My husband Tony is a big fan of a Chicago-style beef sandwich, which has thinly shaved, seasoned beef topped with hot giardiniera and drizzle of the beef au jus. I thought, why not make an easy version with chicken for all of our weeknight dinner and game day needs?
These slow cooker Italian chicken sandwiches are seasoned with a few simple spices and slow cooked until the chicken is juicy. You’ll add a little brine from jars of the giardinera and pepperoncini, which gives the chicken a kick of delicious heat and helps to tenderize it. Top it all on a toasty hoagie bun with melty provolone cheese and omg it’s love at first bite.
Make a big batch for football Sunday, or enjoy a fun, hands-off weeknight dinner with the family! They might just be Tony’s favorite dinner of all time.
Ingredients in these slow cooker Italian chicken sandwiches
You’ll need really simple ingredients to make these flavorful Italian chicken sandwiches:
- Chicken: I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs because they end up a lot juicier when slow cooked.
- Olive oil: you’ll want to brown the chicken in a little olive oil before adding it to your slow cooker.
- Onion: you’ll also cook down some onion in the chicken fat to give it extra flavor.
- Seasonings: we’re using salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder to season the chicken.
- Chicken broth: I like to use low-sodium chicken broth so that I can control how much salt is in the recipe. The chicken broth will help the chicken cook in your slow cooker.
- Giardiniera & pepperoncini: you’ll find both of these ingredients near the olives and jarred pickles of your grocery store! The pepperoncini themselves and the brine from the jars will give the chicken flavor and moisture, and will actually help tenderize the chicken. I recommend using mild giardiniera.
- For serving: I like to serve the chicken up on hoagie buns with provolone cheese and extra giardiniera and pepperoncini for a little crunch and spice.
What is giardiniera?
If you’ve never seen this word before, I don’t blame you! It’s an Italian staple that’s famous in Chicago and is used on Italian beef sandwiches here in the city. It’s essentially a jar of pickled vegetables like peppers, cauliflower, and carrots that get jarred in vinegar and olive oil. It can range from mild to very spicy, so I recommend using mild in this recipe if you’re not used to the kick of heat!
Make them gluten-free or dairy-free
- To make gluten-free: simply use your favorite gluten-free buns or rolls!
- To make dairy-free: omit the provolone cheese and add a dairy-free sauce or your favorite dairy-free cheese slices.
Easy Italian chicken sandwiches right in your slow cooker
- Brown the chicken. Season your chicken with salt and pepper, then brown it on both sides in a skillet with a little olive oil. Cook your onions in with the chicken during this step, then transfer both to your crockpot. I’ve also skipped this step before and just have thrown everything into the slow cooker and it came out just fine! Browning the chicken just adds a little more flavor!
- Cook the chicken. Stir in the seasonings, broth, pepperoncini and giardiniera, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.
- Shred it up. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it with a slotted spoon and shred it with two forks. Add the chicken and juices back to your slow cooker and turn it to warm.
- Assemble & serve. Toast your hoagie buns in the oven, then add your cheese, top with the warm chicken and garnishes, and serve them up!
More ways to serve the chicken
The shredded slow cooker Italian chicken would also be delicious on nachos! Load the chicken up on tortilla chips with your favorite melty cheese and make a big platter for sharing.
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: If you have leftover chicken, simply store it in an airtight bag or container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To freeze: allow the chicken to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe bag or airtight glass container. It will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the chicken to thaw in the refrigerator before fully reheating or using it.
- To reheat: for a hands-off option, you can add the leftover chicken to your crock pot and place it on “warm” to warm it back up. Otherwise, you can simply reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
More dinner recipes you’ll love
- One Pan Baked Pesto Orzo with Chicken Meatballs
- Incredible Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Baked Crunchy Honey Cornflake Chicken
- The Best Healthy Turkey Chili
- Groovy Skillet Chicken with Thyme Parmesan Mushroom Gravy
Get all of my dinner recipes here, and my game day recipes here!
I hope you love these slow cooker Italian chicken sandwiches! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, sliced
- 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces pepperoncini slices, plus ⅓ cup of their brine
- 8 ounces chopped giardiniera (mild is best), drained and rinsed
- For serving:
- 8 hoagie buns
- Provolone cheese slices
- Chopped giardiniera (mild is best)
- Pepperoncini slices
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Brown the chicken: Warm olive oil in a dutch oven or large deep skillet or braiser and place over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add in the chicken and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown and fat starts to render and the thigh easily releases from the pan when moved, 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately nestle the onions in between the chicken thighs and cook, stirring as best as you can so they soak up some of the chicken fat. Once chicken is brown on one side, turn the chicken over and cook until golden brown on the other side, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken and onions to the slow cooker.PLEASE NOTE: I've also skipped the browning of the chicken and onions before and it came out great. Browning the chicken and onions just adds a little more flavor!
