This Crockpot Pulled Ranch Chicken is a family favorite! With only a couple of ingredients and a slow cooker this meal is not only incredibly easy to make, but also super flavor packed and delicious. The shredded chicken is tender and perfectly seasoned with ranch flavor. The ranch chicken is great alone, but also perfect to make a whole list of meals, like salads, sandwiches, wraps, potatoes, tacos, and more. Not only is this crockpot chicken delicious, but it also feeds a crowd, and can be made gluten free, dairy free, and low carb so it fits a variety of dietary needs.
Pulled Ranch Chicken Recipe
We do a lot of ranch around here! It is a classic flavor when you grow up in the south. And the great thing is, it goes well with almost anything and also can be made into almost an endless number of dishes so that you can please just about everyone in the family! The pulled ranch chicken is tender, flavorful and delicious so it is a great start to so many wholesome meals!
I love to whip up this crowd pleaser, especially in the summer. You can put it in the crock pot so you don’t have to worry about heating up the house. I have even been known to leave the slow cooker cooking away on the porch when it is really hot outside ha!
The other reason I think it makes a great summer meal is because, like many of my recipes, you can make up a big batch and then use it for meals throughout the week for lunch and dinner. So whether you are on the go, or just need something easy to fix after a long summer day, this pulled ranch chicken makes it so easy!
You can see more of my shredded chicken ideas here and my baked chicken ideas here!
How to serve Pulled Ranch Chicken
Once you have a big pot of this chicken ready to go, there are lots of great ways to serve it up. You can go either with more traditional sides, or there are also a lot of great gluten free and low carb options as well.
Traditional serving ideas
- Ranch Smashed Potatoes
- Garlic Bread
- Rice, quinoa or other grains – one of my favorite ways to make this is to serve on a bed of rice or quinoa, mix in a few handfuls of veggies like chopped sweet peppers and then drizzle with homemade ranch dressing.
- Baked potatoes
Gluten Free or Low Carb Serving Options
- Side salad – Made with my favorite Homemade Ranch or Italian dressing of course!
- Sautéed Spinach
- Roasted Vegetables
- Cauliflower rice
- Spaghetti squash or zoodles
You can pair it with one of these or put a few options from either list together to make a wonderful well-rounded meal. Let me know in the comments if you have any serving ideas that you love that I missed. I would love to give it a try next time I make it.
How to Make Crockpot Pulled Ranch Chicken
This recipe is super simple as promised! I will share a couple of tips here I use to get the best result making the chicken, but make sure and get the full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
What Kind of Ranch Should I use?
You can use either the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing dry mix that you buy at the store, OR my homemade ranch mix in this recipe. If you are gluten or dairy free you will want to use the homemade version. If you love this stuff as much as me you can find a Big Batch Ranch Mix recipe here!
How Long do I Cook Chicken in the Crock Pot?
While the beauty of a slow cooker is that you can leave things cooking in it for almost as long as you want and they don’t burn, they will over cook. I recommend cooking the chicken on high for about 2.5-3 hours. If you cook it much longer than that, the texture of the chicken will start to change. If you ever felt like your chicken is dry or tough even though it falls apart, it is probably a result of over cooking.
How do I shred the pulled ranch chicken?
After cooking the chicken should be very tender and you should be able to easily shred it with a fork. You can also use a mixer if you prefer.
Can I make the chicken creamy?
To make this dish more creamy, you can drizzle in ranch dressing after it is shredded or you can make this recipe for my Crockpot Creamy Ranch Chicken instead!
How do I store leftover pulled ranch chicken?
Leftover pulled ranch chicken can be placed in zip top bags or air tight containers and stored for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or up to a month in the freezer.
What to Make with Crock Pot Ranch Chicken
This pulled chicken can be served with just a couple of sides as is and it makes a delicious and wholesome meal. But if you want to get creative, you can use the same shredded chicken to put together so many meals. As I mentioned (just a few times) above, you can make almost anything with this ranch chicken. I have made a number of things but here are a few of our favorites:
- Ranch Chicken Burrito Bowls– Take all of the fixings you love to stuff in a burrito and eat it bowl style. This works especially well if you have a crowd because you can set it up buffet style and let everyone make their own. This is also a great option for special dietary needs since it is so customizable.
- Ranch Chicken Stuffed Peppers– Mix the shredded chicken with some rice, corn, black beans, and additional ranch dressing and stuff it in sweet bell peppers. Cover the top with cheese and bake them covered until they are tender.
- Ranch Chicken Pitas– Grab some pita bread and stuff them with this chicken, lettuce tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and drizzle with ranch
- Bacon Ranch Stuffed Baked Potatoes– Top off a tender baked potato with crockpot ranch chicken, cheddar cheese, crumbled crispy bacon and sour cream. Add some broccoli too if you want to add some extra veggies!
- Ranch Chicken Chopped Salad– Load up some salad greens with pulled ranch chicken, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet bell pepper, cheese, and drizzle with some more ranch dressing.
- Ranch Chicken Tacos– Make taco night a little more fun by using this pulled ranch chicken in place of your normal taco meat.
This should get you started with some really great ideas! And if you need some ranch dressing to drizzle over the top of these dishes, my homemade ranch is easy to make and killer! Also I have a dairy free ranch too.
This recipe is such a summer favorite for our family. I almost always either am making it or have a batch ready to go in the fridge or freezer. I really hope that your family loves it as much as ours does!
If you do get a chance to try it, I would love it if you let me know! You can leave me a comment below, or if you post a picture on Instagram, make sure to tag me @easyfamilyrecipes so that I can see what you are cooking up! It makes my day to see others enjoying the recipes that I share!
Oh and before you go!… If you need a regular rotation of recipe inspiration like me, make sure to sign up to get our emails! I send out my new favorites, the recipes my family has been devouring, and some of the best tried and true recipes. It is easy and free of course! You can click here to sign up!
Hungry for more family-friendly recipes? Sign up for my free recipe club to get new family-friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing daily meal-time inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
CrockPot Pulled Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast
- 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning or two tbsp homemade ranch seasoning, 1/2 tsp reserved
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Pour the chicken broth into the crock pot. Lay the chicken breast on top, then top with the ranch seasoning. Cover and cook on high for 2.5 hours.
- At the end of the cook time, remove the chicken and shred it. Drain the broth, reserving 1/4 cup of the broth.
- Place the shredded chicken, the reserved ranch seasoning and broth back into the crock pot and stir until everything is evenly combined.
Recipe Notes:
- This recipe can be doubled. Cooking time may increase.
- To store leftovers, put in an airtight container and :
- Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days
- Freeze for up to a month
- Dietary Considerations:
- If you are gluten free or dairy free, use homemade ranch seasoning and ensure the chicken broth you choose is gluten free.
- This is a naturally low carb meal.
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Karen Johns says
What would be your suggestion for preparing this in the Instant Pot?