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Just 5 minutes of prep gets you a freezer meal that will make a busy weeknight a little bit easier. Toss the whole thing in the slow cooker and enjoy a delicious BBQ Chicken Sandwich for dinner!
The weekend before I went in to have surgery to remove my gall bladder, I searched Pinterest for freezer meals. Of course, I ended up with 389,355,677 options to comb through. I wanted something that I could cook in the slow cooker because I knew I wouldn’t be up to making meals for the family.
I found a recipe for BBQ Chicken Sandwiches. Somewhere. For some reason I didn’t pin it and now I can’t find it again. I think I was wandering down the rabbit hole and far off the main feed on Pinterest.
Anyway, I remembered the main ingredients, so I just tossed things into the bag, sealed it up and put it in the freezer. This week we enjoyed tender, juicy, flavorful BBQ chicken sandwiches for dinner. Success!
Most freezer to slow cooker meals that I have tried ended up as a great disappointment and very one-note in flavor. Hurray for exceptions to the rule! 🙂 I had some leftover meat today for lunch and it was still delicious!
Forgot to thaw the chicken? Make your BBQ Chicken Sandwiches in the pressure cooker instead!
I use my Crockpot Express (the Crockpot brand of a multi-cooker like the Instant Pot) to save my dinner plans all the time. It’s great having a meal ready to go in the freezer, but it’s not great if it’s frozen solid an hour before dinner.
For a pressure cooker, you’ll just need a little bit of liquid to get it started. The juices from the chicken as it thaws, plus the sauce already in the bag will be enough liquid for it to pressurize and cook.
Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth or water to the bottom of the pot and then dump the frozen chicken breast and sauce from the bag into the pot. Close and lock the lid, turning the steam release valve to closed and then set the time for 15 minutes (high pressure.) On the Crockpot Express, I use the Poultry button.
Press Start/Stop and then let it get cooking! It will take a few minutes longer to heat up because of the frozen food inside. Plus, you need to allow time for a natural pressure release (about 10 minutes.) However, you’re still going to have dinner ready in about 45 minutes, which is impressive considering you started with a frozen lump. 🙂
More great freezer meals for meal prep
This post about meal prep/batch cooking is full of great freezer meal recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I even included a PDF shopping list for the entire thing. It’s a fabulous way to stock your freezer and make busy weeks a little easier!
Speaking of meal prep, did you know you can also freeze eggs? If you have a hen laying more than you can use, or just bought too many eggs, read all about How to Freeze Eggs here.
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches: Freezer to Slow Cooker Meal
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken breast boneless skinless (2 large breasts)
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Italian dressing
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- 1.5 pounds chicken breast, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup Italian dressing, 2 tbsp Worcestershire saucePlace all ingredients in a gallon-sized freezer bag, seal and mix together. Freeze.
- When ready to cook, remove bag from freezer and leave in refrigerator overnight to defrost.
- In a slow cooker, cook on Low for 5-6 hours.
- Turn off cooker, shred chicken with a fork and let sit for a few minutes to soak up the juice.
- Serve on hamburger buns or bread of your choice. Top with sliced cheese and coleslaw if desired.
Nutrition
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Allie says
THANK YOU! You just solved my what-am-I-cooking-for-dinner dilemma. This is so perfect for days when I’m short on time. It also looks amazing and something my kids will eat too. Perfection!
I’ve had a great time doing this HOP with all of you!!
Nicole Burkholder says
You’re so welcome! I can imagine you have a lot of those kind of days! Thanks for joining the fun this week. 🙂
Kim says
I love the concept behind your blog – I try to actually use the stuff I pin but it doesn’t always happen!!!
Kristina Walters @ Kris On Fitness says
I could always use new slow cooker recipes! Thanks!
Nicky says
This looks really good Nicole. I will usually buy larger amounts of chicken at one time and then put it up in the freezer. I like to preseason my chicken a couple of different ways too. This is a great sandwich. I like coleslaw on barbecue chicken and pork sandwiches. They taste really good together. I pinned this for later.
