An easy recipe for oven baked pulled chicken. The barbecue sauce is homemade, healthy, and very easy to make.
Delicious, succulent pulled chicken, smothered in an easy homemade barbecue sauce and cooked in a slow oven for several hours. The homemade barbecue sauce is far healthier than store bought sauces, and very easy to make.
Can you make pulled chicken with thighs?
Yes! That’s how I started making this recipe. Pulled pork is amazing, but the first time I made pulled chicken, I had boneless skinless chicken thighs in the fridge. So I decided to make pulled chicken. I honestly think it’s just as good!
I actually don’t recommend using chicken breast in this pulled chicken recipe. It’s too lean and will dry out during the long cooking. Use that to make baked chicken breast. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are fattier and far more suitable for slow cooking. Plus they are way more delicious!
So how do you make shredded chicken in the oven?
It’s super easy! Place the chicken thighs in a baking dish. Add bbq sauce. Cover and bake in a 300°F oven for 4 hours. Shred the meat and mix with the bbq sauce. Dinner is ready!
But how do you make pulled chicken FAST?
Here’s a fun tip for you: pressed for time one afternoon, with only two hours until dinner, I baked the pulled chicken at 400 degrees F, covered, for 2 hours. The result was delicious and moist – only slightly less so than when baked for 4 hours in a 300-degree oven.
How to serve pulled chicken?
Sure, you can serve it on (gluten free) buns. But healthier and lower carb options are also good. You can use cloud bread or 90 second bread. You can also serve pulled chicken on a bed of cauliflower rice, microwave spaghetti squash, or shredded lettuce.
Easy cleanup tip!
One important tip I have for you is to line the bottom and sides of the baking dish with foil. The barbecue sauce gets beautifully caramelized as the pulled chicken slowly bakes, which makes for a very tasty dinner, but also for a tough cleanup job later on.
However, if you prefer not to use foil when cooking, what I usually do is allow the Pyrex baking dish to cool a little (so it doesn’t explode), then fill it to the brim with very hot, soapy water and allow to soak overnight, on a dishtowel on the counter (never put a hot Pyrex dish directly on a cold counter!). The next morning, cleanup is a breeze.
What about leftovers?
You can keep leftover pulled chicken in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. It’s best to reheat the leftovers very gently so as not to dry them out. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, on 50% power.
Pulled Chicken
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb. chicken thighs, boneless skinless
Barbecue sauce:
- 1 (7 oz jar) tomato paste (3/4 cup)
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey, or a low carb alternative)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place the chicken thighs in a square 8-inch baking dish. Make a few slits in the chicken with a sharp knife.
- Mix together the barbecue sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Pour the barbecue sauce over the chicken, coating evenly. Use your hands to make sure the sauce not just covers the chicken, but also gets inside the slits.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with a double layer of foil and place in the oven. It will start to smell amazing after about 2 hours, but cook it for the full 4 hours, until very tender.
- Remove from the oven. Carefully remove the foil - hot steam will escape - and allow to cool about 10 minutes, until easier to handle.
- Using a knife and a fork, shred the meat while still in the baking dish, and toss with the sauce.
- Serve the pulled chicken on cloud bread or on cauliflower rice.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
NOTES
