A rich, deeply flavored, sweet, slow cooked BBQ chicken dinner – that you fix, and forget!
With a busy weekend planned, we needed to spend time out of the house at birthday parties, the park and running errands, so I needed something yummy to be waiting for us when we got home, without resorting to takeout.
This pairs perfectly with homemade mac and cheese (try my sneaky veggie filled version), and some sauteed greens. I went with zucchini and spinach for this – primarily because that is what we had in the fridge, but also because they cook fast! I was able to warm up the mac and cheese, saute the greens, and serve dinner within a few minutes of arriving home. A little make ahead prepping, and you too can avoid the drive-through on busy days! 
BBQ Chicken (Crockpot)
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 onion coarsely chopped
- 6-8 chicken thighs (can use bone in or out but remove the skin)
- 1 Tbs smoked paprika
- salt/pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ onion finely diced (not a typo, we use onion twice here)
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes 15 ounce
- 1.5 tsp cornstarch
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Add the coarsely diced onion to the crockpot.
- Sprinkle paprika, salt and pepper onto the chicken, and in a large pan sear on both sides (2 mins per side)
- Place chicken into the crockpot, on top of the onions.
- In the same pan you used to sear the chicken, add 1 tsp olive oil and heat over medium.
- Saute the onion for a few minutes until softened, then add the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds
- Add cornstarch to the canned tomatoes, and add the mixture, plus the vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce and pepper to the pan.
- Simmer for a few minutes. You may wish to blend the sauce at this point for a smoother consistency.
- Add sauce to crockpot, covering chicken and mix until combined.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours
- Remove chicken from crockpot, and put on a plate, spooning the extra sauce over the top.
- Devour.
My favorite step in your recipe is #11: DEVOUR! Yes!
That’s always my favorite!
Love the idea of using fire roasted tomato in this. Sounds so delicious! We don’t own a crockpot, but I believe this recipe will work well by braising in dutch oven too 🙂
Hi Maggie – it really will translate well to a dutch oven method. You COULD use regular tomatoes, or even tomato sauce – but I think the fire roasted ones bring that smoky flavor to a whole new level!
I love a good crockpot recipe. I will need to try this!
Easy and looks good too 🙂 I believe you’ve changed your blog header right?
I have! I actually switched from blogger to self hosted WordPress. Shakin’ things up around here!
Crockpots are so great for those busy days, and your recipe looks like a winner!
LOVE Chicken Thighs! Not only are they meaty, they are so cheap!! Great recipe with the use of them!
Cheap is soooo my favorite….
I really need to go out and buy a crockpot. That chicken looks so tender and juicy. Love chicken thighs.