These Ohio Shredded Chicken Sandwiches are creamy, hot, and sloppy. This budget-friendly meal idea, which is still popular in parts of Ohio, uses ingredients in your pantry and is quick and easy to make.
Growing up in NW Ohio, sloppy chicken sandwiches were a common sight at events like sporting games, auctions, and family reunions, as well as local diners and school concession stands. These sandwiches are popular because they are affordable, filling, and serve a large group of people with the recipe.
If you're on the lookout for another simple yet satisfying sandwich, why not try our Homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce recipe? It's a classic dish that's been around for decades and can be made with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. This flavorful sauce is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal, and is sure to be a hit with the whole family.
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🥘Ingredients
- You can either use uncooked chicken breasts or canned chicken.
- Boxed chicken stuffing mix can also be added to this recipe.
- Ritz crackers adds a unique flavor to these sandwiches.
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions
You will find complete instructions at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
🍲Slow Cooker Instructions
Cook the chicken breasts and cream of mushroom soup for 3 to 4 hours in your slow cooker, adjusting the time based on your device. Once done, add the remaining ingredients and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.If the mixture appears too dry or thick, you can add water or chicken broth to achieve the preferred texture.
📖Substitutions
- Stuffing - this is optional.
- Crackers - you can use regular potato chips or crushed breadcrumbs.
🧾Variations
- Canned chicken - you can use canned or rotisserie chicken instead of the chicken breasts.
- Onion - feel free to add in some minced or diced onions.
- Low sodium soup - if you are concerned about your sodium, use the low sodium cream of chicken soup.
- Chicken thighs - you can also use chicken thighs and thanks to the dark meat, it will really add some amazing flavor.
- Omit the bun - if you would rather not use any buns, top either creamy mashed potatoes, homemade biscuits, or noodles with the creamy chicken.
- Chips - If you can find them, Ballreich chips are the perfect chips to crush and add instead of crackers.
- Garlic - feel free to add in some minced garlic.
- Frank's Red Hot Sauce - to give your sandwich some extra kick, add in some hot sauce.
- Root's Shredded Chicken - if you can find this in your area, use this instead of chicken breast.
- Poultry seasoning - if after you make this and you think it's a little bland, add a teaspoon at a time of poultry seasoning to get it seasoned just right.
- Leftover bread - if you have any bread laying around that you want to use up, this is a great sub for using buns.
- Cream cheese - to add some extra creaminess, add in 8 ounces of cream cheese to the mixture.
- Cream of celery soup - I've seen where people say this is a game changer to add in.
- Kings Hawaiian Rolls - use instead of buns or bread and add an extra sweet flavor to your sandwich.
- Bread and Butter, Sweet, or Hot Pickle chips - if you are wanting to add some crunch to your sandwich, make sure to top it with a few pickles.
🥗What Sides go with this Recipe?
Shredded chicken sandwiches can be paired with a variety of side dishes such as coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, roasted vegetables, green salad, sweet potato fries, and chips or fries.🍶Storage
Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. This will last up to four days.
Freezer: Place the chicken in a freezer-safe bag or container. It will last up to two months.
Thaw/Reheat: Take the container out of the freezer and place in the fridge overnight to thaw. Reheat and serve the next day.
🔎Top tips
- If you don't have a stand mixer or hand mixer, you can still shred the chicken by using two forks to pull the meat apart.
- For added flavor, try seasoning the chicken with your favorite spices before cooking it in the slow cooker.
- If you want to make the dish ahead of time, you can cook the chicken in advance and then reheat it when ready to serve.
- Don't forget to provide napkins, as these sandwiches can be messy to eat!
📚History Behind the Recipe
I'm not sure what the actual date of the first sloppy chicken came to be, however, I can remember it as far back as the early 80s.
If you would like to learn more about shredded chicken and the first producer of it, make sure to check out Roots Poultry, which started in 1938, in Fremont Ohio.
❔FAQ
That I don't know. It seemed that it was more popular though in both Central and Northwest Ohio. Really outside of those areas, you couldn't find it. If you are wanting to see all of the places in Ohio that still offer this sandwich, make sure to check out Chicken Sandwich Info and they have a breakdown of all of the restaurants and diners around Ohio where you can find these delicious sandwiches.
By adding some type of thickening agent such as stuffing, saltines, Ritz crackers, or even breadcrumbs.
Ohio Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- 2 forks or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 uncooked chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup chicken stuffing mix
- 32 Ritz crackers crushed
- 10 3/4 ounces cream of mushroom soup
- water or chicken broth
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the breasts in the Dutch oven and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of water or enough to cover the chicken.
- Bring the chicken and water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken reaches 165℉.
- Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan, shred it with 2 forks or a stand mixer, then return to the Dutch oven.
- Then add in the remaining ingredients and let everything simmer together for 10 - 15 minutes or until it's heated through.
- When it's done, serve and enjoy.
Using canned chicken
- If you are using canned chicken, combine all of the ingredients together into the Dutch oven and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until everything is warmed up. You may need to add more water or chicken broth if you feel the chicken is too dry.
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