summer when you can get perfect, fresh, ripe peaches. And since it’s made in the slow cooker, you can set it up and leave it for a delicious meal at the end of a busy day.

Liz holding up a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich.

Ingredients

Chicken Breasts: Your chicken can be thawed or frozen, that’s part of the beauty of using a slow cooker. I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but thighs work well, too.
Onion: I used a white onion in my recipe, which has a light and mild flavor. You could also use a yellow or red onion.
Peaches: You can use fresh or frozen peaches for this recipe. During peach season, my family loves to pick fresh peaches. We keep frozen fruit in our freezer all winter long. Compared to canned, frozen fruits and vegetables are picked at the height of their freshness, which means maximum nutrition for you and your family!
BBQ Sauce: Any barbecue sauce will work with this recipe, store bought or homemade. Depending on the sauce you choose, you can really make the recipe your own and focus in on a certain flavor profile (tangy vs spicy, etc.).
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce: Chipotle peppers are dried and smoked jalapeño peppers typically used for seasoning. Adobo sauce is a popular sauce and marinade used in Mexican cooking.
Beer: An optional step, beer brings out the richness of the meat. As the alcohol evaporates in the slow cooker, it leaves behind amazing tasty flavors in the meat. For slow cooked meals like this one, any light or cheap beer will do the trick. No need to waste money on craft beer here! I personally like Modelo Especial.

How To Make Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

To start, prepare all of your ingredients! Slice your onion, slice your peaches (if using fresh), and mince your chipotle peppers.

The order in which you add your ingredients doesn’t matter, since you’re going to mix it all up anyway, so go ahead and throw your prepared produce into your slow cooker.

Add your barbecue sauce of choice, and give your ingredients a good stir.

Place your chicken on top of the rest of your ingredients and season with a sprinkling of sea salt and pepper.

You’ll add the beer last, if you choose. Again, this step is optional, but will help make your chicken really tender and flavorful.

Give it another good stir, then you’ll close the lid, and turn it on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. You’re now free to set a reminder and walk away! Or, use a programmable slow cooker like this one.

Once your chicken is done, you’ll take it out of the slow cooker for easy shredding. There are lots of tools and tricks out there on how to shred chicken, but I find that nothing works better than just using two forks.

If you choose to serve your barbecue pulled chicken as a sandwich, here are some toppings I highly recommend:

Red onions
Cole slaw
Pickles
Shredded cheese

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I make this recipe in the Instant Pot?

Yes! Follow the same steps of adding all of your ingredients to the pot, then set it to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Let the pressure manually release or use your quick release button, and then shred and enjoy!

How can I store the BBQ chicken?

This BBQ pulled chicken will last up to 5 days in the fridge if stored in an air-tight container, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

What can I use to substitute the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce?

You can use tomato paste instead.

Recommended Sides

If you’ve never thought of using peaches in savory dishes, I urge you to give this slow cooker chicken a try. The sweet peaches provide the perfect balance to the smoky chipotles and tangy barbecue sauce.

No forks required.