BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches – Slow Cooked!
These BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches are made with an easy, slow cooker BBQ recipe that’s incredibly easy and full of flavor. It’s sweet, tangy, tender, and perfect with soft rolls or buns.
I think sandwiches are always a great choice for entertaining or family meals. I don’t think, however, that sandwiches have to always be meat and cheese with mayo. Oh, no. I love making all kinds of delicious sandwiches and these pulled chicken sandwiches are a perfect example of that.
These sandwiches are tender, sweet, and tangy, and they’re the perfect meal for dinners, outdoor parties, or any laid-back event.
Why You’ll Love These SLow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Simple Ingredients: Everything used in this recipe is either in your kitchen or at your local grocery store.
- Easy: This is a slow cooker recipe, so it’s incredibly easy to make.
- Flavorful: The BBQ sauce uses store-bought sauce that’s kicked up with added spices for a super-flavorful sauce.
- Budget-Friendly: This recipe is made with chicken and simple spices, all of which are affordable.
Ingredients
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: The mild flavor of chicken breasts is perfect with the bold flavors of the sauce.
- BBQ Sauce: Your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce makes the base for the rest of the BBQ sauce.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Worcestershire sauce gives the BBQ sauce a tangy kick.
- Seasonings: A blend of seasonings is added to the sauce for more flavor.
- Rolls or Buns: Your favorite soft rolls or buns are what hold all that delicious pulled chicken!
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts...
Flavor Variations
- Meat: Try this recipe with pork, beef, or turkey. Use ground beef for loose meat BBQ sandwiches.
- Rolls: Try thick, toasted bread in place of rolls.
- Spicy: Try adding red pepper flakes for a kick of heat.
How to Make BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
1: Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2: Mix the BBQ sauce ingredients and pour over the chicken.
3: Cook on low or high until the chicken is tender and easy to shred.
4: Shred the chicken and return it to the slow cooker, cooking a bit longer if needed.
5: Serve on buns or rolls and enjoy!
Hint
Shred your chicken as soon as it’s safe enough to do so. Hot meat shreds far more easily than cool meat. Using two forks is the way I shredded this chicken.
Storage
Refrigerate the pulled chicken for up to 3 days in an air-tight container. For longer storage, freeze it for up to 2 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating.
To reheat the chicken place it in a saucepan with a bit of water if needed and cook it over medium-low heat until heated through.
What to Serve with BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Serve these delicious sandwiches with classic sandwich sides like ranch corn chips, French fries, or sweet potato fries.
Because these are BBQ sandwiches, they’re also perfect with your favorite BBQ sides like pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, or coleslaw.
Tips
- Although this is a saucy recipe, it’s best to spray your slow cooker with non-stick spray to be sure the breasts don’t stick to the bottom.
- Shred your chicken while it’s as hot as possible while still being safe to handle. This helps you shred it far more easily.
- Blend the BBQ sauce ingredients before adding them to the slow cooker to ensure everything melds properly.
- If your chicken shreds easily but still feels a little too firm, you can simply cook it for another 20 to 30 minutes on low heat to finish it off.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s absolutely safe to cook raw chicken in a slow cooker. Slow cookers were designed to cook raw meats and vegetables slowly over low heat.
Although all slow cookers are supposed to be non-stick, if you’re adding meat directly to the bottom of the slow cooker or if you’re making a dish with a thick sauce, it’s important to spray the inside of the slow cooker to prevent sticking.
Dill pickles, coleslaw, yellow slaw, hot slaw, cheese, onions, bacon, and fried onions are all excellent BBQ chicken sandwich toppings.
BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts about 5- 6 breasts
- 1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce of choice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, I used sea salt, kosher salt is a good one to use too
- 1/ teaspoon black pepper
- Hamburger buns or sandwich rolls for serving
Instructions
-
Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
Combine the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper in a bowl.
Pour the BBQ sauce mixture over the chicken.
Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or on high heat for 3-4 hours.
Shred chicken and return to slow cooker and stir.
Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes on low heat.
Serve on hamburger buns or sandwich rolls. Enoy!
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