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Home » Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

Published: Feb 16, 2022 · Modified: Jan 16, 2024 by Kristina Tipps · This post may contain affiliate links for which I earn a small commission.

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Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken is an incredibly easy way to make the perfect buffalo-style shredded chicken for pizza, lettuce wraps, tacos, burgers, salads and more! WIth just 4 ingredients, this easy slow cooker chicken comes out tender, juicy, and flavorful.

shredded buffalo chicken in hot sauce in a slow cooker
Table Of Contents
  • How To Use Shredded Buffalo Chicken
  • Helpful Tips and Facts For Making Buffalo Chicken
  • Ingredients
  • How To Make It
  • How To Store and Freeze Buffalo Chicken
  • Recipe
  • Recipe Reviews

Slow cooker buffalo chicken is one of my favorite easy crockpot dinner recipes! It's perfect for making big batches and using throughout the week or freezing for use later one, on really busy days! Flavorful shredded chicken is so versatile- there are so many ways to use it that it never gets boring! Check out my list below for 10 ways to use your delicious slow cooker buffalo chicken.

In addition to this slow cooker buffalo chicken, I make big batches of quick shredded barbecue chicken in the Instant Pot and a delicious ranch chicken in my crockpot. I make a few simple dinners out of them, then freeze the leftovers. I use the leftovers over the course of a few months when I need to get dinner made fast- or just don't want to spend the time cooking!

The slow cooker is great for these types of make ahead no-fuss recipes in large batches!

buffalo chicken style pizza

MORE CROCKPOT RECIPES TO TRY NEXT

  • Crockpot Chicken Parmesan Soup
  • Crockpot Hot Chocolate
  • Homemade Pear Preserves
  • Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Balsamic Sauce
  • Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

How To Use Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Here is a list of some great ways to use this slow cooker buffalo chicken:

  • Burgers: use inside a hamburger bun or sweet Hawaiian roll. They are delicious with some cheese, tomato, and avocado added in there too!
  • Buffalo-style nachos: top chips with Mexican cheese, blue cheese, the chicken, sliced sweet peppers, red onion, and cilantro, then drizzle with some ranch dressing.
  • Tacos: use the chicken in these delicious buffalo tacos.
  • Quesadillas: spice up your traditional quesadilla recipe by using the shredded chicken, blue cheese crumbles, mozzarella, red onion, and sweet bell peppers.
  • Pizza: make a spicy buffalo chicken pizza with mozzarella cheese, buffalo sauce, peppers and onions. This is one of my favorite ways to use it!
  • Dip: turn it into a dip by adding cream cheese and mozzarella cheese.
  • Lettuce wraps or wontons: stuff a leaf of romaine lettuce with the chicken, onions, peppers, and cheese! Or use to make buffalo chicken wontons.
  • Buffalo chicken salad: with romaine lettuce, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and onions for a healthy way to use this recipe.
  • Taquitos and burritos: replace your traditional stuffing with this buffalo chicken and some cheese.
  • Stuffed sweet potatoes: stuff a sweet potato (or russet potato) with the chicken and top with some blue cheese, cilantro and ranch dressing for a creative lunch idea.
chicken tacos on a plate topped with avocado and vegetables

Helpful Tips and Facts For Making Buffalo Chicken

What Is Buffalo Sauce?

Buffalo sauce is a combination of cayenne pepper sauce, more commonly referred to as "hot sauce", and butter. It's known to be spicy but comes in a variety of heats. You can usually find mild, medium, hot, and extra hot varieties.

Can I Make My Own Buffalo Sauce?

Yes! Homemade buffalo sauce is really easy to make. Mix 1 cup of hot cayenne pepper sauce with ½ cup of melted butter. For this recipe, you will need 2 cups of hot sauce mixed with 1 cup of melted butter. You don't have to mix them separately. Just put the chicken into the slow cooker, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour in the hot sauce and arrange butter slices on top.

What Can I Add To Buffalo Chicken?

There are many great additions if you'd like to add a little something extra to this simple buffalo chicken recipe. A packet of dry ranch seasoning, chives, scallions, a little creamy ranch or blue cheese dressing, blue cheese crumbles, or a bit of cheddar and mozzarella cheese are delicious with buffalo chicken.

Can I Use Frozen Chicken?

It is not recommended to use frozen chicken in a slow cooker. Always use thawed chicken to prevent the chance that bacteria can grow while the frozen chicken is thawing in the cooker.

Is It Better To Cook Chicken On HIgh Or Low In A Crockpot?

