If you need a quick, flavorful meal that requires minimal prep, try this BBQ shredded chicken sandwiches crock pot recipe! Thanks to your handy slow cooker, you can enjoy a healthy homemade dinner even on those long, busy days. It even has a homemade low-sugar BBQ sauce!
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Easy BBQ Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
There’s something so satisfying about coming home to dinner ready to serve, especially on those busy weeknights. It’s always such a relief and the whole house smells amazing as soon as you walk in the door!
These slow cooked pulled chicken sandwiches with homemade slaw are always a hit. They taste like you’re stopping by a local BBQ restaurant instead of just opening up your slow cooker!
Your whole family will love this easy meal, even the picky eaters. It’ll become a regular part of your dinner rotation!
Why We Love These Healthy Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Low prep: This easy recipe has just 4 steps: mix the sauce ingredients together, put everything into the crock pot to cook all day, whip up a super quick slaw, then pull the chicken and assemble the sandwiches. You can even use store-bought BBQ sauce to skip a step. It’s so simple!
- Homemade BBQ sauce: Take your crockpot pulled chicken sandwiches to the next level by making your own homemade sauce using simple ingredients! This easy recipe uses honey for sweetness instead of high fructose corn syrup, like the popular grocery store options. It’s perfect for healthy, homemade BBQ chicken sandwiches you’ll be glad to serve your family!
- Family-friendly: BBQ chicken is a classic. The sweetness and spices give it such a great flavor. Even picky eaters tend to enjoy pulled chicken sandwiches!
- Amazing leftovers: It’s always nice to have leftover pulled chicken in the fridge! It’s so convenient for easy lunches.
Ingredient Notes
For the BBQ Pulled Chicken
- Chicken breasts: Start with boneless skinless chicken breasts to keep this recipe lower in fat. Boneless chicken thighs work too, but they won’t be as lean.
- Tomato sauce: This is the barbeque sauce base. It has a smooth texture and rich tomato flavor.
- Tomato paste: Tomato paste has a concentrated tomato flavor that gives this sauce a punch!
- Apple cider vinegar: Mellow out the tomato and add a little tanginess with vinegar.
- Garlic: This recipe calls for minced fresh garlic, but you can substitute 3/4 teaspoon of garlic granules instead if preferred.
- Worcestershire sauce: This adds a savory, umami flavor that keeps your sauce from tasting too sweet.
- Liquid smoke: Barbecue should taste smoky! Liquid smoke delivers that flavor without having to bother with the grill.
- Honey: For this pulled chicken sandwiches recipe, I prefer to use honey as the sweetener. It adds a great flavor.
- Seasonings: Combine onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, and salt to give your sauce extra flavor.
For the slaw
- Plain Greek yogurt: Using half Greek yogurt helps cut some of the fat of using an all mayo dressing. We typically use plain 0% Greek yogurt.
- Mayonnaise: Still provides the classic taste of coleslaw, but less is used since Greek yogurt is added as well.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
- Dijon mustard: Adds a slight tanginess to the dressing.
- Salt & black pepper
- Coleslaw mix: Presliced coleslaw mix is a nice shortcut to get this slaw ready quickly. You can shred your own cabbage if preferred.
- Green onion: This adds a pop of color and subtle bite that tastes great with the sweet BBQ chicken!
To serve
- Whole grain buns
How to Make Pulled Chicken Sandwiches – Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Shredded BBQ Chicken
- In a medium bowl combine tomato sauce, honey, tomato paste, garlic, 1 tablespoon vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, spices and liquid smoke. You can also combine these ingredients directly in the crockpot if desired.
- In the bottom of the slow cooker place the chicken breasts and cover with the sauce. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours until the chicken is tender and reaches an internal temperature of at least 165℉.
- To thicken the sauce, add the cornstarch slurry to the slow cooker with the remaining sauce. Whisk to combine, cover the slow cooker, and set to high. Allow it to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes (you can also do this step on the stove top). Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and toss to coat.
Step 2: Prepare the Greek Yogurt Slaw
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the slaw. In a large bowl combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Add the coleslaw mix and green onion on top of the dressing and toss to combine. Set aside in the fridge.
Step 3: Assemble Sandwiches
- Place shredded chicken on a bun and top with slaw.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Recipe Tips:
- If you’d rather thicken the sauce on the stove, you can transfer the sauce to a large saute pan and reduce it over medium heat on the stove until it thickens while you shred the chicken. Then toss with the pulled chicken.
- This BBQ pulled chicken is delicious served over baked russet or sweet potatoes too!
- If you’d prefer a different sweetener for your BBQ sauce, you can try using brown sugar or maple syrup instead.
- Feeding a crowd? This easy slow cooker recipe is great for football season or for a party. Double the batch to feed a big crew easily.
- Shred the chicken really quickly by using a hand mixer! The little whisks will break the tender meat up in no time.
- For the best flavor, allow the slaw to sit in the dressing for at least 30 minutes.
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Recipe FAQs
You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs in place of the chicken breast.
