Slow Cooker Apple Cider Pulled Chicken
These effortless slow cooker pulled chicken sandwiches are so good! The chicken is simmered in the crockpot for hours with hard cider, apples, and onion, and it comes out SO tender. Throw it in your favorite bun with some sharp cheddar, and you won’t even know what hit you.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Slow cooker
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
Looking for a perfectly effortless, wonderfully comforting fall dinner? This slow cooker pulled chicken is calling your name. Simmered in hard apple cider with sweet apples and sweet onions, it’s bursting with autumn flavor. The cider and apples add fall flavor, while the chicken turns perfectly tender and shreds effortlessly.
Best of all, much like my Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork, this recipe couldn’t be simpler—just chop, season, and let your slow cooker work its magic. Serve it on warm rolls with shredded cheddar or enjoy it on its own—either way, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
This Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Practically Cooks Itself
Calling all busy parents (or just people in general)! You’ve got to try this recipe. Here’s why:
- Deeply flavorful. The combination of sweet apples, hard cider, and beautifully caramelized onions creates a rich, comforting flavor that just screams “Fall!”. That cozy flavor really makes its way into each and every shred of chicken, and the results? Completely irresistible.
- SO tender (almost melt-in-your-mouth). Slow cooking transforms ordinary chicken breasts into a juicy, fall-apart-tender masterpiece. It shreds so easily with just the slightest touch of a fork.
- It couldn’t be easier. With just a few minutes of prep and the push of a button or two, you can walk away and return hours later to an incredible meal. Go enjoy your day while the house fills with the tantalizing aroma of apple cider chicken!
What You’ll Need
Time to head to the store to grab your ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy crockpot shredded chicken (have a look at the recipe card below for precise measurements):
- Peeled and sliced apple – I prefer Granny Smith or Honeycrisp here. They hold up nicely in the slow cooker.
- Sliced sweet onion – Grab a large one (or two smaller onions). If you don’t like sweet onion, yellow onion would be just fine.
- Chicken – I used boneless, skinless breasts, but chicken thighs would be great, too. For safety reasons, I don’t recommend using frozen chicken unless you’ve thawed it properly first.
- Seasoning – I kept it at salt and pepper with a dash of paprika and dry mustard. Smoked paprika would be a fun addition, as well.
- Hard apple cider – Want to keep it non-alcoholic? A NA sparkling cider (like Martinelli’s) will work just fine.
- Rolls – I really like this pulled chicken on soft, fluffy rolls (these Easy Gluten Free Hamburger Buns are amazing!), but feel free to use something different. Sourdough or my Gluten Free French Bread would be yummy, toasted or not.
- Shredded sharp white cheddar cheese – Shred it fresh from the block if possible.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
Here’s a quick look at how to make this apple cider pulled chicken. You’ll find more detailed instructions in the recipe card below:
- Load up the slow cooker. Place the onion and apple slices on the bottom of your slow cooker and lay the chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle it all with the seasonings and pour the cider over the top.
- Cook. Seal the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Shred. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, shred with two forks, and return it to the slow cooker.
- Sauce it up. Toss together the chicken, apples, onions, and cooking liquid.
- Make sandwiches. Top the bottom half of a roll with shredded chicken, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese, and top with the top half of the roll.
Tips and Variation Ideas
This recipe is pretty hard to mess up, but I do have some tips and tricks for you, as well as a few fun variations on the original recipe:
- Don’t overload the slow cooker. While I highly encourage you to make a double batch of this shredded chicken, it’s important not to overload the slow cooker (the chicken won’t cook properly). So, just keep that in mind.
- Try it in the Instant Pot. Load your Instant Pot up, just as you would if you were doing this in the crockpot, and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Perform a quick release before opening the Instant Pot and shredding the chicken.
- Melt. If you’ve got a little extra time, toast your buns and, before adding the top bun, throw the chicken and cheese-topped bottom buns under the broiler for a minute or so to melt the cheese!
- Cheese swap. I like the sharp white cheddar here, but traditional cheddar would be great, too. So would Gouda, mozzarella, or pepper jack.
- Condiments galore. This chicken is so juicy that you don’t really need condiments. That said, you can’t go wrong with a little mayo. Feeling adventurous? Get wild with this Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing or Dip, or my spicy Buffalo Ranch.
- Have fun with the bread. I went with standard burger buns, but you could 100% use hearty slices of sourdough or go the slider route with my Gluten Free Hawaiian Rolls or these Gluten Free Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls.
