Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches are smoky, saucy, and topped with an amazing grinder-style salad slaw. This recipe only takes a matter of minutes to prep and then all you have to do is grill the chicken to perfection! The marinade is a simple mix of spices and buffalo hot sauce, which leaves the chicken juicy and flavorful.
The grilled buffalo chicken is amazing served on a toasted brioche bun with grinder salad-style slaw, mayo, tomato, and cheese. This is a totally low effort and satisfying meal that you’ll turn to again and again!
Table of contents
About This Easy Summer Dinner
We are totally sandwich people in this household and grilled buffalo chicken sandwiches check all the boxes! They’re saucy, a little bit spicy, juicy, with the perfect amount of crunch from the slaw.
The buffalo marinated chicken takes a few minutes to prep and pairs perfectly with the cooling slaw. Grilling the chicken is a lot quicker than frying it, making it perfect for hot summer nights.
These are great for backyard BBQs, feeding a crowd, or your next game day. Set up a build-your-own station and your work is done!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken. I love using boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you could easily swap in chicken thighs. If you’re using chicken breasts, make sure to pound them out to an even thickness so they cook evenly and stay juicy.
- Buffalo sauce. If you want, you can make your own, but I love the Frank’s brand of buffalo sauce and that’s my go-to for this recipe.
- Spices. Paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne spice the chicken to perfection!
- Buns. Toasty brioche buns are always my go-to, but use your favorite here. You can also swap in gluten-free buns to make this recipe totally gluten-free.
- Cheese. Optional, but melted cheese really amps up these sandwiches. In my humble opinion, the best cheese for a buffalo chicken sandwich is either Havarti or Pepper Jack.
- Grinder slaw. If you’ve been on TikTok, you’ve probably seen the viral grinder salad sandwich. This slaw draws inspiration from that! Crispy shredded iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, pepperoncini, mayo, vinegar, and a couple of dried herbs make this slaw so, so good. It’s like a crunchy ranch salad and so perfect on the sandwich. (PS. If you love this slaw, you’re going to go nuts for my Italian Grinder Pasta Salad!)
- Toppings. After the slaw, I really just like some juicy sliced tomato and mayo on my sandwich but you could add some favorites like more onion, sliced pickles, etc.
Helpful Cooking Tools
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches on the Grill
Jenny’s Tip: Don’t own a grill or grill pan? You can also air fry or bake the buffalo chicken. Detailed instructions on how to do so are provided in the recipe card below.
- Pound out the chicken. This is an important step to making sure your chicken stays juicy and cooks evenly. Using a flat meat tenderizer (not a spiked one), gently pound the chicken to an even thickness. If you’re using really large chicken breasts, you can cut them in half at this point so that they fit on the bun.
- Marinate the chicken. Whisk together the oil, spices, salt, buffalo sauce, and honey in a mixing bowl. Toss the chicken to coat, cover, and marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Prep the slaw. You can get all your slaw ingredients together, but don’t toss together until right before you serve. Iceberg lettuce wilts really quickly, so for optimal crunch and freshness wait until serving to finish the slaw.
- Grill the chicken. You’ll need to grill the chicken over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes on the first side. Once you flip the chicken, brush liberally with buffalo sauce while the other side cooks. Flip it one more time and brush the other side generously. If you’re using cheese, let the cheese melt onto the chicken. Transfer to a plate.
- Assemble. Toast your buns and top with chicken, slaw, and any other desired toppings. Serve immediately!
Tips for Super Juicy Grilled Chicken
There is nothing worse than a dry grilled chicken sandwich! Follow these tips and you’ll have juicy buffalo chicken every time.
- Don’t overcook! For some reason, people get a little nervous about cooking chicken. The trick is to not overcook it! The longer you cook chicken, the more moisture you lose leading to dry chicken. If you’re worried, use a meat thermometer and just cook the chicken until it reaches 165 F.
- Pound out the chicken. If you’ve ever looked at a chicken breast, one side is much thicker than the other. If you don’t pound the chicken out to an even thickness, the thinner side overcooks before the thicker side can cook all the way through. By using a meat tenderizer to pound it out, the chicken is the same thickness throughout, cooks evenly, and stays juicy.
- Don’t skip the marinade. If you can, marinate the chicken for as long as possible! The salt content in the marinade helps tenderize the chicken in the same way a brine would. While you only need to marinate the chicken for 1 hour, I recommend doing it the morning you plan to make grilled buffalo chicken sandwiches.
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions
To store: Let the chicken cool and store it in an airtight container for 4-6 days in the fridge. I don’t recommend saving the slaw since it wilts quickly. Only make as much as you will use that day!
To freeze: Let the chicken cool to room temperature and then store in a freezer-safe bag. Try to press most of the air out of the bag while sealing (this helps prevent freezer burn). Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat: Leftover chicken can be microwaved, in a covered container, until steaming.
Jenny’s Tip: Have leftover buffalo grilled chicken but ran out of sandwich fixings? Add the chicken to a wrap or salad, or use it to make nachos!
What to Serve with Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Whether you’re enjoying these sandwiches for dinner or serving them at a BBQ or game day, sides are EVERYTHING!
I’m always a fan of serving these sandwiches with fries or crinkle cut potato chips, but here are some of my other favorite sides to serve with a sandwich:
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Sumac Potato Wedges
- Bacon-Pesto Pasta Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Boiled Corn on the Cob
- Creamy Potato Salad
- Cucumber Yogurt Salad
More Easy Sandwich Recipes to Try Now
- Grilled Chicken Gyros
- Instant Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
- Grilled Steak Sandwiches
- Giant Italian Picnic Sandwich
- Grill Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches
- Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches
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Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (like Frank's brand), plus more for brushing
- 2 tablespoons honey
- brioche buns
- 1 tomato, sliced
- cheese slices, like havarti or pepperjack
Slaw
- 4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
- 6 pepperoncini, sliced
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
For the sandwiches:
- Using a flat meat tenderizer, pound the chicken out to an even thickness (about 3/4 of an inch). If your chicken breasts are really large, cut them in half so that they fit on the buns.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, salt, seasonings, buffalo sauce, and honey. Add the chicken and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 48 hours.
- Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. If you're using an outdoor grill, make sure to clean and oil the grill grates really well. If you're using an indoor grill pan, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of high-heat oil. Grill the chicken for 5 minutes on the first side, flip, and brush liberally with buffalo sauce while the other side cooks for another 5 minutes. Flip again and brush the other side with sauce. Add the cheese and allow it to melt over the chicken.
- Remove the chicken from the grill after it's cooked through and transfer to a plate. Toast the brioche buns and then assemble the sandwiches with extra mayo (if desired) sliced tomato, the chicken, and slaw.
For the slaw:
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the lettuce and toss well. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Mix in the lettuce right before serving and season to taste with salt and pepper. Use right away.
Rate & Review This Recipe
This was Amazing! Not too spicy! The Slaw is cool and refreshing- definitely compliments the Buffalo chicken!! I left out the pepperoncini, but will try include them next time! The flavor of the slaw reminded my husband and I of a favorite sandwiche we ate as kids. Being taken back to that memory was so comforting! Adding this to my Favorite meal recipes! Thanks for sharing!
So happy you both enjoyed the recipe!
I’m usually hesitant about using chicken breast since they can sometimes be dry. But marinating and basting it with the sauce made it super moist. The flavor was tasty and was very easy. Will definitely be adding this meal to my recipe book.
Simple and easy to make. Tons of flavor especially with the tangy slaw. We subbed the lettuce for cabbage for extra crunch. Can’t wait to make it again for an easy weeknight meal
Yay! So happy you guys enjoyed it!