Most people will use about 1/2 cup of cooked chicken per chicken sandwich. To get this much, you need about 1/4 lb of raw boneless chicken breasts per person. For a family of 4, you’ll need approximately 1 lb of raw chicken. If you like to have leftovers or your family has a big appetite, you can always make more.
These two terms are typically used interchangeably. Pulled chicken often refers to chicken that is cooked low and slow in the BBQ, just like pulled pork. Shredded chicken can be cooked in any way. Really, though, most people use these terms to mean exactly the same thing.
Storage Guidelines
Refrigerator: Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The slaw will keep for up to 2 days.
To freeze: Store chilled, leftover pulled chicken in a freezer bag or container for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
To reheat: The best way to preheat this easy chicken recipe is to either microwave the chicken for 1-2 minutes before adding it to the bun or warm it up in a small saucepan. You may want to add a splash of water or extra BBQ sauce in this situation.
BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich Toppings
There are so many ways to top this chicken sandwich recipe! This easy crockpot recipe already includes instructions for a quick slaw, but you can also try any of our other favorite toppings like:
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Extra sauce
- Red pepper flakes
- Dill pickle slices
- French fries or onion rings
- Potato chips (for some crunch!)
Sides for Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Serve your crockpot shredded chicken sandwiches with your favorite sides, like these delicious recipes:
- Crockpot Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Healthy Dill Potato Salad
- Healthy Roasted Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Fries with Cinnamon
- 5-Ingredient Mac and Cheese
- 3-Bean Chili Recipe
- Kale Salad with Cranberries and Almonds
- Curly Sweet Potato Fries
Recipe Variations
- Use store-bought barbecue sauce: Look for a low sugar BBQ sauce for even less prep!
- Try different hamburger buns: Although we like the extra fiber from whole grain buns, you can use regular white bread buns from the store if preferred. A brioche bun can be great, too!
- Use the Instant Pot: No time to slow cook? Throw everything in the pressure cooker for about 10 minutes of high pressure, then let the pressure naturally release for 5-7 minutes.
- Make lettuce wraps: Ditch the buns completely and make a lettuce wrap instead. This is great for a low carb option!
- Switch up the flavor: Instead of using barbecue sauce, grab a bottle of your favorite buffalo sauce for slow cooker buffalo chicken sandwiches. The Greek yogurt slaw works great with them too!
More Slow Cooker Recipes
- Paleo Pulled Pork
- Healthy Pulled Pork
- Pulled BBQ Beef
- Buffalo Chicken Meal Prep
- White Chicken Chili with Salsa Verde
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Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the BBQ Pulled Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water to make a slurry
For the Slaw
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 10 ounce bag coleslaw mix
- 1/4 cup sliced green onion
To serve
- 8 Whole grain buns
Instructions
To Make the Pulled Chicken
- In a medium bowl combine tomato sauce, honey, tomato paste, garlic, 1 tablespoon vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, spices and liquid smoke. You can also combine these ingredients directly in the crockpot if desired.
- In the bottom of the slow cooker place the chicken breasts and cover with the sauce. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours until the chicken is tender and reaches at least 165℉. Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks.
- To thicken the sauce, add the cornstarch slurry to the slow cooker with the remaining sauce. Whisk to combine, cover the slow cooker, and set to high. Allow it to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes (see the note section below for a faster stovetop method to thicken the sauce). Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and toss to coat.
- Taste sauce, adjust seasoning to taste. Serve on whole wheat buns, topped with slaw.
To Make the Slaw
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the slaw. In a large bowl combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Add the coleslaw mix and green onion on top of the dressing and toss to combine. Set aside in the fridge.
Notes
-
- If you'd rather thicken the sauce on the stove, you can transfer the sauce to a large saute pan and reduce it over medium heat on the stove until it thickens while you shred the chicken. Then toss with the pulled chicken.
- This BBQ pulled chicken is delicious served over baked russet or sweet potatoes too!
- If you'd prefer a different sweetener for your BBQ sauce, you can try using brown sugar or maple syrup instead.
- Feeding a crowd? This easy slow cooker recipe is great for football season or for a party. Double the batch to feed a big crew easily.
- Shred the chicken really quickly by using a hand mixer! The little whisks will break the tender meat up in no time.
- For the best flavor, allow the slaw to sit in the dressing for at least 30 minutes.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in July 2015 but was updated in October 2023 with some changes to the ingredients, in addition to helpful tips and photos.
I got to try this burger recipe! I’m going to buy the ingredients later. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure! Hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it out!
Elysia, thanks! This looks so simple to make, yet looking really satisfying and tasty!
My pleasure Alyssa! It makes such an easy and delicious meal!
This looks delish! My fiance’s family is southern, and they love all things made with pulled pork. We went to a restaurant the other day that did pulled pork eggs benedict, it was great!
Thanks Jacqui! The pulled pork eggs benedict at the restaurant you went to sounds really interesting! I bet it was delicious! Maybe we’ll have to try that recipe next ;)