Let your slow cooker do the work with an easy sweet and sour pulled chicken filling perfect for little chicken sliders. This simple crockpot recipe for Chicken Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls tastes amazing — and will save you time and money! It’s the perfect meal for game night.
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Looking for a simple dinner on a busy night? Want to enhance your game day spread? Hungry for the perfect snacking sandwich?
Check. Check. Check.
These Sweet and Sour Shredded Chicken Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls are easy, make-ahead, and perfect for game days, mocktail/cocktail parties and really, any time. It cooks in the slow cooker or instant pot, makes for a fantastic pressure cooker or slow cooker freezer meal, and tastes amazing.
Add this to your list of Postpartum Meals to take to friends. It’s sure to be a hit!
Why Make This
It’s so simple. This is one of those easy recipes that you can put on repeat. The filling is packed with flavor and comes together quickly in the pressure cooker or Crock-pot for an easy dinner.
It’s super versatile. While the Sweet and Sour Shredded Chicken is perfect on Hawaiian slider buns, it’s also great in lettuce cups or wraps. It’s also a fantastic banh mi filling. Just split baguette, layer on the chicken, add sliced cucumbers, julienned carrots and cabbage, and loads of cilantro. Maybe a few slices of jalapeño. Yum!
It’s very make-ahead. The chicken mixture is good in the fridge for several days and in the freezer for several weeks so be sure to make extra.
It’s perfect party food. Since you can make it in advance, this is perfect for parties. The individual sliders are good hot, cold, or at room temperature.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy recipe for chicken sliders with Hawaiian rolls:
chicken – I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you can also use chicken thighs. Either way, choose boneless chicken to make it easier to shred.
soy sauce – Soy sauce gives salty, umami flavor to these mini sandwiches. If you need to go gluten-free, use tamari or coconut aminos.
dry sherry – Sherry is the American kitchen substitute for Shaoxing wine, a standard Chinese cooking wine. It really does make a difference in the flavor of the sauce.
rice vinegar – Rice vinegar adds the sour to our sweet and sour pulled chicken. You can substitute apple cider vinegar if you like.
brown sugar – Brown sugar is the sweet in sweet and sour here. You can use honey or regular sugar if you like, or make your own brown sugar.
aromatics – pineapple, tomato paste, garlic, and ginger add flavor to the chicken filling. Feel free to add more of the garlic or ginger for extra flavor.
sweet Hawaiian rolls – King’s Hawaiian rolls is the standard brand widely available, but many grocery stores, including ALDI, offer their own version of these sweet brioche rolls. If you’re looking for a gluten-free version, Canyon Bakehouse offers one.
barbecue sauce or sweet chile sauce – Serve these Hawaiian chicken sliders with your favorite sauce. We like this homemade BBQ sauce, but a teriyaki or Korean BBQ sauce would be a great option. Thai Sweet Chile Sauce is nice, too.
cole slaw mix – Shredded cabbage is an optional topping for the sandwiches. It’s a great way to add a fresh crispy crunch to these easy chicken sliders. Chopped green onions are a nice addition to the slaw.
Variations:
We love shredded sweet and sour chicken to fill Hawaiian rolls, but there are so many different ways you can make Hawaiian roll sliders:
- If you’d like to make Crack Chicken Sliders, prep a batch of our Buffalo Chicken Dip and top the bottom half of the rolls with the hot cream cheese and chicken mixture. Serve with additional buffalo sauce.
- For rotisserie chicken sliders, place shredded rotisserie chicken in a bowl and toss it with Italian seasoning. Fill the rolls with the chicken and top with provolone cheese. Broil briefly to melt the cheese before topping with the tops of the rolls.
- For French Dip Sliders, make our Instant Pot or Crockpot French Dip, top with sauteed onions and swiss cheese. Broil briefly to melt the cheese before topping with the top half of the buns. Serve with au jus on the side.
What is Sweet and Sour?
Sweet and sour is a generic name for sauces and cooking styles commonly used in parts of Asia and England for hundreds of years. The Food Lover’s Companion defines sweet-and-sour as,
“to describe dishes that have a flavor balanced between sweet and pungent, usually accomplished by combining sugar and vinegar. The flavor is often incorporated into a sauce or dressing that can be served with meat, fish, or vegetables. The Chinese are famous for their sweet-and-sour specialists and the Germans are noted for their delicious sweet-and-sour cabbage dishes.”
