Great for bone-in chicken, but fantastic with boneless chicken for making a batch for chicken tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, taco salad or whatever else you can imagine! Crazy easy.
PERFECT freezer meal.
We were so eager to dive into our burrito/salad bowls I didn’t get a nice photo. But I’ve included my real life photos that aren’t too pretty.
This uses Epicure’s Creamy Ranch Dip Mix, a favorite in this household, along with the Fajita seasoning. Though I’d sub the Taco seasoning without any qualms.
1. Season chicken. I put one scoop of each (Ranch and Fajita) one one side and then flip and sprinkle the second scoops on the other (now top) side. 2. After cooking all day on low, I use my Pampered Chef salad chopper to shred. 3. It’s now ready to serve in a myriad of ways. Get creative!
Versatile Cool Ranch Chicken
Great for bone-in chicken, but fantastic for making a batch (freeze some) for chicken tacos, burrito bowls, taco salad or whatever else you can imagine! Crazy easy.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs OR 6-10 bone-in thighs, legs or combo.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Epicure Fajita seasoning
- 2 tablespoons Epicure Ranch seasoning
Instructions
Directions for boneless
Combine everything in crockpot and cook on "low" setting for 4-6 hours. Best for boneless pieces.
Shred and remix chicken with all the juices.
Directions for bone-in (for shredding later OR super fast and easy)
Sprinkle and coat bone-in pieces with the seasonings. Drizzle with oil and vinegar.
Cook in slow cooker as above OR for 15 minutes in the pressure cooker OR Bake at 350 until cooked through.
Directions for Crispy Crockpot
Rub seasonings on the bone-in, skin-on pieces. Place them, skin side up, in the crockpot with a little space between each piece. THIS IS IMPORTANT. It won't work without the space. I like to get as many as I can in, so I stand mine up against the side of the pot. The other secret is to cook them all day (7 hours) on low with the crockpot lid is slightly off kilter to allow moisture to escape. While they do not turn out “fried chicken“ crispy, they are definitely more crispy than if I had just dumped them on top of each other in the crockpot.
To Freeze and Cook Later
Combine all ingredients in a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag and freeze. Later, thaw and follow cooking directions above.
When I don't have boneless meat I make a batch of this as a baked dish and then remove the leftover meat from the bones and shred for tacos the next day.
Recommended Products
Some of my product links may be affiliate links, allowing me to earn a small amount for sharing my recipes and the ingredients. Some may not.
The Crispy Crockpot Method
Make sure there’s a little space around each piece. I stand mine up on the side of the crockpot to fit in more pieces. It’s not like “fried” chicken, but the skin is much crispier than typical crockpot results.
