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slow cooker nashville chicken on a bun, surrounded by chips and pickles peeking out
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Slow Cooker Nashville Hot Chicken

This slow cooker recipe captures all the essence of Nashville hot chicken but without the fuss of deep frying.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Southern
Keyword Nashville hot chicken
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

  • 2 lbs boneless chicken breast
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 Tbsp. Louisiana style hot sauce like Frank's
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Nashville Hot Sauce

  • 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted
  • 2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. paprika
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. Louisiana style hot sauce

Crunchy Panko Topping

  • 1 cup plain panko bread crumbs
  • 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted
  • 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

Other Ingredients

  • 1 white onion rough chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. cornstarch for slurry
  • 2 Tbsp. cold water for slurry
  • sliced pickles for serving
  • white bread or rolls for serving

Instructions

Marinate the chicken

  • Create the marinade by mixing all chicken marinade ingredients together. Cover chicken breast and marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator. If possible, marinate for 8-12 hours but not more than 12 hours.

Prepare the Nashville sauce

  • Mix melted butter along with all Nashville hot sauce ingredients together till smooth.
    Nashville sauce prepared

Cook and prepare chicken

  • Rough chop 1 large onion (or 2 small) into large chunks and lay in bottom of crockpot. Remove chicken from marinade and lay chicken breast on top of onions in slow cooker.
  • Using a marinade brush or spoon, coat one side of the chicken in the Nashville sauce, then flip and repeat on the other side. Pour remaining sauce over chicken.
    Chicken being coated in sauce
  • Cook on low for 2.5 hours and check internal temperature of chicken. It should read 165°F.
  • When chicken comes to temp, remove chicken breast and shred on a cutting board into small bite-sized pieces.
    Chicken being shredded on cutting board
  • Remove onions from crockpot and discard.

Finish preparing the chicken

  • Create a slurry by mixing 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. of cold water. Whisk slurry into slow cooker for 1 minute till incorporated.
  • Add chicken back to crockpot, mixing with the sauce, and cook on high for 20-30 minutes till thickened. At this point, I like to make the panko topping.

Make panko topping and serve

  • Combine panko, melted butter and all crunchy panko spices in a bowl and bake at 350ºF for 5-8 minutes in a single layer. This cooks quickly and can burn, so keep a close eye on it. I typically make it in the toaster oven.
    Crunchy panko topping
  • Serve hot on white bread or potato rolls with sliced pickles. Top with panko topping and enjoy!