Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe Chicken

I kept thinking I’d overcomplicate this but Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe Chicken really just needs chicken and a can of sauce and time. You spray the crock, dump everything in, walk away for four hours. When you come back the chicken shreds with basically no effort and the sauce has this deep tangy thing going on that makes even plain white rice taste like you tried.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• You’re using maybe three ingredients if you count the cooking spray.
• The chicken doesn’t dry out because it’s sitting in sauce the whole time, which was my biggest worry the first time I tried this.
• 4 hours on low means you can start it after lunch and eat by dinner without standing over anything.
• Shredding the chicken back into the sauce makes every bite saucy instead of having dry spots.
• It works on buns but also over rice or even stuffed in a baked potato if you’re feeling weird about it.
• Cleanup is one crock and maybe a fork.

The Story Behind This Recipe

I made this last Tuesday after work because I had chicken thawed and one of those cans of Sloppy Joe sauce I bought on sale and forgot about. Wasn’t trying to reinvent anything. I just wanted something I didn’t have to watch. The first time I tried slow cooker chicken it stuck to the bottom and came out sort of gummy, so this time I put sauce down first before adding the meat and that fixed it completely. Now it’s my default easy chicken dinner when I’m too tired to care but still want something that tastes like I put in effort.

What You Need

You need 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, whichever you’ve got. I used breasts because that’s what was thawed but thighs work too and they’re a little more forgiving if you accidentally leave it on an extra 30 minutes. Then you need 2 (10.5-ounce) cans of Sloppy Joe sauce, the kind in the can next to the tomato sauce at the store. I grabbed Manwich because it was on sale but honestly any brand works as long as it’s actual Sloppy Joe sauce and not just plain tomato sauce.

Don’t skip the nonstick cooking spray either. I know it seems like the sauce would be enough to keep things from sticking but the bottom of the crock gets hot and without that spray you’ll end up scraping burnt bits later. It’s like a 2 second thing that saves you 10 minutes of scrubbing.

That’s genuinely it for this easy chicken dinner. No onions to chop, no garlic to mince, no spices to measure out. The sauce has everything already in it and the slow cooker does the rest. I thought about adding bell peppers the first time but I’m glad I didn’t because the simplicity is what makes this actually happen on a weeknight instead of staying in my head as a thing I’ll make someday.

How to Make Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe Chicken

First thing is spraying the inside of your slow cooker crock with nonstick cooking spray. Get the bottom and a little way up the sides. This takes maybe 10 seconds and it’s the difference between the crock wiping clean later or you standing there with a sponge wondering why you didn’t just spray it.

Pour a few tablespoons of the Sloppy Joe sauce into the bottom of the crock before you add the chicken. I learned this the hard way because the first time I made slow cooker chicken I just threw the meat in first and it stuck to the bottom and got this weird gummy texture where it touched the crock. Starting with sauce down first keeps everything moist and prevents that.

Then you place your 2 pounds of raw chicken right on top of that sauce layer. Don’t worry about arranging it pretty or anything. Just get it in there. Pour the rest of both cans of Sloppy Joe sauce over the chicken and make sure every piece is coated. Use a spoon to spread it around if you need to.

Put the lid on and set your slow cooker to low. Now you walk away for 4 hours. Seriously just leave it. I set a timer on my phone so I don’t forget about it entirely but there’s nothing to stir or check. You’ll start smelling it after about 2 hours, this tangy tomatoey smell that makes you wish time moved faster.

At the 4 hour mark the chicken should be falling apart when you poke it with a fork and the sauce will have thickened up. It goes from this thin pourable thing to something that coats the back of a spoon. The chicken will have released some liquid too but that’s fine because it just makes more sauce.

Take the chicken out of the crock and put it on a cutting board or plate. Use two forks to shred it. Pull the forks in opposite directions and the chicken just comes apart in these stringy shreds. It should be so tender you barely have to pull. If you’re fighting it, it needed more time, but that’s never happened to me at 4 hours.

