Zesty Italian Chicken • Zona Cooks

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Zesty Italian Chicken offers a flavorful alternative to traditional barbecue chicken. The preparation is straightforward: simply place frozen boneless chicken in your crockpot, add the sauce ingredients on top, and allow it to slow cook. This method makes it easy to enjoy a delicious and unique meal with minimal effort.

Why I love this recipe
Expert tips
Recipe FAQs
Process shots for Slow Cooker Zesty Italian Chicken
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two Zesty Crockpot Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches on a platter. — Zesty Crockpot Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches Recipe for Two

Why I love this recipe

This shredded chicken is incredibly easy and delicious!

We served it on sandwich buns with a side of dill pickle spears, some tortilla chips, and this homemade Tomato Peach Salsa, or try it with this BLT Macaroni Salad.

Expert tips

You can use boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs.

Any flavor of barbecue sauce will work.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Recipe FAQs

Is it safe to use frozen chicken in a slow cooker?

There is a lot of debate about whether it is safe or not to use frozen chicken in a slow cooker, so if you are worried about it, you can use thawed chicken. Quin Patton, a food scientist formerly with PepsiCo, said, u0022It is safe to cook a frozen chicken in a slow cooker, you just need to make sure the internal temperature gets up to 165 degrees at some point during the cooking process.” I have personally never had any problems using frozen in any slow cooker recipe, but I can’t guarantee if you will or not, so please make your own decision.

Process shots for Slow Cooker Zesty Italian Chicken

chicken breast covered in zesty bbq sauce in a crockpot

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two sandwiches with zesty bbq shredded chicken on them — Crock Pot Shredded BBQ Chicken

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Zesty Italian Chicken Crockpot Recipe

Zona House

This Zesty Italian Chicken is a bold twist on classic barbecue chicken that you’ll love. Simply place frozen boneless chicken into your crockpot, add the flavorful sauce ingredients, and let it slow cook to perfection. We served it on a deli Ciabatta roll, paired with a dill pickle spear, crispy tortilla chips, and our irresistible homemade Tomato Peach Salsa. You won’t be disappointed!

4.23 from 22 votes

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 8

Total Time 8 5

Course Chicken-Poultry

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 312 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

▢ 8 ounces frozen boneless chicken breasts
▢ ½ cup barbecue sauce
▢ 2 Tablespoons Zesty Italian salad dressing (from a bottle)
▢ 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
▢ 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Place the frozen boneless chicken in a 4 quart slow cooker Crockpot.
In a small bowl, whisk the barbecue sauce, Zesty Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.
Pour the sauce ingredients over chicken.
Cover and cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on High.
Use a fork to shred the chicken in the pot then stir to coat completely.
Serve the Italian zesty chicken on sandwich rolls or hamburger buns.

Notes

Notes about ingredients and substitutions

You can use boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs.
Any flavor of barbecue sauce will work.

Storage instructions

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 312kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 25gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 1368mgPotassium: 649mgFiber: 1gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 199IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 1mg

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Hi, and welcome. I’m Zona, and I have a passion for recipes. I share recipes, tips, tricks, and resources to help you cook for two. Eat, drink, and enjoy!

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