Nashville Style Shredded Hot Chicken (Slow Cooker)

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This Nashville-inspired slow cooker hot chicken delivers bold spice and real flavor in an easy, unfried take on a Southern favorite– perfect for slider rolls, salads, or straight from the bowl.

Now that our kids are older, we’ve been all over the world with and without them, but Nashville itself was a bit of a whim. When they were that little, we needed a short flight, decent weather for the time of year we could accommodate, great food, and a city vibe that absolutely lives up to the hype.

Nashville seemed like a good fit, and once we arrived, we knew we’d chosen right.

We started asking locals where to eat, and one thing became very clear: hot chicken is serious business.

After plenty of debate (Prince’s vs Hattie B’s), we followed the locals to Prince’s, where hot chicken is traditionally served fried, dry rubbed, piled onto white bread, and topped with pickles. It was spicy, flavorful, messy, and completely and 1000% worth the hype. I went back a few years later on a girls’ trip and it was, once again, the solid choice for authentic Nashville dining.

This slow cooker version boasts familiar flavors, less fuss, and still (very) spicy.

Chicken thighs or breasts (or really, any part you prefer to work with) cook slowly in a mixture of brown sugar, cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic, butter or oil, and chicken broth. The result is heat that actually tastes like something– balanced and enjoyable flavor and not just “how much can my mouth tolerate?”

Because spicy without flavor is just rude.

Where you’re going to find the most heat is int he cayenne pepper. While we typically use all 2 Tablespoons as suggested on the higher end of the amount listed in the recipe card, I tend to go for a touch less, using 1 and ½ Tablespoons if we’re expecting to share with guests.

The good news is you can always start with the lower amount and then decide after cooking if you’d like it a little hotter. 

Regardless, the cook time is short for a typical slow cooker recipe:
High: 1½ to 2 hours
Low: 3 to 3½ hours

Once fully cooked and tender, shred it and serve it however you like.

• Piled onto a sandwich (don’t forget to make your own slider rolls!)
• On top of a salad
• Stuffed into wraps
• Loaded onto nachos
• Or eaten straight from the crockpot (no judgment)

It’s not buffalo chicken— it has its own thing going on– but if you like spicy food with actual flavor, this one belongs in your regular rotation.

This recipe came out of a trip we remember fondly and a dish we have absolutely enjoyed many times over the years since, both in our kitchen and, hopefully, back in Nashville again someday.

Either that, or I’m going to need someone to overnight Prince’s hot chicken about 700 miles north. Feels reasonable.

Fried chicken more your style? Make this buttermilk chicken with these spices and slap it on some white bread with a pickle.