Spicy Pulled Chicken (Oven Baked)

This tangy and spicy pulled chicken is delicious and easy to make. You dry rub boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a mix of Hungarian paprika, ground chipotle and chili powder, then bake the chicken in a low-temperature oven until tender. To finish, you toss the meat with a tangy tomato, apple cider vinegar and honey sauce. It’s a great make-ahead meal and requires time in the oven but otherwise not much work at all.

What is pulled chicken?

Pulled chicken is chicken that is cooked in such a way that it becomes so tender that it can easily be pulled apart into small bites with two forks.

For the recipe here I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I rubbed with a mix of spices and then slow-baked in the oven until they were fall-apart tender.

I made the sauce for the chicken with tomato, honey, diced onion and a healthy helping of apple cider vinegar for a great sweet and sour flavor. The sauce mellows out the spiciness of the chicken a little bit for a well-balanced flavor.

How to make it:

Prep the chicken:

Step 1. Trim the excess fat off of 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Set aside.

Gather the remaining ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon half-sharp Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

RECIPE NOTE: As always, I recommend that you buy the paprika, chipotle and chili powder for this recipe from a dedicated spice shop. High quality spices make a huge difference in a recipe and that is definitely true here. If you want to make your own chili powder, I have a great recipe in this post: Chunky Chili.

Step 2. Mix the spices and the salt together, then rub the mix evenly on the chicken. Place the spice-rubbed thighs in a bowl, cover and marinate in the fridge for 4 hours.

Bake the chicken:

Step 3. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F., then line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, set a wire rack on it and place the chicken thighs on the rack.

Step 4. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil and tightly seal the foil around the edges so the meat doesn’t dry out in the oven.

Step 5. Bake the chicken in the oven for 2 hours, then take it out and let it cool a bit. Carefully remove the cover foil (there will be a lot of hot steam underneath) and then shred the chicken with two forks. The meat will come apart very easily.

Make the sauce:

Step 6. While the chicken is cooling, make a quick sauce: heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a pan, then sauté ¼ cup minced onion in it until soft.

Step 7. Stir in:

• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup canned crushed tomatoes
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Bring to a boil, then turn the heat off.

Step 8. Toss the chicken with the sauce and serve.

What goes well with spicy pulled chicken?

I like to stuff the pulled chicken into a burger bun along with a pickle or two and eat it by itself as a sandwich. For a good pickle recipe, I can recommend these refrigerator pickles.

More light chicken dishes:

• Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Mediterranean Chicken Salad
• Sumac Chicken with Broccolini and Brown Butter Almonds
• Marinated Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Made this recipe? It would be awesome if you could leave a rating. Either tap or click the stars in the recipe card or leave a comment below. Thanks!

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5 from 2 votes

Spicy Pulled Chicken (Oven Baked)

A homemade spice rub makes the fall-apart tender, slow-baked chicken thighs for this spicy pulled chicken sandwich extra flavorful.

Prep Time:10 mins

Cook Time:2 hrs 10 mins

Marinating Time:4 hrs

Total Time:6 hrs 20 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pulled chicken, pulled chicken sandwich, spicy pulled chicken

Servings: 4

Calories (estimated): 763kcal

Author: Nicole Branan

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon half-sharp Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 2 teaspoons chili powder*
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the sauce:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• ¼ cup minced onion
• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup canned crushed tomatoes
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

For the chicken:

• Trim excess fat off the chicken.
• Mix Hungarian paprika, chipotle pepper, chili powder and salt together in a bowl, then rub evenly on the chicken.
• Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on it. Set the meat on the wire rack and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Make sure to seal the foil well around the edges of the baking sheet.
• Transfer to the oven and slow-bake for 2 hours.
• Take the meat out of the oven and let cool a bit.
• Carefully remove the cover foil from the chicken (there will be a lot of hot steam underneath).

For the sauce:

• Heat the oil in a pan.
• Add the onion and saute until slightly soft.
• Stir in the tomato paste, cider vinegar, crushed tomatoes, honey and salt.
• Bring to a quick boil, then turn the heat off.
• Pull the chicken with 2 forks and toss with the sauce.
• Serve with pickles in a bun.

Notes:

*If you want to make your own chili powder, check out my recipe here: Chunky Chili.