If you want a flavorful dinner that cooks itself, my easy slow cooker chicken leg quarters is a great dish! It has a homemade barbecue sauce and lots of onions to add a ton of flavor. Everyone will love this meal, even your picky eaters!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy.
When days get shorter and the weather is cold, I turn to my slow cooker more often. It is a great way to make dinner with little work! If you haven’t tried cooking in a slow cooker or Crock Pot yet, I encourage you to do so. Nothing is like dumping ingredients in and coming home to a ready-made hot meal!
These chicken leg quarters are slow-cooked with homemade barbecue sauce. The flavor penetrates the meat, making it absolutely delicious! Chicken legs and chicken leg quarters are also great for those on a budget! See below for the total cost to make this recipe!
Cost To Make This Recipe:
Prices are calculated based on pricing at our local Walmart store. For this chicken recipe, the cost is based on feeding eight people because there are eight large chicken quarters in the bag. The total cost is $11.01.
I have delicious gluten free slow cooker recipes if you want even more dinner ideas. If you want more slow cooker chicken recipes, here are my top 30 recipes.
Why my kids love this slow cooker chicken quarters recipe:
- It cooks while you are away!
- Meats cooked in a slow cooker stay tender, moist, and delicious. The barbecue flavor also slowly cooks into the meat, making it so good!
- Even your picky eaters will love my homemade mild-sweet barbecue sauce recipe.
We loved this, thanks! Didn’t brown the chicken, removed the skin though, added sliced red peppers & jalapeño too, served with rice, yum!”
gina, blog comment
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Chicken leg quarters – I love these because they have a lot of meat. You can also use regular bone-in chicken thighs or legs too!
- Ketchup – You can use any brand. Although most ketchup is gluten-free, it is good to read the labels.
- Mustard – I like to use brown mustard because it adds more flavor. You can also use Dijon if you prefer.
- Spices – Chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Be sure your spices are gluten-free and not processed on shared equipment if you are sensitive to gluten.
What slow cooker is best?
Any slow cooker will work well. The size is the most important factor for me because I like to cook a big meal so that there are leftovers to freeze. I use this 7-quart Crock Pot and it is big enough for my family of four.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Email This Recipe To Me!
I will email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Step 1: In a small bowl, add the sauce ingredients and mix well.
Step 2: Add the chicken leg quarters and sliced onions to the slow cooker.
HINT: I created this slow cooker chicken quarters recipe to be a dump-and-go recipe because I wanted it to be the easiest possible. If you like a browned finish for your chicken, I would encourage you to brown it in a hot oiled skillet on each side for 4 minutes before adding it to the slow cooker.
Step 3: Smother the sauce over the chicken and add the water to the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Step 4: This easy slow cooker BBQ chicken will be kept in an airtight container for up to 4 days or for up to 4 months in the freezer. Add leftover chicken to a freezer-safe zip-style bag and press the extra air out to freeze it.
Try these tasty flavor variations!
You can vary the flavors in this barbecue slow cooker chicken legs recipe.
- You can make this slow cooker chicken with mushrooms or add veggies like carrots and potatoes.
- Add some spice by adding 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red peppers to the barbecue sauce.
- Use boneless chicken breasts and shred the meat when cooked so you can use it for sandwiches.
- Add jalapeños for a kick of spice!
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can definitely put raw chicken in your slow cooker. That is how it cooks with all of the flavors from the sauce.
As the chicken cooks, it will produce a lot of liquid, so covering it in liquid is unnecessary.
Although it’s difficult, you can overcook your chicken in a slow cooker. For the best results, always follow a recipe’s cooking time.
Unfortunately, frozen chicken shouldn’t be cooked in a slow cooker. The temperature is too low, and the chicken can spoil if it is cooked too slowly.
More Gluten Free Chicken Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Cornish Game Hens
- Mexican Chicken and Rice
- Grilled Chicken Filet Burger
- Gluten Free Oven Fried Chicken
- Easy Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Barbecue Slow Cooker Chicken Leg Quarters
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken leg quarters
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons brown mustard Dijon also tastes great
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground paprika
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ cup sliced onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Put the 1 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons brown mustard, 1 1/2 tablespoons ground paprika, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon avocado oil, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper and 1 tablespoon chili powder into a bowl and mix well.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into the bottom of the slow cooker. Add your 1 1/2 pounds chicken leg quarters to the slow cooker and then top with 1/2 cup sliced onion.
- Pour the sauce on top of the chicken and onions.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
- HINT: I created this slow cooker chicken quarters recipe to be a dump-and-go recipe because I wanted it to be the easiest possible. If you like a browned finish for your chicken, I would encourage you to brown the chicken in a hot oiled skillet on each side for 4 minutes before adding it to the slow cooker.
- Enjoy hot. You can add potatoes and carrots if you would like to slow cook some vegetables with the chicken.
Notes
- You can use chicken leg quarters, chicken legs, or any bone-in chicken pieces you have on hand.
- If you like your chicken really saucy, double the barbecue sauce recipe.
- This chicken dinner will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an air-tight container.
- You can freeze this chicken easily in a freezer-safe zip-style bag.
Email This Recipe To Me!
I will email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Really good! Made w leg quarters first time. 2nd time w bone in thighs. Very spicy! Easy to make.
I am so glad you loved this slow cooker chicken recipe. It is a family favorite here as well. Thank you so much, Dee.
Looks delicious. I would like to double the recipe. Is there a problem stacking the chicken quarters in terms of thorough cooking to proper temperature? Thanks in advance.
Hi Carol, it should be okay, but you may want to flip the chicken part way through the cooking so the top layer of chicken can cook in the sauce.
excellent recipe. Thank you
You are very welcome. Thank you for coming back to tell me you loved the recipe!
I made this and it was great. However, I am still confused by the chicken measurements for the recipe. Chicken quarters from my store amount to significantly more than 1 1/2 pounds between 4 of them. It’s more like 8-12 of them per 10 pound bag, which leaves me utterly guessing on how to ratio the sauce recipe. Any suggestion on how to calculate it properly? Thanks for a tasty recipe though!
Hi Beth, WOW, I buy two chicken quarters and the two are 1 1/2 pounds. I am not sure how to standardize this if each store/butcher cuts them differently? I will think about what I can do about this. I am glad you loved the recipe!
I just left a comment and meant to put avocado *oil and also meant that I don’t*plan to brown my chicken beforehand. Sorry for the typos . Fara