Slow-cooker BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches
320 min · 45 g protein · 391 cals / serving
Smoky, sticky, tangy pulled chicken from a quick homemade barbecue sauce of tomato, cider vinegar, mustard, chipotle and just enough brown sugar, piled onto soft buns under a crunchy, creamy coleslaw. It is game-day food that makes a lot, and the leftovers fill wraps, baked potatoes and salads all week.
Ingredients
Pulled chicken
- 1 3/4 lb chicken breast
- 7 oz chicken thigh
Barbecue sauce
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp, packed brown sugar
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 chipotle plus 1 tsp sauce chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika, smoked
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
Coleslaw
- 8 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 1/3 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 2/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
To serve
- 6 light hamburger buns light burger bun
- 12 slices reduced sodium dill pickles
Steps
- Whisk the tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, chipotle, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt together in the slow cooker.
- Add the chicken and turn it to coat. Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3, until it shreds easily and reads at least 165°F.
- Shred the chicken in the pot with two forks and stir it through the sauce. If the sauce is thin, cook uncovered on HIGH for 20–30 minutes until it clings.
- Make the coleslaw: toss both cabbages and the carrot with the yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let it sit 10 minutes to soften slightly.
- Toast the buns, pile on the chicken, top with pickles and a heap of coleslaw, and serve the extra slaw on the side.
Good to know
Pressure cooker instead?
Stir 1/2 cup water into the sauce in the pot, add the chicken, and cook at HIGH pressure 10 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. Shred, then reduce the sauce on SAUTÉ until sticky.
How long does it keep?
The pulled chicken keeps 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen in its sauce; reheat covered in a pan or the microwave until steaming. Undressed slaw vegetables keep 4 days; dress them on the day, or the slaw goes watery.
Bottled barbecue sauce?
Use 1 cup of your favorite instead of the homemade sauce, thinned with 1/4 cup water. It is quicker and sweeter; the homemade one is tangier and smokier.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 91
- Protein
- (48%)
- 11 g
- Fat
- (19%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (34%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 208 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2345 kcal goes into the pot and 2699 g of ingredients comes out as about 2570 g of food: 91 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.