BBQ Jackfruit sliders…the vegetarian, (or vegan), alternative to BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. In a blind taste test it would be hard to distinguish the two, except that the jackfruit is more tender than pork. It really makes for a very tasty sandwich!
I had never eaten jackfruit until our neighbor Tom brought over a barbecue jackfruit sandwich. I took a bite and actually thought it was pork. Looks like pulled pork. Right then I knew I had to try this and share the results.
Finding canned jackfruit might be tough. You want it to be packed in water or brine. Some is packed in a syrup. Asian markets are where you will find it. I stopped at an International market and they had it packed in syrup, not in brine or water. Then, right down the street, (Main St., Dunedin,FL), there’s another small Asian market. They had lots of cans of brined jackfruit. They had Chaokoh Young Green Jackfruit, 20 ounces for $1.99. If you can’t find it in your area, you can get in from Amazon here.
Rinse the pieces of fruit with water and pat dry with paper towels. Throw some barbecue dry rub on and then start cooking it in an oiled skillet. After a couple minutes, add your favorite barbecue sauce and a little water and cook, covered with a lid, for another 20 minutes, adding more water if it starts to dry out. Easy as that.
After 10 or 15 minutes, take two forks and start shredding the softened jackfruit. It shreds real easily except for the inner core pieces. Some recipes say to cut those pieces off. They are not tough, they just don’t shred like the rest of the fruit. I just hacked them into smaller sizes.
One 20 ounce can made 5 good sized sliders.
MaryJo also made a cabbage slaw to go along with the BBQ jackfruit sliders. She used Greek yogurt, but you could keep the sliders vegan by using a vinegar/vegetable oil based slaw.
The printable recipe is below.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 - 20 oz . can jackfruit in water or brine
- 2 tbsp BBQ seasoning , like McCormick's Grill Mates BBQ seasoning (1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce , I used Kraft original barbecue sauce
- water
- 5 slider buns or dinner rolls
Slaw
- 1 lbs . shredded cabbage
- 2 carrots , julienned
- 1/2 small onion , shredded, (optional)
- 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp dill weed
- 1/4 tsp celery seed
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse jackfruit in water and pat dry with paper towels
- Place in a medium bowl and add BBQ seasoning and toss to combine
- Heat a large skillet on medium and add the vegetable oil
- Place jackfruit in the skillet 3 minutes, turning occasionally
- Add barbecue sauce and 1/4 cup water, cook, covered, 20 minutes
- After about 15 minutes, use two forks to shred the jackfruit
- Add additional water if the sauce gets too dry, I added another 1/4 cup after shredding
- Serve hot on slider buns with cole slaw
Slaw
- Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl
- Serve atop the BBQ jackfruit sliders
Two nutrition labels are provided: the BBQ jackfruit slider label is based on one sandwich. The coleslaw label is based on 6 servings of slaw.
Jackfruit slider w/o coleslaw
Coleslaw nutrition label
Disclaimer: This recipe post contains an affiliate link.
I made green jackfruit BBQ today. I was so excited preparing them. I am new to the vegan lifestyle so recipes like this mean a lot to me! I made slaw as well/ just suited it more to my taste!
Thanks!
Thanks for the comment Linda. Isn’t jackfruit amazing?
Wow! I made this for my boyfriend and myself and it was so easy! It looked really good while cooking and I was worried it would be unsatisfying but we were both in heaven! VEGETARIAN GOLD!
Hi Mae. Jack fruit is really amazing and easy to prepare. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for sharing this remarkable recipe with us. It looks sumptuous and fascinating. Now i have found something better to prepare for my kids on picnic. Awesome post. Kudos!!!
Thank you for the nice comment. When you make it for the first time, it may seem like a lot of steps, but it is easy. Making it the second time will be a snap. And it is really tasty. I think your kids will like it.
I never thought I would enjoy a vegetarian meal, so I thought I would try your BBQ Jackfruit Sliders because they looked so good. They were excellent. Sue and I will definitely have these again! (An added adventure was our tour through one of our local Asian Food Markets.)
Glad you tried and liked it Al. Thanks for the comment!
These sandwiches are uber delicious! My mouth is watering just looking at the photos and remembering how good they were.
Yum! This might be the perfect thing for our wedding guest who are vegetarians and or vegans!
I can’t wait to try these!
They are really good Amy!