Chicken Parmesan Sliders
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Say hello to one of our easiest recipes: Chicken Parmesan Sliders. Throw a few ingredients into the crockpot (or Instant Pot), and you’ll have a family-favorite dinner for a busy night. Bonus: Freezing instructions included!
“These are a go-to for us. They’re very simple to throw together and full of flavor!” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Renee
“I need more recipes like this in my life,” I told my husband, as he and the kids scarfed down slider after slider. When I can just dump a few ingredients in a slow cooker, and a healthy and kid-friendly meal magically appears at dinner time…I’M IN!
Ingredients Needed
Look no further for a slow cooker, chicken dump-and-go meal idea. The simplicity of this dinner will have you doing victory laps around your house. There isn’t any prep before placing the very few ingredients in the slow cooker either.
Here are the ingredients you need:
- Chicken breasts – Boneless, skinless. Frozen or fresh.
- Marinara sauce – Store-bought or our Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce.
- Slider wheat buns or rolls – Or Bread Machine Wheat Rolls.
- Parmesan cheese – Grated or shredded will work.
- Provolone cheese slices – Sub: mozzarella cheese slices.
- Pre-minced garlic and Italian seasoning – Optional to add a little more flavor.
How long do they take in the slow cooker?
After you dump all of your ingredients into the slow cooker, how long do you have to wait until dinner? You might be surprised at the answer.
In fact, we wrote an entire post about how long to cook chicken in the slow cooker because so many people are doing it wrong! After loads of recipe testing, we have found that chicken breast is done after 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours in the slow cooker.
This will vary on the type of slow cooker but it’s done quicker than you think!
P.S. We have a fabulous lineup of 15+ amazing dump-and-go slow cooker recipes ready for you to browse through. Hop over!
Can I make this in the Instant Pot?
Let’s say you aren’t home around the time these Chicken Parmesan Sliders need to go into the slow cooker.
You can have Chicken Parmesan Sliders done in minutes using your Instant Pot! In fact, we have done the work and converted the recipe for you. Hop over to our Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan Sliders recipe here.
How Do I Make This Into a Freezer Meal?
As with so many of our hundreds of freezer meal recipes, Chicken Parmesan Sliders freeze well. You have some options on how to make this a freezer meal.
Option 1: Prepare and Freeze Before Cooking
To Freeze:
Place raw chicken and marinara (and any optional seasonings) into a freezer-safe container or zip top bag and freeze. You can also wrap up the cheese slices and rolls tightly and freeze. Keep all ingredients in a grocery sack in the freezer, so the meal components are together.
To Prepare:
When ready to cook, thaw everything in the fridge for 24-48 hours. Place chicken & marinara into the slow cooker and follow steps 3-4.
Option 2: Freeze After Cooking
To Freeze:
Fully cook and cool the chicken. Place in a freezer-safe container or zip top bag. You can also wrap up the cheese slices and rolls tightly and freeze. Keep all ingredients in a grocery sack in the freezer, so the meal components are together.
To Prepare:
When ready to cook, thaw everything in the fridge for 24-48 hours. If chicken is still partially frozen, use the defrost setting on the microwave. Warm chicken mixture over medium-low on the stove stirring occasionally, in a slow cooker on low setting, or in the microwave. Serve according to the instructions in Step 4 of the recipe.
Make 6 Dump-and-Go Freezer Meals in 1 Hour!
- Shopping & equipment lists
- Step-by-Step instructions & video tutorial
- Serving suggestions & dietary substitutions & more
Side Dish Ideas
Here are side dish ideas that go well with Chicken Parmesan Sliders
More Slider Recipes
We are big fans of sliders because they are perfect for families (since kids can be smaller eaters) and can stretch a food budget pretty far. Here are some of the other slider recipes on our site.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Chicken Parmesan Sliders
Just put a few ingredients in to the crockpot and you’ll have one of your favorite meals for a busy night!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- 1 jar (24-ounce) or 3 cups all-natural marinara sauce (or make your own)
- Optional: 2 teaspoons fresh pre-minced garlic
- Optional: 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed in hand
- 12 slider wheat buns or rolls (or make your own)
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 6 slices of Provolone cheese, cut into fourths (sub: Mozzarella cheese slices)
**All these ingredients are already loaded in a custom Hy-Vee shopping cart for you here!**
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Make It Now:
- Lightly season all sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken breasts, marinara sauce, garlic (optional), and Italian seasoning (optional) to a slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 2 1/2 – 3 hours. Chicken is done when it shreds easily and is white all the way through (or registers 165°F internally). Shred with two forks.
