This Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken recipe was one of the top things I was looking forward to making once I figured out the formula for my Homemade Ranch Seasoning. The slow-cooked chicken is tender, spicy, tangy, and rich all at the same time and there are a hundred different ways you can use it! Sandwiches, dips, salads, pizza, and more. I’ve got a full list of how to use this insanely easy and delish shredded buffalo chicken below, so don’t miss it! I’m sure this is something you’ll want to make over and over again throughout football season and the holidays.
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What is Buffalo Sauce?
If you’re unfamiliar with this American classic, Buffalo Sauce is basically a combination of hot sauce (traditionally Frank’s Red Hot Sauce) and butter, which creates a super tangy, spicy, and slightly rich sauce that is used to coat fried chicken, among other things. For this slow cooker buffalo chicken, we’ve gone one step further and added ranch seasoning mix, which is a super tasty combination of buttermilk powder, herbs, and spices. The ranch seasoning adds a huge burst of flavor to the sauce and makes it even a little bit more creamy. It’s just to die for!
What Kind of Hot Sauce to Use
As mentioned above, buffalo sauce is usually made with Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, but you can use any similar vinegar-based cayenne flavored hot sauce for this recipe. I used the ALDI version of Frank’s and it was great!
Can I Substitute the Ranch Mix?
The ranch seasoning mix really brings a lot of flavor to this sauce, so I would avoid skipping it if possible. If you don’t have the ingredients to make your own ranch seasoning mix you can definitely use one packet of store-bought ranch seasoning in place of the ingredients listed below. Or, if you want to use your own herbs and spices but just don’t have the buttermilk powder, that will still taste really good, just slightly less rich.
How to Use Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
Okay, here’s the fun part. How do you use this delicious shredded buffalo chicken? SO MANY WAYS. Here are some ideas:
- As a buffalo chicken sandwich or wrap: bun or tortilla, coleslaw, pickles, ranch dressing
- On nachos: on tortilla chips with lettuce, shredded carrot, and a drizzle of ranch dressing
- Make a buffalo chicken dip: stir cream cheese into the shredded chicken until melted for a super creamy dip
- In a quesadilla: fill a tortilla with the chicken and shredded Monterey jack cheese, then toast in a skillet
- On a salad: pile the chicken onto crisp iceberg, top with chopped celery, shredded carrots, and blue cheese dressing
- Pizza: add it to a pizza with a white sauce and top with a little mozzarella and maybe a drizzle of ranch after baking
My mouth is totally watering just typing all of that out! This stuff is seriously so good.
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
Servings 8 ½ cup eachIngredients
Ranch Seasoning*
- 2 Tbsp buttermilk powder ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp dried dill ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp lemon pepper ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp sugar ($0.01)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.01)
Buffalo Chicken
- 12 oz. hot sauce ($2.19)
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts ($9.53)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.40)
Instructions
- Combine the ranch seasoning (buttermilk powder, parsley, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper, sugar, salt, and pepper) and hot sauce in a bowl.
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a 3 quart or larger slow cooker. Cut the butter into chunks and place the butter on top of the chicken. Pour the hot sauce mixture over the chicken and butter.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low heat for four hours. After four hours, use two forks to shred the chicken (if it's not tender enough to shred yet, let it cook a little longer).
- Serve the shredded chicken and sauce on sandwiches, in quesadillas, on top of nachos or salads, or as a dip for crackers and chips.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!You might also like our Buffalo Chicken Pasta recipe!
How to Make Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Combine the ingredients for the ranch seasoning (2 Tbsp buttermilk powder, ½ tsp dried parsley, ¼ tsp dried dill, ¼ tsp onion powder, ⅛ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp lemon pepper, ⅛ tsp sugar, ⅛ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper) with one 12 oz. bottle of vinegar-based hot sauce.
Place about 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast in the bottom of a slow cooker. Cut 4 Tbsp butter into chunks and place them on top of the chicken.
