Why hello there! I’d like to introduce you to my fall dinner uniform, Healthy Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve made this crock pot recipe for shredded buffalo chicken with Greek yogurt sauce since I first shared it last year. In a direct match up between our frequency of eating it and the number of plaid shirts in my closet (my other fall uniform), I might even give it to the healthy buffalo chicken.
If you’ve hung out with me September through March, you know this is not a light statement.
I own A LOT of plaid and somehow keep finding a need to purchase more. A few weeks ago, two of our friends asked me to estimate the number of plaid shirts in my closet. I guessed seven, then went home and counted.
Um, I forgot a few.
Also, do dresses count? Please say no, because I kind of have my eye on this one. It would be so cute with boots!
OK, enough with buffalo check. Let’s get to the buffalo chicken recipe!
Healthy Buffalo Chicken
This Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken recipe is one of a handful of healthy crock pot chicken recipes on my site that I make over and over.
Ben loves it, I love it, it’s beyond easy, and despite its decadent taste, it’s low calorie too.
Whether you need a low-maintenance weeknight meal or a healthy reset after a particularly indulgent weekend, this Healthy Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken hits the spot every time.
Why I Love These Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes
I stole the idea to pair buffalo chicken with sweet potatoes from a friend who ordered a side of buffalo dipping sauce with her sweet potato fries at dinner.
At first, I thought it sounded odd, but the combination of the spicy buffalo sauce with the sweetness of the potatoes was addictive. I knew I had to try it at home.
Although I’m no stranger to having fries for dinner, I wanted this slow cooker buffalo chicken to fit a healthy weeknight dinner theme, so I served the shredded chicken over baked sweet potatoes instead. Dynamite!
The baked sweet potatoes gave me the sweet-spicy flavor pairing that I was after but in a lighter, healthier way. They also provide a built-in serving of (unfried) veg.
For maximum simplicity, I made the buffalo chicken in the slow cooker. I poured the buffalo sauce right over the top, and by the time the chicken was ready, it was fall-apart tender.
The final flourish is a blue cheese–Greek yogurt drizzle. If you aren’t into blue cheese, we can’t be friends you can swap for feta cheese or omit the blue cheese completely. These Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes will still be delicious without it.
In addition to being a tasty weeknight dinner, the healthy Buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes are also easy to multiply for a crowd.
If you have any game watches or football parties on your agenda—events for which the presence of buffalo chicken teeters between “strongly encouraged” and “mandatory”—this recipe is a great way to feed the hungry hoards while leaving a little extra wiggle room in your diet too.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Recommended Tools to Make This Recipe
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
For the Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3)
- 3/4 cup hot sauce such as Frank’s
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water to create a slurry
- Chopped green onions for serving
For the Blue Cheese Yogurt Dressing (omit to make dairy free):
- 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese plus additional for serving
Instructions
- Lightly coat a slow cooker with nonstick spray (I used a 6-quart but believe a smaller size would be fine too). Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Place the hot sauce, coconut oil, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave until the coconut oil is melted (about 45 seconds), then stir until smooth. If you prefer not to use the microwave, melt the ingredients together in a small saucepan on the stove. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker, then cook for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours on high or 4 to 5 hours on low, until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove the chicken from crockpot and shred.
- About 30 minutes before the chicken is done, bake the sweet potatoes: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, then place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon the size of your sweet potato. Turn off the oven and leave the sweet potatoes inside to keep them warm.
- Once the chicken is shredded and while the sweet potatoes bake, mix the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together to create a slurry. Add it to the cooking liquid in the slow cooker, then whisk to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken, stirring once halfway through. Once thick, return the chicken to the slow cooker and toss to coat.
- For the blue cheese yogurt topping: In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients—Greek yogurt, milk, white vinegar, black pepper, and blue cheese. Split open the sweet potatoes, then top with the crock pot buffalo chicken, a drizzle of the blue cheese dressing, and green onions. Enjoy hot.
Video
Notes
- Store leftover buffalo chicken in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- Feel free to double this recipe to feed a larger group. You may need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- All slow cookers differ in temperature, so adjust the cooking time according to your experience. Cooking time may vary base on the make and model of your slow cooker.
Nutrition
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Very good recipe and will definitely make again! I cooked the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker alongside the chicken. Saves extra steps and a pan. Just wrap each potato in foil, then stack them in one half of the cooker and the chicken on the other half. Mixed all the seasonings, coconut oil and half the Buffalo sauce and pour over just the chicken (it will spread a little but not much since only half the sauce and the foil keeps it off the potatoes). I added the rest of the Buffalo sauce along with the corn starch slurry. The potatoes were done 30 min prior to the chicken, but I left them in with no problem – they just won’t hold a “boat” shape after you cut them (more like an open faced sandwich :) )
Hi Becky! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Was a tad bit spicy for my husband ha-ha but it was very tasty!
