These Hot Chicken Subs with Bacon will disappear lickety-split at your house. They are so easy to assemble and make a perfect chicken freezer meal.
Stock the freezer with these Chicken Bacon Subs and a batch of Ham and Swiss Sliders or Turkey Pesto Panini and you’ll have a freezer stash of great freezer sandwiches to enjoy for weeks to come.
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Are you ready for a freezer meal that’s going to knock your socks off? This is it! Chicken Bacon Subs, a FishFamily favorite since 2010.
I created this recipe on a whim one day. I was in the middle of a freezer cooking session, and found myself with the fixings for garlic bread, some baked bacon, and leftover shredded chicken. Hmmm, says I, I wonder what would happen if I put these together?
What happened was awesomeness!
These Hot Chicken Subs with Bacon are one of the biggest hits to cross my kitchen table. A large loaf of garlic bread stuffed with chicken, bacon, and jack cheese? Where can you possibly go wrong? My picky eaters all love it.
Why Make This
The recipe is super versatile. You can switch up the cheese — I love it with pepper jack — or the bread — my kids love individual ciabatta loaves. With the base of chicken in a hot sandwich, you can make all kinds of swaps, based on what you have in the house.
They’re freezer-friendly. The best thing is that you can make several/many/multitudes at one time and stash them in the freezer.
They can be reheated in lots of ways. Reheat in the oven, toaster oven, or even the slow cooker for personal size subs, and you are good to go. Dinner is served in all its gooey, cheesy awesomeness!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to prep these hot chicken sub sandwiches:
large loaf French bread – This recipe makes one large hot chicken sandwich that you can cut into eight portions. Buy the large fluffy loaf of bread from the grocery store, not the thinner style baguette. If you prefer, you can assemble smaller single-serve sandwiches on sub rolls, kaiser buns, or ciabatta rolls. They’d be amazing on Everything Hamburger Buns!
garlic butter – Make your own garlic butter for best flavor and pricing. It’s basically butter and garlic or garlic powder mixed together. Easy peasy.
jack cheese – I love Jack cheese for how well it melts. You can swap in another melting cheese, like mozzarella, pepper jack, or cheddar.
cooked chicken – You’ll shredded or chopped chicken cooked for your recipe. If you’ve got a rotisserie chicken, this recipe will come together super quickly.
bacon – Baked bacon is super simple and easy to pre, but you can cook the bacon however you like, or even buy precooked bacon. (Just be sure not to waste the leftovers; they’re good in a Bacon and Pepper Jack Salad.)
If you love the chicken-bacon combo, be sure to try Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta!
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Assemble the sandwich.
Cut the large French loaf lengthwise, leaving a hinge along one long side. Place the loaf open on a large piece of aluminum foil.
Divide the garlic butter evenly between both halves and spread it evenly to coat.
Layer on the cheese on one side of the bread.
Layer the chicken atop the cheese.
Sprinkle the bacon across the top of the chicken. Close the sandwich and wrap it securely in foil. At this point you can bake it right away or freeze it for another time.
2. Bake the sandwich.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sandwich is hot through.
Carefully unwrap the foil and slice the chicken sub into eight portions. Serve hot.
Slow Cooker Option
If you make single-serve sandwiches, they are ideal for reheating in the slow cooker. Set them for 4 hours on LOW, turning them once or twice.
FAQs & Take-out Copycats
While a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich typically features fried chicken, you can approximate some of the flavors by the following additions: Toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon Frank’s Hot Sauce prior to adding it to the sandwich and add a layer of bread and butter pickles prior to serving. Serve the sandwich alongside Creamy Coleslaw.
The Chicken Bacon Ranch at Subway contains chicken, bacon, and Monterrey Jack cheese as well as ranch dressing. Serve some Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing with the hot chicken subs and you’re good to go. If you like, you can also add shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onions.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- French loaf – $1.50
- garlic butter – $0.99
- Jack cheese – $1.00
- cooked chicken – $1.50
- bacon – $1.00
Shopping at a mid-range grocer at non-sale prices, you can expect to pay $5.99 or 75 cents per serving. Compared to a take-out sub or hot chicken sandwich, this is a steal! Plus it’s so very yummy!
More Great Sandwiches
Tell us what you think!
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Hot Chicken Sub with Bacon
Equipment
- cutting board
- bread knife
- offset spatula
- small mixing bowl
- heavy duty aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 1 large French loaf sliced lengthwise or 12 sandwich rolls, split
- ½ cup garlic butter
- 2 cup chicken (cooked and shredded)
- 4 slices bacon chopped and cooked crisp
- 5 oz jack cheese (sliced)
Instructions
- Place the French loaf on a large sheet of aluminum foil or each roll on its own square of foil. Spread the garlic butter on both halves. Layer cheese slices over the bread. Next layer the shredded chicken over the cheese. Sprinkle bacon over the chicken. Place the top half of the bread on the sandwich. Wrap in foil.1 large French loaf, ½ cup garlic butter, 2 cup chicken (cooked and shredded), 4 slices bacon, 5 oz jack cheese (sliced)
- If serving right away, bake in 350 oven for about 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bread. If preparing to serve later, freeze.
- On serving day, bake for 50-70 minutes if frozen. If thawed, bake for 25-30 minutes.
Notes
- You can use large French bread loaves as directed or make single-serve sandwiches on sub rolls or small ciabatta rolls. Wrap each individually in foil.
- You can swap out the jack cheese for pepper jack, mozzarella, or cheddar.
