Pulled chicken burgers feature tender, flavorful shredded chicken breast cooked in a dutch oven with tangy barbecue sauce.
Table of contents
Why Make These Pulled Chicken Burgers
These pulled chicken burgers or sandwiches are going to be your families new favorite. They taste like summer with the tender, shredded barbecue chicken breast. The chicken breast is cooked in a dutch oven, then pulled. Cooking it in a dutch oven keeps the flavor and moisture in while cooking it semi quickly vs the typical crockpot cook. This meal is very easy and I top it with an optional Kale Coleslaw.
Ingredients Needed
Chicken Breasts. Traditionally this recipe uses chicken thighs, I like chicken breasts and white meat so I use chicken breasts. You can definitely do thighs in place of the breasts.
Seasoning. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin powder.
Barbecue Sauce. Use your favorite! I love Kinders bbq.
Whole Grain Dijon Mustard. Yum! this gives the barbecue flavor a little more kick and tang.
Apple Cider Vinegar. This will be added to the pulled chicken in the dutch over, it adds a great acidity to balance things.
Buns. Use any buns of choice! Brioche or potato rolls are my go-to. You can also put this on my Garlic Rolls, highly recommend.
Recipe Variations
Chicken. Use chicken breasts, or thighs for this recipe.
Barbecue Sauce. To make this healthier, feel free to use a low sugar or sugar free barbecue sauce. You can also use buffalo sauce in place or in addition to the barbecue.
Coleslaw. If you don't want to make or use coleslaw, there are so many great toppings to enjoy in place. I love fresh romaine lettuce, shredded carrots or pickles on top of thee burgers.
Coleslaw. Optional for topping. I top mine with my Kale Slaw.
Steps To Make This Recipe
Step One. Preheat the oven to 350º. Mix seasonings in a small bowl, clean and pat chicken breasts dry. Rub seasoning mix all over both sides of chicken. Pour a little olive oil into the bottom of the dutch oven.
Step Two. Lay the breasts in the dutch oven. It's okay for them to be snug and touching but try not to overlap the breasts so they cook evenly. If they overlap a little no worries, they will just need some more time to cook through. Add 2 tbsp water, 1/3 cup of barbecue sauce, dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar.
Step Three. Cook chicken for 35 - 40 minutes, covered or until they are cooked through and reach an internal temp of 165º. Pull them from the oven, place them on a cutting board and let them rest. While they rest, put the dutch oven on the stovetop and simmer the sauce and juices on low for about 3-4 minutes or until it thickens up. Take off the heat and set aside.
Step Four. Pull the chicken with two forks. Add it back into the dutch oven and mix up into the sauce.
Step Five. Once the chicken is covered in the sauce, feel free to add more barbecue if needed. Build your burgers, top with optional coleslaw and enjoy.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, chicken thighs will work great in place of the chicken breasts.
It widely depends on your dietary needs, to me yes a pulled chicken burger is healthy, the meat is lean, full of protein and you can add as little or as much sauce as you want. Really, barbecue sauce is the most unhealthy item in this recipe, it has a lot of sugar.
Recipe Parings
This recipe goes wonderful with my Garlic Rolls. Simply add the pulled chicken to the rolls. You can also pair it with crispy homemade fries, or air fryer zucchini fries. As mentioned above, I highly recommend making Kale Coleslaw to top these burgers with or to serve on the side.
Other Chicken Recipes To Enjoy
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Pulled Chicken Burger
Equipment
- 4-6 qt Dutch oven or a similar oven safe dish
Ingredients
Pulled Chicken In The Dutch Oven
- 2-3 chicken breasts about 1-1.5 lb
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¾ cup barbecue sauce
- 1½ Tbsp whole grain dijon mustard
- ¼ cup water
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Toppings & More
- 4 buns
- 1 batch Kale Coleslaw optional, any coleslaw will work
- pickles or pickled jalapeños optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º. Mix seasonings in a small bowl, clean and pat chicken breasts dry. Rub seasoning mix all over both sides of chicken. Pour a little olive oil into the bottom of the dutch oven
- Lay the breasts in the dutch oven. It's okay for them to be snug and touching but try not to overlap the breasts so they cook evenly. If they overlap a little no worries, they will just need some more time to cook through. Add 2 tbsp water, 1/3 cup of barbecue sauce, dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. Cover the dutch oven with the lid.
- Cook chicken for 35 - 40 minutes or until they are cooked through and reach an internal temp of 165º. Pull them from the oven, place them on a cutting board and let them rest. While they rest, put the dutch oven on the stovetop and simmer the sauce and juices on low for about 3-4 minutes or until it thickens up. Take off the heat and set aside.
- Pull the chicken with two forks. Add it back into the dutch oven and mix up into the sauce with 1/2 cup of bbq sauce.
- Once the chicken is covered in the sauce, feel free to add more barbecue if needed. Build your burgers, top with optional coleslaw and enjoy.
Deb
Perfect sandwich to get me ready for summer! So easy to make!
Bailey
So happy you enjoyed this one!
Lisa
Can you cook it in a slow cooker instead ?
Bailey
Hi Lisa,
Yes! You can pop it into the slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6 hours.
RevJudith
Am psyched for this! Making it now...
Question: Do you mean for the chicken to be placed in the dutch oven and then COVERED? (Otherwise I believe they would dry out...).
Als, an FYI: In "Step Two" you say "1/3 Cup barbecue sauce" but in the print-ready version of the recipe, you say "1/4 Cup barbecue sauce." 🙂
Bailey
Hi There!
I am so sorry, I updated the post to reflect your questions, it's a brand new one (so thanks so much for catching the errors!) Yes, cover the chicken in the dutch oven while cooking, and use 1/3 cup of bbq sauce. Let me know what you think. Happy Cooking, Bailey.
RevJudith
Hello Bailey -- Thanks for answering the question about using a covered Dutch oven. I figured it needed to be covered, but wanted to double-check. Thank you, also, for tweaking the amount of barbecue sauce called for.
When I made this recipe in May, it was an enormous hit with my husband (and with me!). He's from eastern North Carolina, and the barbecue there (pork) is to die for... but hard to find in New England where we live. Plus, there is the issue of pork vs. chicken in terms of healthy eating......... So we are happy with this recipe, and I've made it a few times. In fact, I just put a double batch in the oven now. 🙂
I appreciate so many of your recipes. They are just great. Keep up the good work!!
Yulia
This was phenomenal! We entertained on Friday and I made this. Everyone agreed it was a hit. Even the slaw was perfect on top, Thank you so much.
Bailey
I am so happy to hear it as a hit! Thanks for letting me know
Clover
These were delicious. Saving the leftovers for a salad tomorrow and I’m so excited for it.
June
This sandwich is so good and is a perfect summer bbq dish!
Cassidy
Delicious I didn’t make the burgers but I ate the pulled chicken over rice. It was fantastic.