Nicole Burkholder says
Anytime I buy a whole chicken instead of just breasts, I will roast the entire thing and then shred the meat for later. It sure is a time saver! I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who likes coleslaw on my BBQ sandwiches 🙂 My husband thinks I’m crazy. (But I like mine REALLY sweet- it’s almost like candy and very bad for you.) 🙂
Christina @ Juggling Real Food and Real Life says
Hey there Nicole! This recipe does look super yummy. Spring is probably my top slow cooker usage time of year because the kids keep me hopping more with baseball and softball season so I will definitely be trying this soon. I wonder how it would be without the brown sugar? My family likes things a little less sweet. One tip that I’ve learned with crock pot cooking is to add additional seasoning at the end. When you cook it all day much of the seasoning cooks off. Maybe this will help with some of your other freezer meals. I hope you are doing well after your surgery. Make sure you are not over-doing it. I know with kids that is difficult.
Nicole Burkholder says
I think you could easily eliminate it. It just lends a little sweetness (not much) and maybe another layer of flavor. I was thinking that pineapple would be good, too. I do need to add more seasoning at the end of my cook time. I’m usually OK with just the protein cooking in the slow cooker and then adding the rest later. Veggies always turn to mush and end up just tasting like whatever they were cooked in. The only exception would be soups/stews. Those are great in the crock!
Bev says
Such a great idea! I love slow-cooker recipes and am always on the hunt for a good one. I will have to try this one out!
Nicole Burkholder says
I love them, too! (When they deliver as promised) 🙂
Georgia says
That’s so funny! I just posted almost the exact same recipe. It is sooo good. I did a huge batch for a group of 20 and did half with and half without the Worcestershire and sugar and it was just as good with just Italian Dressing and BBQ sauce. That was encouraging for me since it was just a few steps less to do!
Nicole Burkholder says
That’s good to know. I was thinking the next time I would embrace the sweet and serve it with some pineapple slices. 🙂
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
I love recipes that you can use the main part of the dish in a couple different meals!
Nicole Burkholder says
Me, too! These would make yummy chicken tacos, too!
Kimberly @ A time to freeze says
I love these kind of recipes! Freezer to slow cooker is the best. I’m pinning this to try next time I do a big round of freezer cooking!
Nicole Burkholder says
I take that a compliment from the freezer queen 🙂
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I normally make BBQ sandwiches with pork but I am going to have to try your chicken version because I LOVE all things chicken haha
Nicole Burkholder says
We do too, but when I saw the extra few ingredients (other than BBQ sauce) I just had to try it. We must have chicken five nights a week, so any way to break up the monotony is awesome! Well, that and it’s a freezer meal!
DesignedByBH says
Ooo…I love that I can take it from the freezer straight to the slower cooker. Pinned!!!
– Brooke –
Nicole Burkholder says
Me, too! Although if you do go straight from freezer to cooker without defrosting, you’ll need to adjust the cooking time. I’ve done it before- it just takes more like 8 hours to cook. “For best results, defrost chicken first.” I sound like packaging copy. 🙂
Kelly says
omg – Sweet Baby Ray’s bbq sauce! I brought 2 bottles back with me from my last trip to the US, and they’re all gone! I know my family will eat this bbq chicken up if I make it with SBRs 🙂 Thanks so much for the time-saving recipe, too!
Nicole Burkholder says
That is such GOOD sauce! 🙂 We like the honey garlic flavor. Yum!
Heidy L. McCallum says
Wow this sounds amazing , really love how simple and delicious it looks!
Nicole Burkholder says
Simplicity is the key!
Raquel @ Organized Island says
This looks good Nicole! I know what you mean about the Pinterest Vastland…so many pins so little time. Pinning this! Hope you are doing well!
Nicole Burkholder says
I’m feeling much better, thanks, Raquel!