When it comes to fuss-free dinners, chicken is the ultimate crowd-pleasing ingredient. The versatile, lean meat—whether you're working with boneless breasts, bone-in thighs, or even a straight-from-the-store rotisserie bird—takes to a variety of cuisines, flavors, and cooking techniques. Kids love it, too.
One of our favorite ways to cook chicken is in the slow cooker. This method's a lifesaver for busy weeknights: simply toss your bird in, set it, and forget it until dinnertime. Slow-cooked chicken is incredibly tender, too. For dishes you know you'll want to eat again soon, we recommend doubling up on ingredients and tossing leftovers in the freezer.
Here, we've rounded up some of Real Simple's best, easy-to-make slow cooker chicken recipes your whole family will love. We cover the classics—from Slow-Cooker Chicken with Biscuits to Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pie—plus plenty of fresh takes on delicious dinner ideas, like Chicken Mole Chili and Slow-Cooker Chicken Taco Soup.
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Chicken Taco Soup
This fall-friendly soup tastes delicious with toppings like radishes, cilantro, sour cream, avocado, and fresh corn. For added crunch, throw on some tortilla chips, too.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Garam masala—a mix of spices that includes cumin, cinnamon, coriander, and cayenne—gives this dish its classic Indian flair.
The flavors of irresistible mole snuck their way into this mouthwatering slow-cooker chicken chili recipe. Mole, a rich Mexican sauce usually containing raisins and chocolate, makes everything better. Leftovers love to play with tacos and enchiladas, so this is basically the chili that keeps on giving.
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Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken With Biscuits
Serve this comforting slow-cooked stew with warm biscuits to sop up the luscious sauce.
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Slow-Cooker Shredded Chicken
This simple slow cooker recipe calls for just two ingredients—chicken, obviously, and a jar of salsa verde. The result is a mildly spicy shredded chicken dish that is both versatile and delicious. Once the chicken is done cooking, go ahead and use it as a taco base, serve it with a hearty helping of beans and rice, or add it to a bowl of pasta or soup. Whatever your craving, this shredded chicken will come in handy.
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Slow cooker Chicken Congee
Making this congee recipe in the slow-cooker not only allows for hands-off cooking, it infuses the coconut milk-base with even more flavor. Suggested toppings include cilantro and Sriracha, but almost any savory element tastes great on top—roasted mushrooms, a fried egg, even avocado would all be equally at home here.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken and Pasta Soup
You can cook the pasta directly in the broth in your slow cooker instead of using a separate pot in this standout from our crock pot chicken recipes.
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Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Potpie
Top each bowl with a round of flaky puff pastry to stand in for the crisp, tender crust.
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Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken With Ginger and Yogurt
Simmer the chicken in a mixture of tomato paste, garlic, curry powder, and fresh ginger to add vibrant Indian flavors.
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Slow-Cooker Coq au Vin
If you ever find yourself craving coq au vin on a weeknight, this recipe is for you. Though not traditionally made with help from a slow cooker, using the appliance in this case significantly cuts down on the work you need to do, which is always a plus. After prepping the bacon and chicken, all you need to do is toss those ingredients in with the other components of the meal—think fresh mushrooms, carrots, and a little wine—and let your slow cooker do its thing.
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Slow-Cooker Soy-Braised Chicken
A take on a classic Filipino dish, the chicken gets a big boost from apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Tostadas
Tossing boneless, skinless chicken thighs into the slow cooker makes them ridiculously tender, which in turn transforms them into the perfect tostada filling. In this case, the chicken is cooked with onions, tomatillo salsa, and poblano chiles, which gives it a tangy taste. While the slow cooker is handling the chicken, all you need to do is make a quick pico de gallo and sprinkle some crumbled queso fresco on the finished product. Easy enough!
For a whole chicken – Place it in your slow cooker breast side down. Cover with the lid and cook on High for around 4-5 hours or Low for 6-8 hours. For bone-in pieces - Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in the slow cooker. Cover with the lid and cook on High for around 3-4 hours or Low for 4-6 hours.
Simply add your seasoned chicken to the slow cooker with a bit of chicken broth or water, set it to low heat, and let it cook for about 4-6 hours. Grilling is another tasty option, especially during the summer months.
In addition, chicken breast has less fat and can become dry (chewy or rubbery) if cooked for too long. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.
You're going to compromise the texture of chicken a bit when you cook it for 8 hours in the slowcooker. It's going to be super tender, but not “sliceable”, so use this to your advantage and shred the meat using two forks and toss it with the cooking liquid.
Slow cookers are a great way to cook chicken if you're short on time. You can set them up in the morning and let them cook all day, or even overnight. However, there is a limit to how long you can cook chicken in a slow cooker. After 10 hours, the chicken will start to dry out and become tough.
Two whole roasted chickens take the exact same amount of time in the oven as one whole roasted chicken. Now after testing and reflecting, of course, this makes total sense. Duh! The amount of time a whole chicken takes to roast depends on its weight alone.
We love roasting 2 chickens at once. It takes almost the same amount of time and you can enjoy one for dinner tonight and use the second for meal prepping the next few days.
Step 4: Roast the first chicken and get 5 meals out of it.
Meal 5: Eat the roasted chicken with several side dishes as your meal for the night, but be sure that there is plenty of meat left to use for other meals. Meals 6-8: After you eat, shred and/or cube the rest of the chicken that you can take off the carcass.
Water or liquid is necessary to create steam. When cooking meat or poultry, the water or liquid level should cover the ingredients to ensure effective heat transfer throughout the crock. Some manufacturers of slow cookers recommend adding liquid to fill the stoneware 1/2 to 3/4 full.
I would start on high and switch to low after 1/2 hours. Long and slow produces a more tender finished product. You want to bring your crockpot up to temp quickly even when you are going to cook at low.
Overcooking might play a role in your chicken's tire-like texture. Leaving chicken in a pan, oven, or grill for just a little too long can suck the moisture right out and leave you with a dry, rubbery bird. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.
To prevent poultry from drying out, use chicken thighs—they have more fat and won't dry out as quickly, says Finlayson. Cook thighs for about 6 hours and breasts for a maximum of 5 hours on low heat.
You do not need to brown meat before you place it into the slow cooker. By browning meat, you will cause the meat to intensify the flavor. That will make the meat taste so much better.
Sprinkle the chicken breasts with plenty of salt and pepper. Cover your crock pot and cook chicken breasts on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Chicken is done when the internal temp reaches 165 degrees F. Use chicken in your favorite recipes.
It depends on the make and model of your slow cooker, or crockpot. Read directions, some can be left on warm up to 24 hrs. THE CHICKEN RECIPE WILL TELL YOU TOO. Most are slow cooked for 8–12 hrs, then warmed up to 4 hrs.
Most slow cooker meals take 8-12 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high, but there are also recipes for slow-cooked meat that take up to 24 hours. If you want to avoid overcooking your dish, follow the given guidelines as closely as possible.
Yes, you can use your slow cooker for longer than eight hours, as long as you keep an eye on it. Many slow cookers do have an automatic shutoff after 24 hours.
The truth is, yes, leaving the slow cooker on and going about your day is safe, as long as you are using the appliance properly. Here are some helpful safety tips.
Introduction: My name is Tish Haag, I am a excited, delightful, curious, beautiful, agreeable, enchanting, fancy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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