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With only 5 ingredients, this crock pot Mississippi chicken recipe is one of my favorite meals for busy weeknights! Load up the slow cooker with your chicken, ranch seasoning, and pepperoncini peppers, and a few hours later, you’re tucking into a juicy, flavor-packed dinner.
Easy Crockpot Chicken Recipe
Saucy Mississippi chicken is Southern comfort food made super easy in the crock pot! I’m all about cozy, easy crock pot recipes, and this one delivers every time. Juicy, flavor-packed chicken, shredded and smothered in savory pepperoncini ranch sauce, served over buttermilk mashed potatoes, is exactly what we need on any given weekday.
Next on my list of set-it-and-forget-it dinner recipes is my forever go-to crock pot rump roast, and then this creamy slow cooker crack chicken.
What Is Mississippi Chicken?
Mississippi chicken is a spin on a Mississippi pot roast. The original recipe uses slow-cooked beef chuck. The story goes that Robin Chapman of Ripley, MS invented the Mississippi roast when she set out to make a milder version of her aunt’s spicy beef roast. Instead, she made a version with ranch, dry gravy, and pepperoncini peppers. The rest is (delicious) history!
Why You’ll Love This Mississippi Chicken Recipe
- One pot. There’s no chopping or browning for this recipe. Just layer everything into the crock pot and hit start.
- Comfort food flavor. Any recipe loaded with ranch is a winner; crack chicken, anyone? This Mississippi chicken recipe has plenty of rich and savory, comforting flavors thanks to the ranch dressing mix and onion soup mix in the sauce.
- Simple, quick prep. It takes less than 5 minutes to pile all 5 ingredients into the crock pot! Afterward, set your slow cooker and head out for the day. Come home hours later to an amazing dinner. It’s a chicken recipe made for busy weeknights.
What You’ll Need
- Chicken Thighs – Boneless chicken thighs are affordable, flavorful, and harder to overcook than chicken breasts. This makes them ideal for slow cooking! If you have chicken breasts though, those will work just fine, too.
- Ranch Dressing Mix – A packet of ranch seasoning offers instant flavor. You can also borrow the seasoning from my homemade ranch dressing.
- Onion Soup Mix – I’m all about the convenience of ready-to-use soup mixes.
- Pepperoncini – This is a pickled sweet pepper with a mildly spicy and tangy flavor. They can be as hot or as mild as you’d like. You can substitute with jalapeños.
- Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter, whichever you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
- Mashed Potatoes: Just like an original Mississippi pot roast, my favorite way to serve the chicken is to pile it over garlicky, homemade mashed potatoes.
- Rice or Pasta: Mississippi chicken is just as great served over jasmine rice or pasta.
- Vegetables and Bread: It’s easy to round out dinner with a vegetable side, like roasted green beans (or a green bean salad), and fluffy garlic bread, cornbread, or dinner rolls to sop up leftover gravy.
- Dessert: And a Mississippi mud pie seems fitting for dessert.
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Mississippi Chicken
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 ounce ranch seasoning, from one packet
- 1 ounce onion soup mix, from one packet
- 16 ounces jar of pepperoncini, juices included
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced
Instructions
- Load the slow cooker. Add the chicken, ranch mix, onion soup mix, and pepperoncini (plus juices) to the basin of a crockpot. Give everything a stir and arrange the slices of butter over the chicken.
- Cook. Cook on Low for 7 hours or on High for 4 hours.
- Shred. Shred the chicken inside the crockpot using two forks or shredder claws to pull the meat apart.
- Serve. Serve your Mississippi chicken warm over mashed potatoes or cooked white rice.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Mississippi Chicken
Mississippi chicken was made for slow cooking. Every inch of chicken gets infused with flavor as it cooks for hours! The steps are super simple and the hands-on part happens once the chicken is cooked. Let’s get started:
- Load the crockpot. Add the chicken, ranch mix, onion soup mix, and pepperoncini (plus juices) to the basin of a crockpot. Give everything a stir and arrange the slices of butter over the chicken.
- Cook. Cook on low for 7 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- Shred. Shred the chicken inside the slow cooker or on a plate. Use two forks to pull the meat apart.
- Mix. Add the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker and mix until combined.
- Serve. Serve warm over cooked white rice or mashed potatoes.
Instant Pot Method
To make Instant Pot Mississippi chicken, add everything to your Instant Pot, and hit the poultry button. This will cook the contents at HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. Afterward, let the Instant Pot naturally release (mine usually takes about 12 minutes to depressurize), then shred the chicken and serve.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Store in the fridge: If you have leftover Mississippi chicken, place the leftovers in an airtight storage container and put it in the refrigerator within two hours of turning the slow cooker off. Use all the leftovers within four days.
- Reheating: Reheat single servings in the microwave or larger amounts on the stovetop. Just be sure the reheated chicken reaches 165˚F and is hot throughout.
- Freezing: This meal freezes well. Transfer extras to an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat as outlined above.
Have you ever used a blender to break up the peppers prior to putting the shredded chicken back into the crockpot?
Hi!
I haven’t done that myself, but you can definitely blend the peppers if you prefer a smoother texture.
This recipe is so easy to make. The taste is so good. We put it over the mashed potatoes. Next time i will try rice and see which one I like the best.
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much! 🙂
This is absolutely delicious! My husband and I both really enjoyed it. I will be making this often.
Thank you so much! I’m very glad you and your husband enjoyed it! 🙂