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Grilled barbecue chicken is a summertime classic, and we’re enjoying these smoky sweet flavors in the form of a handheld BBQ Chicken Slider that topped with ranch, crispy bacon, colby jack cheese, fresh crunchy lettuce and red onions.
I purposefully designed this recipe with summer activities in mind. Whether you want to grill these up poolside, take them for a beach day lunch, on a boat, or camping, etc. These barbecue ranch chicken sliders are low maintenance and don’t require much prep work outside of chopping some onion slices and grilling up the chicken and bacon.
You can enjoy these BBQ chicken sliders warm or chilled! You can prep them ahead and pack them up in their original King’s Hawaiian disposable tray and bag for outdoor activities.
If you’re a fellow slider lover, you gotta check out these Blackened Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders, Honey Mustard BLT Sliders, and my Beef Birria Sliders.
Why You’ll Love BBQ Chicken Sliders
- Serve Warm or Chilled – you can eat these hot off the grill, or prep them ahead and serve them chilled.
- Perfect for Outdoors – beach, pool, and camping friendly! There isn’t a bunch of prepping involved, no homemade sauces, requiring a kitchen setup, etc.
- Large Group Friendly – it doesn’t take much effort to make a large batch of these sliders. Just slice them and serve up these handheld sandwiches to your hungry crowd.
- They Taste Amazing! – what can go wrong when you pair sweet barbecue with tender chicken, smoky crisp bacon, creamy mayo, crunchy lettuce and red onions with a drizzle of herby ranch sandwiched between sweet tender Hawaiian rolls.
Key Ingredients
One of the best parts about this BBQ Chicken Sliders recipe is that it’s very low maintenance. There aren’t any homemade spices to mix up, no scratch sauces, and limited chopping (just onion slices) and they are still an absolute flavor bomb!
Although, I do typically make homemade sauces in my recipes (like my Alabama White Chicken Sliders), it’s not always necessary – especially when it’s summertime and we want to be outside having fun.
Chicken Breasts – you can also use tenderloins or thighs. Just be sure they are boneless/skinless.
Hawaiian Rolls – I am using King’s Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls.
Bacon – crispy homestyle bacon to top the chicken with on these bbq chicken sliders.
Barbecue Sauce – your favorite barbecue, a good one is Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory Brown Sugar.
Mayonnaise – classic mayo for the bottom buns.
Ranch Dressing – choose your favorite ranch, I typically get Litehouse in the produce chilled dressing section.
Shredded Lettuce – pre-shredded lettuce in a bag is ideal to make this recipe as low maintenance as possible.
Red Onions – slices of red onions pair perfectly with the smokey and barbecue flavors
How to Make BBQ Chicken Sliders
Step 1: Marinate chicken in a zip-top bag or bowl with barbecue sauce, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or ideally 4 hours. Prepare a grill to medium heat and cook the chicken about 3 minutes per side, basting with (new) barbecue sauce as they cook. Once the chicken reaches 165 degrees internally.
Step 2: Slice the Hawaiian buns horizontally for sandwiches. Spread mayo on the bottom buns, add the chicken then spread on a little extra barbecue sauce. Top the chicken with cheese, then add bacon, red onions, shredded lettuce and drizzle over the ranch dressing on top of the lettuce. **If you are prepping these to eat later, add the ranch dressing just before slicing and serving.
Looking for More Slider Recipes?
Honey Mustard Chicken BLT Sliders
Barbecue Potato Chip Chicken Sliders
Beef Birria Sliders
Alabama White Chicken Sliders
I hope you enjoy this BBQ Chicken Slider recipe. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback!
If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Bacon Ranch BBQ Chicken Sliders
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 4 inch pieces
- 1 pack hawaiian rolls, 12 count
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 cups barbecue sauce, divided
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 1/4 red onion, sliced
Instructions
- Marinate chicken in a zip-top bag or bowl with 1 cup barbecue sauce, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or ideally 4 hours or the night before cooking these).
- While chicken is marinating, cook the bacon in a skillet over low heat until crispy. Rest on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess grease.
- Prepare a grill to medium heat and cook the chicken about 3 minutes per side, basting with a 1/2 cup (new) barbecue sauce as they cook. Chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees internally.
- Slice the Hawaiian buns horizontally for sandwiches. Spread mayo on the bottom buns, add the chicken then spread on a little extra barbecue sauce.
- Top the chicken with cheese, then add bacon, red onions, shredded lettuce and drizzle over the ranch dressing on top of the lettuce. **If you are prepping these to eat later, add the ranch dressing just before slicing and serving.
- Place the top buns on, slice them into sliders and serve!
Wow, these Ranch BBQ Chicken Sliders were exactly what I needed for a quick and tasty dinner! The flavors are fantastic together, and they’re so simple to make. This recipe will definitely be on repeat in our house!