Behind every savvy home-cook is a crockpot. Crockpots are invaluable tools of the kitchen for a few reasons, but the biggest one is ease. Their ability to be left unattended, safely, means you can let your crockpot focus on the cooking while you seek to do whatever it is that you like to do.

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Another attribute of the slow-cooking crockpot is they are great at tenderizing all cuts of meat, tough and otherwise. Promoting healthy cooking, bringing out natural flavors, being easy to clean and cheap to run are more reasons why crockpots are a must-have for every home cook of today.

One meat that is versatile beyond belief and can produce endless recipes in the crockpot is chicken. Slow-cooking is not just one of the healthiest ways to eat chicken, but it is also one of the tastiest.

In this article, we are going to highlight just how perfect chicken and crock pots are together by putting forward 30 of the best crockpot chicken recipes for your perusing and soon to be eating pleasure.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken And Rice

10 minutes to prepare and six hours to cook, this buffalo chicken and rice, from start to finish, is an essential crockpot recipe. Although it calls for chicken breast, by all means, swap out the breast for bone-in thighs or wings, and this recipe will deliver.

If you like your chicken especially spicy, up the buffalo hot sauce from a half to a full cup, and strap yourself in for some seriously scorched chicken.

Crockpot Tuscan Chicken

Take a trip to Tuscany with this Italian-inspired recipe that is both naughty and nice. Cream, parmesan cheese, and butter all feature in this proper winter-warmer recipe.

With garlic, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and Italian herbs and spices, this recipe is as delicious as it is decadent – the tastes of Tuscany could be all yours tonight!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Recipes don’t come any easier than this slow-cooked salsa chicken. Using a total of four ingredients, you will be sampling the flavors of Mexico in just over three hours of cook time.

All you got to do is source 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, taco seasoning, chunky red salsa, and a couple of limes to serve. Perfect as a taco filling or over a bed of rice, this shredded salsa chicken demands very little and offers a lot.

Crockpot Chicken Drumsticks

There’s something about picking up a piece of chicken that seems to fit so naturally into the ethos of game-day. Ensuring you don’t miss a second of the action, these spicy chicken drumsticks can be munched on while your attention never wains from the game.

Sauces like sriracha, sweet Thai chili, and soy are generously included alongside fresh ginger, lime juice, brown sugar, and garlic to offer a kick, punch, slap, and smack.

Get the drumsticks under the broiler for 3-5 minutes after slow-cooking to give them a perfect marriage of tender meat, and crispy skin.

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Hands down one of the most comforting meals of all time, when it comes to needing a spot of health, chicken noodle soup is in a league of its own. Hearty yet healthy, chicken noodle soup is loaded with the good stuff that our bodies crave.

Protein, carbs, and fiber make it an ideal meal for when the family is feeling a little under the weather. Fresh thyme and rosemary really help to bring this mighty soup to life and make it as flavorsome as it is healthy.

Crockpot Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken

Looking for a tropical crockpot to keep the winter blues at bay, and suit hot summer nights just the same? Then you’ve come to the right place as this Hawaiian pineapple chicken is super easy to make and leaves a lasting impression of “aloha” vibes.

The sauce is a seductive mixture of pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, brown sugar, and honey to offer a balance of sweet and savory tropical flavors.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Shredded BBQ chicken is the filling that every burger bun craves. In the sandwich and burger world, it seriously doesn’t get any better than slow-cooked, shredded, sticky BBQ’d chicken, and this recipe offers it to you on a platter, with ease.

What we mean by that is, it’s easy to follow, easy to prepare, and allows you the chance to work up an appetite well before it’s officially burger time.

Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken

Using ingredients, that, for the most part, are commonplace in the kitchen, this Thai peanut chicken is a super easy one to put together. The beauty of this recipe that takes you to the exotic, is that it doesn’t call for any spice.

While this may sound like a crime against Thai cuisine to the spice addicts out there, it does make it an ideal meal for the kids to enjoy.

