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Pulled chicken paninis can be tossed together quickly if you have shredded chicken on hand or leftover rotisserie chicken. Simply mix the shredded chicken with your favorite barbecue sauce, pile it on a low carb roll and top with a slice of ultra thin cheese and homemade coleslaw. Grill it in a traditional panini press or in a two sided electric grill and voilà you have a delicious panini with a crispy exterior and a juicy interior with gooey cheese and crunchy coleslaw.

These paninis can be served for lunch with a side of fresh fruit or a cup of soup. For a more substantial meal, you can add some pasta, potato or broccoli salad, a traditional side salad or some baked beans.

Pulled chicken paninis are simple fair that are easy to make and tasty. On those nights you have a planned function in the evening, they make a perfect dinner.

Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.

Ingredient Round Up

  • Shredded chicken breast/thighs – I always have containers of shredded chicken in the freezer. You can cook the chicken from scratch and shred it or rotisserie chicken.
  • Barbecue sauce – I use G. Hughes added barbecue sauce.
  • 647 Schmidt kaiser rolls or your favorite low carb sandwich rolls
  • Cheese slices – I used Wegman’s ultra thin co-jack slices. If you need to watch points, you can use fat free shredded cheddar.
  • Home made coleslaw
Sodium Alert: The sodium content in this recipe is high due to the barbecue sauce and 647 kaiser roll. You can lower the sodium from 841 mg to 621 mg by replacing the kaiser roll with a 647 sandwich roll. Mrs. Taste zero sodium barbecue sauce will lower the sodium to 541 mg for a panini made with a kaiser roll or 321 mg for a panini made with a sandwich roll.

Making the Pulled Chicken Panini

  • Place the shredded chicken breasts/thighs into a mixing bowl. I always have containers of shredded chicken in the freezer. If you don’t have shredded chicken on hand, you can cook and shred chicken breasts for this recipe or breakdown a rotisserie chicken.
  • Mix the shredded chicken with your favorite barbecue sauce. I use Sweet Baby Ray’s no sugar added sauce.

  • Place the barbecued pulled chicken on the bottom half of your favorite sandwich roll. I use Schmidt 647 Kaiser roll (3 pt) for the hubby’s panini and I make mine on a Schmidt 647 sandwich roll (2 pt).

  • Top the chicken with a slice of ultra thin cheese. I used Wegman’s ultra thin co-jack. Sargento also makes ultra thin cheddar slices. If you need to be mindful of points, you can use fat free shredded cheddar.

  • Put a couple of spoonfuls of coleslaw on top of the cheese.

  • Place the top of the roll of the sandwich and grill in a panini press or between the plates of an electric grill until the roll is toasted.

  • Serve and enjoy.

Serving Ideas

  • Pulled chicken paninis can be served for lunch, dinner, at picnics or tailgate parties.
  • You can serve them as a light meal with some fresh fruit or a cup of soup.
  • When you need a more substantial meal, you pair them with a side salad, broccoli salad, pasta or potato salad, baked beans – the possibilities are endless.

WW 6 pt per panini with slice of ultra-thin cheese, 4 pt per panini with FF shredded cheddar cheese

Pulled Chicken Panini

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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Sandwich
Cuisine: American
Servings: 2 panini
Calories: 350.5kcal

Equipment

  • mixing bowl
  • Wooden spoon
  • panini press, two-sided electric grill, or skillet

Ingredients  

  • 7½ oz shredded chicken
  • 6 tbsp your favorite barbecue sauce - I used G. Hughes barbecue sauce.
  • 2 slices ultra thin co-jack or cheddar cheese (see notes)
  • ¾ c homemade coleslaw (see notes)
  • 2 Schmidt 647 Kaiser rolls or your favorite low carb rolls or buns

Instructions

  • Place the shredded chicken in a bowl. I always have containers of shredded chicken in the freezer. If you don't have shredded chicken on hand, you can cook a couple of chicken breasts and shred them or use left over rotisserie chicken.
  • Add the barbecue sauce to the shredded chicken and toss to evenly coat the chicken.
  • Cut the rolls in half. Divide the chicken into two portions and place one portion on the bottom half of each roll.
  • Place a slice of ultra thin co-jack or cheddar cheese on top of the shredded barbecue chicken.
  • Divide the coleslaw into two portions. Place one portion of coleslaw on top of the cheese on each sandwich.
  • Place the top half of the roll on each sandwich. Place the sandwiches in a panini press, or grill both sides on a two-sided grill. If you have neither, place the sandwich in a skillet and weigh it down while the bottom side grills, then flip it and repeat to grill the other side.
  • Serve and enjoy.

Notes

I made homemade coleslaw from this previously posted recipe.
 
The recipe as made with 647 Schmidt kaiser rolls is 6 pt. The sodium in this panini is 841 mg.
Using a 647 Schmidt sandwich roll instead will still be 5 pt but it will lower the sodium to 621 mg.
You can substitute the ultra thin cheese slice with 2 tbsp of Kraft shredded fat free cheddar cheese making the panini 4 pt. However, this substitute will raise the sodium to 684.5 mg.
Mrs. Taste makes salt free barbecue sauce that has an on-line rating of 4.6/5 stars
The nutritional info for the panini with a 647 kaiser roll is at the very bottom of the recipe card.
The nutritional info for the panini with a 647 sandwich roll is below:
calories 320.5 kcal | fat 9.2 g | sat. fat 3.4 g | carb 29.4 g | fiber 9 g | tot. sugar 2 g | protein 37.5 g | sodium 621 mg.

Nutrition

Serving: 1panini | Calories: 350.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 38.4g | Protein: 40.4g | Fat: 8.2g | Saturated Fat: 3.4g | Sodium: 841mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 2g
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