Because chicken can dry out easily, it's better to cook it slowly on the low setting. Cooking on high for a shorter amount of time is fine if you're crunched for time, but if you can cook it longer at low there will be less of a chance for the chicken to overcook and dry out.

shredded buffalo chicken in hot sauce in a slow cooker

Ingredients

All you need is:

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt & pepper
  • Buffalo sauce: depending on your preference for spiciness, use your favorite brand of mild, medium, hot, or extra hot buffalo sauce. My favorite is Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce.

How To Make It

Making this 3 step recipe is so easy!

STEP 1: Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Pour the buffalo sauce on top.

chicken breasts topped with buffalo sauce in a slow cooker

STEP 2: Cover and set to HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours (low is my preferred setting). When done, remove the chicken breasts and shred with a fork. Put back into the slow cooker, stir well, and cover. Set back to LOW for 1 hour.

shredded buffalo chicken in hot sauce in a slow cooker

STEP 3: Stir the chicken and sauce well. Serve warm on pizza, in sandwiches, as a filling for tacos, or one of the suggestions from above.

Enjoy!

How To Store and Freeze Buffalo Chicken

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer sealed in a freezer safe bag for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating.

If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments! And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious recipes!

Recipe

shredded buffalo chicken in hot sauce in a slow cooker

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

Kristina Tipps
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken is an incredibly easy way to make the perfect buffalo-style shredded chicken for pizza, lettuce wraps, tacos, burgers, salads and more! WIth just 4 ingredients, this easy slow cooker chicken comes out tender, juicy, and flavorful.
4.06 from 17 votes
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Prep Time 2 minutes minutes
Cook Time 6 hours hours
Total Time 6 hours hours 2 minutes minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 10
Calories 78 kcal

Equipment

  • slow cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups buffalo sauce mild, medium, or hot

Instructions
 

  • Place the boneless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Pour the buffalo sauce on top.
  • Cover and set to HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours. When done, remove the chicken breasts and shred with a fork. Put back into the slow cooker, stir well, and cover. Set back to LOW for 1 hour.
  • Stir the chicken and sauce well. Serve warm on pizza, in sandwiches, as a filling for tacos (see notes for more suggestions).

Notes

Tip 1: to make homemade buffalo sauce, mix 1 cup of hot cayenne pepper sauce with ½ cup of melted butter. For this recipe, you will need 2 cups of hot sauce mixed with 1 cup of melted butter. You don't have to mix them separately. Just put the chicken into the slow cooker, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour in the hot sauce and arrange butter slices on top.
Tip 2: frozen chicken should not be used in a slow cooker. Please use thawed chicken only.
Tip 3: because chicken can dry out easily, it's better to cook it slowly on the low setting. Cooking on high for a shorter amount of time is fine if you're crunched for time, but if you can cook it longer at low there will be less of a chance for the chicken to overcook and dry out.
Tip 4: use your favorite brand of buffalo sauce in your preferred heat for a flavor you'll love the most!
Ways To Use: make burgers and sliders, stuff into taquitos/enchiladas/burritos, toss in salads/pasta/rice bowls, a topping on nachos and pizza, stuffed into sweet or baked potatoes, tacos and quesadillas, lettuce wraps.
Storing: keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days or in a freezer safe bag for up to 6 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 2ozCalories: 78kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 9gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 1733mgPotassium: 101mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 38IUCalcium: 6mgIron: 1mg
Did you try this recipe?Give a shout out to @tastyovenrecipes or tag #tastyovenrecipes!

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Comments

    4.06 from 17 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Michelle

    June 20, 2022 at 7:00 pm

    I followed the recipe and this dish came out incredibly salty. I would not make again. My family loves Buffalo chicken dishes, but this was way too salty.

    Reply
  2. Andrea

    February 17, 2022 at 3:06 pm

    5 stars
    Really like how easy this buffalo chicken is to make and how versatile it is. Will be making this ASAP.

    Reply
  3. Holley

    February 17, 2022 at 2:55 pm

    5 stars
    I love how this is so easy to make and soooo flavorful!! A new family favorite for sure!

    Reply
  4. Nathan

    February 17, 2022 at 2:29 pm

    5 stars
    Buffalo chicken is one of my favorites and I love how easy it is to make it in the slow cooker. Such great ideas for how to eat it too, I think I'll use it as a topping for pizza next week! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  5. Vicky

    February 17, 2022 at 1:42 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a versatile recipe. The fact that you can use it in so many ways is awesome. One night I can make buffalo chicken sandwiches and the next night I can use the leftovers for tacos. Love it!

    Reply
  6. Carrie Robinson

    February 17, 2022 at 1:12 pm

    5 stars
    I just love how easy this is to make! 🙂 Looks delicious.

    Reply

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