With shredded zucchini in the mix, you can even be able to sneak some fibrous goodness into the fussier kids too.

Slow-Cooker Paella

Paella shouldn’t be set aside for enjoying Mexican and Mediterranean holidays, it should be celebrated at every possible chance. This slow-cooker paella recipe allows you to bring the freshness of Spanish cuisine into your home and life, in a super easy style.

With chicken, shrimp, and chorizo, this is a meaty meal that’s stacked with many amazing flavors. Let the meat stew in the spiced white wine broth for a minimum of two hours to really bring out the best of this classic Spanish dish.

Crock-Pot Whole Chicken

Have you always wanted to replicate the real-deal rotisserie chicken, but never had the means to do so? This crockpot whole chicken recipe is purposed with bringing the rotisserie chicken into the home of whoever dares to cook it.

All you need is a few standard spices, a crockpot, and a little time. And when we say a little time, we really mean it, as this recipe requires just 10 minutes of prep time. Whack the whole chicken under the broiler for a few minutes after cooking to really set the crispy rotisserie chicken scene.

4-Ingredient Slow-Cooker Cola Chicken

We’d be ready to argue that the best crockpot recipes are the ones that require as few ingredients as possible. Because, and while making fancy food is fine, crockpot dinners are adored for their ease above all else.

This cola chicken recipe uses a total of just four ingredients and is great for getting the kids excited about dinnertime.

1 cup of cola and the same of ketchup form the basis of the sauce, which is a sneaky cheat sheet for what is essentially delicious home-cooked food.

Crock-Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

There’s a reason why Tex-Mex cuisine is adored across America and that is because it captures the flavor of Mexico but brings an added level of comfort-focused cooking.

This crockpot chicken enchilada soup uses cheddar cheese and heavy cream alongside a bunch of canned beans and veg to offer a satisfying soup that no one could turn down.

There are ways to jazz the recipe up like making the sauce from scratch, but with a prep time of 15 minutes, this chicken enchilada soup, as is, is hard to argue with.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tagine With Apricots And Chickpeas

When you see a crockpot recipe that takes on the flavors of the iconic North African tagine, then the need to keep scrolling quickly diminishes. The conical clay cookware “tagine” is the original slow-cooker.

And this recipe pays homage to the late 8th-century creation but makes it accessible for every home cook with a crockpot in the cupboard.

Brought on by the apricot, honey, and spices, this sweet and savory recipe will produce the most tender and delectable chicken you ever did try.

Greek Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken And Potatoes

This is a healthy chicken and potato recipe with its roots firmly in the Greek style of cooking. Brought on by the lemon juice and zest, the dish has an undeniable freshness that won’t weigh you down.

Cooked in a dry herb mix of oregano, basil, and rosemary, and with a good helping of olive oil and chicken broth, the bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs will be flavor-filled and tender.

Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken With Spinach

Like most great crockpot recipes, this honey mustard chicken takes a mere 15 minutes to prepare, and six hours to cook. Serving four people and coming in at just 293 calories per serving this recipe thankfully skips on the cream for a lighter touch to mealtime.

Perfect for fitting into a health kick, mid-week, it packs the flavor, without packing on the pounds. Add some fresh spinach and toasted almond slices just before serving to give color and crunch to this sweet and tangy chicken dish.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Seeing as we’ve already taken you on a crock pot culinary voyage to far-flung places like the Mediterranean and North Africa, we thought it would only be fair to offer you a tasty Indian treat too.

This slow-cooker chicken tikka masala recipe uses a bunch of spices like cayenne pepper, paprika, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and coriander to give it an authentic taste of the spicy Delhi streets.

Crockpot Chicken Meatballs With Asiago Cream Gravy

While this crockpot recipe may not score highly on the health scale, where taste is concerned, it has no rivals. With D.O.P (Protected Designation of Origin) status, the Italian cow’s cheese “Asiago” can only be produced in specific regions of Northern Italy.

