This Crockpot Buffalo Chicken is creamy, tangy, and perfectly spicy. Chicken thighs are cooked low and slow with a homemade Buffalo sauce. Shred it and serve it on sandwiches, wraps, salads, and more!
I l.o.v.e. crockpot recipes and I l.o.v.e. buffalo chicken, so you can understand why I’m in l.o.v.e. with today’s recipe: crockpot buffalo chicken.
Not only is this recipe packed with flavorful and tender chicken, the sauce is the perfect balance between creamy and spicy, and it’s so versatile. Throw it on a sandwich, in a wrap, on pizza, in a quesadilla, you name, it’ll be delicious!
What is buffalo chicken?
Buffalo chicken is chicken that’s served with Buffalo sauce. The “Buffalo” in the name refers to Buffalo, New York which is where this creamy, spicy, tangy recipe originated!
Buffalo sauce is a mixture of hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, and a blend of sweet, smoky, and spicy seasonings. The sauce and seasonings are then mixed with a fat of some sort that gives the dish a creamy texture and helps cut the heat from the hot sauce. In this case, that’s cream cheese.
Ingredients
This Buffalo chicken is packed with so much sweet, smoky, tangy, spicy flavor.
- Hot Sauce, Honey, White Vinegar, and Worcestershire Sauce – our homemade Buffalo sauce. The hot sauce creates the base, the honey cuts the heat, the vinegar adds tang, and the worcestershire adds depth.
- Dry Ranch Salad Dressing Mix, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Ground Cumin, Smoked Paprika, and Onion Powder – our seasoning mix! The dry ranch gives us a great base that we amp up with additional spices to create a rich, smoky seasoning blend.
- Chicken Thighs – boneless and skinless. Chicken thighs are great crockpot recipes because they don’t overcook as quickly as chicken breasts do.
- Cream Cheese – melts into the sauce to add so much creaminess and richness. This also helps to cut the heat from the Buffalo sauce.
- Buns, Pepperjack Cheese, Ranch, Blue Cheese Sauce, etc. – for serving, if desired!
How to make
You’d be surprised how quickly and easily this flavor packed chicken comes together!
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together hot sauce, honey, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and all the seasonings.
- Pour half of that mixture into a greased crockpot and place chicken thighs on top.
- Place the block of cream cheese on top of the chicken and cover with remaining sauce.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-6 hours then shred and serve and enjoy!
Is it better to cook chicken on high or low in a crockpot?
When it comes to slow cookers, low and slow is the name of the game. However, this recipe offers options for both! You can cook your buffalo chicken either on HIGH for 2-3 hours or on LOW for 4-6 hours.
How do you slow cook chicken without drying it out?
Using plenty of moisture, a fattier piece of meat, and not overcooking keeps this slow cooker chicken from drying out.
In this case, we’re adding plenty of moisture with our homemade buffalo sauce: hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and cream cheese. We’re also using chicken thighs, which have more moisture than chicken breasts, AND we’re only cooking it on HIGH for 2-3 hours or on LOW for 4-6 hours.
All of these things combined will keep you from having dry chicken.
How to serve buffalo chicken
This crockpot buffalo chicken is so versatile! I like to either shred or cube it and serve it up a couple of different ways. Here are some ideas!
- As an appetizer. Serve in slider buns or check out my slow cooker buffalo chicken dip!
- In a sandwich. Use your favorite hamburger buns, bread, or even croissants.
- In tacos. Soft shell or hard shell. Either is delicious.
- As a wrap. Roll it up in your favorite tortilla or in lettuce wraps.
- On pizza. Crust –> buffalo sauce –> buffalo chicken –> cheese (mozzarella and blue cheese?!) –> bake –> devour!
What to serve with buffalo chicken
However you decide to serve your Buffalo chicken, it’s perfect alongside some yummy sides!
How to store
Leftover chicken will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge if frozen then microwave to warm.
– Jennifer
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup Frank's Original Hot Sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 (1 oz) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
- Buns, peperjack cheese, ranch, blue cheese sauce, etc. for serving, if desired
Instructions
- Grease a 6 quart crockpot with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together hot sauce, honey, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and ranch mix.
- Pour half into the prepared crockpot.
- Place chicken thighs on top.
- Place the block of cream cheese on top of the chicken.
- Pour in remaining sauce.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-6 hours.
- Shred and serve as desired!
- Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!
Notes
People Also Viewed
Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Anonymous