Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken
This slow cooker shredded buffalo chicken is one of my favorite things to make and eat. I always keep it in the freezer for a flavorful addition to soup or casserole. At our house, we LOVE buffalo sauce. There is Franks buffalo wing sauce stocked in my pantry at all times. The tangy, spicy and delicious buffalo flavor is my all-time favorite.
This shredded buffalo chicken can be made into many different recipes. Some of our favorite dinners made with this shredded chicken are Buffalo Chicken Baked Potatoes, Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Crispy Wrap-ups and Buffalo Chicken Dip. As time goes on, I’ll have links to all these recipes and more. For now, it’s a tasty example of all the deliciousness that can come from slow cooker shredded buffalo chicken.
Season and sear
I prefer to season and sear the chicken before adding it to the slow cooker. The flavor enhancement of this step makes it worth the extra 5 minutes. This is very quick to throw together, even with the searing step.
Let’s talk slow cookers
My very favorite slow cooker is this 4 quart slow cooker. The one we have is VERY old but still works like it’s brand new. I like the compact size. It fits 90% of the recipes I make and is the perfect size for our family of four.
Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts, or 4 medium
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup franks wing sauce
- 1/4 cup franks hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon ranch dressing seasoning mix
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 – 1 cup of buffalo wing sauce, optional, at the end
Instructions
- To make the chicken seasoning, in a small bowl combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, mix together.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle half of the seasoning mix on one side of the chicken breasts. Place the chicken into the skillet, seasoning side down then sprinkle the remainder of the seasoning mix on the unseasoned side of the chicken. Cook 1-2 minutes until the first side is golden brown, flip over and cook another minute to brown up the second side. The chicken will still be raw on the inside. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup water, scraping up any bits in the pan. Pour the contents of the pan into the slow cooker, then add franks wing sauce, franks hot sauce, ranch dressing seasoning, chives and parsley. Whisk to combine. Add in the chicken and any juice from the plate. Nestle the chicken breasts down into the sauce mixture. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Once the chicken is cooked, shred and add back into the slow cooker with the sauce, stir to coat. You can add 1/2 – 1 cup more buffalo wing sauce, depending on how saucy you like your chicken.
- Use immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days. Cool completely before freezing.
- To freeze, measure 1 or 2 cups of shredded chicken and add to freezer ziplock bags, freeze up to 3 months.