DESCRIPTION
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.
The recipe below has you cook the chicken in the oven, but see above for how to cook it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. And you have GOT to try the slaw in this recipe. It’s the easiest and just so seriously good. And no, nobody will actually be able to tell that it’s made with Caesar salad dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs*
- 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 cup Caesar salad dressing**
- 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 1/2 head of cabbage***
- 1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 4 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- To a large bowl add chicken, oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss until chicken is evenly coated.
- Transfer chicken to a sheet pan. Lay thighs flat on pan without overlapping.
- Place pan in oven. Bake until internal temperature of chicken is 160°F and no longer pink inside, about 20-23 minutes. For some crispy edges, leave them in for an extra 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the slaw. To a large bowl add the Caesar dressing and vinegar. Stir. Add the shredded cabbage and stir to coat. Allow to sit at room temperature while the chicken finishes cooking.
- Remove pan of chicken from oven. Transfer chicken thighs to a cutting board.*** Set aside to rest.
- Pour off some fat from the pan and discard, if desired. Drizzle the chicken stock onto the pan. Swirl it around, stir, and scrape to get flavor from pan dissolved into liquid.
- Use two forks to shred chicken (or place chicken in a bowl and use an electric hand mixer or the flat paddle of a stand mixer to shred it). Drizzle chicken with 2 tablespoons of the pan liquid and some of the BBQ sauce. Taste chicken and add more pan liquid, BBQ sauce, salt, and/or pepper, if desired.
- Split and toast the buns. Top bottom buns with chicken, top chicken with slaw, and then add the tops of the buns.
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Notes
*Chicken breasts will work here too but you will probably need more of the chicken liquid and/or BBQ sauce to make it juicier once you shred it.
**You can alternatively use 1 cup of ranch dressing or your favorite coleslaw dressing.
***This is approximately 6-7 cups of shredded cabbage or a 14-16 ounce bag.