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.
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.
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Equipment
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!
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!