Pulled Chicken Sandwich with Crunchy Slaw
This pulled chicken sandwich recipe is made by simmering chicken breasts in a simple sauce with BBQ flavors until the chicken is fall apart tender. The sauce is then thickened and poured over the pulled chicken and served on soft, toasted buns with crunchy slaw. It's delicious!
Complete the meal with some parmesan corn on the cob, baked beans, and some garlic fries!
This recipe was originally published way back in 2012. We've freshened it up with some new photos and some more information. We love this recipe as much now as we did back then!
Pulled chicken sandwich
Sink your teeth into a warm, soft brioche bun piled high with tender chicken all smothered in a sweet and tangy, bbq-like sauce and topped with just the right amount of crunchy coleslaw.
Pulled chicken sandwiches make an incredible meal-prep lunch or tasty dinner. And they can easily be packed up (pulled chicken in one container, coleslaw in another) and brought to the park, beach, or friend's backyard.
This is one recipe you don't want to miss!
Is this a healthy pulled chicken sandwich?
This is about as healthy as a pulled chicken sandwich can be!
It's sugar-free – we usually leave out the little bit of optional sugar as the orange juice provides all the sweetness we need. And it's made with healthy chicken breasts and the coleslaw is made without mayonnaise or oil.
If you'd like, you can serve this on gluten-free or low carb buns or wrap up the pulled chicken in crunchy lettuce for an even healthier meal.
How to make this pulled chicken sandwich recipe
While this isn't a quick recipe, it is a very easy one. And don't worry, most of the time it takes to make these sandwiches is hands off time while the chicken slowly simmers and becomes super tender.
- Make the pulled chicken. This is as easy as simmering chicken breasts in orange juice with chipotle peppers and a few other flavors. After an hour you can use two forks to easily pull the chicken into pieces.
- Make the sauce. Simply boil the sauce that you used to cook the chicken until it reduces and becomes sticky, like BBQ sauce.
- Make the slaw. Toss some cabbage, carrot, red onion, and cilantro with a squeeze of lime juice and a little bit of honey.
- Put it all together. Top toasted (preferably brioche) buns with the pulled chicken and coleslaw then eat!
Full recipe in the recipe card below!
What to eat with pulled chicken sandwiches
We'll often double up the coleslaw in this recipe and serve some of it on the side. Our classic broccoli coleslaw also goes really well with this sandwich.
Any traditional BBQ side will also go well with pulled chicken sandwiches. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Summer Tomato and Grilled Corn Salad
- Pea Salad with Bacon
- Garlic Herb Carrot Fries
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
Popular sandwich recipes
- Grilled Cheese and Apple Sandwich with Sriracha Butter
- The Best Black Bean Veggie Burger
- Easy Warm Bruschetta Dinner
- Roast Beef Sandwich with Spicy Mayo Radishes
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon, Tomato and Basil
Pulled Chicken Sandwich with Crunchy Slaw
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
The Pulled Chicken
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-6 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely minced (see notes)
- 2 cups orange juice
- Ā¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, gluten-free, if needed
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Optional: 2 tablespoons brown or coconut sugar, see notes
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
The Coleslaw
- 2 cups finely shredded cabbage, we like a mix of purple and green cabbage
- Ā¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Pinch salt and pepper
The Buns
- 4 brioche buns, preferably toasted with a little butter (sub gluten-free buns, if needed)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chipotle peppers and cook for 1 more minute.1 teaspoon cooking oil, 6 cloves garlic, 2-6 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- Add the orange juice, Worchestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and if using, the sugar to the pot and stir. (See notes) Put the chicken breasts into the pot and turn the heat to high. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 1 hour, or until the chicken is very tender.2 cups orange juice, Ā¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, Optional: 2 tablespoons brown or coconut sugar, 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Remove the chicken from the pot (save the liquid in the pot!) and shred it using 2 forks. Return the pot to high heat and boil, uncovered, until the liquid is as thick as BBQ sauce – it will thicken when it cools.
- Pour half of the sauce over the chicken and gently mix. If you'd like it saucier, add a little more sauce.