- Optional: Preheat the broiler. Open up the buns and place them on a sheet pan, insides facing up. Broil for 1-2 minutes, until toasted. Watch closely so they don’t burn!
- To build a sandwich place some hot shredded chicken on a bun, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, top with two little pieces of Provolone or Mozzarella cheese, and pop the top of the bun in place.* Enjoy!
*If you’d like, place the sliders (open-faced) on the sheet pan and broil for a minute to melt the cheese.
Freeze For Later:
Option #1 (Uncooked): Place raw chicken and marinara (and any optional seasonings) into a freezer-safe container or gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze. You can also wrap up the cheese slices and rolls tightly and freeze. Keep all ingredients in a grocery sack in the freezer, so the meal components are together.
Option #2 (Fully Cooked): Fully cook, shred, and cool the chicken. Place in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. You can also wrap up the cheese slices and rolls tightly and freeze. Keep all ingredients in a grocery sack in the freezer, so the meal components are together.
Prepare From Frozen:
Option #1 (Uncooked): Thaw everything in the fridge for 24-48 hours. Place chicken and marinara into the slow cooker and follow steps 3-4.
Option #2 (Fully Cooked): Thaw everything in the fridge for 24-48 hours. If chicken is still partially frozen, use the defrost setting on the microwave. Warm chicken mixture over medium-low on the stove, in a slow cooker on low setting, or in the microwave. Serve according to the instructions in Step 4 above.
Notes/Tips
- Storage Tip: A great way to store this freezer meal or leftovers is in our favorite reusable freezer bags.
After 3 hours in the slow cooker, the chicken was 152 degrees. Maybe it was safe because it had been that temperature for a while. I don’t know. I put it back for another half an hour on high. I used Rao’s Tomato Basil sauce which is my go-to for marinara sauce. The overall flavor was good but a little bland. Next time I will add the optional seasonings. It is just the 2 of us, so we ate a third of it on sandwiches. We froze a third. And then the next day we had the rest over pasta.
★★★★
Hi Monica. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Many of our recipes can easily be jazzed up for adults, but we try to help families with picky eaters. Glad you were able to freeze some for later also!
Everyone in my family ate it and there’s left overs to make another meal tonight
★★★★★
Awesome! My family can be picky about leftovers, but this is one that they will eat a few times in a week if it’s available. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Stephanie.
Easy & delicious!
★★★★★
Great to hear that, Amy. Thanks for the review!
These are a go-to for us. They’re very simple to throw together and full of flavor!
★★★★★
I’ve tried this several times and the chicken mixture is always very soupy and is very hard to make a sandwich. Any tips?
Hi Amy. Well shucks. My guess is it has to do with the brand/type of marinara you are using. I always use Newman’s Own Marinara because it’s pretty thick. Or if you use our homemade marinara, you may want to reduce it down long in the crockpot so it’s thicker. Another thought is…are your chicken breasts previously frozen or injected with a solution (the package will say that)? If so, they are likely releasing more liquid than a chicken breast that doesn’t have that. I would recommend checking the chicken package. Hope that helps!
These look delicious. I need to feed 20 adults and about 10 kids. How much chicken would you recommend? Double or triple the recipe?
The recipe makes 6 servings (2 sliders per person), so for that many people, I’d AT LEAST quadruple it. What if you doubled the recipe in two different crockpots and then threw in an extra chicken breast or two in each crockpot for good measure?
3-4 chicken breasts is uselessly ambiguous as there is such a wide variation in the size of chicken breasts. Can you please provide a measurement by weight?
Agreed. I’d say about 2 pounds. The good thing about this recipe is that it’s very forgiving. 🙂
Hi I just found your site and I am so excited. I want to make the Chicken Parmrsan sliders for a group of twelve ladies. If I double the recipe will it cook ok and would the cook time be the same? Thank you!
Yes, the cook time should be close to the same, but do check to make sure that there is no more pink inside (or registers 165°F internally). Please reach out if you have any more questions. Enjoy!
This was a hit with my family! I made this several months ago (for the freezer), and defrosted and slow cooked it today. Served it with King Hawaiian rolls and a big green salad. My husband eats everything and made a special comment…”this one here is a winner.” Easy peasy no fuss dinner. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hooray! Thanks so much for taking the time to share a rating/review!
I’ve made these with brioche dinner rolls as well as Hawaiian rolls. Both are good, and so easy to have on hand!
★★★★★