This Shredded Chicken Parmesan Sandwich recipe is an easy, satisfying and delicious dinner to make any night of the week. These saucy, cheesy sandwiches are also great for meal prepping, game days or holidays!
We like to serve these sandwiches with our homemade, creamy Caesar Salad and these addicting Steak Fries!
Why You’ll Love This Shredded Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Recipe
This Shredded Chicken Parmesan Sandwich is truly a dump and go crock pot recipe. Five minutes of prep work is all you need and this easy dinner will be ready and waiting for you.
- Easy To Make: Just 5 minutes is all you need to get the ingredients into a slow cooker.
- Simple Ingredients: Chicken breasts, mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce are the basic ingredients for this slow cooker chicken recipe. Basic pantry seasonings and some grated parmesan cheese are the finishing touch.
- Make Ahead Recipe: Make this chicken ahead of time and warm it up during the week or for parties. This chicken freezes really well, too if you want to make it for later meals.
- Feeds A Crowd: Because we’re piling this chicken onto buns with cheese, you can really make this recipe stretch.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken Breast: We always seem to have boneless, skinless chicken breast on hand, but can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Marinara Sauce: Your favorite store bought brand – and of course you can use homemade sauce.
- Italian Seasoning: Italian seasoning flavors this shredded chicken with one, easy addition.
- Garlic Powder: Another easy way to add flavor, you can use fresh garlic too or both!
- Grated Parmesan Cheese: Use a good quality parmesan cheese, preferably not the kind in a can.
- Small Sandwich Buns: Any type of bun that you like, slider buns or regular sized hamburger buns. Ciabatta rolls or sub rolls both work, too.
How To Make
We’ll go over the basic steps here. Please scroll down to the recipe card for complete instructions and ingredients.
- Season Chicken and Add To Slow Cooker: Season the chicken with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and garlic powder. Place the chicken into your slow cooker.
- Add Sauce, Cover and Cook: Pour marinara sauce over the chicken, spreading the sauce out so it covers all of the chicken. Place the cover on the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- Shred the Chicken: When the chicken is done and fork tender, transfer the chicken breasts from the slow cooker to a board. Shred the chicken and return it to the slow cooker with 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
- Assemble: Toast the buns first, then add a layer of mozzarella cheese to the bottom bun. Add a scoop of shredded chicken and top with with more mozzarella cheese. Repeat this with as many sandwiches as you need to make.
- Broil: Place the assembled bottom buns under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese. Add the tops of the toasted buns and serve.
Tips For Success
- Toast the buns: Don’t forget to toast the buns before adding the chicken! A softer bun will get soggy after this saucy chicken is added.
- Don’t skip the bottom layer of cheese: This gooey barrier also helps to keep the bottom buns from getting soggy.
- Warm leftover chicken first: If you make this recipe in advance and refrigerate the chicken, warm it in the microwave or in the oven first before adding to the rolls. You want to melt the cheese in the broiler fairly quickly, not enough time to warm the chicken through.
- Don’t over shred the chicken: We like to leave the chicken in slightly larger pieces and some smaller pieces. This adds a better texture to the chicken than if it’s all finely shredded.
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes To Try!
- Slow Cooker Root Beer Chicken
- Slow Cooker Taco Chicken
- Hawaiian Pulled Chicken
- Chipotle Creamy Salsa Chicken
- Slow Cooker Crispy Chicken Carnitas
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Shredded Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis Shredded Chicken Parmesan Sandwich is an easy dinner recipe for any night of the week! Perfect for meal prepping, game days or holidays!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 24 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese OR 1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
- Hamburger buns or ciabatta rolls for serving
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts with the Italian seasoning, salt and garlic powder and place into a slow cooker.
- Pour the marinara sauce on top of the chicken, spreading out to coat the chicken. Turn the slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3- 4 hours or until the chicken is fork tender.
- When the chicken is tender, transfer to a board and shred with two forks. Add the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker along with the grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.
- Turn the broiler on. Place the buns open faced on a baking sheet (use as many as you need for serving) and broil for 1-2 minutes until toasted. Remove from the oven and set the top buns aside. Add a layer of mozzarella cheese onto the bottom of each bun. (about 1/4 cup shredded or 2 slices) Scoop a portion of the shredded chicken on top of the cheese on each bun, followed by another layer of mozzarella cheese. Place the bottom buns back under the broiler until the cheese is melted.
- Add the top buns to the sandwiches and serve. See note for alternate method.
Recipe Notes
Alternately, (faster method) you can add the 2 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese to the top of the shredded chicken in the slow cooker, cover and let melt. Then just use tongs to add the chicken to toasted or untoasted buns and serve. This is an easier method, and it’s definitely delicious. We prefer the broiler method in the recipe card because the cheese gets wonderfully browned and gooey, almost adding a nutty flavor.
Store: Store leftover shredded chicken in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Reheat the chicken in the microwave with some extra cheese on top if desired.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
