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Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken Sandwiches are an easy, filling, & flavorful dinner option — and the chicken itself is both gluten free & low carb, so easily adaptable to different diets if you serve on a low carb wrap or gluten free bread.

slow cooker Italian pulled chicken sandwich on a plate

So I was thinking this week: You know how it’s super easy to make either salsa pulled chicken for tacos or BBQ pulled chicken for sandwiches in the Crock-Pot? And you know how it’s also super easy to make Italian beef sandwiches in the Crock-Pot? Well, why not take inspiration from all of the above and make up a batch of Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken Sandwiches instead… just to mix things up a little!

pulled Italian chicken sandwich

And how happily things did mix up in today’s Sunday Scratchups, your weekly recipe from scratch around grocery sales and affordable ingredients. Chicken prices have been on a downswing lately, so watch for sales at your own local store — then just add a few simple pantry ingredients and a pack of rolls or bread of choice in order to create pulled Italian chicken sandwiches for all.

Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

2-2.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
6-10 whole garlic cloves (depending on size — mine were huge, so I used six)
8 oz can tomato sauce
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 jar whole pepperoncini, including 1/2 of the liquid from the jar
1 Tbsp butter

Directions

Trim chicken and arrange it in the bottom of your slow cooker, then season with Italian seasoning, sea salt, and pepper. Add garlic cloves, then pour the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes over the chicken. Add the pepperoncini along with their liquid, then cut butter into several smaller pieces and scatter across the top.

steps to making pulled Italian chicken in the Crock-Pot

Cover and cook on low for five hours. Remove and discard peppers, then shred the chicken.

Serving suggestion: Serve pulled Italian chicken on deli or French rolls and top with some of the “juice” from the pot, along with sliced mozzarella or provolone cheese.

Note: I used Havarti on ours, because we were out of mozzarella. 😉 Your own favorite kind of cheese would do!

Easy Crock-Pot Italian Chicken makes great sandwiches!

slow cooker pulled Italian chicken sandwiches

think that the kids’ reaction to these was something along the lines of: “GOOD!” — granted, though, their words were slightly garbled due to their mouths being crammed full of pulled chicken sandwich. That in and of itself is a compliment, right? 😉 Just that little bit of butter helps balance out the tangy tomatoes and peppers, while the pepperoncini and Italian seasoning add depth to the tomatoes and make this the perfect sandwich fare.

Slow cooker Italian pulled chicken makes a great summer meal idea; you can avoid heating up your kitchen with the oven, but still end up with a filling dinner that’s easily balanced out with some seasonal fruit on the side. Plus, you should end up with some nice leftovers for lunch the next day!

Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, printable recipe

Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken Sandwiches are a filling & flavorful summertime dinner option -- and the chicken itself is both gluten free & low carb, so easily adaptable to different diets if you serve on a low carb wrap or gluten free bread.
Course dinner
Keyword crock-pot, italian chicken, pulled chicken, sandwiches, slow cooker
Total Time 5 hours 25 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 2-2.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast trimmed
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 6-10 whole garlic cloves depending on size -- mine were huge, so I used six
  • 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 jar whole pepperoncini including 1/2 of the liquid from the jar
  • 1 Tbsp butter

Instructions

  • Trim chicken and arrange it in the bottom of your slow cooker, then season with Italian seasoning, sea salt, and pepper. 
  • Add garlic cloves, then pour the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes over the chicken. 
  • Add the pepperoncini along with their liquid, then cut butter into several smaller pieces and scatter across the top.
  • Cover and cook on low for five hours. Remove and discard peppers, then shred the chicken.
  • Serving suggestion: Serve pulled Italian chicken on deli or French rolls and top with some of the "juice" from the pot, along with sliced mozzarella or provolone cheese.

Notes

I used Havarti on ours, because we were out of mozzarella. 😉 Your own favorite kind of cheese would do!

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Recipe Rating




Amity

Sunday 23rd of January 2022

Do you think I can freeze this? I have a baby due soon and I’m trying to make some freezer meals.

rachel

Sunday 23rd of January 2022

Congratulations! And yes, the chicken should freeze nicely.

Laura

Friday 10th of September 2021

I'm also hoping someone would weigh in with Instant Pot time conversion. I really don't want to drag my old crock pot out....

Keriann

Wednesday 24th of June 2020

What size jar of pepperchini did you use?

rachel

Thursday 25th of June 2020

The regular 16 oz jar.

YK

Wednesday 24th of June 2020

What size crock pot did you use for the 2-2.5 lb boneless/skinless chicken? I'm trying to adjust for the amount of chicken I have.

rachel

Wednesday 24th of June 2020

I have a big 7 quart crock, but that much chicken nowhere near filled it.

Susan

Sunday 8th of December 2019

Do you have any idea what to do with the chicken leftovers? We are all out of bread but would love to finish up the pulled chicken with some kind of non-sandwich option.

rachel

Sunday 8th of December 2019

I've made this specifically with the Italian chicken: https://www.mashupmom.com/italian-chicken-veggie-and-pasta-skillet/

Also, you could use it for things like quesadillas, naan pizza, and more. :)