- Mix the coleslaw ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.2 cups finely shredded cabbage, Ā¼ cup chopped cilantro, 1 medium carrot, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 2 teaspoons honey, Pinch salt and pepper
- Top the buns with the pulled chicken and coleslaw and eat right away!4 brioche buns
Notes
This recipe is part of our Healthy Super Bowl Recipes series.
Made this for the first time yesterday for a small NCAA Tournament party. Rave review from our guests! A little sweet and a little hot kick. We used five chipotle peppers in a double batch. We’re have another small party for the basketball tournament again today for other guests and guess what, we’re having these sandwiches again!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was WONDERFULt family loved it. Will definitely make this again
Kristen, thank you for the delicious dish! First and foremost, this is the finest shredded chicken I’ve ever made. Second, I must admit that I was drawn to the recipe as it is a nutritious chicken breast recipe with no sugar. Finally, I paired it with a street corn pasta salad. Thank you for sharing.
You had me at crunchy slaw! I love sandwiches that have coleslaw on top, and it’s an easy way to add more veggies to the meal. If I wanted to make the BBQ sauce separate and pour over canned chicken, would you recommend changing any of the quantities or cook times? Thanks!
If you’re using canned chicken, you won’t need to cook it. I’ve never used canned chicken before so I’m not familiar with what it’s like – I’m assuming like canned tuna. If it is, you could simply warm it and pour the bbq sauce over the top. š
I live in the UK – struggling to find chipotle in adobo sauce – could you recommend an alternative?Ā
It’s a unique flavor that is not easily replicated. Your best bet is probably to buy them on Amazon. You can see them here.
I hadn’t thought of pulled CHICKEN sandwiches before. I may be biased though because my favorite sandwich is pulled pork, but I’ll need to try this!
The pulled pork sandwich has always been my favorite, but IĀ“ll need to try this one!
We made this for a lunch with some friends and itās was a hit!! I love that it was ālighterā than the typical pulled pork and not only because of the chicken. Loved the no sugar and tangy BBQ sauce. Also the no mayo coleslaw (I did put mayo on the bun though š¬). Very easy to make, the part that took the most time was the squeezing oranges to make the orange juice
Loved it! Great kick and a nice alternative when you are tired of basic chicken breast recipes.
Do you think I could make the chicken with those ingredients in the instant pot?
Yes I think that would work well!
This looks delish – although 6 chipotles in adobo for 2 breasts seems like a lot. What was the spiciness level on this? I don’t mind heat, but would like to know if making this for others. Also, could this be done in a crock pot?? Thanks – I look forward to trying it out!
Hi Sam,
It does sound like a lot but 6 is how many chipotle peppers I use. There is a decent bite to it so if you are concerned just cut down the amount you use ?
Although Iāve never tried making this in a crock pot my guess is that it would work.
Hope you one this recipe as much as I do!
Thank you so much!!!!!
I’m going to make this, this weekend.
Are the chipotles dried, in adobo sauce, or neither?
Thank you for any reply.
Hey Christopher,
I used chipotle peppers in adobo sauce š
This was one of the BEST recipes I’ve made! My husband said he would be happy to eat it for every meal for the rest of his life! I made it in my dutch oven on the stove top as well. I had to use canned chipotles in adobo sauce because I couldn’t find fresh or dried in our commissary on our military base in Germany, so I reduced the number of peppers and it turned out amazing! Thanks so much for our new favorite meal.
That’s such great news! It is also one of my fav’s š
I just made this last night. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. It was some of the best shredded chicken I have ever had! I tripled the recipe and cooked it in my big dutch oven on the stove – definitely happy that we have a lot left over!
I’m so happy to hear that it turned out. I just love this recipe too!
Thank you for this recipe! It was AMAZING! We served them as tostadas with avocado with shredded lettuce. YUM!
Hey Samantha,
That makes me so happy to hear you enjoyed it! I love your idea about serving it as tostadas. I will be trying that next time for sure!!
This looks divine! Love the photos. I also used to be vegetarian and slowly transitioned out… Except I really like chicken!
Thanks, Danguole! It’s hard to stay vegetarian forever. I was for a really long time, but eventually I just couldn’t resist anymore. I’m learning to love chicken now too!
As always Kristen, looks amazing! Will definitely be trying this one soon!
Thanks, Drew! I’d love to hear what you thought of it after you make it. I predict you are going to love it š