Chicken Alfredo Sloppy Joes
Shredded rotisserie chicken folded into a creamy garlic Alfredo sauce, piled onto a toasted brioche bun, and finished with melted mozzarella. It sounds like something you'd order at a restaurant. It takes 25 minutes and one pan.
Ingredients
Meat & Protein
- 3 cup rotisserie chicken shredded
Dairy
- 1.5 cup jarred Alfredo sauce Rao's or Bertolli recommended
- 4 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 0.25 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter for toasting buns
Pantry & Canned Goods
- 4 brioche buns sliced in half
Produce
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 green onion thinly sliced, for garnish
Seasonings & Spices
- 0.5 tsp Italian seasoning
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 0.25 tsp kosher salt to taste — the jarred sauce contributes saltiness, so start here
- 0.25 tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Toast the buns first. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place buns cut-side down and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until golden and slightly crisp. Remove and set aside. Do not skip this step — toasted buns are the structural barrier between you and a soggy, falling-apart sandwich.
- In the same skillet over medium heat, add the minced garlic and cook for 60 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the cream cheese in small pieces and stir until melted and smooth.
- Pour in the jarred Alfredo sauce and heavy cream. Stir to combine, then add the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes if using. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened — about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the shredded rotisserie chicken to the sauce and fold gently to combine. Simmer on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats every piece. Taste and adjust salt. The sauce should be thick enough to mound on a bun without running off immediately — if it seems too thin, simmer another minute or two. If too thick, add a splash of warm water or chicken broth.
- Spoon generous portions of the chicken Alfredo mixture onto the bottom half of each toasted brioche bun. Top immediately with shredded mozzarella — the heat from the filling melts it without needing the broiler. Scatter sliced green onion over the top, close with the top bun, and serve immediately.
Notes
Jarred Alfredo sauce is the right call for a weeknight. Rao's is the best widely available option — it's made with real cream and parmesan and tastes significantly better than most. Bertolli works well too. If you want to go from scratch: melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan, whisk in 1 cup heavy cream and bring to a simmer, then stir in 1 cup freshly grated parmesan a handful at a time on low heat until smooth. Use this in place of the jarred sauce. Takes 10 extra minutes and the result is excellent.
Cream cheese is the secret weapon here. It thickens the sauce, adds richness, and prevents it from breaking or going watery when it hits the chicken. Do not skip it.
Toast the buns. Seriously. A soft, untoasted brioche bun cannot structurally handle this filling. It will disintegrate in your hands by the second bite. Thirty seconds in butter in the same pan you're already using — there is no reason to skip it.
Leftovers: refrigerate the chicken Alfredo filling separately from the buns for up to 3 days. Reheat in a small saucepan over low heat with a splash of cream. Do not refrigerate assembled sandwiches — the buns will not recover.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!