These easy cheesy BBQ Chicken Sliders are everything a good slider recipe should be: delicious, quick, and ultra simple to make with just 15 min of work! They are made with King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, shredded BBQ chicken, lots of cheese, and garlic butter. Every bite is bursting with flavor: sweet, spicy, salty, smokey, cheesy - just pure deliciousness.
The inspiration for this recipe came from how much you guys loved my Tandoori Chicken Naan Buns (seriously - they have 5 stars with >30 reviews and over 4M views!) and my Spicy Chicken Tikka Sliders! I want to do another recipe in the same family, but make it much simpler and beginner friendly this time.
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WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS RECIPE
I am not kidding when I say you need, NEED, to try this recipe, especially if you enjoyed my Tandoori Chicken Naan Buns and Spicy Chicken Tikka Sliders! Here are a few reasons why:
- This recipe is EASY. The bbq chicken just requires mixing chopped, shredded or boiled chicken with bbq sauce and a few other condiments, and then you simply assemble the rolls. Doesn't get much simpler than that
- They taste incredible. Seriously! They pack a punch with a balance of all the good flavors: sweet, spicy, smokey, salty, cheesy. What more can one ask for?
- Thes sliders are perfect for parties or large families. Making a large batch of these sliders won't take you any more work or time than making a small serving!
INGREDIENTS
Here's what you will need for this recipe (exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below):
BBQ Chicken Filling
- Chicken - you can use pre-cooked or boiled shredded chicken, or grill your own chicken and chop it up. To make your own chicken, you will need chicken tenders, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, and olive oil
- Barbecue Sauce - I recommend getting a good brand as most of the flavor will come from this! I used Stubb's and really liked it
- Worcestershire Sauce to balance out the tartness of the BBQ sauce
- Mayonnaise to add some creaminess
- Chili garlic sauce for some spice (optional)
Garlic Butter:
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic powder or used chopped
- Fresh chopped parsley
Assembly
- King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls - these are my personal favorite as they're widely available and reliably sweet and fluffy. But you can use any kind of rolls or buns that you want!
- Shredded Cheese - I used a mix of cheddar and low moisture mozzarella
HOW TO MAKE EASY CHEESY BBQ CHICKEN SLIDERS
As I promised, this recipe is quite simple, with only 15 minut1es of active work required. This quick video is for the visual learners:
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1. Prepare the chicken
If you are using pre-cooked shredded chicken, you can skip this step. Otherwise, rub the spices on the chicken breasts or tenders, and grill them on the stove until cooked through and slightly charred on both sides. Then chop into small pieces.
2. Make the BBQ chicken filling
This is simple - just toss the chopped chicken in the BBQ sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, mayo and chilli garlic sauce. The beauty of this recipe is that you can adjust the quantities of everything based on your taste preference! Don't want the filling to be too saucy? Reduce all the quantities. Want it to be less spicy? Skip the chili garlic sauce. Just taste and play around.
3. Make garlic butter
Just mix the softened butter with garlic and parsley.
4. Assemble the sliders
Time to assemble! Take a batch of Sweet Hawaiian Rolls and slice them into half horizontally. On one half, place down shredded cheese, then top with the BBQ chicken, and more cheese. You can adjust all filling quantities to your preferences, too. This recipe makes for a heavy filling. Cover with the top half of the rolls and lightly press down, then generously brush over the garlic butter.
5. Bake the sliders
Place the sliders in a pre-heated oven until the cheese melts - about 7-10 minutes.
2. Serve and enjoy!
Congrats - you're done! Now just enjoy these yummy rolls.
RELATED RECIPES
If you like this recipe, also check out my other yummy savory recipes:
- Tandoori Chicken Naan Buns
- Spicy Chicken Tikka Sliders
- Chicken Alfredo Lasagna
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS1
Barbecue chicken (or BBQ chicken) refers to grilled or cooked chicken covered in BBQ sauce. BBQ is the method of cooking, but over time a specific flavor has been associated with it. BBQ sauce is sold in all grocery stores and has a tomato base with a sweet, smoky and slightly tangy flavor.
You can store these sliders in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days. Reheat in the microwave or the oven before serving.
You can use any slider buns you have access to - preferably ones that are slightly sweet! You can also make your own buns using my garlic bun recipe.
Now, without further ado, let's get into this recipe! If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a rating below and tag me in your recreations on Instagram!
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EASY CHEESY BBQ CHICKEN SLIDERS RECIPE
- Total Time: 25 min
- Yield: 12 sliders
Description
These easy cheesy BBQ Chicken Sliders are everything a good slider recipe should be: delicious, quick, and ultra simple to make with just 15 min of work!
Ingredients
Chicken (you can also sub for pre-cooked shredded chicken)
- 1 lb chicken tenders (4-5 tenders)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne for spicy
- 2 tbsp olive oil to fry
BBQ sauce:
- ½ cup BBQ sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce
Garlic Butter:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Assembly:
- 12 Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (1 pack)
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Before getting started, pre-heat the oven to 350F (conventional)
Chicken:
- You can skip this step if you are using pre-cooked shredded chicken
- Rub the salt and spices on the chicken tenders
- Pan fry in the olive oil until the chicken is cooked through and slightly charred on both sides
- Rest for 5 minutes, then chop up into small chunks
BBQ Chicken filling:
- Return the chopped chicken to the pan on low heat
- Add the sauces and mayo and toss to combine. Remove from heat
- Taste and adjust flavors as you like
Garlic butter:
- Mix the parsley and garlic powder in the softened butter
Assembly:
- Slice the Hawaiian Rolls into half horizontally without separating the rolls
- On the bottom half, layer half of the cheese, the BBQ chicken filling, and the other half of the cheese
- Press down lightly, then cover with the top half of the rolls
- Generously brush the garlic butter over the rolls
Bake:
- Place the rolls in the oven and bake until the cheese melts, about 7-10 minutes
- Serve while still warm, and enjoy!
Notes
All quantities in this recipe can be adjusted to your liking. These quantities make for generously filled sliders, but you can also reduce the amount of filling, or make more sliders!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Earam says
I have made 2 of your recipes today. Tandoori chicken buns and chocolate pudding cake and they both were a hit. Thank you
Zoha says
Thank you for trying my recipes! I am glad you enjoyed them <3
Saba Baig says
Which brand chili garlic sauce do you use?
Zoha says
I use Mitchell's (get it from South Asian grocery stores)
Dana says
made this for iftar today and it was AMAZING!!! THANK YOU DEAR ZOHA!
Zoha says
You're most most welcome <3
Carrie says
How many cans of chicken do you use in place of the tenders?
faiza kiani says
Hi Zoha,
Hope you are well. how to make this ahead of Iftaar party without sauces on the buns or keeping them fresh? any tips please.
thanks
Faiza
Blackout St. James says
Hello! I'm a young chef, and tried out your Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken Sliders recently for a dinner idea. They were a huge success!!! Thank you for the recipe!
Zoha says
Aww thanks so much for trying out my recipe!
Nicole Steele says
Made these for the first time last night. They were delicious! I want to make the chicken/sauce ahead and freeze it for our family ski trip. Have frozen it before? Curious how mayo freezes.
Thank you!