These easy pulled chicken sandwiches are a weeknight dream! Smoky chicken tossed in BBQ sauce and served on a soft and buttery brioche bun, piled high with crisp and refreshing mango slaw. DELISH.

Just look at this delicious loaded sandwich!

Juicy pulled chicken spiced with smoked paprika and chipotle, tossed in BBQ sauce and served on buttery brioche buns. Then topped with a crisp, refreshing mango slaw that has a hint of sweetness – the ultimate combo.

It is SO calling my name right now. All the smoky flavor, bright bites and crunchy texture. You won’t even BELIEVE how fast this comes together. The perfect chicken hack to make sandwiches that are dreamy. 

You don’t want to pass this one up! 

This is my secret to making chicken that is tender and juicy and FAST: the broiler. I’ve used this method for chicken thighs for many years now and it’s one of our favorite ways to get a delicious meal on the table quickly. Especially during the week.

And I also take a hint from my weeknight chicken taco recipe – one of the most popular recipes here on the blog. That hint is… shredding the chicken and tossing it with spices AFTER cooking it. Yes, after!

This really makes the flavor pop and stick – and in turn, when you toss the whole mess with BBQ sauce: oh my gosh. Tastes like this chicken has been slow cooking for hours in a saucy seasoned crock.  

Truly! These chicken sandwiches come together SO quickly but taste super flavorful – like the chicken has been simmering in sauce all day long. 

P.S. my go-to sauce is stubb’s sticky sweet or bone suckin’ sauce.

This is what I do!

I season some boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Then I broil them for 6 minutes on each side. After that, I brush them with BBQ sauce and broil them for one minute. Then flip, brush again, and broil another minute. This gives us a great base!

Next up, I toss those chicken thighs in the stand mixer. Yep, the stand mixer! It shreds chicken so easily, especially when it’s hot. So I turn on the mixer and let it shred everything up. 

Finally, I toss in my smoked paprika, garlic, chipotle chili powder and more BBQ sauce. 

That’s it for the chicken. It’s ready to go. This is an excellent chicken base to meal prep for the week ahead! After that final step, store it in a container and pop it in the fridge. It’s very versatile and you can use it so many different ways. 

My favorite way to use it is for pulled chicken sandwiches. And it wouldn’t be the perfect pulled chicken sandwich without SLAW!!!

I am a slaw fiend. Vinegar or citrus based slaws are everything to me – and the cabbage must be shredded as thinly as possible. I love how tangy and crunchy a slaw like this is. And it’s the perfect complement to the hot pulled chicken that is smoky and saucy. 

My must-have ingredients for slaw include green cabbage, shallot or red onion, cilantro and in this case, mango! I like to cut everything into thin strips and toss it all together in an olive oil + lime juice mixture with lots of salt and pepper.

The crunch of the slaw on top of the saucy chicken on top of the super soft and buttery bun?

OH MY WORD.

There is nothing like this fabulous combo. 

Easy Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Weeknight BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Mango Slaw

These easy pulled chicken sandwiches are a weeknight dream! Smoky chicken tossed in BBQ sauce and served on a soft and buttery brioche bun, piled high with crisp and refreshing mango slaw. DELISH.
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Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • ½ cup your favorite BBQ sauce, plus more for topping
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • brioche buns, for serving

mango slaw

  • 1 small cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 1 mango, thinly sliced
  • ½ red onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • kosher salt and pepper

Instructions 

  • Preheat the broiler on your oven to high and make sure there is an oven rack right below it.
  • Season the chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper and place them on a baking sheet.
  • Place the sheet directly under the broiler. Broil for 6 minutes. Flip the chicken and broil for 6 minutes more.
  • After 6 minutes, brush a layer of BBQ sauce onto the chicken. Broil for 1 minute. Flip and brush the other side, then broil for 1 minute more. You can repeat this one or two more times until the chicken is cooked through. It should be 165 degrees F internally.
  • Place the chicken in the bowl of your electric mixer. You can also just shred this by hand or with forks, etc - but wait until it cools somewhat. It doesn’t need to cool before going into the mixer.
  • Turn the mixer on medium-low speed. As the chicken is shredding, add in the paprika, garlic powder and chili powder. Continue to mix until the spices are evenly distributed.
  • Add in ½ cup BBQ sauce and continue to mix. You can add more sauce than this if you’d like at this point!
  • Take the chicken and pile it on a brioche bun. Top with the mango slaw. Enjoy!

mango slaw

  • Place the cabbage, mango, red onion and cilantro in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, honey and olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper. Season the slaw all over with salt and pepper too. Pour the dressing over the slaw, tossing it together. Let it sit for 5 minutes and toss it again. Serve on top of the chicken sandwiches.
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Making them tonight.