BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese

If you have leftover chicken, you NEED to make this BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese! It's such a great way to transform leftover chicken into a cheesy, melty, gooey, satisfying sandwich. 

More unique grilled cheese ideas: Mushroom Onion Grilled Cheese

Leftover chicken grilled cheese

Leftover chicken is AMAZING for all kinds of sandwiches and stuffed bread (see my chicken-stuffed ciabatta), but it is even BETTER when it's tucked into a grilled cheese sandwich! Before adding the chicken to the sandwich, I mix it with a little BBQ sauce so that it is not dry. The result is an amazing combination of sweetness from the BBQ sauce, crispy butteriness from the toasted bread, and melty cheesy goodness.

Sometimes if I have leftover Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken, I use that to make this sandwich. If you prefer BBQ pulled pork, you can use leftover carnitas and mix them with BBQ sauce.

Related recipe: Pickle Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken (dark meat or chicken breast, or a combination of both is fine. Rotisserie chicken is great here!)
• 2-4 tablespoons BBQ sauce, to taste (depending on how saucy you like it)
• 4 slices bread (sourdough, brioche, Texas toast, or a firm sandwich bread work well)
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Equipment

• Medium bowl
• Large skillet (or 2 small skillets), or use a grill pan for nice grill marks

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the cooked chicken with BBQ sauce and mix well.
2. Assemble the sandwiches: Place 1 slice of cheese on a slice of bread, add ½ of the chicken mixture, top with another slice of cheese, and the other slice of bread.
3. Melt half the butter over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Place the sandwiches in the skillet. Put something heavy on top of the sandwiches to press them down (a smaller skillet with two cans of beans on top works great!). Cook the sandwiches on one side for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown (do not let it burn). Add the rest of the butter, then carefully flip the sandwiches and cook on the other side until golden brown and the cheese melted. Serve warm.

Related recipe: Grilled Peanut Butter Sandwich

Cooking tips and recipe variations

• If your bread is browning too quickly but the cheese isn't melted yet, you can lower the skillet and place a lid on top to trap the heat in.
• If you're cooking the sandwiches one at a time, use ½ tablespoons of butter per sandwich: add about ¼ tablespoon of butter at first, and ¼ tablespoon for the other half.
• Instead of butter, try spreading mayo on the outsides of the sandwich, and using the fat in the mayonnaise to crisp up the bread.
• Try using different cheeses, such as a combination of gouda, smoke mozzarella, provolone, or swiss.
• Try a spicy BBQ sauce for an awesome sweet & spicy & cheesy flavor combination.

Related recipe: Pear and Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese

What to serve with BBQ chicken grilled cheese

This sandwich would go really well with coleslaw, broccoli salad, or this orzo coleslaw salad.

If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!

Print Recipe

5 from 9 votes

BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese

This BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the perfect combination of sweet & savory, cheesy and melty, buttery and crispy. A great use of leftover chicken!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 sandwiches

Author: Kate

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Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken - (dark meat or breasts, or a combination of both)
• 2-4 tablespoons BBQ sauce - to taste
• 4 slices bread - (try sourdough, brioche, or Texas toast)
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese - (or smoked provolone, Gouda, Swiss)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Special equipment

• 1-2 Skillets

Instructions

• Shred the cooked chicken with two forks and mix it with your favorite BBQ sauce.
• Place a slice of mozzarella on two pieces of bread. Top each mozzarella slice with half of of BBQ chicken, then place another mozzarella slice on top and finish off with another slice of bread.
• Melt ½ tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Place the sandwiches in the skillet. Place something heavy on top of the sandwiches to press them down (a smaller skillet with two cans of beans on top works great!). Cook on one side for about 5 minutes, or until the bread is toasted and the cheese starts to melt. Remove the sandwiches from the skillet, add the remaining butter to the skillet, and carefully flip sandwiches to cook the other side for about 5 minutes, or until the bread is toasted and the cheese has melted.
• Totally optional: If you wish, preheat a grill pan to high heat and place the sandwiches on the grill pan to get the nice grill marks.

Notes

If cooking the sandwiches separately, add ¼ tablespoon butter for each side of the sandwich.

See the blog post for recipe variations and cooking tips.

Nutrition

Calories: 404kcal (20%) | Carbohydrates: 35g (12%) | Protein: 19g (38%) | Fat: 21g (32%) | Saturated Fat: 11g (55%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 60mg (20%) | Sodium: 801mg (33%) | Potassium: 164mg (5%) | Fiber: 2g (8%) | Sugar: 10g (11%) | Vitamin A: 598IU (12%) | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 364mg (36%) | Iron: 2mg (11%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.