Pineapple Swiss & Insta-Pot Teriyaki Chicken Sliders

Dieting sucks. I guess that’s why the health experts don’t recommend dieting, but instead changing your lifestyle.

For the past five years, I have been on and off Weight Watchers. When I first started the blog, I hadn’t yet started WW and that’s pretty clearly reflected in the recipes I posted in 2012, and partially helps explain why I stopped writing on Game Day Grub at that time.

I love food, but all the junk – seriously junk, I basically existed on Doritos and pizza during my teens – caught up to me in my early to mid-twenties. So right around the time that I stopped blogging, I joined WW and instead focused on my own healthier eating. I regret missing an opportunity to blog about that journey back then, but se la vie.

I first tried Weight Watchers after a friend told me about the great success she had with it and I was ready to change my eating. And one of the things I love about WW is nothing is forbidden or off limits. You just have to account for it in your day.

So when I relaunched the blog, I decided it was important to include the Weight Watchers points for each serving, particularly since I knew that myself and some of the blog followers were on the program. Some of my recipes I’ve shared on the blog are not the lowest WW points options that you can find online, but they allow me to still eat what I want, just lightened up.

And my Pineapple Swiss & Insta-Pot Teriyaki Chicken Sliders are a good example. Each slider is 5 points (2 sliders are 11 points), so not overwhelmingly low. But still a good snack option on game day that doesn’t break your daily points bank! Two sliders left me filled up.

This is like two recipes in one: Insta-Pot Teriyaki Chicken and something you can make with that – the Pineapple Swiss & Insta-Pot Teriyaki Chicken Sliders. So naturally I started by making the Insta-Pot Teriyaki Chicken first. Note: this Teriyaki Chicken recipe makes nearly 4 cups of Insta-Pot Teriyaki Chicken, and you will only need about 1 1/2 cups for the sliders. I made stir-fry over cauliflower rice with my leftover chicken the next night. If you do not care to have much leftover you could always cut the chicken recipe in half.

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and chili garlic sauce in the Insta-Pot, and stir until well combined and sugar is dissolved. Add chicken and coat in sauce, then set Insta-Pot to Manual and cook for 18 minutes on High. Allow a natural release for 15 minutes, and then release any leftover pressure.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Set Insta-Pot to Saute and while the sauce heats up, make a slurry by mixing a tbsp of corn starch in a small bowl with a tbsp of cold water. Add corn starch slurry to Insta-Pot and stir until sauce thickens. Add chicken back to Insta-Pot, mix well, and turn off heat after a minute.

While the chicken is cooking, preheat oven to 350 and start assembling the sandwiches. Remove the rolls from package. Using a long bread knife, cut the top half off of the buns while keeping them intact and not pulled apart.

Toast both halves in oven on a foil-lined baking sheet for 5 minutes, cut side up. Then remove from oven and assemble sandwiches by placing Swiss cheese on top of each half of the rolls, 5 slices per half.

If desired, grill both sides of pineapple on a grill pan. Place 1 ½ cups of teriyaki chicken on bottom half of rolls, then place pineapple halves on top of chicken.

Put the top half of the rolls on bottom half. Combine light butter, green onions, salt and sesame seed in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds or until butter is melted. Using a brush, baste the tops of the buns with butter mixture.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until sandwiches are golden.

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Pineapple Swiss & Insta-Pot Teriyaki Chicken Sliders

Yields: 12 servings, Serving Size: 1 slider
WW Totals: 1 slider = 5 Freestyle Points

Ingredients:

For Insta-Pot or Slow-Cooker Teriyaki Chicken 
(Yields: 4 servings, Serving Size: 1 cup
WW Totals: 4 Freestyle points)

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

1⁄3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1⁄3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup fat free chicken broth

3 tbsp of fresh garlic, minced

1tbsp of fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or Sriacha)

1-2 tbsp corn starch (1 if using Insta-Pot, 2 if using Slow-Cooker)

1-2 tbsp cold water (1 if using Insta-Pot, 2 if using Slow-Cooker)

For Sliders

12 pack of King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls

10 slices Sargento Ultra Thin Baby Swiss cheese slices

8-10 pineapple rings, fresh or canned, cut in half

1 tbsp light butter (I use Brummel & Brown)

1 tbsp chopped green onions

1/4 tsp of salt

1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions:

For Teriyaki Chicken in Insta-Pot:
Cook Time: 40 minutes

1. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and chili garlic sauce in the Insta-Pot, and stir until well combined and sugar is dissolved. Add chicken and coat in sauce. Set Insta-Pot to Manual and cook for 18 minutes on High. Allow a natural release for 15 minutes, and then release any leftover pressure.
2. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Set Insta-Pot to Saute and sauce heats up, make a slurry by mixing a tbsp of corn starch in a small bowl with a tbsp of cold water. Add corn starch slurry to Insta-Pot and stir until sauce thickens. Add chicken back to Insta-Pot, mix well, and turn off heat after about a minute.For Teriyaki Chicken in Slow-Cooker:
   Cook Time: 6 hours 45 minutes
   
   1. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and chili garlic sauce in a small bowl and whisk until well combined and sugar is dissolved. Add chicken to bottom of Slow-Cooker and pour soy sauce mixture over top. Cook for 6 hours on Low.
   2. Remove chicken and set aside.  Turn Slow-Cooker to High.  Make a slurry by mixing 2 tbsp of corn starch in a small bowl with 2 tbsp of cold water. Whisk well until there are no corn starch clumps. Slowly pour corn starch slurry to Slow-Cooker, whisking as you add it. Put lid on Slow-Cooker and let sauce cook for 30-45 minutes, or until sauce is beginning to bubble and thicken.
   3. While sauce is cooking, shred chicken with two forks then cover. When sauce has thickened, add chicken back to Slow-Cooker. Mix well until chicken is coated in sauce.

For Sandwiches:
Cook Time: 15 minutes

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the rolls from package. Using a knife, cut the top half off of the buns while keeping them intact and not individually separated. Toast both halves in oven on a foil-lined baking sheet for 5 minutes, cut side up.
2. Remove from oven and assemble sandwiches by placing Swiss cheese on top of each half of the rolls, 5 slices per half.
3. If desired, grill both sides of pineapple on a grill pan. Once chicken is ready, place 1 ½ cups of teriyaki chicken evenly in a layer on bottom half of rolls, then place pineapple halves on top of chicken. Put the top half of the rolls on bottom half.
4. Combine light butter, green onions, salt and sesame seed in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds or until butter is melted. Using a brush, baste the tops of the buns with butter mixture.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until sandwiches are golden.