Free Recipe
Carolina BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich
472 CAL | 58G PROTEINA real pulled BBQ sandwich runs 500–700 calories and about 25–30g protein.
Fall-apart pulled BBQ chicken with almost double the protein of the real thing and none of the sugar bomb. The whole trick is what you sauce it with — the BBQ and honey add barely any calories across the entire batch, so nearly all of this is lean protein.
The Chicken & Sauce (makes 5 sandwiches)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Boneless, skinless chicken breast | 2 lbs |
| G Hughes sugar-free BBQ sauce (10 cal / 2 tbsp) | 1 1/2 cups |
| Apple cider vinegar | 1/4 cup |
| Brown sugar | 2 tbsp |
| Onion powder | 1/2 tsp |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp |
| Honey | 1/2 tbsp |
| Sriracha | 1 tbsp |
Per Sandwich
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pulled chicken | 6 oz |
| Brioche bun (160 cal / 6g protein) | 1 |
Macros
| Cal / Protein | |
|---|---|
| Per sandwich | 472 · 58g |
How To Make It
- Whisk the sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, honey, and sriracha.
- Slow cook it. Add the 2 lbs of chicken breast to a crockpot, pour the sauce over the top, and cook on low for 3–4 hours, until it shreds with no effort.
- Shred it. Shred the chicken right in the crockpot with two forks so it soaks up all the sauce. Big BBQ flavor, barely any calories — the sugar-free sauce is doing the heavy lifting.
- Build the sandwich. Pile 6 oz of the pulled chicken onto a toasted brioche bun. Done.
Neil's Note
The whole game here is the sauce. A normal BBQ sandwich buries good lean chicken under sugary sauce that quietly adds a few hundred calories. Swap in G Hughes sugar-free and a tiny bit of honey for the whole batch, and the flavor’s all there for basically nothing — so you’re eating a 472-calorie sandwich with 58 grams of protein that tastes like a cheat.
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