Shredded Chicken Sandwiches with Sweet Red Onions

Shredded Chicken Sandwiches with Sweet Red Onions are quick and easy to make, and so good for parties and meals on-the-go! They’re especially good served with a side of Paisley Farm Four Bean Salad.

And guess what? We used the juice from the four bean salad to make our sweet red onions and the creamy sauce that we served with the sandwiches! Just a few ingredients and lots of flavor makes this casual, easy meal a total win!

This recipe for Shredded Chicken Sandwiches with Sweet Red Onions was created in partnership with Paisley Farm Foods. I received product and compensation for this recipe post, but all opinions – as always – are my own.

We’ve enjoyed Paisley Farm Four Bean Salad since first discovering it at our local Costco store several years ago. I was impressed by the simple ingredients: Beans, water, cane sugar, onions, vinegar, red peppers, sea salt, and natural flavor. All things I’d use if making bean salad from scratch but without any prep work what-so-ever.

It’s delicious just as it is, right out of the jar. The perfectly balanced flavors and colorful chickpeas, kidney beans, green beans and yellow wax beans make up this classic, crave-able four bean salad. And, if you want, you can add fresh ingredients to make it a totally different salad to suit your cravings, too!

We recently made this delicious Four Minute Four Bean Salad with Parsley and Feta, and we absolutely loved it! We served it with some grilled pork loin chops for dinner… So easy, and so good!

When thinking about other recipes to enjoy along with the four bean salad, this shredded chicken sandwich came to mind right away. It’s the perfect savory pairing with the classic, slightly sweet flavors of the salad. We even used a little of the bean salad juice to make the toppings for the sandwiches!

We spend a lot of time on our boat during the summer months (think “camping on the water” for the weekend, and sometimes for a week or more at a time). I do a lot of meal planning to avoid spending too much time in the galley when we’re onboard, so I like to bring open-and-serve things like the Paisley Farm Four Bean Salad and make-ahead dishes like my Curry Chicken Salad.

As luck would have it, many of the foods we enjoy while we’re on the boat also work really well for the summertime grilling season when we get together with friends for BBQs and pot lucks. They’re also great for quick and easy lunches and dinners when we don’t have a lot of time to cook.

Since I began making chicken the way I do for my Curry Chicken Salad (see How To in the recipe below), it has become my go-to method for a variety of meals!

The chicken is so tender and so good, and it works perfectly in all kinds of salads, wraps and sammies – specifically these super simple shredded chicken sandwiches. They’re great because you can layer them however you want and dress them up any way you like!

Here are some variations for Shredded Chicken Sandwiches: 

• Mix the sauce into the chicken, and then load your bun (I usually serve the sauce on the side, or spread the sauce on the buns and then load the shredded chicken, greens and relishes on top)
• Use fresh spinach, spring mix greens, or your favorite slaw instead of Romaine lettuce
• Add a little crispy bacon or fresh sliced tomatoes
• Use caramelized onions in place of the sweet red onion relish
• Lightly butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them in a heated pan before assembling warm chicken and other toppings
• Use your favorite tortillas to make wraps instead of sandwiches
• Make lettuce wraps instead of using buns for a low carb option

The best thing about these shredded chicken sandwiches – and making the chicken the way I’m suggesting below – is that you can make it all ahead. It’s great for those of us who like to plan and prep ahead for meals, and an easy way to keep clean, healthy foods at-the-ready so we eat better and can toss delicious meals together in a snap.

The same things goes for entertaining! These shredded chicken sandwiches are so easy to put together in no time. And if you really want to simplify your hosting efforts, just set up a build-your-own shredded chicken sandwiches bar so everyone can make their sandwiches any way they want. Just be sure to have plenty of Paisley Farm Four Bean Salad around so you don’t run out when everyone takes second and third helpings!

Enjoy!

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Shredded Chicken Sandwiches with Sweet Red Onions

Shredded Chicken Sandwiches with Sweet Red Onions are quick and easy to make, and so good for parties and meals on-the-go! They’re especially good served with a side of Paisley Farm Four Bean Salad.

Course Sandwiches

Cuisine Casual

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 - 6

Author Michele Phillips, BaconFatte.com

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1.5 – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ½ cup water or white wine
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• *In a covered sauce pan add water or white wine and a splash of olive oil, then place the chicken breasts in the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan partially – leaving a small gap for steam to escape - and simmer chicken over medium heat for about ten minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F (75° C). Check and turn the chicken every ten minutes or so until tender and completely cooked through. Then, remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. Using two forks, shred the cooked chicken.

For the Sweet Red Onion Relish

• *In a lidded jar add equal parts thinly sliced red onion to four bean salad juice – enough so the juice covers the onions. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow flavors to marry.

For the Sauce

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 – 3 tablespoons four bean salad liquid
• 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• *Combine the sauce ingredients in a small glass bowl Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Instructions

1. To Serve: Enjoyed chilled or warm the chicken slightly in the microwave before assembling sandwiches. See notes above for delicious shredded chicken sandwich variations.

WHERE TO BUY PAISLEY FARM FOUR BEAN SALAD

It’s sold at Costco as a twin-pack – but only during the summer months. You should start seeing it on shelves in mid-March. Paisley Farm also sells Five Bean Salad (same delicious recipe, just with an extra bean) at Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale and select Wal-Mart locations. Start looking for it now, and make sure to stock up for summer!

My family and I have personally enjoyed Paisley Farm products for several years. They’re a good Midwestern company that produces excellent products, and I’m delighted to help inspire others to enjoy them as much as we do.

You can find more Paisley Farm products and ideas on their website as well as on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!

I’d love to hear about any Bacon Fatte recipes that you make!

Leave a note here on the blog in the comments below, or let’s connect on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and/or Google+ .

Make sure to hashtag #baconfatte or tag @baconfatte in your social media posts!

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