This easy Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken recipe comes together with just five ingredients, making it perfect for meal prep, game-day recipes or even a potluck!
SLOW COOKER BUFFALO CHICKEN
As a girl from Buffalo. New York I can tell you Buffalo Chicken anything is good in my book. I love Buffalo Chicken Wings the most, but also I can’t eat wings everyday, and for easy potlucks and meal prep, wings aren’t going to make the cut.
The next best thing? Pulled Buffalo Chicken made in the slow-cooker! With just five ingredients (plus salt and pepper), this crockpot chicken is insanely easy to prep. After you make a batch of buffalo chicken, try my salsa shredded chicken next.
Ingredients in shredded buffalo chicken
My favorite thing about this Buffalo Chicken is that you can dump all 5-ingredients in the crockpot and go on with your day.
- boneless chicken breast: the protein and star of this recipe. You can also use chicken thighs or a combo of both.
- Frank’s RedHot hot sauce: the heat for Buffalo chicken. Any cayenne pepper sauce will do.
- 4 garlic cloves: measure with your heart.
- ghee or butter: this adds fat and flavor so your chicken breast doesn’t dry out.
- dried spices: onion powder, salt and pepper for added flavor.
How to make this
The easiest thing about this recipe, is that you literally dump everything in the slow-cooker and let it do it’s thing until you’re ready to shred your chicken.
- Add chicken breast, Buffalo sauce, garlic cloves, ghee or butter and dried spices to the crockpot.
- Cover and cook on HIGH 2-4 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours, until chicken is tender enough to easily shred with a fork.
- Serve and enjoy!
Can I use chicken thighs for this recipe instead?
- If you prefer thighs, have at it. If I don’t have 3-pounds of chicken breast, I will sometimes combine breast and thighs for this pulled Buffalo chicken. It’s completely up to you.
- You can substitute thighs for breasts without changing the cooking time.
How to store and reheat leftovers?
You can make this crockpot shredded chicken in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days – or you can freeze for up to 3 months. Just make sure the chicken is shredded and completely cooled before storing.
- Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, adding a splash of buffalo sauce or broth if needed to keep it moist.
- You can also use the microwave, but can slightly dry out this way, so keep in mind.
HOW TO SERVE SLOW-COOKER BUFFALO CHICKEN
There are loads of ways to serve this Shredded Buffalo Chicken recipe – my personal favorite way is over a quick salad with my dairy-free ranch dip or whole30 caesar dressing.
- stuffed baked potatoes
- stuffed sweet potatoes
- in a lettuce wrap
- quesadillas
- in an egg roll for football parties
- as part of a buffalo chicken with cream cheese
- buffalo chicken tacos
- as part of your favorite mac and cheese
Anything you can add chicken to, you can definitely add Buffalo Chicken to for a little extra heat and flavor.
I use my 3qt slow-cooker for this recipe, or if you have an electric pressure cooker, like an Instant Pot, you can use the slow-cooker function and follow the same instructions below.
other buffalo chicken recipes to make
- whole30 buffalo chicken meatballs
- buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes
- crispy air fryer buffalo wings
- buffalo tuna stuffed avocado
- whole30 buffalo chicken tenders
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breast or chicken thighs - or a combo of both
- 1 cup Frank's RedHot - or other cayenne pepper hot sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup ghee or butter
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- salt and pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker. Top with remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
- Cover and cook on HIGH 2-4 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours, until chicken is tender enough to easily shred with a fork.
- Shred chicken when tender and return to slow cooker, and let cook on low for another 20 minutes and toss with sauce. Season to taste with any salt and pepper, or additional hot sauce.
- When ready to enjoy, serve over your favorite salad, wrap, potato, etc.
Notes
Nutrition
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Says serving size 1 g. Is that correct or should it be one cup?
Hi Deana, in the notes section of the recipe card, it’s listed, “one serving is approx 4-ounces” – I’ve tried to correct the serving size officially in the recipe card but have had tech issues, sorry about that, but it is a 4oz serving. Hope this helps!
Made this for a picky family of 4. It was a huge hit- so easy and perfect for a weeknight meal that you can start in the morning. Thank you!
So glad it went over well with everyone!!
Can I freeze this after cooking?
Hi Nikki. I have and it freezes really well! Just make sure it cools completely before freezing. once frozen, it will keep for 3 months.