White BBQ Chicken Subs
This White BBQ Chicken Sub is a flavor experience you won’t want to miss. The star of the show is a homemade white BBQ sauce, a creamy and tangy blend of mayonnaise, vinegar, and a kick of Creole mustard and horseradish.
This isn’t your average barbecue; it’s a unique and utterly delicious take on a classic. The result is a comforting and satisfying sandwich that has become a reader favorite. With years of experience in recipe development, I’ve recreated and perfected this sub to bring you a truly special meal.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Chicken tenders – they are super easy to cook and turn out juicy and tender. You can use chicken breast meat if needed but chicken breast meat can sometimes be more on a dry side.
Cheese – I love working with Monterrey Jack cheese because it melts beautifully for gooey cheesy texture. You can also use shredded Mozzarella cheese if needed.
Shallots – shallots have a slightly sweet, slightly garlicy, and not an overwhelming flavor. If you need to substitute, use sweet onion.
White BBQ – this homemade sauce has a bright and sharp flavor, it’s truly my favorite one! Since all you have to do is whist the ingredients together, it’s as easy homemade as getting store-bought.
Bread – it’s always best to get the bread from the deli section because it will have a crunchy outside and very soft and plump inside.
Make Ahead Suggestions
There are a couple of ways you can prep and make parts of the sandwich ahead of time. This will make dinner or lunch super fast and easy:
- You can make the white BBQ sauce ahead of time time store it in the refrigerator for up to a week, in a glass container with a lid.
- Another great thing about this sandwich is that you can make the entire filling ahead of time! Simply cook it, mix in, and then store in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Finish the sandwich per recipe when ready.
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White BBQ Chicken Subs Recipe
Ingredients
White BBQ Sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh cracked white pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp Creole mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 large garlic cloves pressed
- 2 tsp horseradish
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp paprika
For The Sandwich:
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil for cooking
- 14 oz chicken tenders
- Salt and pepper
- 2 large shallots sliced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup white BBQ sauce
- 2 French bread subs about 6 inches each
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients for the white BBQ sauce in a small bowl and set aside until ready to use. (Refrigerate if not using right away.)
- Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper and cook them in a preheated cooking pan with some oil. Let them cook 3-4 minutes on one side and flip. Add sliced shallots and finish cooking the tender until just cooked through. (Chicken tenders usually take 6-8 minutes to cook.)
- Take tenders out and let them cool until it can be handled. Chop chicken and place it in a mixing bowl.
- Add cooked onions, shredded cheese and 1/2 cup of white BBQ sauce to the chicken. Mix to combine everything well.
- Slice the sub across the top, in the middle, but not all the way through.
- Divide the chicken mixture among the subs.
- Sprinkle some more cheese over the top.
- Place subs on a baking sheet and bake at 350℉ for about 15 minutes, until toasted, filling is heated through, and cheese is melted.
- You can drizzle a little more white BBQ sauce on top and serve right away.
Video
Nutrition
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Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Chicken Dinner Recipes, Lunch Recipe Ideas, Most Popular Recipes, Sandwich Recipes, Sauce Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
One word….Delicious!!!
Thank you, Marla!
I made these for the first time last night and husband and I really liked them. I made half of the recipe since it was the two of us but discovered that more sauce is needed as the buns I used were a bit dry. That is an easy fix next time I make them. That said, the flavors were great—the horseradish was a great addition to the sauce.
I am so glad you both liked them, Kate!
I made this the first time crossing my finger that my kids (11 &14) would eat it. Such a hit! They ask for it all the time so I have to stretch put when I make it so they don’t get tired of it. Awesome recipe!! Thank you! 😊
I am so glad your family likes it, Wendy!
I have leftover hot dog buns. This sounds like a delicious way to use them.
I agree! 😉
Living in Australia. Love this recipe. Sorry for my ” healthy” additions of celery, parsley and spring onion. My husband is a vegetable fanatic so it passes as it has two or more. Yum yum. Thanks so much!
Glad you like it, Fran!
I want to make this for next week and have enough to have a second day later in the week. Would you make them all in the buns and store it in the fridge, or separate in containers and assemble the day of for the second day?
I would make them separate and assemble them on the day of so your bread doesn’t get soggy. I hope you enjoy them!
Mixied reviews on this, probably my fault. We did not have Creole mustard and I couldn’t get it delivered in time and homemade takes 24 hours or so I substituted with dijon. We also only had extra hot horseradish so I am not sure how these two changes impacted the overall flavors. The flavors themselves were complex and interesting but I think we were all unsure if we liked it or not, it was unlike really any other flavor. I will try this again without substitutions to give it a fair shot, easy enough to put together if you have the ingredients.
ok thank you. It was very good. Was thinking I did something wrong. Will definitely make again.
Is the sauce suppose to be runny??
Yes, the sauce is pretty thin sauce since it isn’t cooked so it’s a thinner sauce then a regular bbq sauce.
Delicious recipe. Just made these for dinner tonight. Will definitely make again. I used a spicy Dutch mustard instead of creole since that’s what I had on hand.
I am glad you liked them, Ash!
This was a great recipe. I really loved the flavor. I added a little bit of sour cream to the BBQ blend as well as a mix of cheddar and mozzarella cheese. I will definitely make this again. I think it would taste great over noodles or rice too.
Oh, that is an interesting idea! I bet it would taste good with noodles or rice! I will have to give that a try! 🙂
Did I miss something? The instructions call for cooked onions, but that is not on the ingredient list. How much cooked onion?
Shallots are a type of onion. So two large shallots get sliced and then cooked with the chicken. Then chop the chicken, add the cooked shallots, cheese, and white BBQ sauce.
