Aggie's Kitchen

Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken and Spicy Slaw Salad

My slow cooker has been a huge help lately.  I’m really trying to use it on days where I know I’ll be in and out of the house and won’t be able to really spend a lot of time preparing any kind of dinner.  I’ve been asking around Facebook for your favorite crock-pot recipes and one of my friends mentioned shredded barbecue chicken.  Sounded good to me.

On Saturday as I was getting ready to throw everything in the crock-pot I realized that I didn’t have any “regular” barbecue sauce in the pantry.  That is seriously unlike me, since I tend to stock up on sauces in a ridiculous kind of way.  I did however have a “gourmet” Guava Barbecue sauce that I always pictured over chicken on the grill in some nice warm weather…I guess I thought it might be in a way “too good” for the crock-pot.  Well…I got over that real quick and opened the bottle.  With a little spontaneous creativity I added an almost empty box of raisins and sliced onion to the chicken and sauce and plugged it all in…and hoped for the best.

close up of the spicy slaw salad

Well let me tell you, the best it was.  It turned out so good!  We ate it on sandwiches that night, but I’ve been eating the leftovers cold on a salad for the last two days for lunch.  That night I paired it up with another “on the fly” creation…shredded romaine, shredded carrots, thin sliced jalapenos and leftover poppy seed dressing from my recent Spinach and Orzo salad.  The sweetness from the chicken paired up very nicely with the spicy/sweet from the salad…will definitely be making this one again!

closeup of the Island bbq chicken sandwich

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Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken and Spicy Slaw Salad

  • Author: Aggie's Kitchen
  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Slow cooker

Ingredients

  • 2lbs skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 bottle of barbecue sauce (preferably a fruity one i.e. guava, mango or papaya.ย  I used Tom’s Guava BBQ Sauce found at Fresh Market, check your specialty markets or grocery stores for similar products) —- (see edit note below)
  • 2 splashes balsamic vinegar
  • medium onion, sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • your favorite sandwich buns (I used Arnold’s Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins)

Instructions

  1. Place chicken breasts into slow cooker and sprinkle salt and pepper to both sides. Add sliced onion and raisins. Pour 3/4 bottle of barbecue sauce and 2 splashes balsamic vinegar over chicken and combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  2. When cooking is complete, take 2 forks and gently pull apart chicken breasts. Take remainder of barbecue sauce and pour over chicken and combine. I like to add a little water to the bottle and swirl to pick up any leftover sauce and add that as well. Let shredded chicken sit in crock-pot uncovered for about 15 minutes to warm up in additional sauce.
  3. Add shredded chicken to your favorite sandwich bun and enjoy!

Notes

ย If you are unable to find “fruity” barbecue sauce (like I was unable to today), try adding a couple of teaspoons of mango chutney and/or fruit preserves.ย  I added mango chutney to sweeten up the sauce and give it a little something something from the tropics.ย  ๐Ÿ™‚

IMG_9202

Spicy Slaw Salad
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

1 heart of romaine, shredded thin
1-2 carrots, shredded
1 jalapeno, quartered lengthwise and sliced very thin
Jamie’s Poppy Seed dressing

Combine salad ingredients and gently toss with dressing.

Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken Sandwiches - an easy way to get dinner on the table. A fruity twist on your shredded barbecue chicken! Recipe via aggieskitchen.com

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31 comments on “Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken and Spicy Slaw Salad”

  1. You know how much my husband loves your pulled pork, now I’m going to just HAVE to make him this! This would be perfect for Super bowl too!! Hope your week is being good to you!

  2. I am ALWAYS looking for something to throw in my slow cooker. I’ve done a roast with bbq sauce (my favorite is Stubs) but I’ve never done chicken. Everything looks great, but the slaw really tickles my fancy!

  3. This looks fabulous! I love using my crock pot and my hubby will love this.

  4. Wouldn’t we all love to have this waiting for us when we arrived home:D

  5. delicious looking sandwich! lots of great flavors, I need to find that bbq sauce asap

  6. I just discovered the sandwich thins as well! YUM! This looks like a great way to use the crockpot, too!

  7. DROOL! I really need some BBQ soon!!!

  8. This looks super good Aggie! You know how much I love to make pulled pork in my crockpot. This would be a nice change. The salad slaw looks yummy too.

  9. Pulled chicken is one of my favorites but I’ve never done a fruity one. Looks awesome, I definitely want to try it.

  10. My hubby would love this meal! I need to get my hands on a slow cooker!

  11. This sounds delicious! I love my slow cooker.

  12. mmmm, i’m crazy for meals like this, delicious!

  13. Yum – this looks great! And has me longing for warm weather…

  14. This does look truly amazing! I am making this.

  15. This looks great! My Hubby & I kind of go overboard on the bbq sauce/hot sauce buying as well. We love our Fresh Market, so I will have to look for the sauce this week.

  16. I’m grinning at your spontaneity with what you had on hand. Very cool. I can actually imagine the flavor on this.

    Also, I am seriously curious about those sandwich thins. I have this thing about sandwich bread, especially buns or French rolls. To me, it’s far too much bread and masks the flavors of the fillings. These thins are calling my name! I must find them!

  17. i commend your use of the sandwich thins here–the ratio of juicy, saucy meat to bread is just perfect. ๐Ÿ™‚

  18. I love that spicy slaw! Great side for the sandwiches!

  19. oh girl I’m so sorry I’ve been absent from your blog and all its goodies. now that I’m all moved I hope to have more time. I haven’t baked or created for a while and am so ANXIOUS to get back to it. I always make my slaws spicy. I love my slow cooker too, it’s like 15 years old and dying.

  20. Oh my, that BBQ chicken looks SO good! Love the idea of using romaine in slaw. That meal looks amazing.

    Jenn

  21. Tried this Wednesday with a mango sauce. Mmmm Mmmm Good!!! And it was so easy. Had neighbors over and everybody loved it! Will definetly make this one again.

  22. Oh…my…goodness that pork sandwich looks amazing!

  23. we eat bbq all the time and im always interested in new ways/sauces! my boyfriend finally purchased his own pig cooker this past year so we have been continually experimenting with recipes! I look forward to trying yours, its an inspiration!

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  25. My cousin and I were JUST having a discussion in which we wondered if you could make “pulled chicken”! Thanks for the recipe, I’m making this tonight!

  26. The picture hooked me but the raisins reeled me in. This just went to the top of the “must make” list!

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