- Got a different type of cooked meat on hand? Use that instead.
- If you want to make a Bacon Ranch Chicken Sub, swap out the garlic butter for ranch dressing.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 7, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Cindy W
I’ve been making these for a while but neglected to comment – these are so, SO good. In my house, they rarely make it to the freezer ?. I have no subs or tweaks – they’re perfect.
Cindy W
I’ve been making these for a while but neglected to comment – these are so, SO good. In my house, they rarely make it to the freezer ?. I have no subs or tweaks – they’re perfect.
Jessica Fisher
Yay! Always good to hear.
A
Delicious! I always make on homemade rolls, when we have that rare occurrence of leftover cooked chicken and leftover bacon (only because I stealthily hide it). Thumbs up from kids and husband.
Thanks so much!
Kristy/Mama K MeYeR
I’m whipping up a double batch of these right now as a way to stay ahead of the game on Thanksgiving. This way I can just pop them in the oven alongside the turkey and keep my people from needing to be in the kitchen at lunchtime while I’m trying to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. My tribe loves these sandwiches and eat them as quickly and i can make them, so they will be delighted to see them on the menu again. Thanks!!
-Kristy-
PS. I am not seeing an option to give these a starred review, but if I could, I’d give them 5 stars!
Jessica Fisher
Thank you, Kristy! We haven’t updated this post with a rating system yet. Will let you know!
Vanessa B
These were excellent when I threw them on the grill. Simple ingredients, no muss, no fuss and easy clean up. Everyone in my clan loved them. We’re definitely having this again!
Jessica Fisher
So glad you enjoyed them!
Cassi Bradley
hello! I’m new to freezer meals but excited to try! are you freezing the whole sandwich? making the meat and bacon, making the sandwich, wrapping and freezing?
Jessica Fisher
Yes. Assemble the sandwich and wrap it for freezing. As long as the ingredients are cold or room temp, it should freeze really well and not get soggy. You wouldn’t want to assemble or freeze warm/hot sandwiches.
gina
Cannot wait to try these!
And – I might try a version of chicken/manara/cheese for “parmesan” chicken subs.
Gosh – any variety of baked subs would work really for the freezer. Oh the possibilities!
Jessica Fisher
Yep! The sky is the limit!
Carolyn
When you reheat in the slow cooker do you leave them wrapped in foil?
Carolyn
Oops, just read a previous response to the same question. Leave em wrapped, good to know. Thanks
Kevin
Thank you. Just stumbled on this he has there day and made them tonight. They were delicious. I sous vide the chicken so it fell apart and shredded beautifully. I had planned on freezing to see how well they cooked from frozen, but I got over excited and stuck them in the over tonight instead. Two thumbs up!
Jessica Fisher
so glad you liked them!
Janice MacRossin
In.the crock pot to reheat, do you unwrap them?
Jessica Fisher
No, I leave them wrapped. Otherwise the garlic butter may drip out.
Rachel Lackie
Super yummy, made ahead of time, wrapped in foil and froze for our camping trip. Tossed in the crock pot after breakfast and they were ready for lunch. Left one in the fridge for our Son who was house sitting. Thumbs up from him as well.
Jessica Fisher
So glad you like the recipe!
Diana
I just pulled out NYM’s Freezer Cooking to find this recipe this morning–planning to make double on Saturday and have leftovers on Sunday. And then I come visit your site and lo and behold here it is again! I’m glad to see the photos–helps me visualize which breads I could use because I’m not sure our bakery has them labeled exactly the same as what you called it. And I was wondering if pepper jack would work–glad to know I was on the right track 🙂
Since we’re going to eat them the next day, do you think I need to freeze? Could I refrigerate in the foil or would they get soggy or stale? Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
If you’re making them for the next day, I wouldn’t freeze, just refrigerate. In this version here (as opposed to book), I put butter on both sides and that acts as a barrier against any sogginess.
Amy McConnell
These have been on my freezer cooking rotation for a while now and they are always a HUGE hit. They have really been a life saver lately as we are in the middle of volleyball/football season and are constantly on the go. Thanks so much for sharing all these great recipes. So many of my go -to recipes started out as yours!
Jessica Fisher
So glad you love them as much as we do. 🙂
Hartjes
These sandwiches don’t last longer than a week unless I put my foot down and ell the fam they are NOT allowed to eat them yet.. 🙂 They look at the weeekly menu and get excited when they see they are being made, and then become grumpy when they see the highlighting that says the sandwiches are for the freezer. 🙂
Jessica Fisher
Love it!
Erika Cole
Definitely a winner! This is an amazing recipe in terms of taste, simplicity and small amount of ingredients. Thank you!
susanne
It is getting too hot around here to run the oven, so I think I will try this “filling” on bread in my panini maker! Thanks for a great new idea!!
Jessica Fisher
I’m going to reheat mine in the slow cooker. Haven’t updated the post yet until I know it works. 🙂
Dawn
How long do you reheat them in the crockpot?
Jessica Fisher
I’ve found that 2-3 hours on LOW seems to do well. Best if you can turn them and move them around at least once during that time.
Carla
Finally made some of these. Mixed the chopped bacon into my container of shredded chicken, added some pepper and made the sandwiches. I made these on whole wheat sub rolls and they were quite filling! I let everyone pick their cheese and labeled the foil. Good Sunday evening meal and the second batch will go to the freezer. Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Mixing it all sounds brilliant. You could mix in cheese that way, too. Yum!