Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

These Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches are so easy, even my kitchen-clueless college self could make them.

I was not a kid who loved to cook from a young age. I didn’t often help with dinner preparation, and I had no desire to spend my free time in the kitchen. Granted, I’ve always loved eating food, but it wasn’t until later in life that I developed a love for making food myself.

The first inklings of my interest in cooking started in my college years. I was living in an apartment with four other girls, and it was my first time being off the school meal plan. This meant my options were either: A) Learn to cook something or B). Have a very long year of Ramen and cereal.

I started off with simple stuff like eggs and sandwiches. Even my completely inept 20 year old self could tackle a grilled cheese. But once I started dating the Mr., I decided I had to up my game. I mean, what guy wants to commit to a lifetime of grilled cheese and scrambled eggs? So I began to broaden my sandwich horizons and experiment with new combinations.

I’ll be honest, at this point in our relationship, the Mr. was a WAY better cook than I was. I felt bound to follow every step of a recipe to the letter, whereas he would toss some things in a skillet and hope for the best. (I’d like to add here that his philosophy usually works well when you’re making dinner, but not when you’re making chocolate chip cookies…but that’s another story for another day).

One of the Mr.’s favorite foods is a good Caesar salad. I remember when we bought a bottle of Marzetti Caesar dressing and a bag of pre-cooked Tyson grilled chicken strips (oh, college), and it felt like a total splurge. Normally I’d buy whatever salad dressing was on sale for a $1, so this was definitely a step up. That night, we made the best grilled cheese I’d ever had. Cheap bread, a slather of Caesar dressing, two slices of melty Meunster cheese, grilled chicken, lettuce, and tomato.

This was a revelation to me. You mean, I don’t have to use salad dressing on a salad? I can create things without a recipe? What is this magical thing called cooking and how can I learn to do it better?

We ate that sandwich probably once a week during our first year of dating, and I never got tired of it. It’s been years now since we’ve had it, but I recently recalled that beloved sandwich and decided to resurrect it with a few twists.

Given it’s slow cooker month here on the blog, I wanted something you could set and forget. It also had to be easy enough that my college self could have handled it. This recipe fits the bill, no pre-cooked chicken slices needed. All you do is throw some chicken in the crock pot with water and cook until it’s shreddable. Then you add Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese, lemon, and a few other goodies and let everything meld together into one creamy, tangy, cheesy mess.

This chicken tastes fantastic on its own, and there are a lot of different ways you can use it. Here, I chose to simply pile it high on onion rolls (a luxury that only a college degree and a full-time job can afford) with lettuce and tomato. But you could also put it in a grilled cheese, serve it over lettuce for a hearty weeknight salad, or scoop it up with crackers for an afternoon snack. We ate the chicken both warm and cold and enjoyed it both ways, so you choose what works best for you.

And there you have it–the wonder of a homemade meal, made simple in your slow cooker. I hope you love it just as much as we do!

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything 

Want more Slow Cooker Sandwiches? Try these!

Slow Cooker Beef Brisket French Dip Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwich from The Slow Roasted Italian

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Sandwich from Melanie Makes

Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Sandwiches from Center Cut Cook