Slow-Cooker Chicken Recipes for Busy Weeknights

August 20, 2019
Lee Harrelson
If you're looking for delicious and easy Crockpot chicken recipes, you're in luck! We've got plenty of those. From our basic and super simple Slow-Cooked Whole Chicken to slightly more involved dinners like Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa Stew, there's a recipe here for everyone. 
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Easy Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

Photo: MtHoodMomma
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings Recipe

Just because you’re going on a trip doesn’t mean you have to give up home cooking. This slow cooker chicken and dumplings recipe is perfect for trips—all you need is a crock pot and somewhere to put it. It’s simple, but easy to modify, so you’re free to add or remove ingredients to suit your tastes

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Slow Cooker Chicken, Bacon, and Potato Soup

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Slow Cooker Chicken, Bacon, and Potato Soup Recipe

This chicken potato soup is perfect for ushering in fall: It's hearty enough for the beginning of soup season, yet brothy and veggie-packed so it doesn't feel too heavy. This recipe is ideal for a weekend, when you can check on the slow cooker after just a few hours. Although you can’t leave it unattended all day, this chicken potato soup still offers the benefit of hands-free, fuss-free cooking. Baby red, Yukon Gold, or fingerling potatoes will all work well here, as they'll maintain their shape nicely during cooking. Pair this easy chicken and potato soup with a slaw or kale side salad and crusty whole-grain bread for a healthy, satisfying dinner.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Stew with Pumpkin and Wild Rice

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox
Slow-Cooker Chicken Stew with Pumpkin and Wild Rice Recipe

This savory fall stew is filled with tender cubes of pumpkin, shredded chicken, and nutty wild rice in a creamy sauce. When choosing a pumpkin, look for a sugar or cheese pumpkin. Field pumpkins, which are larger in size, have watery, stringy flesh and are best used for decoration. Or substitute a butternut squash.

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Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Jennifer Causey
Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken and Black Bean Soup Recipe

This filling and flavorful soup is ideal for a chilly evening. Freeze leftover chipotle chiles and adobe sauce in a flattened Ziploc bag for future use. Want to make it in your Instant Pot? Click here for the recipe. 

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Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa Stew

Jennifer Causey
Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa Stew Recipe

Look for bags of cubed butternut squash in the produce section to save you the trouble of peeling and dicing a whole squash. Find Castelvetrano olives either jarred in the olive and pickle section or fresh at most specialty market antipasti bars. If you can’t find them, use any green olive you like. Want to make it in your Instant Pot? Get the recipe here.

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Slow Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

Caitlin Bensel
Slow Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Chicken Recipe

This may be our easiest slow cooker recipe yet. There’s no browning in the skillet, no last-minute stovetop sauce—all the magic happens right in the slow cooker. Craving crunch? Serve it as a wrap in the cabbage of your choice.

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Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Corn Slow-Cooker Chowder

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall
Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Corn Slow-Cooker Chowder Recipe

Great for a game-day get-together, this hearty and creamy soup feeds a crowd with little hands-on time required.

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Simple Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

Time Inc. Video Studio
Simple Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Recipe

This simple whole chicken recipe is great served as is with crusty bread or over rice, but it’s also a great way to cook chicken ahead of time to use in a variety of dishes, such as chicken salad, soups, and casseroles.

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Slow-Cooker Barbecue Chicken

Photo: Kate Mathis; Styling: Paul Grimes
Slow-Cooker Barbecue Chicken Recipe

Does it get much easier than this summer crockpot recipe? Slow-cook chicken breasts in a mixture of bottled barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce for a tender, sweet, and tangy barbecue chicken that’s great on a bun or even over a baked potato. This is a stress-free and tasty meal of which the whole family will want seconds. 

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Slow Cooker Chicken Posole

Photo: Jennifer Causey
Slow Cooker Chicken Posole Recipe

Think of posole as chili's brothier, lighter cousin, a Mexican version of chicken soup. Posole is also a name for the hominy, or rehydrated dried corn, that goes in the dish.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Congee

Photo: Jennifer Causey
Slow Cooker Chicken Congee Recipe

The slow cooker does all the work in this comforting rice porridge, breaking down the rice with fragrant ginger and star anise and poaching the chicken until silky. A bit of chili oil is the vibrant kick this dish needs. You can also use Sriracha or a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Cilantro or baby spinach leaves can work in place of the watercress.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Photo: Jennifer Causey
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

While the chicken becomes fall-apart tender, briny capers, crushed red pepper, and garlic infuse the tomatoes for a robust marinara sauce.

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Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken

Photo: Ryan Benyi; Styling: Gerri Williams for James Reps    
Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken Recipe
Lacey Houseman, 29, Thomaston, Georgia says, "I like to toss this together before I leave the house, and a few hours later, dinner is ready."

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Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Photo: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe
This slow-cooker chicken chili is a great addition to your cool weather weeknight meal rotation. Calling for a mixture of beans and hominy, this recipe boasts bold, rich flavor, something that can often be dulled in a slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Photo: Jennifer Causey Styling: Lindsey Lower
Slow Cooker Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic Recipe

White meat can dry out after a long haul in the slow cooker, so we opt for bone-in thighs to guarantee optimal flavor and succulence. Make prep easier with prepeeled garlic, and pretty-up the platter with lemon slices and thyme sprigs.

 

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

We love the heat level in this slow cooker take on tikka masala to fend off winter chill. If the spice kick is too much for your family, you can cut the red pepper down by half without losing any of the dynamic flavor layers.

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Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili

Lee Harrelson
Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili Recipe

Throw this into the slow cooker in the morning before you head off to work, and all day you'll be able to enjoy the satisfaction of knowing exactly what you're going to have for dinner. Using chicken rather than beef in this recipe makes it lower fat than your standard chili. Feel free to amp up the cayenne pepper if you really like the heat.

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