Hi Randlee! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
So yummy!!! We will be making this regularly! Very easy to make and we added a little bit of cheese to it — Perfection!
Hi Veronica! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
No one in my family will eat blue cheese. Do you have a recommendation for a substitute?
Hi Mimi! You can swap for feta cheese or omit the blue cheese completely. Hope this helps!
Great recipe! Delicious and made several good sized portions. Give the sweet potatoes plenty of time to cook, they take longer than you might think.
Hi Meredith! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Let me start by saying that my husband and I love this recipe. I’ve made it many times in my crock pot but today I was in a pinch and needed to make it in my instant pot. OMG Soo tasty, just like the original recipe but quicker. Here’s what I did. I turned the instant pot on saute to melt the coconut oil like she did in the microwave. I added the remaining ingredients and whisked to combine. Here is the trick…since the recipe calls for 3/4 cup liquid (hot sauce) I added a 1/4 chicken broth/hidden valley mix I had leftover from making ranch chicken for my kiddos. They can’t handle the heat so I made their ranch chicken in the IP before making ours. I then added the chicken and coated with the sauce using a spoon. Set the IP to manual for 10 minutes. I let it natural release for 10 minutes. Shredded the chicken while I set the IP to saute and added the slurry. I saute the sauce with the slurry for 5 minutes stirring often. Added the chicken back to the instant to coat in the sauce. And DELICIOUS 😋 thanks for this healthy tasty recipe!
Hi Freckles614! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for your feedback on cooking it in the instant pot, it’s so helpful for other readers! Thanks again!
I’ve been making this for years and love it leftover! I’ve also made ranch dressing to drizzle on top and in a pinch I’ve added a little sour cream. Delicious and easy recipe!
Hi Lmp! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This is a staple in our house. I’ve been making it for years! My boyfriend is so picky, so I swap out regular potatoes for him. But we do this for meal prep, dinner, lunch, you name it, we eat it. Its delicious! I love loading it with scallions and a dash of cheddar on top, we do ranch instead of blue cheese.
Hi Valerie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Today is the second time making this recipe…. Simply delish!!!
Hi Agata! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Alright, eating it right now. Used Kerrygold grassfed Irish butter instead of coconut oil, was too scared that it will come out weird ;) had some expensive bio farm raised chicken breasts, so I used those.
Also had to use Frank’s buffalo instead of original since I found out I run our of it. It’s OK I guess since Frank’s buffalo doest have any added fat in it, just butter flavoring. Cooked for 4h 15min on low.
For the topping I mixed some ranch dip mix with 6% greek yoghurt and chives, also chopped some leftover green chillies. Airfried the potato’s.
10/10 delicious. The cornstarch trick in the slowcooker works amazing. The chicken is so damn tender and delicious. While I don’t usually fall for all this “bio”, “natural” etc overpriced stuff, when it comes to chicken it makes absolutely night and day difference.
Thank you for the recipe, I will definitely make those over and over again.
Hi Pawel! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This was SUPER tasty and fulfilling. I’m not usually a fan of blue cheese but mixing it in the yogurt sauce was just the right amount of tang to balance the spicy chicken and sweet potato. I loved this combination. Thank you!
Hi Miranda! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I made these a couple times, once when my brother came over for dinner and we both loved it! Super easy and flavorful! I go a bit lighter on the cayenne because I don’t do great with super spicy but overall I loved it! Great on dinner rotation!
I was wondering if you have any easy ranch dressing recipes though? I like to switch between the two dressings since I eat them four lights in a row for myself :)
Hi Kathy! So glad you enjoyed it! This is my version of ranch dressing that I have: https://www.wellplated.com/greek-yogurt-ranch-dip/ Hope you enjoy it!
This recipe was AMAZING. Thank you so much for sharing! As a picky eater, it is hard to find healthy recipes I like. This turned out so good. I don’t like blue cheese, so I used feta instead. Can’t wait to make this again!
Hi Erin! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I followed the recipe exactly and I loved it. Delicious recipe that anyone could do. I made this for dinner but it would be perfect for meal pep.
Hi Amanda! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
How much sodium is in this recipe? Franks hot sauce has 190 mg per teaspoon. there are 48 teaspoons in a cup. How can that be healthy for you?
Hi Skip! I stopped including sodium info because it can vary so much depending upon what products you used, and I found a lot of conflicting info online, so ultimately I didn’t feel comfortable publishing it because sometimes it wasn’t even in the ballpark. If you’d like to calculate it yourself, there are lots of free tools online (myfitnesspal.com is popular). I hope that helps!