These BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches are the ultimate party food. They're easy to make ahead and have wonderful meaty texture and spicy/smoky flavor.

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This BBQ jackfruit pulled pork recipe has been a long time coming. Over the last couple of years, I’ve gotten SO many requests for jackfruit recipes. It took me a little time to get this one just right, but here we are! These guys are meaty, juicy, smoky, a little spicy… and a total mess to eat, but isn’t that what saucy sandwiches are all about?

If you’ve never cooked with jackfruit before, it’s a funny-looking fruit that most commonly grows in Africa, Asia, and South America. Though I’ve never had ripe jackfruit, it’s said to have a sweet flavor akin to other tropical fruits like pineapple and mango. Read more about it in this post!

Around here, jackfruit is becoming easier to find in the canned section of grocery stores (I got mine at Trader Joe’s). The canned fruit is green, or unripe, so it doesn’t really have much flavor (it’s certainly not sweet and fruity). When you pull apart the pieces, it has the texture of shredded meat, so it’s a perfect meat substitute in a vegan BBQ sandwich!

BBQ Jackfruit Recipe Ingredients

Like I said, canned jackfruit’s texture certainly feels meaty, but it’s low on flavor. That means the sauce you put with it really has to count. I’ve had so many pulled jackfruit recipes at restaurants where the sauce was way too sweet, so my sauce here is on the smoky/spicy side, packed with flavor from chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, smoked paprika, and cumin.

I sauté the jackfruit with an almost-caramelized onion to deepen the flavor even more. Then, they simmer in the sauce for about 20 minutes to give the flavors a chance to develop.

Once you’ve cooked the vegan jackfruit pulled pork, you can eat it right away or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It reheats perfectly, so this is a great recipe to make ahead for entertaining.

BBQ Jackfruit Serving Suggestions

The bbq jackfruit tastes great on its own, but to make it into a meal, I pile it onto homemade hamburger buns with a crisp cabbage slaw. It’s super quick to make – just toss together thinly shredded cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Top it onto the jackfruit pulled pork with bread & butter pickles, dill pickles, or pickled red onions and whatever other fixings you like!

Round out the meal with sweet potato fries or air fryer French fries and chipotle sauce for dipping. The BBQ jackfruit sandwiches would also be fantastic with one of these salad recipes:

For more salad ideas, check out this post!

Oh, and don’t forget extra BBQ sauce on the side for serving – so juicy!

More Favorite Jackfruit Recipes

If you love these bbq jackfruit sandwiches, try one of these fun jackfruit recipes next:

Then, for more vegan recipes, check out this post!

BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich

rate this recipe:

4.83 from 45 votes

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 50

Serves 4 to 6

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These BBQ jackfruit sandwiches are the ultimate party dish. Prep the components ahead of time, and heat the jackfruit and assemble the sandwiches right before serving!

Ingredients

BBQ Sauce

2 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons adobo sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper

Jackfruit

1 (20-ounce) can un-ripe jackfruit, drained
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup water

Quick Slaw

2 cups shredded cabbage
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For serving

8 slider buns, or 6 hamburger buns
Desired fixings, pickles, mustard, serrano peppers, etc.

Instructions

Make the BBQ sauce: In a food processor, blend the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, mustard, paprika, cumin, and a few grinds of pepper until smooth. Set aside.
Prepare the jackfruit by shredding the pieces with your hands, discarding any harder pieces of the core. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes, turning down the heat as necessary. Next, add the shredded jackfruit and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add a splash of water to keep it from sticking to the pan. Stir in the ½ cup water and half the BBQ sauce. Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and stir in half of the remaining BBQ sauce, reserving the rest for serving.
Make the slaw: In a medium-large bowl, combine the cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and pinches of salt and pepper.
Serve the sliders on the buns with the jackfruit, the remaining BBQ sauce, the slaw, and desired fixings.