10 Best Slow Cooker Recipes with Chicken

A slow cooker is a great investment. You can cook many things in the slow cooker, but one works better than most. Chicken and slow cookers are made for each other; you only need some of the best slow cooker recipes with chicken to taste the proof.

We only need a few of the best slow cooker recipes with chicken to get dinner done, even on busy weeknights. Why are slow cookers made for chicken? Chicken can be cooked in various ways: grilling, frying, baking, boiling, and smoking.

Most of these methods are easy, though they can ruin the chicken. The only fool-proof method of cooking chicken is a slow cooker, which uses lower heat than any other method.

The low heat allows the chicken to really soak up the flavor from the seasonings and sauces you use. It also allows us to have far more control over cooking the chicken. No one is trying to make medium-rare chicken.

However, many of us have had tough, rubbery chicken come from our ovens. We can be sure that overcooking won’t happen, and undercooking is basically impossible. Not to mention, there are so many chicken recipes that any slow cooker can handle.

Want to make slow-cooked BBQ chicken? Use the slow cooker. How about a fancy chicken cacciatore? No sweat. You can even make an entire chicken in a slow cooker; we just need one that is big enough for the job.

It might be better to try more straightforward recipes before diving into more complicated ones. That’s where the best slow cooker recipes with chicken can help.

10 Best Slow Cooker Recipes with Chicken

Chicken is one of the most versatile meats. This slow-cooker salsa chicken for tacos recipe is a great example. The recipe calls for chicken breasts, which can easily be shredded with a fork in your slow cooker.

However, you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the same recipe. Nothing changes in the recipe, just the cut of chicken. You may think that only works with salsa chicken, but you’d be wrong.

You can switch out breasts for boneless, skinless thighs in a slow cooker BBQ chicken recipe, too! Choosing the proper chicken cut is primarily up to budget in most cases. We should never forget that chicken thighs have more flavor than breasts and are even more challenging to overcook.

Still, people are concerned about how moist their chicken comes out.

How to Keep Chicken Moist in the Crockpot

A crockpot is just another word we use for a slow cooker; the recipes don’t change, just the name. People are concerned about the meat’s moisture when using a slow cooker for chicken.

Slow cookers allow us to set the recipe and forget it, but we should not forget anything. A delicious lemon garlic butter chicken recipe will tell us how long to cook the chicken. The trick is ensuring we don’t let it go over that cooking time.

We take the slow cooker for granted while it cooks, and we run errands. We can’t just set up a spicy salsa chicken recipe, leave for the day, and return 3 hours past the recipe’s cooking time. The chicken will be fantastic if we turn off the slow cooker at the right time.

Is it Better to Cook Crockpot Chicken on High or Low?

Slow cookers really only have three settings, and that’s all we need. The best slow cooker recipes with chicken will inform us on the recipe cards which setting to use. However, slow cookers are so good at what they do that we often can do either one.

A tasty chicken and gravy recipe says to cook the chicken for 4-6 hours. This means we can turn it to high and finish the recipe in 4 hours. However, we may need more time to do our errands.

That is when you turn the slow cooker down to low and cook for the entire 6 hours. Want to make chicken and dumplings in a slow cooker? You can cook it on low for 6 hours or high for 3.

There is no way that is better than the other. Instead, the two options just mean a difference in cooking time. The results will be just as good on low as on high.

Do I Need to Sear Chicken Before Slow Cooking?

The quick answer is yes. Another quick answer is no. Searing meat is done to seal in the juices. However, that also makes it difficult for the meat to absorb the flavor from the other ingredients. Say you’re making the best slow cooker Tuscan chicken.

Tuscan chicken is a saucy dish that relies on the taste of the sauce more than the chicken itself. That recipe won’t benefit much from searing the chicken first. Buffalo chicken sliders are a great example of how they could benefit from searing.

Buffalo chicken also relies on the sauce, which is a potent flavor. Searing the chicken first in the sliders allows for more of a bite in the result, and the sauce will only be enhanced by the taste of the chicken.

Use your judgment on whether to sear the chicken first unless you encounter a recipe like a firecracker chicken, which requires searing first.  

Should Meat or Vegetables Go in the Crockpot First?

One thing people have to get used to when using the best slow cooker recipes with chicken is layering ingredients. It feels weird the first time you put chicken breasts on top of chicken breasts in a slow cooker and turn it on.

However, layering vegetables is a little different. The best slow cooker chicken and broccoli recipe will ask you to put the broccoli on top of the chicken. The broccoli will cook faster than the chicken, and we don’t want to overcook the broccoli.

However, a classic slow cooker chicken with potatoes will ask you to put the chicken on top of the potatoes. Potatoes will actually take a bit longer than chicken to cook, so we want them on the bottom, closest to the heat source.

So, the real answer depends on the type of veggies you’re adding. Trust the recipe card; it knows best.

More Slow Cooker Recipes

Chicken and Gravy Crockpot Recipes | Chicken and gravy is like an entire meal that you can cook in one pot and enjoy.

Crockpot Turkey Chili Without Beans | Turkey chili is a bit healthier than other chili types and tastes amazing!

Budget Friendly Beef Stroganoff | $21 | You don’t have to break the bank to make dinner. Instead, try something new.

How to Make Crockpot BBQ Ribs | Crockpot ribs almost always come out cooked to perfection and filled with flavor.

Beef Barbacoa Crock Pot Recipe | You can make some amazing beef barbacoa for burritos, tacos, or to eat as is when you want.