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Set-it-and-forget-it Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is rubbed with spices and flavored with your favorite sauce. Super easy and affordable for busy weeknight dinners.
You can never go wrong with a good slow cooker recipe, in my opinion. I mean, what’s not to love about letting an appliance cook for you?
And chicken? Well, it’s a staple in our family. We eat it more than any other meat. Since eating healthy on a budget is important to our family, we love recipes that are super simple and inexpensive (and delicious, of course!).
This slow cooker recipe for barbecued chicken is very easy (don’t be fooled by the list of ingredients—most of them are spices!) and always affordable. It’s great for an everyday dinner as well as serving to guests, or even when you’re feeding a crowd.
But possibly my favorite thing about this recipe is that it can easily be turned into a freezer meal by adding all the ingredients to a freezer bag (yes, the chicken should be raw) and saving for a busy day when you can literally dump the contents of the bag straight from the freezer into your slow cooker. Then go to work and come home to a ready-to-eat dish! Note: Allow additional cook time if starting with frozen meat.
This recipe uses a dry spice blend in addition to your favorite barbecue sauce. (Try my other homemade spice blends!)
I usually skip the last step, which is to move the chicken from the slow cooker to the oven to crisp up the skin. I think the chicken is tasty enough without requiring the extra minutes of effort. Plus, I’m all about less dirty dishes! But, if you MUST have crispy chicken skin, you’ll want to keep that step in your process!
Serves: 6
Set-it-and-forget-it Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is rubbed with spices and flavored with your favorite sauce. Super easy and affordable for busy weeknight dinners.
10 minPrep Time
4 hrCook Time
4 hr, 10 Total Time
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken (drumsticks or thighs work well)
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Mix sugar, paprika, mustard, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Rub the mixture evenly over chicken pieces.
- Transfer chicken to the slow cooker. Pour barbecue sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.
- Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on low.
- (Optional) For crispy skin, transfer chicken to a foil-lined baking pan. Brush additional barbecue sauce over the chicken and broil approximately 5 minutes per side, until lightly charred and crisp.
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