Step-by-Step Instructions
This recipe for delicious sliders is super simple to prepare.
How to make it in the slow cooker:
- Combine the sauce ingredients, whisking together the soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, garlic, and ginger.
- Add the chicken, pineapple, and sauce to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on high for 2 to 4 hours and on low for about six. The chicken will shred easily once cooked through.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the sauce in the pan and stir to combine.
How to make it in the pressure cooker:
- Combine the sauce ingredients, whisking together the soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, garlic, and ginger.
- Add the chicken and sauce to the pressure cooker, cover, and seal the pressure valve. Set the machine to 12 minutes manual pressure. When the machine beeps, press cancel and allow the pressure to naturally release. This may take up to 30 minutes. The chicken will shred easily once cooked through.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the sauce in the pan and stir to combine.
To assemble the sandwiches:
Cut the Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally. Pile chicken and slaw on the bottom halves. Top with sauce and the top half of the rolls. Serve immediately.
Store the leftover chicken filling in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freeze for longer storage.
Freezing Instructions
This makes a fair amount of chicken. You can cool and freeze half of it for another meal or simply invite friends over to share.
If you do want to freeze it, you have two options:
- Freeze the chicken and sauce together, uncooked, in a ziptop freezer bag. Thaw before continuing with the recipe.
- Place the cooked chicken in its sauce in a ziptop freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Chill it completely for several hours in the fridge before storing it in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Thaw, reheat, and serve according to the recipe instructions.
FAQs
Sweet and sour sauce is typically made with sweet elements, such as brown sugar or honey and sour, or pungent ingredients, such as rice vinegar and sherry. The sauce for this sweet and sour chicken also includes soy sauce, tomato paste, garlic, and ginger.
The sweet and sour pulled chicken filling also goes well in lettuce wraps, in banh mi style sandwiches, and in tortilla wraps as well as a a filling in any kind of bread or roll. You can also serve the pulled chicken in Asian bowls or scattered on a pizza, like this Thai Chicken Pizza.
Just like with pulled pork, pulled chicken is delicious in a sandwich topped with shredded cabbage or coleslaw and BBQ sauce. Alongside, you can serve side dishes, such as cucumber salad, french fries, potato salad, macaroni salad, and chips.
More Great Chicken Sandwiches
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Sweet and Sour Shredded Chicken Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 4 oz pineapple chunks
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (chopped)
- 12 sweet Hawaiian rolls
- 1 cup BBQ sauce or sweet chile sauce
- cole slaw mix for topping sandwiches optional
Instructions
To make in the slow cooker
- Place the chicken breasts and pineapple chunks in the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker.2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, 4 oz pineapple chunks
- In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, sherry, rice vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, garlic, and ginger. Pour this mixture over the chicken.¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup dry sherry, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (chopped)
- Cover the crock and cook on HIGH for up to 4 hours and on LOW for 6 hours.
To make in the instant pot
- Place the chicken breasts and pineapple chunks in the bottom of the pressure cooker insert.2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, 4 oz pineapple chunks
- In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, sherry, rice vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, garlic, and ginger. Pour this mixture over the chicken.¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup dry sherry, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (chopped)
- Cover and seal the lid. Set to manual pressure for 12 minutes. When the machine beeps, press cancel and allow the pressure to naturally release. This may take up to 30 minutes.
To assemble the sliders
- The chicken will be very tender and easy to shred. Remove the chicken and shred the meat. Return it to the pot and mix with the juices.
- Serve on rolls with barbecue sauce and Cole slaw mix, if desired. Chicken mixture is also good inside a lettuce or napa cabbage wrap.12 sweet Hawaiian rolls, 1 cup BBQ sauce, cole slaw mix for topping sandwiches
- To freeze: the shredded meat and any sauce can be frozen for a later date. Simply cool and store in an airtight container. Chill completely before freezing. To serve: thaw completely in the refrigerator. Reheat or serve cold.
Notes
Freeze the chicken and sauce together, uncooked, in a ziptop freezer bag. Thaw before continuing with the recipe. Alternatively, place the cooked chicken in its sauce in a ziptop freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Chill it completely for several hours in the fridge before storing it in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Thaw, reheat, and serve according to the recipe instructions.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on December 26, 2013. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Adrienne
Yummy. Makes 5-6 sandwiches on gluten free hamburger buns.