Put all that shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and stir it really well into the sauce. I noticed that if you stir it while it’s still hot the chicken soaks up way more sauce than if you let it sit there. Something about the heat opening up the fibers or whatever. You want every shred coated.

Serve it hot. Pile it on hamburger buns if you’re going traditional or ladle it over rice if you want something that feels more like a meal and less like a sandwich. I’ve done both and honestly the rice version is what I make more now because it’s more filling.

What I Did Wrong the First Time

First time I made this I put the chicken directly on the bottom of the crock with no spray and no sauce layer underneath. Huge mistake. The bottom pieces stuck and when I tried to shred them they had this weird dry rubbery texture where they’d been touching the crock the whole time. The top pieces were fine but the bottom was basically ruined.

I also forgot to shred the chicken back into the sauce and just served it straight out of the crock in big pieces. It was dry in spots and the sauce ran off instead of clinging to anything. Shredding it first and stirring it back in makes such a difference that now I don’t even think of this as optional anymore.

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe Chicken

By Emma

Prep:

5 min

Cook:

4h

Total:

4h 5min

Servings:

4 servings

Ingredients

Method

1. 1 Spray the inside of your slow cooker crock lightly with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking and help clean-up.
2. 2 Pour a few tablespoons of the Sloppy Joe sauce into the bottom of the crock. This starts the flavor base simmering right where the chicken rests.
3. 3 Place the raw chicken in the crock, then cover it with the remaining Sloppy Joe sauce, making sure every piece is coated.
4. 4 Pop the lid on and set the cooker to low. Let it work its magic for about 4 hours. You’ll hear occasional soft bubbling noises as flavors meld and chicken softens.
5. 5 At the 4 hour mark, the chicken should be falling-apart tender and the sauce thickened with a deep, tangy aroma.
6. 6 Remove the chicken from the crock and shred it with two forks. Don’t skip this step — shredding builds texture and helps the sauce soak in better than chopping.
7. 7 Put the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and stir it thoroughly into the sauce. The steam and residual heat will marry everything together.
8. 8 Serve this sloppy joe chicken hot piled on buns or ladled over rice for a filling, saucy meal.

Nutritional information

Calories

350

Protein

40g

Carbs

20g

Fat

5g

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Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe Chicken

If your chicken breasts are super thick, like over an inch, pound them down a bit before you put them in. They’ll cook more evenly and you won’t end up with one piece that’s perfect and another that’s still a little tough in the middle.

About halfway through I opened the lid to check on things and the sauce looked thin, which freaked me out. Don’t add anything. It thickens up in that last hour as the chicken breaks down and the liquid reduces. Opening the lid too much adds time anyway.

When you shred the chicken, do it while everything’s still hot in the crock if you can stand it. The sauce is thinner when it’s hot so it coats the shreds better than if you let it cool down first. I burned my fingers a little being impatient but the texture was worth it.

If you’re using frozen chicken don’t even bother thawing it. Just add an extra hour to the cook time and it’ll be fine. I did this once when I forgot to pull meat out of the freezer and it worked exactly the same, just took longer.

The sauce at the bottom gets darker and thicker than the sauce on top. When you stir the shredded chicken back in, scrape the bottom really well because that’s where all the concentrated flavor hangs out.

Serving Ideas

I put this over baked potatoes once and it was honestly better than I expected. Split the potato, fluff it up with a fork, pile the sloppy joe chicken on top and add shredded cheese if you’re feeling it.

Tater tots on the side turn this into something my neighbor’s kids actually request now. Something about the crispy potato with the saucy chicken just works.

I’ve also stuffed it into flour tortillas with some shredded lettuce and it’s like a lazy taco situation that doesn’t feel lazy when you’re eating it. You could add sour cream but I didn’t bother.