How to Store and Reheat Extras
This chicken is GREAT for leftovers. So, make a double batch and save the extras for lunch the following day. Here’s how to store it properly (just the chicken…the buns and cheese shouldn’t be added to the picture until you’re ready to serve):
- Refrigerator. Seal any fully cooled leftover chicken in an airtight container. It’ll keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer. Once cool, seal the leftover chicken in an airtight freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- To reheat. Put the chicken back in the slow cooker and cook on low until warm. Alternatively, heat it in a pot over medium heat (you may want to add a splash of broth or water). You can also microwave individual portions in 30-second intervals until heated through.
Once you’ve reheated the chicken, whip out some fresh buns and cheese and assemble sandwiches as you normally would.
Make It a Meal
These pulled chicken sandwiches are sure to be the star of any meal, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve some quality company on your plate!
- Try a refreshing salad. My Harvest Salad is packed with seasonal flavors, and this Crunchy Broccoli Apple Salad is always a hit.
- Have something a little heartier. You can’t go wrong with this Bacon Ranch Potato Salad or my Gluten Free Stovetop Mac & Cheese.
- Repurpose extras. I love this chicken because it’s easy to incorporate into other recipes. Ditch the bun (and the cheese) and try it in my Pecan Chicken Salad or in this Chicken Stuffing Casserole. What a great way to use up leftovers!
More Easy Chicken Dinner Ideas
On the lookout for more fuss-free chicken dinners? Here are a few more recipes you’ll go nuts over:
Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 apple peeled and sliced
- 1 large sweet onion sliced
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 12 oz. bottle of hard apple cider or 12 oz. (1 1/2 cups) non-alcoholic sparkling cider
- 12-16 slices of sourdough or your favorite bread, or 6-8 rolls toasted
- 8 oz. shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
Instructions
- Place 1 large sweet onion (sliced) and 1 apple (sliced) on the bottom of your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- Lay the 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts on top of the apples and onions, and sprinkle on 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, and 2 teaspoons dry mustard. Pour a 12 oz. bottle of hard apple cider over the top.
- Cook on in the slow cooker low for 6-8 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily. Or set the Instant Pot to Manual for 15 minutes and, after the cooking time is completed, use the Quick Release to release the pressure.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker or Instant Pot, shred with two forks, and return to the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- Using tongs, toss together the chicken, apples, onions and cooking liquid until evenly distributed.
- Top the "bottom halves" of your 12-16 slices of sourdough or your favorite bread, or 6-8 rolls with the shredded chicken mixture, and sprinkle with about 1 oz. (1/4 cups) of your 8 oz. shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, and top with the other slice of bread or the top of the roll.
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Do you mean like Angry Orchard adult beverages?
Yes, exactly!
This sounds lovely. Going to give this a go. thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
It’s a longtime favorite of ours!
Couple questions: 1) Does the type of apple matter? 2) I made it and it smelled sooooo funky. Tasted pretty good but smelled strange, any idea why?
I don’t see why the type of apple would matter. I am not sure how it smelled, but perhaps it is the alcohol cooking off?
Wondering any thoughts? I made apple cider (intended for this), missed that it’s supposed to be hard apple cider. Any suggestions?
I think it’ll be fine, just a tad sweeter. Maybe use a little less and add some tang with cider vinegar?
Okay, so I’m going to do the same thing you did, because I think of apples and onions, and I have to sub out the cheddar for some smoked gouda!
Ohh, smoked gouda sounds great!
Oh no read this wrong and used 12 ounces of acv instead..of cider..darn it, how can i fix it? Is it gunna taste bad?
Hmm, it might be a little strong in vinegar flavor. Perhaps some honey to sweeten it up, or something creamy? I’m not sure! Let me know what happens.
This sounds really delicious. Thanks for sharing this.
Simon
This is just what I was looking for! I’m going to put this in the slow cooker before I go to bed so that it’s ready for shredding in the morning. (using fresh cider mixed with veggie broth to prevent it from being overly sweet)
Great idea for mixing with the broth. Since I used the hard cider, it was definitely not as sweet. Hope you enjoy!
Results: success! And it made a lot so we can enjoy leftovers. It doesn’t need cheese (which I was out of) to be enjoyed. I’m going to take this recipe to Mom’s house over the holidays. I bet she’d like it too. 🙂 I’m also thinking an apple cider pulled chicken stromboli would be tasty too.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And it does make a lot. I like the contrast of the sharp cheese, but it is good on its own. The stromboli sounds amazing!
Should you use frozen chicken breasts or should you defrost them before?
I usually try to defrost them because it is better from a food safety perspective. I’ve used frozen, but it’s really your call since some people don’t recommend it.
What kind of apples do you suggest?
I just used what I had on hand (probably braeburns or galas – don’t remember), but I think anything that will stand up to cooking. A Macintosh might turn to mush.