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25 Crockpot Chicken Recipes for Easy, Delicious Meals or Snacks
October 4, 2016
When busy days call for easy meals, I love turning to the crockpot. While it’s often used as a way to make healthy soups and stews, I love using my crockpot or slow cooker to prepare chicken.
It’s a hearty, delicious protein that’s even better with hands-off cooking time. And there are so many tasty ways to make it! I’ve collected some of my favorite recipes to get you out of any chicken ruts and make dinnertime a breeze.
25 Crockpot Chicken Recipes
1. Balsamic Chicken with Carrots
This chicken looks just as good as it tastes. It gets browned in a skillet or a multicooker to get that lovely color, then cooks alongside your veggies. With a simple balsamic-honey sauce, it’s an easy way to make an impressive dish.
Photo: Slow Cooker Gourmet
Add a little kick to your chicken with this bourbon recipe. While the alcohol will cook off — don’t worry, it’s safe for the kiddos! — it’ll leave behind a deliciously smoky flavor. Use chicken thighs for extra juiciness.
3. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato
Talk about a double whammy. This crockpot chicken recipe combines nutrient-rich sweet potatoes with shredded buffalo chicken. The star of this dish, though, is the dairy-free, paleo-friendly homemade ranch dressing. Don’t skip it!
Photo: The Real Food Dieticians
4. Buffalo Ranch Chicken Tenders
These easy-to-make buffalo ranch chicken tenders are the perfect chicken to add to salads, stuff in a wrap or even nibble on solo. With just four ingredients, there’s no excuse not to make them.
This creative chicken dish combines the protein with green peppers, fresh oranges and a sweet-and-salty dressing. Serve on a bed of greens or sweet potatoes for a deliciously healthy meal.
Using the crockpot to prepare the chicken in these sandwiches is a huge time saver. Towards the end of the cooking, you can whip up the creamy Caesar dressing. Made with Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard and lemon juice, it’s the perfect accompaniment to the shredded chicken. Make a big batch of both and you can prepare sandwiches throughout the week.
Photo: Two Healthy Kitchens
Fajitas are delicious to eat but just a few minutes too long on the stove and they’ll go from sizzling to burning. Avoid that with this crockpot chicken recipe. Made with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and all your favorite Tex-Mex spices, you’ll never believe how easy these are to make. Don’t forget to load ’em up with toppings like benefit-rich avocado and cilantro!
This restaurant-worthy dish is now crockpot ready. Just a few minutes of prep and you’ll be rewarded with a delicious dinner. The ingredients list is ridiculously short, too! Serve with fresh asparagus.
9. Chicken Pho
You can now make this Vietnamese classic in the crockpot and boy, is it worth it. It’s packed with flavor thanks to inflammation-reducing medicinal ginger, star anise and a cinnamon stick. The noodles will cook right in the pot, too. It doesn’t get easier than this.
Photo: Served from Scratch
10. Chicken Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
These cored peppers are stuffed minced chicken, fiber-rich black beans and quinoa, one of my favorite protein sources. They’re hearty and easily customizable with toppings. Your family will love them.
This crockpot chicken soup recipe is kid-approved. It’s super simple to make and is loaded with protein thanks to the variety of beans and chicken. Top this one with sour cream and a few crushed organic tortilla chips for some crunch.
12. Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken
This creamy dish is a bit on the decadent side, but you can’t beat it when you need an impressive meal. The sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil add so much flavor to the sauce. Splash out and serve this one over brown rice penne to soak up all the creamy goodness.
13. Hawaiian Chicken
This crockpot chicken recipe has just three ingredients — really! It’s incredible how juicy and full of flavor chicken cooked with crushed pineapple and barbecue sauce can be! I recommend using my natural sweet and tangy barbecue sauce for this one.
This Indian restaurant classic tastes even better when made at home. It’s got all the classic spices, like turmeric, garam masala and cumin, and gets its creaminess from coconut milk. Serve over brown rice or quinoa for an outstanding meal.
Photo: Noshing with the Nolands
Don’t let the name deter you. Dump chicken is a lifesaver for busy cooks! You add the chicken and all seasonings into a freezer-proof, resealable bag and freeze. When it’s time to make dinner, there’s no thawing required: just dump the chicken in the crockpot and let it work its magic! This classic lemon garlic recipe is the perfect dump chicken starter. It pairs well with your favorite veggies and requires zero effort!
This healthy take on the Chinese takeout staple can’t be missed. Instead of breading and frying the chicken, it gets all its flavor from orange preserves, soy sauce (I suggest you substitute for coconut aminos), garlic and ginger. You’ll feel deliciously decadent without all the naughty ingredients.
17. Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Chili
This chicken chili makes use of jarred roasted red peppers to impart a deliciously fiery flavor. Though you’ll sauté the veggies first, they’ll finish off in the crockpot cooking alongside the chicken. The end result might just be your new favorite chili.
No doubt that rotisserie chicken is great for recipes — it slows down cooking times and makes an excellent way to toss extra protein in sandwiches or salads. But you never really know what’s in those supermarket versions. So why not make your own? This crockpot method is a genius way to always have chicken on hand and have it cook while you’re out of the house. Stick it under the broiler for a few minutes at the end for crispy skin.
Photo: Gimme Some Oven
19. Seasoned Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans
Eliminate the need to make a separate side dish. Instead, this wholesome crockpot chicken recipe cooks right up with the vegetables. With no fancy ingredients necessary, you can assemble this in the morning and have it waiting for dinnertime. Just serve and enjoy!
20. Sesame Chicken
Taste test this sesame chicken recipe with your family — I bet they won’t believe it’s homemade in a crockpot! Honey, soy sauce (again, go with coconut aminos) and chili paste add those distinctive flavors. Topped with scallions and sesame seeds, this is one takeout dish you won’t be ordering anymore!
Chicken wings are fun to eat but a hassle to make. But not anymore! You’ll quickly whip up a sauce made from honey, balsamic vinegar, sugar (you can substitute coconut sugar here) and garlic on the stove, then drizzle it over the wings in the crockpot. Check back in four hours for a delicious game day treat!
22. Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks
These teriyaki drumsticks are always a hit. They’re seasoned with a homemade, preservative-free teriyaki sauce you’ll love feeding your family. Serve with brown rice for Asian-style comfort food at its finest.
Photo: ifoodreal
23. Tikka Masala
This tikka masala recipe is so easy to make, you’ll wish you had the recipe sooner. It combines boneless chicken with Indian spices and coconut milk; the milk will keep the chicken super tender and moist. Finish it off at the end with a creamy, yogurt-based tikka sauce and enjoy.
This peanut chicken is loaded with flavor from ingredients like creamy peanut butter, lime juice and coconut milk. Use all-natural peanut butter with just peanuts in the ingredients list. If PB isn’t your thing, substitute your favorite nut butter. This recipe makes enough sauce to coat the chicken and have some left over for veggies and rice. Yum!
Photo: Averie Cooks
Take your chicken parm to the next level with this veggie-filled version. You’ll add chicken, zucchini and green bell peppers and coat them in tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Add in cheese in the last 30 minutes of cooking and serve over pasta or with a light green salad. It’s similar to a loaded pizza and just as delicious!
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