Fall weather has officially arrived!!! I cannot even being to explain how happy this has made me. I spent most of this summer sweating continuously and it has been such a relief to feel a little chill in the air. Local pears and apples are starting to come in too, Cia and I are eating them like crazy! And what better way to celebrate the change of season with a crock pot meal. I cannot take credit for this recipe but when I came across it early August I immediately bookmarked it for a future date. Thank you eat, live, run! It’s easy and unique, with plenty of flavor. I will be using this recipe plenty more in the future.
Who would have thought rootbeer could be so delicious when added to the crockpot? Mixed in with your favorite BBQ sauce you really can’t go wrong. I did make a few minor modifications to the original recipe to suit my needs. Jenna, the author of eat, live, run did not recommend using chicken breasts, preferring to use thighs, but I went ahead and used them anyway. I had no issue with dry or stringy meat. The chicken was tender and everything you could want and more. I also added in carrots for a little veggie action. And lastly I added in a tablespoon or so of tomato paste to thicken the sauce as it was a little thin for my liking. I’m telling you this is so good!!!
You can easily serve this traditional BBQ style on rolls but I chose to celebrate fall and serve it in a baked acorn squash. What a delicious hit this was. So delicious that I went back to the store this morning to get another acorn squash to serve the leftovers in for dinner again tonight!
Pulled Rootbeer BBQ Chicken (modified from eat, live, run)
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large onion, diced
- 8 oz BBQ sauce, I used OrganicVille Original
- 8 oz rootbeer, I used Virgil’s
- baby carrots, two handfuls
- 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
- salt
- Place chicken in crockpot. Top with onion, rootbeer, and BBQ sauce. Cook on high 1 hour.
- Add in baby carrots and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Add tomato paste and cook another 2 hours (on low).
- Shred chicken and season generously with salt.
- Serve chicken in baked acorn squash.
Baked Acorn Squash
- acorn squash
- olive oil
- Half acorn squash and scoop out seeds.
- Rub inside of squash with oil.
- Bake at 350° for 40-60 minutes.