These easy slow cooker buffalo chicken sliders are perfect for busy weeknights, potlucks, and football season! With blue cheese and arugula.
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Allow me to introduce you to the simplest dinner ever (AKA your new weeknight BFF): Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders.
This chicken recipe is just EASY, and there’s next-to-nothing prep involved so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time on the couch with a glass of wine doing activities.
This pulled chicken is also great for full-sized sandwiches if you want something more substantial than a slider. We frequently serve it on burger buns or larger ciabatta rolls for a heartier dinner!
Here’s our order of operations for these buffalo chicken sliders:
- Throw some boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs in the slow cooker (we love our 5 qt. Crock-Pot!) in the morning, along with some buffalo sauce, salt, and pepper.
- When you’re ready to eat, shred the chicken and toast some slider rolls. We like using our favorite dinner rolls or a pack of store-bought buns. Toast on a lightly oiled griddle or grill pan over medium heat, or lay sliced rolls cut-side up in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake at 375 for 5-6 minutes.
- Toss a few handfuls of arugula with some lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Skip this step if you’re ultra short on time, but if you do have thirty seconds, it adds a ton of flavor. You just need a dash of lemon and/or olive oil and some salt and pepper!
- Assemble! Stack some shredded chicken and arugula on a slider roll, top with blue cheese, and enjoy.
To make these sandwiches for a crowd:
It’s easy to scale this recipe up for more servings: just plan to use about 2/3 cup of buffalo hot sauce or wing sauce for every pound of chicken you cook.
(Fun fact: You can also hit the handy “1x”, “2x,” or “3x” buttons in the recipe card below to scale any recipe for you!)
If you’re feeding a big group, save time by setting out each component on its own to make a build-your-own sandwich bar instead of assembling everything yourself. If the food will be out for more than half an hour or so, skip dressing the arugula so it doesn’t wilt.
One important note here: PLEASE don’t skip toasting your slider rolls. It adds SO much more texture to these sandwiches!
(I’m serious. TOAST. THEM. BUNZZZZZZZ.)
PS – Hungry for more? Check out our easy Pesto Slow Cooker Chicken Sandwiches, our Meal Prep Shredded Chicken, or our Crock Pot Salsa Chicken for some extra weeknight dinner inspiration.
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER BUFFALO CHICKEN SLIDERS (VIDEO!)
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Easy slow cooker buffalo chicken sliders perfect for busy weeknights or game days.
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 1 pound large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2–3 large breasts)
- 2/3 cup of your favorite buffalo wing sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
TO ASSEMBLE THE SANDWICHES:
- 8–10 slider buns, halved
- 3 cups fresh arugula
- 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
FOR THE CHICKEN:
- Toss chicken breasts, buffalo wing sauce, salt and pepper together in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- When chicken is cooked, turn off the slow cooker and shred chicken. We like to leave the chicken right in the slow cooker and shred it with two forks so it soaks up any extra buffalo sauce!
TO ASSEMBLE:
- Toast slider buns. I like to lay the buns out on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 5-6 minutes until toasted, but you could also use a toaster oven or a lightly oiled cast iron pan over medium heat.
- In a large bowl, toss together arugula, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper until arugula is evenly coated.
- Place a scoop of shredded buffalo chicken on each slider bun. Top with a few crumbles of blue cheese and your dressed arugula. Serve immediately.
Notes
Additions and Substitutions. Use sharp white cheddar, pepper jack, gorgonzola, or mozzarella in place of the blue cheese. Add pickles, coleslaw, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, or extra buffalo sauce to the sandwiches during assembly if you like. Swap the arugula for spinach or mixed greens. Use BBQ sauce in place of buffalo sauce if you prefer. Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of breasts.
Which rolls should I use? We typically grab potato rolls or basic dinner rolls at the store, or make our favorite dinner rolls. Use any rolls you like – pretzel slider rolls, Hawaiian rolls, or mini burger buns are all good. For larger sandwiches, use four regular-sized hamburger or sandwich buns. Just don’t forget to toast the rolls!
In a hurry? Cook chicken on high heat for 3-4 hours.
To store, let shredded chicken cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. This chicken also freezes well – it will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for 3-4 months without losing flavor.
To make these sliders for a crowd, scale up the chicken as needed and plan to use 2/3 cup of buffalo sauce per pound of chicken cooked. To save time, lay out individual components (rolls, chicken, arugula, blue cheese) for a build-your-own slider bar instead of assembling them all yourself.
Ingredients and Equipment. We used a 5 quart Crock Pot slow cooker in these photos. We’ve tested this recipe with a variety of buffalo wing sauces – use whatever you like! We typically have Frank’s or a generic store brand of hot sauce on hand.
For more easy slow cooker chicken recipes, check out our Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Sandwiches, our easy Meal Prep Shredded Chicken, or our Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken.
Keywords: crock pot, meal prep, chicken recipe
These look so gorgeous! Simple but absolutely gourmet. Such a good weeknight dinner with the slow cooker. I don’t actually have one but might have to figure out a way to make shredded chicken like this without it!
Thank you so much! If you’re slow-cooker-less, I’d try covering the chicken with buffalo sauce, cover with an oven-proof lid or tinfoil, and bake it low and slow (maybe 250-300 degrees F for a couple of hours? I bet you could find a technique online!) and shred. When I’m hungry and impatient, I’ve also used the buffalo sauce as a quick marinade and just grilled the chicken breasts, then sliced them for each slider. Works like a charm 🙂
I’m so with you- cute little foods are the best foods. Plus, you can eat more of them without feeling as guilty, right? 😉 Love these!
Oh, definitely 😉 Thanks!
I am so craving a slider right now after these images, they look perfect.. and SO mouthwatering.
Thank you so much, Thalia!