Pour the hot sauce mixture over the chicken and butter in the slow cooker.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook the chicken on low heat for four hours.
After four hours the chicken should be tender and easily shreddable using two forks (if it’s not, let it cook another 30 minutes).
Fully shred the chicken, then enjoy!
Hi Im currently staying at a hotel (in the middle of a move rn!) I dont have my car atm bc it’s in the shop so I cant leave my house to buy the ingredients for the ranch. do you think if you leave out the ranch seasoning it will still taste good? or should I just use all the ingredients I have even tho im missing some. I dont have the dill weed or the buttermilk powder.
Just be aware that you’re eliminating two of the most important elements of ranch! But if you’re okay with that, the recipe will definitely still work! It’ll be just a slightly different flavor, but still good I think. :)
Happy I found this site, with food prices out of control!
My wife and friends enjoyed it a star more than I did. They loved it! I used the instructions for chicken dip by adding a block of cream cheese. It’s as good as any chicken dip that I’ve ever had. I’ll lean on this for most NFL game days : )
It calls for dried dill, but should I use dill weed or dill seed? I have both.
Dill weed. :)
Super easy, super delicious. I used the shortcut of using ranch powder instead of mixing it from scratch and it is incredible. My one issue is that I live alone and quickly got tired of making buffalo chicken sandwiches. So what I did was I tossed together the remaining few cups of chicken and a jar of tomato sauce and made buffalo chicken spaghetti and I now have a new favorite pasta dish.
This recipe is phenomenal, and so easy! I used a ranch packet since I didn’t have all the seasonings. I also used a bottle of buffalo sauce by mistake because I misread the directions, and it still tasted great!
I cheated and used a ranch packet and it was still absolutely delicious, and I had leftovers for lunches!
Can’t wait to try this!
I want to make this Beth an anyone on your team that can offer up an answer as too what if I don’t have access to butter milk powder. What’s a good substitute? Thanks you guys rock.
Oops just read the modification. Sorry guys
I made this with Aldi hot sauce. The chicken was done after 4 hours but a little tough to shred (not fall-apart tender), but the BF and I loved!
Would it make a difference if I used chicken thighs?
I wouldn’t change the cooking time or anything, but the end result will be a different texture.
This has become a staple for me. The best.
Made this with a ranch packet and had no issues. Was great paired with Hawaiin Rolls for mini sliders.
This looks so great, but I’m not in America so ranch dressing powder or buttermilk powder are not available here. Could I put normal ranch dressing in or would that make it too runny?
Unfortunately, I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. I think a better option would be to just add the herbs and spices from the ranch seasoning and skip the powdered buttermilk. You’ll still be adding a lot of flavor that way. :)
This would be a great recipe for camping! Can be dolled up so many ways. Great idea
Looks delicious! I can’t find buttermilk powder though – could I just add sour cream at the end?
I’ve never tried that, so I’m not sure how sour cream would taste. :)
I have a 8.75 oz McCormick “3 in 1 Ranch Seasoning” container since I literally could not find buttermilk powder anywhere locally (I live somewhat rural). Do you have any idea how many tsp/tbsp of this mix one would use in place of the homemade mix? It looks like the packets may be something like 2 TBSP. Just curious if you think this would translate to this dish. Thanks.
Yep! You can use 3 Tbsp of the store-bought ranch seasoning. :)
I made this last night with soy curls that I rehydrated in no chickn broth. I quartered the recipe for the 2 of us and cooked on high for 2 hours in my small crockpot. It was amazing served on buns with oven fries and roasted broccoli.
Thank you for sharing that vegetarian option! I know that will be helpful to a lot of people. :)
Love this recipe. I drain some of the sauce and add ricotta at the end to thicken it. Makes a great dip and filling for stuffed shells baked with a melted mozzarella topping.
