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Dutch Oven BBQ Pulled Chicken is a great addition to your weeknight dinner rotation! It’s super easy to make, versatile, and the whole family will love it!
Dutch oven BBQ Pulled Chicken is great to make for backyard bbqs, parties, or easy weeknight dinners.
Serve it with a vegetable, salad, on sliders, or use it as a taco base.
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Ingredients
- Chicken breasts - you can also use chicken thighs or a combination of both, just be sure they’re boneless/skinless.
- Olive oil - I almost always use olive oil, but any neutral-tasting cooking oil or butter/ghee will work too.
- Spices - paprika, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper
- Ketchup - this will be the base for your BBQ sauce.
- Dark brown sugar - dark brown sugar adds more flavor, however light brown sugar will work just as well.
- Apple cider vinegar - for tanginess. You can swap this for white vinegar if that’s what you have on hand.
- Coarse dijon mustard - I used stone ground mustard for this recipe, but feel free to use regular or spicy brown in place of coarse dijon mustard.
- Honey - to give it that “honey bbq” flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce - for umami flavor. If you don’t have it or want to use it then low sodium soy sauce will work.
Process
The process couldn’t be easier, let’s go over the steps:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
- Trim the chicken breasts.
- Mix your seasonings and rub them onto the chicken breasts, pressing them in.
- Drizzle olive oil into the dutch oven and add the seasoned chicken.
- Put the lid on your dutch oven and place them into the oven for 1 hour (or until the internal temp reaches 16
- While the chicken cooks, together the ingredients for the bbq sauce: ketchup, dark brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, coarse dijon mustard, honey, and worcestershire sauce. Set it aside.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the dutch oven and discard any excess liquid.
- Shred the chicken with two forks or use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pan, add the BBQ sauce, and return it to the oven (uncovered) for 10 minutes.
Substitutions
- Chicken breasts - you can also use chicken thighs or a combination of both, just be sure they’re boneless/skinless.
- Olive oil - I almost always use olive oil, but any neutral-tasting cooking oil or butter/ghee will work too.
- Spices - you can switch up the spices to fit your flavor preferences, but I suggest you season the chicken well and salt it generously.
- Dark brown sugar - again, dark brown sugar adds more flavor and it’s preferable for making homemade bbq sauce, however light brown sugar will work just as well.
- Apple cider vinegar - for tanginess. You can swap this for white vinegar, or white wine vinegar.
- Coarse dijon mustard - any dijon mustard will work, also a premade “honey mustard” will work as well.
- Worcestershire sauce - if you don’t have worcestershire, swap it with coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce.
Variations
- Spicy BBQ Pulled chicken: Follow the recipe as it is and add ¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce to the bbq sauce mixture.
- Sweet and Smoky BBQ Pulled chicken: Follow the recipe as it is but swap the paprika for smoked paprika.
- Hawaiian BBQ Chicken: Follow the recipe and add ¼ cup of crushed pineapple to the BBQ sauce mixture.
- Bourbon BBQ Chicken: Follow the recipe as it is and add ¼ cup of bourbon to the BBQ sauce mixture.
Food safety tips
Chicken breasts and thighs should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees fahrenheit.
When using a stand mixer to shred the chicken, it’ll likely be hot and you’ll want to be very careful. If your stand mixer’s bowl doesn’t have a guard (and even if it does) you might want to drape a towel over the top and hold onto the top while it’s shredding so that a hot piece of runaway chicken doesn’t fly up and hit you in the face.
Equipment
If you don’t have a good dutch oven I recommend getting this Staub Braiser or this Staub Dutch Oven.
They’re so versatile and of such great quality that you’ll have them for years to come and use them often.
Storage
Storing leftover pulled chicken is easy, and it'll last for 3-4 days in the fridge if you store it correctly.
First, allow the pulled chicken to cool down to room temperature.
Second, divide the pulled chicken into smaller portions based on your needs. This makes it easier to reheat when you need it.
Third, Place the chicken into an airtight container(s) and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Finally, label your container and store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days (or in the freezer for up to 3 months).
FAQs
Is bbq pulled chicken gluten-free?
Whether BBQ pulled chicken is GF (gluten-free) or not depends on the ingredients. Typically worcestershire sauce isn’t gluten free, you can easily swap it for coconut aminos to make it GF.
Alternatively, you can purchase a store bought, gluten free BBQ sauce and use it instead of making your own BBQ sauce.
Does bbq pulled chicken freeze well?
Yes, BBQ pulled chicken can be frozen and it freezes well! When stored tightly wrapped and in an airtight container it can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to use it, simply thaw it in the fridge overnight and then reheat it.
Dutch Oven BBQ Pulled Chicken
Equipment
- Dutch oven with a lid (or braiser with a lid)
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts trimmed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp coarse dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
- Trim the chicken breasts.
- Mix your spices and rub them onto the chicken breasts, pressing them in on both sides.
- Drizzle olive oil into the Dutch oven and add the seasoned chicken.
- Put the lid on your dutch oven and place them into the oven for 1 hour.
- While the chicken cooks, together the ingredients for the bbq sauce: ketchup, dark brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, coarse dijon mustard, honey, and worcestershire sauce. Set it aside.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the dutch oven and discard any excess liquid.
- Shred the chicken with two forks or use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pan, add the BBQ sauce, and return it to the oven (uncovered) for 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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