Crockpot Mississippi Chicken

Close up of the shredded chicken inside the crockpot with pepperoncini peppers

Crockpot Mississippi Chicken is fork-tender, juicy chicken breasts that cooks with pepperoncini peppers, pepperoncini juice, ranch seasoning, au jus gravy, garlic, and butter in the slow cooker for the most incredible flavor. Your family will go crazy for this dinner

Course Crockpot, Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword crockpot mississippi chicken, shredded mississippi chicken recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 8

Total Time 8 5

Servings

Calories 198kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

Crockpot

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 packet (1 oz) ranch seasoning mix
1 packet (1 oz) au jus gravy mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (sliced into 8 thinner pieces)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (or 2 fresh cloves)
6-8 whole pepperoncini peppers
1/4 cup pepperoncini pepper juice (from the jar)

Instructions

Place the chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Season the chicken breasts with the kosher salt and black pepper.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Evenly sprinkle the au jus mix and ranch seasoning mix over top of the chicken.
1 packet (1 oz) ranch seasoning mix, 1 packet (1 oz) au jus gravy mix
Add the slices of butter and minced garlic evenly over top of the seasoned chicken.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Arrange the whole pepperoncini peppers around the chicken breasts and then pour the pepperoncini pepper juice over top the chicken and seasonings.
6-8 whole pepperoncini peppers, 1/4 cup pepperoncini pepper juice
Cover with the lid and cook on LOW heat for 6-8 hours or HIGH heat for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165℉ and is easily shreddable.
^{*I always recommend cooking low & slow for the best, most tender, and flavorful results.}
Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred it using two forks (you can also use a hand mixer and beat it on low speed, inside the crockpot, to easily shred the chicken). Stir the shredded chicken into the sauce until well combined.
Serve the Mississippi chicken + extra gravy sauce over mashed potatoes, over rice, inside a baked potato, or on sandwich rolls with cheese (sloppy joe type meal) if wanted.

Notes

Pepperonicini Peppers : Pepperonicini peppers often get confused for banana peppers as they look very similar. They are not the same. Banana peppers have a milder, sweeter taste while pepperonicini peppers have a tangier and more savory taste to them. They cannot be interchanged for this recipe - use pepperonicini peppers. Make sure and grab the heat level that you prefer when buying pepperoncini peppers as they come in mild, medium, and spicy heat levels. You can also use whole peppers or sliced peppers. Buy whichever jar you prefer.

Butter : If you are using salted butter (which is fine) omit the salt entirely from the recipe, or wait until the end of the cook time to see if you need additional salt.

Shredding Tip : You can remove the chicken from the crockpot and place it onto a cutting board and then shred it with two forks, or you can use an electric hand mixer on low speed and gently shred it that way (I love doing it this way because I can just blend up the chicken inside the slow cooker, no need to remove it). Don't overblend the chicken or else it will turn mushy.

Serving Suggestions :

Serve the shredded chicken + extra gravy sauce over top some Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes or Boursin Mashed Potatoes. You can also use instant mashed potatoes or make your favorite mashed potato recipe, and you can even buy ready-to-use prepared mashed potatoes from the grocery store or Costco.
The chicken is also really yummy served over cooked white rice, brown rice, or egg noodles to soak up all that yummy gravy sauce.
For a low-carb serving option, it's excellent with cauliflower rice or on it's own with a side of roasted vegetables or potatoes. Try my Parmesan Roasted Potatoes or Ranch Potatoes.
Make shredded Mississippi chicken sandwiches! Serve the chicken (drain the sauce from it before placing the chicken on the bread) into a sandwich roll, hoagie roll, slider roll, hamburger bun, etc. You can use toasted buns or rolls which is my preference, or eat it more like a sloppy Joe. Another idea is to add a slice of cheese such as provolone cheese, Monterey Jack cheese or sliced Muenster cheese.

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