Mississippi Chicken – Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
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This Mississippi chicken recipe makes the most delicious, zesty, rich, fall-apart tender shredded chicken. It’s great for a healthy weeknight dinner, potlucks, to freeze for later, or to serve guests. Make a batch today using your slow cooker or Instant Pot!
Download the Cooking Time Chart and say goodbye to rubbery chicken forever!
Mississippi Chicken Recipe
By now you know Mississippi flavors are my jam! Just check out my Mississippi pot roast (my favorite pot roast recipe) and Mississippi chicken marinade, if you don’t believe me. And now I’m back with this zesty, bright, buttery, and tender Mississippi chicken.
It’s an easy and unforgettable evening dinner, and one of my favorite Keto-friendly meals to make on busy weeknights. I love that it’s another “dump and start” recipe, meaning all you need to do to make it is simply add all the ingredients into your Instant Pot or Crock Pot, and press start. Dinner doesn’t get any easier than that!
Best of all, there are only 5 total ingredients in this recipe! All you need is chicken breasts or chicken thighs, tangy pepperoncini peppers, butter or ghee, bouillon, and homemade ranch seasoning.
This easy recipe makes the most juicy chicken that will pair well with any of your favorite side dish. Slow cooker Mississippi chicken doesn’t miss a beat and will quickly become a family favorite!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Crock pot Mississippi chicken will definitely be added to your list of easy dinner recipes once you find out how easy it is. I love this recipe because:
- You can let the flavorful chicken cook all day, or quickly toss it into the Instant Pot if you forgot to get the crock pot method together. It’s a no-fail recipe because there is always a way to cook it!
- This delicious meal is great for meal prep. Make it ahead of time and eat it next day, or store for longer. It’s a great freezer meal too!
- Shredded chicken can be served in so many different ways. The simple ingredients will go with all of your favorite side dishes and you can essentially make different meals multiple times with your leftover chicken.
What does Mississippi Chicken taste like?
The flavors of Mississippi are are zesty and bright from the ranch seasoning. Pepperoncini adds a bit of heat, and the liquid from the jar adds brine and acid. The ghee or butter is the final element that adds lush, rich flavor.
Mississippi chicken is fall apart tender, and it’s well balanced, and hearty without being super heavy – thanks to healthy and clean ingredients. The whole house smells marvelous while it cooks, and you can serve your Mississippi Chicken with any sides you enjoy.
Ingredients
This crockpot Mississippi chicken only requires five simple ingredients! Here is what you need:
- boneless skinless chicken breasts: I pretty much always have boneless skinless chicken breasts in my freezer. For extra flavor, use my Mississippi Marinated chicken breasts! You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.
- pepperoncini, plus the liquid from the jar: Jarred pepperoncini peppers are super spicy, but it definitely has a touch of heat to it. To make this dish mild, simply substitute banana peppers. The flavor is very similar, so the only real difference is the the heat!
- ranch seasoning mix: Use a homemade ranch mix or any store-bought ranch seasoning packet, either will work just fine.
- chicken bouillon: This is an easy way to amp up the flavor factor. I prefer to use Better than Bouillon or something similar. However, if you prefer not to use bouillon then I recommend just adding some extra seasonings to give the dish more flavor.
- ghee or butter: If you are following a Paleo diet, then use ghee to keep this dish on diet for you. Otherwise you can use some butter!
How to Make Mississippi Chicken
Grab your slow cooker or Instant Pot and let’s get cooking! The very best thing about this recipe is that there are only 2 steps and just minutes of prep time. Here’s how to make it:
Assemble all the ingredients in your slow cooker or Instant Pot. Turn it on and wait for the magic to happen. That’s all the prep you have to do!
When it’s done, use two forks the shred the cooked chicken it into tender deliciousness. Allow it to sit a bit in its own juices to soak up more flavor, then serve!
Cook Times
- Slow Cooking: Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours or high heat for 3-3.5 hours.
- Instant Pot: Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow for a natural pressure release, meaning to simply allow the pressure to naturally dissipate from the pressure cooker. This usually takes about 10-12 minutes.
How to Store Leftover Chicken
Leftover chicken is one of my favorite things! To store leftovers, allow the chicken to cool completely. Then transfer it to an airtight container or zip top bag, and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Mississippi Chicken freezes and reheats beautifully! To freeze cooked chicken, transfer to a freezer friendly zip top bag or airtight container. If you use a bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and press the mixture flat in the bag and set it in the freezer. For best taste, defrost and eat the chicken within 4 months.
To reheat, place chicken in the crock pot or instant pot on the warm setting or place it in the microwave until warmed through. You can also reheat leftovers on the stove-top or in the oven! If it seems a little dry, add a splash of chicken broth as you reheat.
What to Serve with Mississippi Chicken
There are so many different ways to eat this incredible dish. Serve it on hoagie rolls with provolone cheese to make a downright drool-worthy sandwich. Add a side of air fryer fries to that and you have a show stopping dinner.
Or, serve the chicken on top of mashed potatoes or fluffy jasmine rice. Any easy, healthy vegetables you enjoy would be so great alongside this meal. Roasted parsnip fries or air fryer roasted green beans would go so well with it! I’d also never turn down a buttery biscuit to go with my Mississippi chicken either.
Serve Mississippi Chicken with cauliflower mash, hasselback roasted potatoes, air fryer baby potatoes, stuffed inside a microwaved sweet potato, or any other way you can imagine! There are no wrong answers here.
Finish off your meal with a sweet treat, like these delicious strawberry blondies or some biscoff shortbread cookies.
Tips for Success
Let’s make sure you have 100% success with this slow cooker or Instant Pot Mississippi chicken. Here’s a few tips:
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken breasts to make sure that it is cooked to a safe temperature.
- Make sure each chicken breast is around the same size and thickness so that they all cook at the same time.
- When using the pressure cooker, it is really important to let the pressure release on its own. Don’t rush the process and do a manual release or your chicken may be tough.
FAQ
You might be wondering if pepperoncini and banana peppers are the same thing. They’re very similar in flavor and texture, however banana peppers are less spicy. Use banana peppers if you prefer a milder flavor, or pepperoncini if you like a touch of heat.
Yes! This recipe calls for all keto and low carb friendly ingredients and has about 1 net carb per serving. Optionally, if you’d like to add extra fat and make the dish creamier, stir in 1/2 block of cream cheese to the cooked, shredded chicken. Once the cream cheese has melted and mixed in, serve.
More Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes
- Classic Chicken Stew
- Sweet Hawaiian Chicken
- Easy Hamburger Stew
- Shredded Pork Loaded Fries
- BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wraps
I’d love to hear about your experience making this recipe!
Please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @cookathomemom!
Mississippi Chicken – Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/3 cup ghee or butter
- 2 Tablespoons ranch seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chicken boullion
- 8-10 pepperoncini, or substitute banana peppers for less heat milder
- 1/2 cup liquid from pepperoncini jar
Video
Instructions
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add the chicken, pepperoncini, pepperoncini liquid, ranch seasoning, butter or ghee, and bouillon in the slow cooker.
- Turn to Low heat and cook for 5-6 hours, or High heat and cook for 3-3.5 hours. Remove the lid, and use two forks to shred the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add the chicken, pepperoncini, pepperoncini liquid, ranch seasoning, ghee or butter, and bouillon to the Instant Pot.
- Secure the lid, and turn to High pressure. Set for 15 minutes. Once the cooking time is done, allow for a natural pressure release (do nothing and allow the pressure in the Instant Pot to naturally dissipate for about 10-15 minutes). Carefully open the lid and use two forks to shred the chicken into bite sized pieces.
