Fall-Apart Tender BBQ Chicken Slow Cooker Recipe

Why You’ll Love This this Fall-Apart Tender BBQ Chicken

This slow cooker barbecue chicken practically cooks itself while you go about your day, transforming a simple pound of chicken into tender, fall-apart perfection that’ll have everyone asking for seconds.

The homemade sauce, made from pantry staples like tomato soup and brown sugar, creates this glossy, tangy coating that beats any store-bought bottle hands down.

With just one hour on high and a few more on low, you get restaurant-quality BBQ chicken that’s so tender you could probably cut it with a spoon—though I suppose that would be a bit weird at the dinner table.

Ingredients List

This recipe keeps things beautifully simple with just eight ingredients that you probably already have lurking in your pantry right now.

• 1 (1 lb) frying chicken, cut up and skin removed
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• Make it lighter: Removing the skin already cuts tons of fat, but you can trim any visible fat from the chicken pieces too
• Watch the sodium: Between the tomato soup, Worcestershire sauce, and added salt, this dish packs some serious sodium, so maybe skip salting other parts of your meal
• Sneak in nutrients: That chopped onion adds a bit of fiber and flavor, though to be frank, we’re not exactly making a health food here
• Sugar consideration: Three tablespoons of brown sugar isn’t outrageous for a whole recipe, but it does add up if you’re watching your sugar intake

Step by Step Directions



This slow cooker BBQ chicken recipe delivers tender, flavorful chicken with minimal prep work and maximum convenience.

• Place the skinless chicken pieces in your slow cooker.
• Combine the condensed tomato soup, chopped onion, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and dried basil in a bowl.
• Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken, ensuring all pieces are well-coated with the glaze.
• Cover the slow cooker with its lid.
• Cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
• Reduce heat to LOW and continue cooking for 4 to 6 hours until chicken is tender and fully cooked.

A premium slow cooker with multiple cooking functions can enhance your cooking experience by offering greater versatility and convenience for recipes like this one.

Substitutions and Variations

• Different cuts of chicken – Thighs stay juicier than breasts (they’re more forgiving if you accidentally overcook), but drumsticks and wings work too.
• Make it saucier – Double the sauce ingredients if you want extra for drizzling later, or add a splash of chicken broth to thin things out.
• Go boneless – Boneless pieces cook faster, so you might only need 3-4 hours on low instead of the full marathon cooking time.

Additional Things to Serve With This Dish

This BBQ chicken practically begs for some classic comfort food companions that’ll soak up all that tangy-sweet sauce.

• Fluffy white rice or buttery mashed potatoes – Because to be frank, you need something to catch every precious drop of that saucy goodness, and plain old starch does the job beautifully.
• Creamy coleslaw – The cool, crunchy contrast cuts through all that rich barbecue flavor like a palate cleanser that actually tastes good.
• Warm dinner rolls or cornbread – Perfect for the sauce-sopping mission, plus cornbread’s slight sweetness plays so nicely with barbecue.
• Simple green beans or roasted vegetables – Just to pretend we’re being healthy, though truthfully, the chicken’s doing most of the heavy lifting nutrition-wise.
• Mac and cheese – Because sometimes you want to lean fully into the comfort food atmosphere and call it a day.
• Baked beans – They’re practically BBQ chicken’s best friend, and the flavors meld together like they were meant to be.

Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)

Trust me, these little tweaks will turn your good slow cooker barbecue chicken into something that’ll have people asking for the recipe.

• Remove that skin before cooking – I know the recipe says it, but seriously, skinless chicken absorbs all that beautiful sauce instead of just sitting there looking greasy and sad.
• Don’t peek too often – Every time you lift that lid, you’re adding about 15-20 minutes to your cook time, and honestly, who’s time for that kind of delay when dinner’s already taking six hours?
• Brown the chicken first if you’re feeling fancy – A quick sear in a hot skillet gives you deeper flavor, though let’s be real, sometimes we’re too lazy for extra dishes and that’s perfectly fine.
• Taste your sauce before it goes in – Some tomato soups are saltier than others, so you might want to dial back that half teaspoon of salt if your soup’s already doing the heavy lifting.
• Shred it instead of serving whole pieces – About 30 minutes before serving, pull that tender chicken apart with two forks and let it swim in all that sauce, because honestly, that’s where the magic happens.
• Thicken the sauce if needed – Mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with cold water and stir it in during the last 30 minutes if your sauce seems too thin for proper coating.

Nutritional Facts

Based on 4 servings, each portion contains approximately:

• Calories: 285
• Protein: 25g
• Carbohydrates: 18g
• Fat: 8g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Cholesterol: 75mg
• Sodium: 980mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 15g
• Vitamin C: 8% Daily Value
• Iron: 8% Daily Value
• Calcium: 4% Daily Value

*Nutritional values are estimates and may vary based on specific ingredients and portion sizes used.*

Fun “Did You Know?”

Did you know that slow cookers were originally invented in 1970 by the Rival company as the “Crock-Pot,” but the concept actually dates back to an ancient cooking method called “cholent” used by Jewish families?

I find it fascinating that this modern convenience has such deep historical roots. The slow, gentle cooking process breaks down tough fibers in chicken, creating that fall-apart tenderness we love.

Here’s another cool fact: barbecue sauce actually caramelizes better in slow cookers than grills because the consistent low heat prevents burning while allowing sugars to develop complex flavors over hours.