Beth, I’ve been making your recipes since 2014 and they never fail me! This was a WINNER. So many ideas and meals to make with it. Bowls, dips, quesadillas, pizza, salad etc. I will be making more ASAP! Thanks for all your hard work that goes into the recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! …And everything else since 2014! :)
YUM. I’ll be making this again for sure. I used a store-bought ranch mix for convenience. We had the chicken on sandwich rolls with coleslaw the first night, then I had leftovers on salad several times and didn’t even need any dressing. The sauce is that good. Looking forward to trying this in tacos, etc.
We really loved this recipe. I did use a package of ranch mix with Frank’s & butter. It is simple & so satisfying! Served on potato rolls with cole slaw & blue cheese.
Thank you so much for this recipe! So easy to throw together, and you can turn it into so many different things!
I used a bottle of Frank’s Buffalo sauce because that’s what my partner came home with. I still put some butter in with the chicken, but not as much as the recipe called for. I also used two packs of ranch seasoning mix because I was worried about the spice level.
It was still too spicy for my family, so I ended up mixing some cream cheese into the finished recipe after it had cooled and rolled it all up in medium flour tortillas and made baked taquitos!
It was a huge hit, super easy, and I would definitely make this again!!
Worked great in a pressure cooker! I used 1 cup hot sauce plus the butter and chicken, 13 min, natural release, added the ranch mix to the sauce while I was pulling the chicken. I added a dollop of sour cream to up the ranch-iness. Super easy and tasty!
This makes A LOT. I love the baked potato idea in the comments. Here is how I used it:
– Buffalo chicken pizza (use ranch as the sauce, add shredded chicken, top with mozzarella)
– Buffalo chicken bowls (rice base, avocado, tomato, black beans, and corn)
– Buffalo chicken sandwiches (Beth’s picture at the bottom of the recipe, with coleslaw!)
Would using the Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings sauce work?
Do you think there’s any adjustments that would need to be made if using it?
The wing sauce is already combined with butter (or a butter equivalent) and perhaps other ingredients, so it would change the recipe some. I would need to test it to see what adjustments are needed.
Hi Amanda! Did you end up making it with buffalo sauce? I asked my partner to pick up some Frank’s Red Hot and he came home with the Buffalo sauce, so I’m probably going to use that instead. Can you please share your experience?
Your content is very useful keep it up, this content has taught me a lot, thanks
Can you use frozen chicken breasts?
I don’t suggest putting frozen meat in a slow cooker because it takes far too long to come up to a safe temperature, but if you thaw it first you’re good to go. :)
Yes, you can use frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker! For this recipe, I used frozen and cooked on HIGH for 4 hours instead of on LOW and it came out perfectly!
I cooked this tonight and it was delish! Served it over a baked sweet potato and drizzled some homemade blue cheese dressing over the top (just mixed Greek yogurt, milk, and blue cheese). IT WAS SO GOOD.
Side note…how do you keep slow cooker chicken from being chewy? This is a common thing that happens when I use my slow cooker. I don’t mind it but it always bothers my husband.
Hmm, chewy makes me think that it’s probably over cooked. When proteins get overcooked they get tough and rubbery. So try cooking either at a lower temperature (if you were doing it on high) or for less time and see if that works better. :)
I always cook it on low and then the timer sets it on “keep warm” until I get home. It sounds like chewy chicken will just be a fact of life whenever we have slow cooker meals during the school year!
This is so easy to put together and after 4 hours, that chicken was crazy fork tender! So easy to shred. Thanks for another great recipe!
Two alternatives that I’d mention are a faster (but decidedly more expensive)version using canned chicken, and adding a little diced or chopped celery at the end.
I’ve used canned chicken to make a quick spicy app for my husband and I – I use about 2 cans of canned chicken, which I rinse and further shred, and then basically follow what’s outlined above, although I use either powdered ranch mix or actual ranch dressing (also more expensive). I also add diced or chopped celery for a little cool crunch. I’ve served it with chips, on buns, or wrapped in baked crescent rolls (with a side of ranch for dipping).
