30-Minute Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

This is the classic restaurant-style pulled chicken sandwich made at home in only 30 minutes. It’s the juicy chicken you crave and a creamy slaw all in a toasted bun.

What Kind Of Chicken To Use

My preference for pulled chicken is boneless skinless chicken thighs. They’re juicy and full of flavor, and they can be more forgiving than breasts. even if they end up slightly overcooked.

While chicken breasts are not ideal, if you want that leaner chicken, you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts. Make sure you don’t overcook them, and you may also want to add extra of the chicken pan liquid and/or BBQ sauce to add juiciness.

I like to season the chicken with just some oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. If you want to add some extra spices, go ahead! Remember that we’ll be tossing the pulled chicken with barbecue sauce too so just don’t add anything that will compete with those flavors too much.

How To Cook Pulled Chicken

My favorite way to cook the chicken thighs for pulled chicken is in the oven. That’s what you’ll find in the recipe below. But I’m also giving you quick instructions here for using the Instant Pot and the slow cooker. For fuller instructions and details for making pulled chicken in the oven, slow cooker and Instant pot, see my juicy pulled chicken recipe over here.

Oven-Cooked Pulled Chicken: You heat the oven to 425°F, set the seasoned chicken on a sheet pan, and cook until the internal temperature is 160°F and the chicken is no longer pink inside, about 20-25 minutes. Take chicken thighs off of pan.

Instant Pot Pulled Chicken: Add one cup of water or unsalted chicken broth to the Instant Pot. Put a trivet or heat-safe rack in the Instant Pot. Set the seasoned chicken thighs on the trivet in a single layer. Set the Instant Pot for 13 minutes of high pressure cooking. Do a natural release for 5 minutes before venting the remaining steam. Remove chicken from Instant Pot

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken: Add 1 cup of unsalted chicken stock to the slow cooker. Add the seasoned chicken thighs in a single layer and then cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Remove chicken thighs from pan.

Shredding and Moistening the Chicken

However you cooked your chicken, it’s time to shred it and then make sure it’s super juicy. To shred it, you can use two forks, as shown in the video over at my Shredded Chicken Tacos recipe here. Alternatively, you can put the chicken in a large bowl and use an electric mixer (the kind you’d use to mix a cake batter, yes really! This is the one that I have). Or you can use a stand mixer with a flat beater or pastry beater.

Then you’re going to add some extra moisture to your chicken to make it extra-juicy. I will suggest here that you taste if first though. If it’s nice and juicy, just add in the BBQ sauce and nothing else. That way, your bun won’t get soggy. But, if you find it a bit dry, which will especially be the case if you used chicken breasts, but sometimes also happens with thighs, you’ll want to add some liquid.

If you cooked the chicken in the Instant Pot or slow cooker, simply stir the liquid that’s in there after you removed the chicken and then scoop some onto your shredded chicken. Stir in about a tablespoon at a time until it’s moistened, and then you’ll add the BBQ sauce.

If you cooked the chicken in the oven, then what you do is, first, take the chicken off the pan, then optionally pour off some or all of the fat from the pan t, and discard it (or save for another use). Then pour about 1/4 of a cup of chicken stock, chicken broth, or water onto the pan. Swirl the liquid around and then leave it on there while you shred the chicken. Then use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape any brownings from the pan into the liquid. Then, as above, spoon a tablespoon at a time onto the shredded chicken, stirring it in. Then add in that BBQ sauce.

Coleslaw For Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

I love a good coleslaw on my chicken sandwiches. For this recipe, I make it with cabbage, bottled Caesar dressing, and some apple cider vinegar. You can read my tips on how to easily cut cabbage, or you can even use a bag of already shredded cabbage. I use half a head of cabbage which is equivalent to about 6-7 cups of sliced cabbage or one 14-16 ounce bag of shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix. 

I also have a recipe for homemade Caesar dressing without egg if you’d like to try that out. If you’re not a fan of Caesar salad dressing at all, try it with Ranch dressing instead or use your favorite dressing for the coleslaw mixture. 

Another option is to make this coleslaw for pulled pork from my other site, COOKtheSTORY. It’s creamy, and a little sweet and tangy. It’s perfect with pulled pork but works really well with chicken too. It just uses a few more ingredients that the simple Caesar version in the recipe below.

Should I Toast The Sandwich Buns?

Yes! I’m a strong believer that you should not skip this step. Toasted sandwich buns not only give you a satisfying crispy bite, but it also helps the inside of the buns from getting too soggy while you’re eating them.

You can toast the sandwich rolls in a toaster oven, on a baking sheet in the oven under the broiler, or in a skillet. Spreading a little bit of butter or oil on the cut sides of the bun before toasting makes it even better. It gets a bit crisper, and supposedly that bit of fat acts as a barrier stopping liquid from the chicken and slaw from getting at the bread as much. I’m not as positive about that since it’s a subtle difference, but it does make sense.

Serving Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

These sandwiches will be simply amazing with the BBQ chicken and coleslaw. But if you want to add a little bit more, try sliced red onions or adding some cheese or dill pickle slices.

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