Crock Pot Mississippi Chicken | Easy 4-Ingredient Dinner

Make crock pot Mississippi chicken for a winner winner chicken dinner! Enjoy tangy, zesty chicken that’s perfectly juicy and totally hands-off. This 4-ingredient meal is sure to be a family favorite!

Have you ever tossed a few random ingredients into a slow cooker, crossed your fingers, and hoped that it would turn out decent enough to eat?

Or have you ever followed a recipe you were absolutely sure would fail, but it actually turned out pretty good?

That’s how I feel about this crockpot Mississippi Chicken recipe.

It stemmed from tinkering with a better-for-you version of the Mississippi Pot Roast recipe and my family RAVED about the pot roast.

So, I figured, if they loved the flavor and ingredient combination so much with a chuck roast, maybe they would like it with chicken too?

Oh my… did they ever!!

This dish is easily one of the most asked-for meals in my house right now and considering it’s a “dump and go” recipe, I’m all on board!

CROCK POT MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN

Honestly, the mere fact that my entire family is always asking for this recipe AND that I can dump the ingredients into a slow cooker and walk away are reasons enough to be making crock pot Mississippi chicken on a nearly weekly basis.

But if that’s not enough to convince you to try it, I think you’ll love it because:

• It uses staple ingredients. I always have chicken in the freezer and pepperoncini in the pantry.
• It’s perfect year-round. I don’t want to heat up the kitchen in the summer and I like comfort foods in the winter. Best of both worlds!
• It makes a lot of food. Important when you’re feeding teens or need leftovers for lunches or don’t want to make dinner every single night.
• It freezes well. You can either combine this in a freezer-safe bag BEFORE you cook or make the recipe and then freeze the leftovers. Either way, it works.
• It goes great with almost anything. Keep it simple with rice and a steamed veggie or fancy it up and serve over mashed potatoes. Either way, you can pull together a company-ready easy dinner recipe without much effort.

MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN RECIPE INGREDIENTS

You need just four simple ingredients for this slow cooker Mississippi chicken recipe:

1. Chicken. Fresh or frozen both work. I like boneless chicken thighs best for this recipe, but chicken breasts boneless, drumsticks, or bone-in chicken thighs will work as well. The bone-in chicken will require a longer cooking time.
2. Au Jus Gravy Mix. Use a store-bought packet or a homemade version – see the super simple recipe for homemade Au Jus below.
3. Ranch Seasoning. Again, go store-bought or homemade.
4. Sliced Pepperoncini. I prefer sliced over whole to get that tangy crunch in every bite!

Just as important is what you DON’T need:

Butter, any other seasonings (like garlic powder), or chicken broth. Trust me, this Mississippi chicken recipe is so flavorful on its own, that you don’t need to add anything else to it!

A QUICK NOTE ON CHICKEN

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HOW TO MAKE MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN

Step 1. Place the chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker, in a single layer if possible. I have this 6-quart slow cooker that I absolutely LOVE, and I can fit quite a bit of chicken inside.

Step 2. Pour all of the sliced pepperoncini peppers and half of the liquid in the jar over the chicken.

Step 3. Sprinkle the Au Jus gravy mix and packet ranch dressing mix over the chicken.

Step 4. Cook on low for 2 hours for fresh chicken, or 4 hours for frozen chicken. When the chicken is done, shred it with two forks and serve as desired.

Store leftover shredded chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

SLOW COOKER MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN RECIPE TIPS

• I recommend boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can use any type of chicken you want – including drumsticks, skinless chicken breasts, chicken tenders, or even bone-in chicken thighs – but boneless skinless chicken thighs have always given me the best results and the least amount of work.
• You can use either fresh or frozen chicken! Both will cook up the same, but you’ll need to adjust the cooking time to 4 hours if you start with frozen chicken.
• Make your own Au Jus gravy mix. Not only will you avoid unnecessary preservatives found in the packets of au jus gravy mix, but you can control the salt and sodium content as well. For homemade Au Jus, just substitute 2 Tablespoons granulated onion and 2 Tablespoons cornstarch for the au jus packet in this Mississippi chicken recipe.
• You can also make your own ranch seasoning! It’s been YEARS since I’ve bought a packet of ranch seasoning – just follow my ranch seasoning recipe and use 3 Tablespoons of the homemade seasoning mix instead of the packet.
• I recommend SLICED pepperoncini, not whole. The peppers come in a juice, making it hard to hold and slice whole peppers without making a mess. Emptying a jar of sliced pepperoncini peppers is a million times easier, PLUS you get little pieces of pepperoncini with every bite!
• Not sure what to do with the rest of the pepperoncini juice? Since this blog IS called Don’t Waste the Crumbs, I can’t give you a recipe that leaves half a jar of something without sharing how to use up the leftover bit! The pepperoncini juice is pretty tangy (like pickle juice), so try it as the acid and salty factor in a marinade or a salad dressing. Pop the jar in the fridge if you’re not going to use it right away and add it to your meal plan later in the week.
• Try Mississippi chicken with cream cheese. When your chicken is fully cooked and shredded, stir a block of cream cheese into the chicken mixture until it makes a creamy sauce.

WHAT TO EAT WITH MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN

There are PLENTY of side dishes that would complement slow cooker Mississippi chicken, but I usually choose a starch and two vegetables.

MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN SLOW COOKER RECIPE FAQS

HOW TO COOK MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SLOW COOKER

INSTANT POT MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN

Step 1. Place the chicken in the bottom of the Instant Pot in a single layer if possible.

Step 2. Pour all of the sliced pepperoncini peppers and half of the liquid in the jar over the chicken. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged in the juice (especially if you’re using chicken breasts).

Step 3. Sprinkle the Au Jus gravy mix and ranch seasoning mix over the chicken.

Step 4. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes for fresh chicken, or 6 minutes for frozen chicken. Let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE STOVETOP MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN

Step 1. Place your ingredients in a large pot. Put them in the same order that you would if you were using a slow cooker.

Step 2. Cover your stock pot. If you do not have a lid that fits, place aluminum foil on top and keep your chicken covered.

Step 3. Cook over low heat. You can come back to check on it regularly. It should cook within four hours, but you can check it often to make sure it is good to go before you serve it.

HOW TO MAKE MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN IN THE OVEN

Step 1. Preheat oven to 425F. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Step 2. Place chicken in the baking dish. Sprinkle with ranch seasoning and au jus gravy mix.

Step 3. Top the chicken with pepperoncini peppers and top with 2-3 Tablespoons of butter sliced into smaller pieces.

Step 4. Bake chicken for 25 to 30 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.

MORE YUMMY SLOW COOKER CHICKEN RECIPES