Authentic Asiago, is, therefore, a prized cheese with a distinct flavor that will elevate these chicken meatballs to newfound levels of perfect pungency. Take a trip on the Asiago gravy train and give this recipe a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Crockpot Chicken And Dumplings

Taking a trick out of grandma’s recipe book, this chicken and dumpling recipe is a warming one that comes from the heart.

It leads you through how to prepare the crockpot chicken, with the secret ingredient of a whole cream of mushroom can slipped in there for good measure. Once the chicken and bits are in the crockpot, you’ll have ample time to make your dumplings, ready to be plopped in, 30 minutes before serving.

Slow-Cooker Corn Chowder

Ok, this corn chowder may not be one of the recipes that use just a handful of ingredients, but don’t count it out just yet. Stocked, locked, and loaded with chicken, bacon, potatoes, and corn, this is a hearty chowder to set your week straight.

With a good helping of cheddar and cream in tow, it may be an idea to skip the calorie counting on this one, and just appreciate it for what it is. That being – delicious comfort food.

Slow-Cooker General Tso’s Chicken

Having 3-4 hours to soak in the sticky, sweetness brought on by the hoisin, and soy sauce marinade, this chicken won’t hang about long.

The sesame oil and crushed red peppers add an eager intensity to the dish which is softened by a 1/2 cup of brown sugar. There are also many other Asian-inspired flavors like ginger and garlic that ensure General Tso’s chicken to be your family’s new winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Slow-Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

Comfort food doesn’t come much more All-American than the classic chicken pot pie. From north to south, east to west, chicken pot pie holds a near and dear place in the hearts of many Americans. This recipe, which is made entirely from scratch, bar the biscuits, is simple to make and quick to devour.

Stacked with hearty vegetables and boneless chicken thighs, this herb-heavy creamy dish is a filling meal, to say the least. With six individual pie crusts, it’s also a very fitting meal to feed the whole family and feed them well at that.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Yes, chicken meatballs may have already had a feature in this list, but these parmesan-style meatballs are way too good to leave out. Rich tomato sauce, cheese, and herbs are all present in heavy amounts, and that is totally fine with us.

The beauty of this crockpot recipe is that you’re getting chicken parmesan while skipping on the breading and frying, which is something worth celebrating.

Crock-Pot Butter Chicken

There’s a reason why you can order butter chicken in every Indian restaurant across America and beyond, and that reason is people-pleasing. Mildly spiced, and heavy on the cream, butter chicken is a curry of the people.

This crockpot butter chicken can be put together in a mere 15 minutes, and 7 hours later, will come out tasting heavenly, with chicken tenderized beyond belief.

Slow-Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken

Load up your tacos, Throw it over rice, serve it with roasted veggies – you can do no wrong with this salsa verde chicken.

Sure it may not be a “from scratch” recipe, calling on a bottle of salsa verde to mix through the chicken, green chilis, spices, and Anaheim peppers, but is that really such a crime?

Also showing you how to make some pretty killer Tex-Mex tacos, with ingredients like Monterey Jack cheese, avocado, and sour cream, this recipe isn’t trying to be anything that it’s not, it’s just delicious.

Crockpot White Chicken Chili

Keeping on the Tex-Mex theme, we have a delicious and surprisingly healthy white chicken chili. White chili is essentially a milder version of the classic chili con carne that uses fiery red chilis to bring the heat.

We enjoyed this recipe for its use of white beans, jalapeños, and green chilis, which blend with the lean chicken breast effortlessly well.

Mashing the beans a little gives the dish a real-deal stew feel, and helps to set this white chicken chili recipe apart.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

“Cacciatore” means hunter in Italian, which instructs that this classic Italian dish started off from very humble beginnings. And while rabbit and other wild game used to be the norm for cacciatore, these days, it’s all about chicken.

This crockpot recipe serves six, takes ten minutes to prepare, and with the addition of baby Bella mushrooms, capers, and bell peppers, it is a robust meal to feed the masses.

