Hawaiian Chicken Crockpot Sandwiches
Tangy Hawaiian chicken crockpot sandwiches are delicious topped with cool and crispy coleslaw and fresh green onions. This easy dinner idea can be prepped ahead and reheated for a busy night.
Whether you need an easy dinner for a busy school night or you want to prep a big Crockpot full of sandwich filling to serve buffet style at your next party, these Hawaiian chicken sandwiches are always a big hit.
I love them topped with cool and creamy angel hair coleslaw but my kids prefer them with just the saucy shredded chicken on a Hawaiian bun.
You can have them ready to cook in just 10 minutes and then this hands-off dinner will be ready and waiting when you need it.
Why This is the Best Recipe
- Make Ahead Friendly: Need to bring a main dish to a potluck or meal train dinner? You can prep the sandwich filling in advance and reheat it later.
- Delicious Sauce: I love the mix of barbecue sauce and Japanese style barbecue sauce in this recipe. A drizzle of hot honey over the top gives it a spicy kick.
- Perfectly Cooked Chicken: Use my method for cooking the chicken and the texture will be just right. No mushy chicken here!
Ingredients
All you need to make this easy chicken sandwich filling is:
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: You could use chicken thighs if you prefer but they'll add a lot more fat to the sauce and may affect the ratio of seasonings. Just adjust as necessary before serving.
- BBQ Sauce: You can use your favorite flavor.
- Japanese Style BBQ Sauce: I used Bachan's sauce from Costco but I've spotted it at other retailers too. If you can't find it, just substitute your favorite thick teriyaki sauce.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Lemon Juice
- Garlic Salt
For Serving the Sandwiches:
To assemble your final sandwich, you'll need just a few more ingredients:
- Angel Hair Coleslaw: Optional. To make it, you need mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, ground mustard, celery seed, and a bag of angel hair coleslaw mix.
- Brioche or Hawaiian Sandwich Buns
- Hot Sauce
- Green Onions
- Hot Honey: Optional.
Prep the Sauce
First, stir together the BBQ sauce, teriyaki/Japanese style BBQ, Worcestershire, lemon juice, and garlic salt.
Set the sauce aside.
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Prep the Chicken
Place the chicken breasts in the bowl of your Crockpot.
Sprinkle salt and pepper generously over both sides of each piece.
Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken.
Use a fork or tongs to nestle and turn the chicken in the sauce so each piece is fully coated and the sauce coats the bottom of the pot.
Cooking Instructions
Cook the chicken for 3 - 4 hours on HIGH heat. Longer cook times end up making the chicken more mushy so I prefer a faster, quicker cook for firmer bites of chicken.
Thicker chicken breasts may cook unevenly. I recommend checking the chicken after 2.5 hours. Use two forks to pull the breasts apart at the thickest section. This will help them cook more evenly over the remaining cook time.
Prep the Coleslaw
While the chicken is cooking, you can prep the angel hair coleslaw.
This easy recipe is so delicious, I shared the instructions for it in the recipe card below but also shared a separate printable recipe card here in case you want to make it for using with other sandwiches or for serving as a side dish.
Make Ahead Tips
Since the chicken cooks more quickly in this recipe than most crockpot recipes, I prefer to use this as a make ahead dinner.
I'll prep the chicken sandwich filling over the weekend or first thing in the morning during the weekdays.
Then I shred the chicken and let it cool before spooning into a storage container for the fridge.
This lets me reheat just what we need for a quick dinner or even freeze some for later.
If you freeze the chicken, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat it gently in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop. Don't try to heat it back up inside the crockpot or it will overcook and get mushy.
Serving Suggestions
To assemble your sandwich, pile up the tangy Hawaiian chicken sandwich filling on the bottom half of your sandwich bun.
If you have the time, it helps to toast the buns under your oven broiler so they hold up to all that delicious sauce but that step is optional.
Then spoon a serving of angel hair coleslaw over the top. Sprinkle some chopped fresh green onions over and then drizzle additional hot sauce or a drizzle of hot honey for some kick.
You can pair this crockpot sandwich with any of my easy side dishes for party sandwiches but the Hawaiian flavor goes especially well with my Southern macaroni salad and a serving of crispy air fryer green beans.
More Crockpot Sandwiches
Looking for more easy Crock Pot sandwiches you can make ahead? Here are a few of my favorites:
📖 Recipe
Hawaiian Chicken Crockpot Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the Hawaiian Chicken
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup Japanese style BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
For the Cole Slaw
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 (10 oz) bag of angel hair coleslaw mix or 3 cups shredded cabbage
For Serving
- 6 brioche buns
- 2 - 3 green onions chopped
- Hot sauce or Hot honey as desired
Instructions
Crockpot Cooking Instructions:
- Spray the bowl of your slowcooker with cooking spray and place the chicken breasts on the bottom.
- Whisk together the Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, Japanese style BBQ sauce (or teriyaki), lemon juice, and garlic salt in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the chicken and use a fork to turn the chicken pieces to coat in the sauce.
- Cook the Hawaiian chicken for 3 - 4 hours on HIGH. Thick chicken breasts may cook unevenly, so after 2.5 hours you may want to pull them in half at the thickest part so they cook more evenly.
- Shred the cooked chicken and let it keep warm in the sauce on the KEEP WARM setting.
Prepare the Coleslaw:
- When the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the coleslaw and keep it chilled in the fridge until you're ready to serve dinner.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, dried mustard, and celery seeds in a large mixing bowl. Add the shredded cabbage and gently toss to coat.
Assemble and Serve:
- To finish the Crockpot sandwiches, open a sandwich bun. Place a scoop of shredded chicken on the bottom half. Top with a spoonful of coleslaw mix. Drizzle the hot sauce (as desired) and close the sandwich with the remaining half of the bun.
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