Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
on Aug 22, 2016, Updated Aug 25, 2024
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Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches are perfect for feeding a crowd! Shredded chicken tossed in a homemade spicy-sweet barbecue sauce and served with honey lime coleslaw on top. A sandwich everyone is sure to love!
Whether you like it or not football season is here. From now until the beginning of February, thousands of Americans will be parking their butts in front of the TV and watching their favorite teams. I never used to care about watching football, but ever since moving to Colorado things have changed. I suddenly got hit with the game day fever and actually look forward to watching the Broncos play. Heck, I even own a couple Broncos shirts which is unheard of if you knew me 3 years ago. It’s hard not to get excited about football season when you live in a city that is full of die hard fans. You know what else is hard not to get excited about on game day? The food!
Even if you don’t like watching the game, how can you not like eating the food?! Chips, dips, wings, pizza, anything and everything with melted cheese and don’t even get me started on the sweet stuff! With all the over the top food you can make or order sometimes it’s nice to have something a little healthier to help balance everything out. Today I’m giving you a recipe that’s easy to make and great for game day or any day, Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches.
Slow cooker food is great for feeding a crowd. There’s not much work involved in preparing the meal, it makes the house smell great and you don’t have many dishes to wash. One of my favorite kinds of meat to put in my slow cooker is chicken and shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches are probably one of my favorite things to eat. To add a spicy twist to these BBQ chicken sandwiches I decided to use chipotle chile peppers. They add the perfect amount of heat and smokey flavor that goes great with the sweetness of the homemade BBQ sauce.
Speaking of the homemade BBQ sauce, it has a little secret added to it, but no one will ever know. Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides. If you haven’t tried collagen peptides yet, it’s time to hop on board. This flavorless powder dissolves in both hot and cold foods and is undetectable. I’ve added it not only to these BBQ chicken sandwiches, but my husband’s favorite macaroni and cheese, smoothies, even my coffee. So what’s the benefit of adding the collagen? For one you’re getting extra protein which is always a good thing. Collagen is also great for your hair, skin and nails, supports bone and joint health, can help you sleep better and can help with digestion. The question you should be asking yourself is why aren’t you adding it to your food and drinks?! When you serve your family and friends these Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches this football season you can feel good knowing that they’re putting quality, great tasting food in their bodies on game day!
Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 3/4 cup canned diced tomatoes with green chiles, such as Rotel
- 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- Cooking liquid leftover in the slow cooker after the chicken has cooked
Chipotle BBQ Sauce
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/4 teaspoons water
Honey Lime Coleslaw
- 4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
- 4 radishes thinly sliced
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Zest and juice of a lime
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Other Ingredients
- 8 buns
Instructions
Chicken
- In a small bowl combine the cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle all over the chicken breasts then place them in a single layer in your slow cooker.
- In the same bowl stir together the minced chipotle chile, adobo sauce, canned tomatoes with green chiles and chicken broth.
- Pour the mixture all over the chicken breasts, stirring to coat them.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and set on medium heat for 4 hours.
- Depending on the size and model of your slow cooker, the cooking time may vary, adjust accordingly.
Chipotle BBQ Sauce
- Once the chicken has cooked remove it from the slow cooker onto a plate.
- Pour the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a small saucepan and whisk in the remaining BBQ sauce ingredients minus the cornstarch slurry.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let it reduce by about half stirring occasionally.
- While the sauce reduces shred the chicken and put it back into the slow cooker or into a large bowl.
- Once the sauce has reduced whisk in the cornstarch slurry and continue to whisk the sauce until it thickens, about 3-4 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken and stir to coat the chicken completely.
- Keep the chicken warm until ready to serve or cool the meat and refrigerate/freeze until ready to use.
Honey Lime Coleslaw
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the lime zest, juice, oil, honey, salt and pepper.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.
- Let the coleslaw marinate in the dressing for 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve the shredded chicken on toasted buns topped with the coleslaw.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks to my friends at Vital Proteins for sponsoring this post. As always all opinions are my own.
I am going to try cooking them for my family on new year’s eve.
I hope you and the family like the sandwiches!
I love how delicious and how easy this recipe looks.
I am going to try cooking them tomorrow for my family.
I hope they taste great too.
Thank You!
These look so tasty! I’ve also never heard of collagen powder, but I’m game for anything that can help my hair/nails.
Thanks Krystle! I hadn’t tried collagen either until recently and I’m so glad I did. There are so many benefits to using it and you can put it in anything and it won’t affect the flavor.
Sounds like a delicious sandwich! Would love to bite into this while cheering on the Pats. Though I might need to eat it at halftime to give the sandwich proper concentration!
Those look incredible! Perfect for tailgate season!
Thanks Cynthia!