Try it on a baked potato. We love Buffalo baked potatoes on game days.
This was soooo good! Made it in the IP (added 3/4c of broth and did it for 15min) and mixed it up with some pasta! Love love love
This is so easy and good! I used more like 3-3.5 lbs. of chicken with the same amount of ingredients for the sauce, and it came out great – so, seems easy to stretch for a crowd.
Made this for my husband that loves buffalo-flavored anything. I know it’s annoying when people say “it’s great” and modify a recipe… But I slightly modified by using a packet of store bought ranch seasoning and cooked in my instant pot because I needed it done fast. He tried it and said it was very good and had some heat to it (in a good way).
I don’t love buffalo-flavored things, so I’ll be making another batch to freeze so he can have portions to thaw and eat whenever he wants buffalo chicken! Thanks for another great recipe!
I was also hoping to make this in the IP – how long did you cook for?
Do you think there would be major changes to the recipe using shredded seitan instead of chicken? Thanks!
I’ve never tried slow cooking seitan, so I’m not sure if that long cooking technique would change the texture of it at all. The main purpose of slow cooking in this recipe is to get that nice tender shredded texture in the chicken, so if I were to sub in something like seitan, I’d probably just simmer it in the sauce and seasoning for a little while on the stove top. :)
Can we use packer of premixed Ranch Dressing instead?
Yes, as noted in the recipe. I’ve also included a couple of other options in the blog post above the recipe. :)
Other suggestions: a burrito with refried beans (pinto or black. The beans help to balance the heat of the chicken. This is a good take to work lunch, particularly with a side salad), as a filling for empanadas/meat turnovers. You can also add a package of frozen mixed veggies towards the end of the cooking time to add fiber/color
How do we feel about freezing this? If it works well I’d say it’d be great to make a good batch every month!
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I suspect that it would freeze well.
this looks great!! do you have any tips for making a blue cheese version? I was thinking just adding blue cheese dressing and crumbles rather than the ranch packets but maybe that’s too much liquid?
I would probably just add blue cheese crumbles at the end. :) Or you could just add blue cheese to whatever you’re using the buffalo chicken in.
Thanks for asking, Emily. As a born and raised Buffalonian, it’s almost sacrilegious to add ranch to “Buffalo” anything! From a heat/spice standpoint, the blue cheese does a better job of taming the heat. I’m not sure who started the ranch trend. I get called a troll whenever I dare mention blue cheese on posts like these 😉😄
Do you think there is a way to do this in a pressure cooker instead of slow cooker?
Slow cooker recipes usually convert very well to IP, but you need to make sure to have at least one cup of liquid for a pressure cooker and I don’t know if the hot sauce would count toward that. I would try Googling “Instant Pot buffalo chicken” or “pressure cooker buffalo chicken” to see if anyone has done it. This is a pretty common recipe, so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has instructions. :)
I made it in the IP tonight and it turned out well!
Interested in doing the same. Did you add additional liquid (more hot sauce or something else) and how long did you cook it in the IP for?
How spicy would you say this is? I like a little spice but my husband is a bit more sensitive… is there any way to cut the spice to be safe?
Unfortunately, this chicken is super spicy. The sauce is about 95% hot sauce, so there’s no way to get around the heat with this one.
There are tons of recipes here and elsewhere that aren’t spicy. If your family can’t handle this level of heat, I’d use barbecue sauce instead of Franks and probably cut the ranch seasoning, too, but maybe serve ranch flavored sauce on the side. You would end up with barbecue pulled chicken sandwiches–they will be delicious, too. Not every recipe is for every taster. But I have to say, this nicely heated version was absolutely perfect for the pepper bellies in my family.
Also they sell Frank’s red hot in mild at the supermarket. I made it with that and my hubby who doesn’t like super spicy food loved it!