- Slow cook the chicken: Sprinkle the seasonings all over the chicken and onions: italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder. Next add in the chicken broth, pepperoncini peppers, ⅓ cup of pepperoncini brine and the drained giardiniera. Gently stir mixture with a wooden spoon. Cover and turn the crockpot to low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the chicken to a sheet pan and shred with two forks. Add the shredded chicken and juices back to the slow cooker and gently stir. Turn the slow cooker to warm.
- Assemble the sandwiches: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Split the hoagie buns open, place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes until slightly golden on the edges. Next, add cheese to the bottom of the hoagie (the cheese will melt in the warm bun and with the hot meat mixture on top.), then fill with the shredded chicken and top with pepperoncini and extra giardiniera! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on December 10th, 2024, and republished on October 14th, 2025.
I have made numerous iterations of these sandwiches, and these were THE BOMB! So delicious, perfectly seasoned, the best! Thank you for this recipe (and for helping me avoid buying the Italian Dressing dust packet!). I made mine in an Instantpot – sauteed the ingredients in the pot and then pressure cooked on high for 25 minutes. They turned out shred ready (I used both skinless boneless breasts and thighs). So yum.
Perfect! So glad you loved this version!!
These are so easy, so delicious. The brine/sauce/marinade whatever you want to call it is SO tasty. Everyone will be impressed with this one. And it’s just too easy. It’s a must make!
We’re obsessed! Glad you loved them, too!
This was such a tasty meal that was fairly effortless to throw together. Much appreciated with two littles running around my house. Will definitely make again!
Easy and delicious! Glad you enjoyed!
I love this recipe and have made it numerous times – though I always am unsure about the 8oz of peperoncini and guesstimate an amount that looks reasonable. But am curious – is it really supposed to be 8oz of chopped peppers in this dish? Maybe I just need to live a lil 😉
So glad you love it! I always use that amount and find that it works well with the 2 pounds of chicken. But you can add or reduce the peppers as you like!
Soooooo good! And the leftovers are almost better! I have made this twice now and my husband and I love it. It’s so flavorful and the longer the chicken thighs sit in the slow cooker the better they are. We use some of the juice in the crockpot as a sort of sauce to dip it in. It’s a bit too spicy for our younger kiddos but my oldest does like it. Highly recommend!
So happy these were a hit! Feel free to try a more mild giardiniera for your little one, too 🙂
So flavorful and easy to come together for a large crowd!!
Guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
We LOVE the spice in these! Had it over quinoa instead of rolls for a lighter version.
Love that idea!
I’ve made these several times for gatherings and everyone always raves about them! They are so easy and so flavorful! Don’t even miss the beef 😉
So happy to hear that!
So easy and so perfect! has been made many times for a quick and delicious dinner!
Absolutely! One of our go-tos 🙂
This has become a staple in our home. I make this almost every week. It’s so easy and I love just having the shredded chicken on hand to mix with some pasta, top it on a salad or even just eat with some veggies. It has so much flavor and it’s very easy and quick to make especially during those busy weekdays.
Made this tonight- the whole fam loved it!!! So flavorful.
So glad these were a hit!
Made this this week and it was delicious! My two boys age 7 and 3 even really liked them! It’s a nice crockpot meal that I can throw on in the morning and have ready by dinner time.
So happy to hear that!
The best easy weeknight meal that everyone in the family loves! Bonus that it’s a crockpot meal.
My husband: this is the best thing we’ve made in awhile.
These were soo good. So much flavor. Highly recommend using picante provolone.
Will make again!
So happy to hear that! I’ll have to try that provolone, too 🙂
This recipe was SO GOOD!!! Made it for the Super Bowl and everyone loved it. Very easy recipe. I did not brown the chicken and onions first, and used boneless chicken breasts. The chicken did not dry out at all and the flavor was amazing! Will be making this again.
A Super Bowl success!
Do not sleep on these chicken sandwiches!! OMG, they are so flavorful! Toasting the hoagie while melting the provolone just makes the perfect vessel for the chicken. Sooooo goood!
Thank you for this comment, Courtney! These definitely are one of my favorite sandwiches, too 🙂
Delicious way to add diversity to my chicken making – a new family fave!!
And so easy.
These were so good!! And easy… we ended up putting the broth in little ramekins and ate the sandwiches like French dips with au jus. This is another winner by Monique.😊
That sounds absolutely delicious! So glad you enjoyed this one, Jenny 🙂
So fun and easy! Thanks for making it 🙂
Delicious! So happy to have another meal to add to our rotation.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
So delicious. I browned one pound of chicken thighs but not the other and still turned out amazing (I did 8 hours on low). I can’t have dairy right now, so no cheese for me, but was so tasty regardless. Highly recommend.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!