As football season comes to a close, it culminates with a finger food frenzy that brings friends and family together whether or not you’re into the Big Game!
That’s why I affectionately refer to this annual celebration as “Supper” Bowl Sunday! Because let’s face it – most of us are gathering together for the food!
Thankfully, for those of us doing the Whole30 (or living a whole food GF lifestyle), there’s no need to miss out on popular Game Day fare!
These Buffalo Chicken Sliders are AMAZING! We start with moist, slow-cooked chicken smothered in a slightly spicy, flavorful sauce and pile it onto tasty Roasted Sweet Potato Buns. Then, top it off with a crunchy celery slaw with creamy ranch dressing. Game over! These sliders are the winner!
Extra point! … These sliders are super easy to make! Just follow the recipe below to create a simple veggie base and add the chicken. Season with my special blend of seasonings and top with your favorite Whole30-compliant hot sauce (we like Frank’s Original Hot Sauce
As you can see, it takes just minutes to pop the ingredients into your slow cooker and let it do all of the work while you prep the rest of your Supper Bowl Party fare.
Speaking of which, I definitely suggest serving these tasty sliders with a side of my Secret Ingredient Guacamole and crunchy plantain chips
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup hot sauce, divided (I use Frank’s Original)
- 2 Tbsp ghee, melted
- Sweet potato buns
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 1/2 cups sliced celery
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 Tbsp almond milk
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and sea salt
- Pinch of dill and thyme
Instructions
- For the sliders: Peel and slice the onion. Cut the carrots and celery into 2-inch pieces. Evenly distribute veggies along bottom of slow cooker.
- Place the chicken thighs on top of the veggie base. In a small bowl, combine onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, parsley and sea salt. Sprinkle evenly over top of chicken.
- Spoon 1/2 cup of hot sauce over the chicken. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours, until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Transfer cooked chicken to a large cutting board and shred using two forks. Pour liquids through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard solids.
- Add melted ghee and remaining 1/2 cup of hot sauce to the cooking liquids. Whisk well to combine.
- Place shredded chicken back into the slow cooker. Pour hot sauce mixture over chicken and stir well to combine.
- Cover and set heat to warm. Allow chicken to heat for 30 minutes more; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on sweet potato buns for a tasty grain-free, Whole30 meal, or your favorite rolls.
- For the slaw: In a large bowl, add the shredded cabbage and sliced celery. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, milk, vinegar and seasonings. Pour the ranch dressing mixture over the slaw and toss well to combine. Serve as a side dish, or use to create a delicious crunchy filling for the sliders. Yum!
Notes
Recipe Variation: If you're not doing the Whole30 or living dairy-free, toss 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese into the celery slaw for an authentic Buffalo Chicken and blue cheese experience!
I find it difficult to enjoy very “hot” foods, like buffalo wings, etc. Do you think this would still be tasty without the hot sauce? If so, do you have a suggestion about what I could substitute?
Hi, Karen. I know spicy is a relative term because it means something different based on each person’s spicy thresh-hold. I am not a fan of super spicy burn my mouth and leave a lingering fire in there feeling. To me, these are just the right amount of heat, especially with the cool crunch of the slaw. However, if you really don’t care for any heat or the flavor of pepper sauce, then I’d recommend replacing the hot sauce in the recipe with your favorite BBQ sauce. You can follow this recipe to a tee and just sub the BBQ sauce for the hot sauce and you’ll end up with a delicious pulled BBQ chicken. 🙂 Enjoy!
Thanks, Kelly! I will try the barbecue sauce. I plan to make these for the Super Bowl game this Sunday!
You are so welcome! Hope your supper bowl party was delicious and fun! 🙂
I am looking forward to making. Also love the idea of the BBQ sauce!! Thank you Kelly and Karen for asking!
You are so welcome, sweet friend! xoxo
How do you make the sweet potato bun?
Hi, Jennifer. If you click on the blue text in the recipe that mentions sweet potato bun, that’s actually a hyperlink to the recipe on my site. So anytime you see blue text, that means it’s a link. But here is the link so you can go right to the recipe without having to go back through this post: http://thenourishinghome.com/2016/02/how-to-make-sweet-potato-buns/ Hope this helps! With blessings, Kelly
I really enjoyed this! I found that it was not spicy like I expected! The slaw was delicious paired with it. I was hesitant to try this, but glad I was brave. Ha! Thanks for another great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Marie. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a kind note! I agree that it isn’t super spicy. I’m not a fan of hot-n-spicy. I like just a hint of heat. 🙂 Blessings, Kelly