Variations

You can use chicken thighs instead of breasts and they come out even more tender because of the extra fat. They also don’t dry out if you accidentally cook them longer than 4 hours, which has happened to me twice now.

I tried adding a packet of ranch seasoning mix once, just dumped it in with the sauce, and it gave this weird tangy creamy flavor that my husband liked more than the regular version. Use the powder kind not the dip mix.

BBQ sauce instead of Sloppy Joe sauce works but it’s sweeter and less tangy. I did half and half one time and that was actually the best of both because you got the tomato tang and the smoky sweet thing happening together.

If you want it spicier throw in some pickled jalapeños with the juice right at the beginning. The juice mixes into the sauce and the peppers get soft and distribute their heat everywhere instead of being little spicy bombs.

FAQ

Can I use chicken tenders instead of breasts or thighs?
Yeah they’ll work fine but they’ll probably be done in 3 hours instead of 4 because they’re smaller. Check them early or they might shred into mush.

Do I have to use canned Sloppy Joe sauce or can I make my own?
You can make your own but honestly the canned stuff is what makes this so easy. If you’re making sauce from scratch you’re already doing more work than this recipe is meant for.

How do I know when the chicken is actually done?
It should fall apart when you poke it with a fork and the internal temp should hit 165°F if you stick a thermometer in the thickest part. If it’s still rubbery or pink inside give it another 30 minutes.

Can I cook this on high instead of low?
You can do 2 hours on high but I’ve never tried it because I’m usually at work and low fits my schedule better. The texture might be slightly different but it should still shred fine.

What if I only have one can of Sloppy Joe sauce?
Use what you have and add half a cup of ketchup mixed with a tablespoon of brown sugar and a splash of vinegar. It won’t taste exactly the same but it’ll be close enough that nobody will notice.

Does this freeze well after it’s cooked?
Yeah it freezes great. Let it cool completely then put it in a freezer container or bag and it’ll last a couple months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and reheat it in a pot on the stove.

Can I double this recipe in a 6-quart slow cooker?
I’ve done it and it works but you might need to add 30 minutes to an hour to the cook time because there’s more mass in there. Just check that the chicken shreds easily before you call it done.

Why did my chicken come out stringy but dry?
You probably cooked it too long or didn’t stir the shredded chicken back into the sauce well enough. The stirring part is what gets the moisture back into every piece.

Can I add vegetables to this?
You can throw in diced bell peppers or onions at the beginning but they’ll get really soft and kind of disappear into the sauce. I tried it once and couldn’t really taste them separately so I stopped bothering.

What’s the best way to reheat leftovers?
Microwave works fine but add a splash of water before you heat it because the chicken soaks up sauce as it sits in the fridge. On the stove in a small pot is better if you have time because you can stir it and add more liquid if needed.

Do I have to shred the chicken or can I just cut it?
You can cut it into chunks if you want but shredding gives you way more surface area for the sauce to stick to. Chunks tend to be drier because the sauce just slides off them.

Can I use bone-in chicken?
Technically yes but you’d have to pick the bones out after cooking and it’s annoying. Boneless is easier and this recipe is supposed to be easy so I wouldn’t recommend it.

How long can I leave this on warm after it’s done cooking?
An hour or two is fine but after that the chicken starts to dry out even in the sauce. If you know you’re going to be late just set it to finish closer to when you’ll actually eat.

What if my sauce is too thick at the end?
Stir in a few tablespoons of water or chicken broth while it’s still hot. The sauce thickens as it sits so it might look thick right after cooking but be fine once you stir everything together.

Can I use this for meal prep?
Yeah it holds up in the fridge for 4 days easy. I portion it into containers with rice already in there and grab one for lunch. Just reheat it with a little extra water so it doesn’t dry out.

Does the type of slow cooker matter?
Not really as long as it’s at least 4 quarts. Mine’s an old one with just low and high settings and it works fine. Fancier ones with timers are nice but not necessary for this.