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.
How to Buy the Best Chicken Possible, Despite All the Confusing Packaging Claims
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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.
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!
Yes, you can put raw chicken in a slow cooker! Slow cookers and Crock-Pots are designed to cook raw meats. The direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking time and steam created from the tightly covered container destroys bacteria, making slow cooking safe. You can put frozen chicken in a slow cooker, too!
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.
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.
Today's programmable slow cookers often come with the ability to cook food for up to 24 hours, as well as automatic warming settings that can stay on for just as long.
Cover and cook. Place the cover on the slow cooker and turn it on to high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. You do not need to add any liquid. Chickens today typically have some solution added, so they rarely need added liquid.
Aside from accidentally overcooking the meals, the most common reason we see for tough, rubbery, or overdone chicken is customers using a Crockpot that is far too big.
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.
Sauté chicken breast 12 to 15 minutes (6 to 8 minutes for flattened chicken or tenders) and 14 to 18 minutes for chicken thighs. Learn how to sauté chicken like a pro with tips from our Test Kitchen. Boil (poach) boneless chicken breast halves 12 to 15 minutes (bone-in chicken breast should cook for about 30 minutes).
Always cook your boneless skinless chicken breasts on LOW for the best results. I do not recommend cooking boneless chicken breast on HIGH, as it will become very dry and tough, even if you check it early. On high, the chicken turns out drier; I consistently have the best results with low.
Is it better to cook chicken slowly? Chicken is a very versatile and lean meat with little fat or sinew, so it doesn't need long cooking for it to become tender. Both quick high heat methods such as frying, and low, slow cooking are suitable.
Using a nice, long, low-and-slow cook time helps chicken breasts retain plenty of moisture - but you can certainly opt to add a splash of water or chicken stock to the crockpot if you like!
The only difference between the HIGH and LOW setting on a slow cooker is the amount of time it takes to reach the simmer point, or temperature at which the contents of the appliance are being cooked at. The LOW setting takes longer than the HIGH setting.
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.
It is not recommended to keep food warm in a slow cooker overnight, even if you turn it off, for several reasons: Bacterial Growth: Bacteria multiply rapidly at temperatures between 40°F (4.4°C) and 140°F (60°C).
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. Perfect for shredding!
Chicken breast fillets can be placed directly into the slow cooker, but to create richer, deeper flavours and better visual appeal, first sear the chicken breast in a hot pan over medium-high heat on each side for 1-2 minutes.
If you simply pop some raw meat in your slow cooker, it won't have a chance to brown, which adds some much-needed flavor and cuts down on plenty of unappealing grease. Instead, you're better served by browning raw meat in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker with your other ingredients.
Totally up to you. While chicken is meant to be slow cooked from raw, many do like to just brown or sear it first. This can help to lock in moisture, speed up cooking time or simply to improve visual appearance of the finished dish. Keep in mind that chicken will release a lot of liquid during cooking.
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