Theresa M.
I’ve just recently found your blog and love it! I made this recipe x4 for a family gathering of 25 people this past weekend and it was a hit! My 6-yr old nephew deemed it “most awesome sandwich ever!” There was some leftover and I served it for supper last night as wraps: rolled it in some burrito-sized tortillas topped with some crunchy broccoli slaw. THAT was really good! Thanks for the inspiration to serve something different and delicious to my family!
Jessica Fisher
Those wraps do sound delicious. Great tweak!
Velvet
If you are going to use napa cabbage instead of rolls do you have to cook the cabbage first?
Jessica Fisher
No, the cabbage acts like a crispy wrap for the filling. You’ll just spoon the filling into a leave, add any toppings you want, and then eat. Like here: https://goodcheapeats.com/2013/04/chicken-salad-wraps/
Jessica
Hey Jessica, this recipe looks great! I have a hard time keeping chicken breats moist in the crockpot. Even with juices, it always tastes dried out. How do you keep that from happening? Since crockpots heat at different temperatures, how do you know when the chicken is done and not overcook it? Should I pull at it with 2 forks at various times and turn it off when it gives easily? I’ve found even when the thermometer says its done, it is not tender enough to shred at that point. Any tips anyone can offer for cooking moist chicken breasts in the crockpot would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Jessica Fisher
I think my first question would be what kind of chicken do you buy? I’ve found that the big grocery store breasts get tough more easily than the ones that I buy at Trader Joe’s. It might not be you; it might be your chicken.
Jessica
Good to know! I have been buying Costco organic frozen chicken breasts lately and they are bigger. Which ones do you buy from Trader Joes? Are they frozen?
Jessica Fisher
If you’re getting organic, it probably doesn’t get better than that. It must be that your crockpot cooks fast. I would adjust your time and see how quickly it’s cooking.
Laura Strohm
Trying out this recipe as we speak. I did go and buy rice vinegar but I did not have Sherry so I used white wine.
I am having 2 couples over so I will let you know! THanks. LS
Jessica Fisher
Bon appetit!
Julia
This was a hit with my family!!
Jean Breneman
Just wondering if I could substitute regular vinegar for the rice vinegar? Even if I substitute something else for the sherry? (I’m thinking chicken broth)
Jessica Fisher
Both of those ingredients really give it the Asian flair. It will still be tasty if you make those subs, but not the same.
Nafisa Hashim Soni
How can we cook for 6 hrs on high flame and 6 hrs on low flame?
Jessica Fisher
The cooking instructions for this recipe are for use in a Crock-pot or slow cooker. They have low and high settings. 6 on low or 4 on high.
Brenna
Thanks for asking, Nafisa ~ the instructions read 4 hours on High and 6 hours on Low. 10 hours of cooking with 4 on high seemed a bit intense to me too!
Becky
What can I substitute for the sherry?
Jessica Fisher
Sherry is in a lot of Asian style recipes; I’ve found that it gives it a more authentic flavor. You can find affordable “cooking sherry” on the vinegar aisle. You can use chicken broth if you’d rather.
Carol
Thanks for asking about the sherry, Becky. I was going to ask the same question!
Vicky
This looks fantastic! I will be trying this soon. Unfortunately, if it is for the pantry challenge, I have everything except chicken. 😉
Jessica Fisher
You could very easily make it with pork, too.
Rachel
I made these today for dinner. They were a hit! Thank you for yet another great recipe.
Jessica Fisher
Yay!
pat piroska
wow this looks really good. I’ll be able to make up some of those wonderful little rice bowls. retired and now i have time to have fun in the kitchen. thanks for being here.
Kirstin
Do you eat raw sugar snap peas? Or do you blanch them? I’m looking for ways to add them to my diet.
Jessica Fisher
We do usually eat them raw. I have put them in stirfries before as well.
Kristi
I made this recipe last night, and my family LOVED it! It was perfect on the Sweet Hawaiian Rolls. My family also commented how wonderful it smelled while it was cooking. Thank you for another great recipe!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad to hear that it was a hit!
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads
This recipe sounds fantastic! I love a great slow cooker recipe. Pinning!