Slow-Cooker Mississippi Chicken

If you’re a sucker for a Mississippi Pot Roast, then you will be well looked after with this Mississippi chicken. The key to this recipe is using boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.

This simple swap means you won’t need to add any butter into the crockpot, the chicken thighs work just fine without it. Deli-sliced pepperoncini, pepperoncini juice, and a ranch seasoning mix make up the rest of this recipe’s ingredient list, which is a classic case of “less is more”.

For the most tender results, be sure to cook the chicken on low, in the crockpot, for seven hours, and serve over fluffy white rice or baked potatoes, Mississippi style.

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

This crockpot sesame chicken is a healthy take on the popular American-Chinese sesame chicken.

By doing away with the need for breading and deep-frying the chicken, this recipe skips the grease and puts more worth in gaining flavor through ingredients.

The thick and sticky homemade sauce that is all parts sweet, sour and spice, is this dish’s biggest drawcard and is likely to keep the family quiet come mealtime.

Crockpot Bourbon Chicken

Bourbon chicken is a fusion of Cajun and Asian cuisine, with its roots firmly cemented in the vibrant food scene of New Orleans.

Invented on the famed Bourbon Street and including a good free-pour of Bourbon, the iconic dish doesn’t like to take prisoners.

This crockpot take on bourbon chicken takes 10 minutes to prepare, six hours to cook, and served over a bed of rice, is the next best thing to eating your way through New Orleans.

Crockpot Chicken And Broccoli

Since the dawn of food, chicken and broccoli have made exceptional sparring partners.

]While we don’t exactly know why it’s a good chance that it can be traced back to Ancient China as chicken and broccoli feature heavily in many Chinese dishes still to this day.

Flavored with sriracha, sesame oil, honey, garlic, and ginger, this is a healthy, easy to prepare dish with a kick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is It Best To Cook Chicken On High Or Low Heat In The Crockpot?

Although it is very dependent on which cut of chicken you are using, in general, chicken is best when cooked on low heat in the crockpot.

If you have a time constraint and need to cook your chicken on high, make sure you use bone-in chicken like thighs or drumsticks as the bones will help to stop the chicken from drying out.

Why Does Chicken Fall Apart In The Crockpot?

Chicken tends to fall apart in the crockpot as a result of the meat’s connective tissue turning to gelatin. This means your chicken, although maybe not always whole pieces, will be incredibly tender to eat.

Is It Safe To Put Frozen Chicken In The Crockpot?

Although it’s certainly not written law, generally, frozen chicken isn’t recommended for cooking in the crockpot. This is because frozen chicken will sit in the “danger zone” of food (which is between 41°F and 135°F) for too long in a crockpot.

If you must cook your chicken from frozen, ensure that it is cooked on high – this will help to reduce the time that the chicken spends in the temperature range where bacteria has a better chance of growing.

Summary

As you can see, crockpots and chicken were more or less made for each other. Helping chicken to become tender, soak up sauce, and take on endless flavors are just a few of the reasons why we think so.

The recipes in this article are eclectic by design, delicious by nature and each bring their own unique touch to the mighty crockpot.

So whether you were looking for a 4-ingredient recipe or something a little more involved, we hope you found what you were looking for.

The 30 Best Crockpot Chicken Recipes

Check out 30 of the best chicken crockpot recipes found online that make home-cooking easy, healthy, and delicious.

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Jess Smith

Hi, my name is Jess Smith, and I love cooking in my spare time. Around three years ago, I decided to give up my day job as a teacher to pursue my passion for food. While I have enjoyed sharing tips and tricks on Social Media, I have decided to expand my horizons through this blog.

Through this blog I hope to help others learn the basics and more intricate details of cooking. I know from personal experience how frustrating it can be to cook a meal, only to realize you are missing one ingredient from your list. This is why I love to write articles chatting readers through some great substitutes that can be used in an emergency.

I hope you will find this blog useful, and that it will help you to develop your culinary skills, to help you cook up a storm!