Crockpot shredded chicken is one of the most useful healthy meal prep recipes around. You can use it in salads, by itself with veggies, or on some of my favorite recipes—nachos, fries, sandwiches, tacos, and more.
This version puts a spin on Carolina BBQ for slightly sweet and tangy chicken that’s loaded with flavor without the carbs and calories. I’ve also included a spicy white coleslaw recipe that goes perfectly with this crockpot shredded chicken.
How to Make This Crockpot Shredded Chicken
This recipe is crazy simple. Mix a handful of ingredients together and add to a crockpot with two pounds of chicken, cook, shred, thicken the sauce, and you’re done!
You can make this Carolina BBQ chicken in a crockpot or pressure cooker (like my Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken). For more ways to make shredded chicken, check out my ultimate guide to making shredded chicken.
Carolina BBQ Sauce Ingredients
If you didn’t know, I’m from Arkansas—smack dab in the middle of Texas and Memphis BBQ country. So, I’m no expert in Carolina-style BBQ sauce. But I love the flavor combos, and this is my take on it.
Here’s everything you’ll need aside from a few spices:
- Yellow Mustard
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Hot Sauce
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Swerve Brown (or a brown sugar substitute)
These ingredients will be the only liquid you cook your chicken in. And after the chicken cooks, the recipe calls for reducing the remaining liquid to create a thicker sauce like you see in the photo above.
What is Swerve Brown?
Swerve Brown is a zero-calorie, non-glycemic substitute for brown sugar. I use their powdered sugar substitute in all kinds of recipes on my blog, and love their brown sugar all the same. If you don’t have any, you can use real brown sugar, another substitute, or maybe even something like Walden Farms Pancake Syrup in its place.
And if you’re worried about buying an ingredient to never use it again, I have tons of stuff to make with it. Check out my firecracker ground chicken and peanut butter protein cookies for starters.
Side note: You can also use a natural sweetener like the maple syrup in my Korean BBQ slow cooker chicken if you’re not that concerned with the sugar content.
The Spicy White Coleslaw
If you’re going to make sandwiches with your crockpot shredded chicken, this slaw is a must try.
- 12 oz bag of Tri-Color Coleslaw or Broccoli Slaw Mix
- 1/2 C (113g) Fat Free Greek Yogurt
- 2 Tbsp (30mL) White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Swerve, stevia, or granulated sugar substitute
- 1 Tbsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Ground Mustard and Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Mix everything together before tossing with the coleslaw mix. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors develop and serve chilled.
Final Crockpot Shredded Chicken Recipe Notes
If you’re wondering about the fries in all the photos you see, check out my Wingstop Fries, Cajun Fries, or Air Fryer Carrot Fries recipes for healthier fries options. You might also like this chicken on top of my low calorie pizza crust, in BBQ chicken sliders or BBQ chicken mac and cheese, or in a low carb wrap like my BBQ rotisserie chicken wraps.
For the fries in the photo above, I made air fryer fries and topped them with the shredded chicken and shredded mozzarella cheese. Then drizzled Greek yogurt mixed with additional bbq sauce on top with sliced pepperoncinis.
Okay, that’s about it! I’ve included notes on cooking this chicken in an Instant Pot in the recipe card below. If you have any additional questions, drop a comment at the bottom of this post.
Be sure to let me know what you think about this crockpot shredded chicken when you try it! Take a photo of your creation and tag me on Instagram @mason_woodruff. Or you can join my free Facebook group and share it with the Proton Party.
Carolina BBQ Crockpot Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
- 1/4 C 60g Yellow Mustard
- 1/4 C 60g Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 C 60g Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tbsp 30g Hot Sauce, I used Valentina’s
- 1/2 C 96g Swerve Brown Sugar, or light brown sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Mustard
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
Instructions
- Mix everything together in a bowl or crockpot before adding the chicken. Flip the chicken a few times to fully coat both sides.
- Cover and cook on low for 1.5-2.5 hours or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165F. Be careful not to overcook or the chicken will be difficult to shred and rubbery. (You can cook on high, but the longer cook time will produce more flavorful chicken.)
- After the chicken is cooked, shred it with two forks or use a stand mixer with a flat beater attachment. (You can also chop the cooked chicken with a knife.)
- Set the crockpot to its keep warm function and add the chicken back to the crockpot. Let the chicken rest in the juices for an additional hour.
- Remove the chicken and add the sauce to a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 4-5 minutes. (If you’re using an Instant Pot, use the sauté function.)
- Pour the sauce over the chicken, stir, and enjoy!
Notes
- Each serving has 0 Smart Points.
- For an Instant Pot, cook the chicken on manual for 10-12 minutes with quick release pressure. Make sure the chicken is fully cooked before shredding. If you’re using a Ninja Foodi, use similar cook times. You could also use the broil function like I used in my crispy bbq pulled pork recipe for crispy edges.
- If you’d like to double or triple the recipe adjust the cook time by 30-90 minutes accordingly.
- Recipe makes about eight 3-ounce servings. For accuracy, you can weigh your chicken after cooking and divide by 8 to find the exact weight of each serving. For more info, check out my guide to using a food scale for tracking macros.
- The nutrition facts include the carbs from Swerve Brown. Even though it’s zero-calorie, non-glycemic, I include the carbs on the label. This means each serving has 14g of carbs but 2g net carbs. Track whichever you’d like.
Tangy, vinegary, sweet. This hits all the classic Carolina bbq flavor notes perfectly. I absolutely loved this recipe! ate it on some toasted buns with cole slaw and it felt like I was eating a decadent bbq meal! would also be delicous mixed with some mac and cheese!
Tangy, vinegary, sweet. This hits all the classic Carolina bbq flavor notes perfectly. I absolutely loved this recipe! ate it on some toasted buns with cole slaw and it felt like I was eating a decadent bbq meal! would also be delicous mixed with some mac and cheese!
This is great for a meal prep protein. When we made this we made salads, sandwiches, etc. the cole slaw with this also!
This is great for a meal prep protein. When we made this we made salads, sandwiches, etc. the cole slaw with this also!
Do you know what the equivalent for the swerve would be using a Splenda brown sugar instead?
I’m not sure about the Splenda brown, but Swerve Brown substitutes 1:1 for real brown sugar. I bet the Splenda brown has a conversion chart on the packaging. You’ll want to use whatever equals the amount of Swerve brown used. Hope that makes sense!
I absolutely loved this chicken. It had great flavor but I did cook it on low around 4 hours. Next time I’ll definitely try the coleslaw. I also didn’t have worchestire sauce so subbed for low sodium soy sauce and it was still good.
I make this every other week for meal prep. The spice level is perfect. My bf doesn’t care for things that are too spicy and he loves this!
This was SO good. It was my first recipe in my instant pot so I was nervous, but turned out great. So easy to do and my husband even liked it and had no idea it was a healthier option! Lol
Loved this crockpot chicken recipe. So easy and so delicious. I loved the BBQ flavor and it fit perfectly into my macros. I prepped this on Sunday and had it for lunches all week.
I loved this chicken. It was perfect on a fold it bread and with the spicy coleslaw. I used it for lunches/dinners and even froze some for future use. It thawed well in the microwave and did not loose its flavor. I hunted all over for the Valentina hot sauce (found it at Target). I used regular brown sugar. I served it to friends and they liked it as well. A hit in my book!