This recipe is okay, but not like any white sauce I’ve ever eaten (and I’m born and raised and still live in the South and I have eaten a LOT of BBQ). I’ve never had the sauce with (this much) horseradish in it and while I like horseradish so the 2 tsp didn’t bother me, like I said, it wasn’t like any other white sauce I’ve had. And it made it spicy and a bit overpowering for others that were eating this. I think next time I’ll either greatly reduce the horseradish to just 1/2 or 1/4 t or leave it out altogether. I think that will make it more like a traditional Alabama white sauce.
Holy goodness!! It’s rare a recipe will be this much of a hit with all 5 of us, but this one was. It was even better the next day warmed up! I had a large pack of chicken, so I had to triple the recipe, and it was great!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us!
I am so glad you liked it, Barb! It is my husband’s fav as well! 😉
I have subbed different mustards with what I had on hand (and i leave out the horseradish).. delicious every time. 🙂 Thank you for this recipe! How long would the sauce keep in the refrigerator?
On my menu rotation from this day forward♥️
Excellent flavor♥️
Thank you for sharing🤘
Thank you for the sweet compliment, Tina! So glad you enjoyed it!
What is creole mustard? Can it be homemade?
Yes u can . I found the recipe for it on pinterest.
I made this for Thirsty Thursday, it was a big hit! Thank you
One of our fav recipes ever! I made it last night, topped with sliced peppadew peppers. Today for football food, I added a block of cream cheese, some more horseradish,mustard, and shredded cheese, then baked for a hot dip. Absolutely divine!
That sounds so good! I am so glad you like it! 🙂
My whole picky family loved the subs. I couldn’t find Creole mustard so I used stone ground instead. I will definitely find other uses for the BBQ sauce. It is absolutely delicious!!
Hi Eric,
I am so glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know.
One of our favorites after finding it here!
Thank you, Emily! We are so glad you like it!
This recipe made my day. Loved it And that sauce is remarkable. Simple words for this recipe is delicious.
Wow! This is amazing! The sauce is the star of this recipe and it all goes so well together. Well done!
I served it with tots as I have 3 small kids. I also used Tyson’s grilled shredded chicken to make it somewhat easier. Soooo good!
Hi Emily,
I am so glad you liked it, my husband is obsessed with this sauce as well! 🙂
Delicious!! I loved it!! My question (because I never make notes) is can you give a weight for the chicken? Like is it 1/2 pound of chicken tenders? I rarely buy tenders and just use chicken breasts. So just wondering???
Thanks!!
Hi Jenny
I am so glad you liked it!! Each pack varies but are usually between 6-7 tenders and they are anywhere from 1.07 pounds and 1.25 pounds so that is what you would need to look for when purchasing them.
Was delish!! Could use a touch more tang…..but will definitely make this again!
Glad you liked it!
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband said it was the best chicken sandwich he’s ever eaten, to save the recipe! So it’s a hit at our house! Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi, Sherry! Thank you for letting me know you liked it 🙂
Thanks for sharing this mouthwatering recipe… I would definitely try this and let you how it turned out!!
Well thank you, Shenaz! Let me know how you like it!! 🙂
Oh my word, these were so dang good! I used regular mustard instead of creole and it still turned out amazing. This is making it into my recipe book!
Thanks, Laura!!!
Hi there! What a great recipe. My husband and I both say it is a keeper and we are ready for more now..:) I am sorry you are stressed about back to school and all of the newness you both have to get used to, but, please know there are soo many of us know how it is and it does get easier although the homework doesn’t…:) Take care and thank you for sharing.
How do you add the garlic? Is it left in whole cloves, or diced/minced? I want to make these for our weekly family get together. Thank you!
Hi Judy!
Garlic is pressed for smoother sauce. I will add that to the recipe card 🙂
I hope everyone will like it!!
New family favorite! So good! Everybody loved this, even my kids!
This was absolutely delicious! Instead of chicken tenders, I poached a pack of chicken fillets, shredded & coated ’em with the sauce. Divine!
How many does this feed?
HI Rima,
This recipe is for 2 subs that are about 8 inches. You can always split each one in two to make 4 smaller ones.
I hope you enjoy it!
The white bbq sauce is amazing! I make a chicken club pasta salad and I’ve been using the sauce for that. It’s perfect for summer! Thanks
Oh that’s wonderful! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
I tried this tonight for dinner. They were amazing!! I do have picky eaters and they loved it! Thank you for this awesome recipe!!!
Great recipe Lyuba,
It looks so so delicious and I think it will be easy to make. I am going to try to cook it tomorrow for my family.
Thank You!
Thank you, Kendrick! Let me know how it goes 🙂
These look so good, I cannot wait to try… However, I really do not like Horseradish! What are your thoughts on substitutions if I really dont want to add that?
Well, horseradish adds some tang to the sauce. It’s a small amount so you may not taste it but if you are really not liking it, you can just omit it.
I hope you will enjoy the subs!
Sautéed red onion, and added cooked bacon to this as well. Doubled all, (but not the sugar) so could make 4 sandwiches. Superb. Will definitely make again.
Thank you, Kris! That sounds amazing!
I just made these tonight. They were so good! My husband really liked them. They are definitely going into our monthly meal rotation. Thank you for the recipe!
They taste really good the second day too! We just reheated the sandwiches. It was so good!
Thank you, Liz! That’s great to hear 🙂
Can you please share your white BBQ sauce recipe, it’s the one sauce I have not tried yet. Thanks bunches 😉
This was amazing! The only difference was I used thighs instead of tenders because we prefer them. The white BBQ sauce is delicious, so I made extra and we plan using it on burgers over the weekend.
Oh, I bet it was nice with thighs. I love chicken thighs, so juicy and flavorful.
I’m glad you liked the subs!
Thank you, CR 🙂