Slow Cooker Pulled Barbecued Chicken Sandwiches
Dear Busy People of the World,
Do you own a slow cooker? Or are you among the crowd of people who say “slow-cooker recipes are no good!”? I hope you own a slow cooker. And I hope you’re not in that no-good crowd. Slow Cookers definitely aren’t the best for everything, and not all slow-cooker recipes are worth keeping. But they sure come in handy for a lot of things… things like housing large quantities of chili and soup, warming mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving Day, and using GOOD slow-cooker recipes to make dinner for you on busy days/nights where you can’t imagine lifting a finger to do it yourself. It’s days like this that you should make things like these Pulled Barbecued Chicken Sandwiches.
I made these recently for a family gathering- one in which a crowd of family was going to be converging upon my house directly after a sporting event. I wasn’t going to be home to make dinner, so I decided to rely on the ‘ol slow cooker to do the work for me.
So super-easy and no-brainer. Chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
Add a quick-to-put-together sauce on top. Then press the button and cook on low for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
At that point, the chicken is removed and pulled apart into shreds. Wrap it in foil to keep it warm and moist. The sauce is thickened up briefly with some cornstarch. Chicken is returned to the sauce and it’s ready for sandwiches (or eating on its own with some potatoes or rice or whatever).
These little rolls are Panini Rolls from Trader Joe’s. They work out just fine for a dinner sandwich roll, but you can use any sort of roll- even mini sliders. The best part is… this is one of those slow cooker recipes that you’ll actually like and make again. It’s family-friendly (the little ones will like it too). And dinner is easy when you are feeling like you’re overwhelmed. Don’t go for fast food- use your slow cooker!
Love, RecipeGirl
P.S. Bread and Butter Pickles are optional, but they’re oh-so-good!!
P.S.S. If you don’t have a slow cooker and are wondering what kind you might want to get, THIS is the brand I have. I love it because it’s fully programmable, and it automatically turns to “warm” when it’s done with it’s cycle (so it doesn’t continue to cook the food, but it doesn’t turn off completely).
Yield: 8 to 10 sandwiches
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 6 hrs
Pulled Barbecued Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup barbecue sauce (a flavor you like)
1/3 cup Italian dressing (reduced-fat or fat-free okay)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons chicken broth
additional barbecue sauce, if desired
rolls, for serving as sandwiches
bread and butter pickles, optional
Directions:
1. Place chicken in the slow cooker. In a medium bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
2. Remove the chicken to a cutting board. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and chicken broth. Stir it into the sauce in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until the sauce is thickened and heated through (10 to 15 minutes). Meanwhile, use two forks to shred the chicken. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir. Add additional barbecue sauce if more sauce is needed or desired. Cover and continue cooking on low for 45 minutes. Serve chicken piled onto rolls. Add pickles, if desired.
Tips:
*The brand of barbecue sauce that you use can make a big difference in the flavor of the chicken. I like Sweet Baby Ray's!
Source: RecipeGirl.com (Adapted slightly from All You)
More slow cooker recipes you may enjoy… from great food blogs:
Coconut- Ginger Chicken and Vegetables from Simple Bites
Root Beer Pulled Pork from RecipeGirl
Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Lentil Stew from Eat, Live, Run
Pumpkin Short Ribs from In Erika’s Kitchen
Tex Mex Chicken and Beans by RecipeGirl
15 Awesome Slow Cooker Recipes by The Kitchn
Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Recipes for Soups, Stews, Chili and Roasts by Gluten Free Goddess
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Ok, this turned out amazing!!!!! Delicious and very filling. Made me so happy to see the boys going back for seconds! Plenty left over for lunch tomorrow which I am now laying in bed daydreaming about! Absolutely LOVED the new big hit in the kitchen!
Happy to hear!
Trying this one out tonight for a friend who’s shipping off, very excited and can’t wait for it to finish cooking. Everyone in the house is loving the smell!!!! Two more hours and it’s chow time!
Famous Dave’s hellfire pickles on sloppy joes, and pulled pork/chicken sandwiches are amazing!
Hi! I’m planning to make these for a birthday party. How many people would you say it feeds?
The recipe makes enough for 8 to 10 sandwiches.
Making this tonite YUM 🙂
I saw this recipe last night and I put it in the crock pot when I came home from work it was ready.So that’s what we are having for dinner tonight.I gave my lil boys (3 & 1 yrs old) a taste of the shredded chicken and they loved it. I hope they love the sandwiches too..I’m sure I will make this again!
I didn’t have any Italian dressing on hand, but I had a bottle raspberry balsamic salad dressing. I used this and the flavor was great!! I also used a little honey, a clove of garlic, and some cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit.
My husband loved it. Served with cole slaw and home made macaroni and cheese. Yum husband looking forward to eating left overs tomorrow night!!
What a delicious and easy recipe! Thank you, thank you! I loved the addition of Italian dressing, and using a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce was genius. I got a late start on dinner, so I cooked the chicken on high for 3 1/2 hours. It was fall-apart perfect! We made sliders by piling the meat on halved King’s Hawaiian Rolls and topping them with a dollop of cilantro-lime coleslaw.
I had 2 pounds of chicken I needed to use up so I decided to try this. Due to dietary issues, I can’t have Worcestershire sauce but made an adaptation for it and didn’t have italian dressing so I used extra sauce and some dry ranch dressing mix. I thought my modifications would kill the meal, but it must be very forgiving! Besides the wonderful aroma all over the house, my husband loved it! I did add a bit more brown sugar to mine because the bbq sauce I had needed it and possibly from the few modifications I needed to make. One of the easiest/quickest crockpot recipes (not that most are that time consuming) and very tasty!
Sounds wonderful!
I made this tonight and it was wonderful. Wasn’t sure at first about the Italian dressing but it added a good flavor and I would have never been able to pick that as an ingredient if I had not made it myself. Made only one pound chicken but made the full recipe of sauce and it turned out perfect. This is our new go to recipe! Thanks!
Love this recipe! So easy to make and tasty! The kids loved it!!! We used the leftover and served it over rice. Yummy!
Can you use frozen chicken breasts? I don’t have the programmable slow cooker and I would normally be away from home longer than 5 hours. Do you have any suggestions?
You can always make it over the weekend, and then just heat up on a weekday?
This was really easy and good! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m sure this helpful recipe would fit into anything.. I wanna try this out on a shawarma bread.. Mouth-watering dish 🙂
This is in the cooker now-alas, I did not have Italian dressing! So I chopped up half an onion (that baby was strong!) and two cloves of garlic, then mixed in 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar and 3 Tbsp honey. Ill let you know if it turned out but I will remember to get Italian dressing at the store when we make it again!
I would like to double this recipe for a party – how long in the slow cooker do you think for 4lbs of chicken?
I’m not sure- probably just a little longer.