Are you looking for an easy and delicious way to feed a crowd? Our Crock Pot BBQ Ranch Chicken Legs take minutes to throw together and are always a huge hit with party-goers.
Cris here. When the folks at Hidden Valley Ranch (and Data Rank) contacted me recently about participating in a paid campaign about the upcoming 4th of July holiday and making recipes with their new yummy line of flavored ranch dressings, I immediately knew what I had to make. I am a HUGE fan of the flavors of a great barbecue sauce combined with the cool creamy flavors of a fantastic ranch. It makes everything from sandwiches to salads absolutely ah-mazing.
So, I thought why not combine those flavors and use them on our LEGENDARY chicken legs?
Hidden Valley’s new Sweet Chili Ranch was the perfect base for my BBQ Ranch Sauce for these chicken legs (Psst… Check out this awesome coupon to purchase a bottle!) Sweet Chili Ranch is just one of their new flavors. They also have Avocado Ranch, Garlic Ranch and Cucumber Ranch (regular and light).
So, I headed off to my local Walmart and grabbed a couple bottles of the Sweet Chili Ranch and got down to recipe development.
Once I had my base, I got to work. I knew I wanted my chicken to cook in the slow cooker first with a nice smokey steak (yes- steak 😉 ) seasoning. Meanwhile I mixed together my Hidden Valley Sweet Chili Ranch with my favorite barbecue sauce and placed in the fridge until my chicken was ready. Then I placed all the cooked chicken out on a lined cookie sheet and coated all the legs with the delicious sauce.
The results were fantastic. My daughter was a big fan of the flavor. She kept carrying on that she just loved “that creamy barbecue sauce”.
The great thing about this recipe around the holidays is that you can easily make a double or triple batch and feed A LOT of people very inexpensively…. Just stock up on the napkins ;). Also, the leftovers of this recipe go nicely in everything from salads to quesadillas!
Slow Cooker Recommendations
I piled all 16 legs into my 6 qt non-stick slow cooker. If you want to use a smaller slow cooker, you may need to reduce the number of legs you are cooking. For double and triple recipes, just use multiple slow cookers.
Crock Pot BBQ Ranch Chicken Legs
Ingredients
- 16 Chicken Legs
- 1.5 Tablespoons Steak Seasoning favorite
- 1/4 Cup Hidden Valley Sweet Chili Ranch Dressing
- 1/2 Cup Barbecue Sauce favorite
Instructions
- Place your chicken legs in your 6 qt slow cooker
- Sprinkle liberally with steak seasoning, moving the legs around to get them all fully seasoned.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken legs are tender.
- Meanwhile mix together your Hidden Valley Sweet Chili Ranch Dressing and barbecue sauce and place in the fridge.
- When chicken is ready, remove from slow cooker and place on lined cookie sheet.
- Optional- If a crispier skin is desired, place under the broiler for a few minutes (watch closely) until the skin crisps up.
- Brush your sauce on your cooked chicken until completely covered.
- Transfer to a platter and serve over rice with plenty of napkins!
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Her site Recipes That Crock is dedicated to helping everyone find delicious recipes to serve their families every month.
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Just processed 2 deer. Do you have any venison recipes?
Hi Judi!
We do not have any recipes specifically for venison. However, you could probably substitute venison for many of the beef recipes we have, but they may need to add fat. Also, you will want to keep an eye on cooking times so the meat doesn’t dry out. If you give some recipes a try, let me know how it goes!
Aunt Lou
Hi Cris!
I wrote before saying how much everyone loved this chicken, but now I can’t find the sweet chili ranch dressing anywhere! Is there a hack for this? If I add sweet chili sauce to regular ranch dressing do you think that would work? Thoughts?
Thank you!
Hi Rozanne-
That’s a bummer! I would test a little bit of ranch with a little bit of chili sauce and taste it to see if you could replicate a similar flavor. If that works, then I’d try it with the whole batch. Best of luck!!! Let me know how it goes!
You cook the chicken dry?
Gloria-
Yes! The chicken creates plenty of juices all on its own. Enjoy!
Cris
Can I use regular ranch or would it not go with the steak seosoning
Sure! Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Made them for the 4th, yesterday . Not even one left, everyone wanted the recipe! My kids already want me to make it again. Thanks Cris!
So glad to hear it Roxanne! Thanks so much for your note.
what is steak seasoning ?
Hi Susan-
It is just a mixture of seasonings that you can find in your spice aisle at your grocery store. Enjoy!
Can you do this w/ wing portions (meaning hot wings) size, and if so, how would the time be adjusted?
Hi Keith!
You might use this post as a guide: http://www.recipesthatcrock.com/crock-pot-buffalo-chicken-wings/
Enjoy!
GREAT FOR A BARBQ. LOVE IT FOR THE 4th
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Enjoy!