Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches – Comfort Food at its Best

This is, hands down, one of my favorite dinners! I love this barbecue sandwiches in the summer, in the winter, and any time in between. Barbecue flavors always give me summer vibes. But also, comfort vibes. And as much as I love enjoying these tangy barbecue chicken sandwiches on my sun-drenched patio, I also love walking into the warm house in the early dark of winter and being engulfed by the delicious smell of barbecue wafting through the house.

Maybe someone should make a barbecue scented candle. Or maybe not.

Why You’ll Love It:

Tender, shredded chicken. Tangy barbecue sauce. Soft, lightly toasted brioche buns. Crunchy pickles and cabbage. I mean what’s no to love about these barbecue chicken sandwiches? This simple sandwich combines so many amazing textures in tastes in one handheld it’s kind of like the perfect food.

And these sandwiches are easy to make. All you need are some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and your favorite barbecue sauce. Of course, I use my homemade barbecue sauce, and I strongly recommend that you do too. But honestly, you can substitute your favorite sauce and these sandwiches will still be delicious.

Also, the barbecue chicken sandwiches are pretty healthy. Of course, it depends on what sauce you choose. If you want to keep this dinner on the lighter side, pick one with low or no sugar.

I’m going to be honest, Ive tried all those sugar-free BBQ sauces. My dad is a diabetic and my brother really watches calories. But I don’t like them. That’s why I make my own sauce. So I can avoid artificial sweeteners and make a sauce with natural sugars. But if you don’t mind the taste, by all means pick a no-sugar option.

Chicken breasts are a great source of protein. And you can always go bun-less if you want to. I’m not skipping the bun, but this barbecue is so good you definitely could.

How to Make Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches:

You might want to get out a notebook and take notes for this recipe. It has a lot of steps.

JK!

Actually, this recipe couldn’t be easier. Trim up six chicken breasts. Add them to your slow cooker. I love to use slow cooker liners to save on clean up time. Pour in 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce. Or, for the best barbecue chicken sandwiches ever use my recipe. Set it to low and cook 4-6 hours.

When the time is up use two forks, or my favorite tip, a hand mixer, to shred your chicken.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Slice your buns and heat them in the oven until lightly toasted. It doesn’t take much time. About 3-5 minutes. If your oven is already hot, don’t worry about the temperature. Just toss those buns in there. But do keep a close eye on them because they can go from toasty to burnt in seconds. Ask me how I know.

Pile some barbecue chicken on each bun. Top with shredded cabbage or lettuce. I prefer cabbage for the crunch. Serve with dill pickle slice. My son even likes to put his pickles on his Barbecue Chicken Sandwich. He’s fancy like that.

Enjoy!

Honestly, these barbecue chicken sandwiches are pretty much perfect on their own. You could serve this simple sandwich with cabbage and pickles and be good to go.

In the summer I love to eat barbecue with macaroni salad. There’s just something about that combination. Cole salt is a close second.

In the winter I sometimes roast up some baby potatoes. Or, you might think this sounds crazy, but I also love barbecue chicken sandwiches with mashed potatoes. There’s just something about that sweet saucy goodness together with creamy mashed potatoes. (Interestingly, I don’t like gravy on my mashed potatoes. Bt barbecue or red sauce – yum!).

And my favorite vegetable to have with barbecue chicken sandwiches is Brussel sprouts. I know they are controversial. But if you roast them right, there is nothing better. And the bitter taste of the Brussels just complements the barbecue sauce so nicely.

Happy Eating!