Easy, cozy chicken dinners with the slow cooker doing the heavy lifting.
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Dinners
The slow cooker is one of the easiest ways to turn chicken into a flavorful homemade dinner while keeping the active cooking to a minimum. These six recipes bring together smoky barbecue sauce, creamy herbs, mushrooms, sweet-savory flavors, and hearty beans and vegetables.
Each meal is designed for busy days and cozy evenings, with simple ingredients and straightforward preparation. Serve them with rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, or roasted vegetables to make a complete dinner.
Why You’ll Love These Recipes
- Hands-off cooking. A short prep period is followed by several hours of slow cooking.
- Tender chicken. Slow cooking creates juicy, fork-tender chicken when cooked to a safe internal temperature.
- Family friendly. The flavors are approachable and easy to adapt.
- Great leftovers. Most of these meals reheat well the next day.
- Plenty of variety. Choose from barbecue, creamy, herb-forward, sweet-savory, and hearty stew-style chicken.
1. Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
Tender chicken slowly cooks in a smoky-sweet barbecue sauce until it shreds easily. Serve it in sandwiches, bowls, wraps, or alongside roasted vegetables.
| Prep Time 10 minutes | Cook Time 5 hours | Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes | Servings 6 |
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make It
- Place onion in the slow cooker and set chicken on top.
- Whisk barbecue sauce, broth, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and thyme together.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4–5 hours, until chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Shred chicken with two forks and toss with the sauce.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories: 355 | Protein: 43g | Carbs: 28g | Fat: 8g | Fiber: 1g
Nutritional values are estimates and may vary with ingredient brands, portions, and preparation.
2. Creamy Tuscan Slow Cooker Chicken
Chicken breasts simmer in a creamy sauce with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and Italian herbs for a rich dinner with very little hands-on work.
| Prep Time 15 minutes | Cook Time 4 hours | Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes | Servings 6 |
Ingredients
- 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make It
- Season chicken and place it in the slow cooker.
- Add broth, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and Italian seasoning.
- Cook on LOW for 3½–4 hours, until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken briefly and stir cream and Parmesan into the sauce.
- Return chicken, add spinach, and cook 5–10 minutes more. Serve.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories: 455 | Protein: 38g | Carbs: 9g | Fat: 30g | Fiber: 2g
Nutritional values are estimates and may vary with ingredient brands, portions, and preparation.
3. Slow Cooker Chicken & Potatoes
Chicken thighs cook with baby potatoes, carrots, onion, and herbs until tender. This one-pot dinner is simple, filling, and perfect for busy weeknights.
| Prep Time 15 minutes | Cook Time 5 hours | Total Time 5 hours 15 minutes | Servings 6 |
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1½ lb baby potatoes
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make It
- Place potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic in the slow cooker.
- Season chicken with thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and place on top.
- Pour broth around the chicken and drizzle with olive oil.
- Cook on LOW for 4–5 hours, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender.
- Serve with the vegetables and cooking juices.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories: 430 | Protein: 36g | Carbs: 31g | Fat: 19g | Fiber: 5g
Nutritional values are estimates and may vary with ingredient brands, portions, and preparation.
4. Creamy Mushroom Chicken
Tender chicken and mushrooms simmer in a creamy garlic-herb sauce for an easy comfort-food dinner. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles.
| Prep Time 15 minutes | Cook Time 4 hours | Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes | Servings 6 |
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make It
- Season chicken and place it in the slow cooker with mushrooms, onion, garlic, broth, and thyme.
- Cook on LOW for 3½–4 hours, until chicken is cooked through.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and stir half-and-half into the slow cooker.
- Mix cornstarch with water and stir into the sauce.
- Cook on HIGH for 10–15 minutes until thickened, then return chicken to the sauce.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories: 365 | Protein: 40g | Carbs: 10g | Fat: 18g | Fiber: 2g
Nutritional values are estimates and may vary with ingredient brands, portions, and preparation.
5. Honey Garlic Sesame Chicken
Chicken cooks in a glossy honey-soy sauce with garlic and ginger, then gets finished with sesame seeds and scallions for a sweet-savory dinner.
| Prep Time 10 minutes | Cook Time 4 hours | Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes | Servings 6 |
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 green onions, sliced
How to Make It
- Place chicken in the slow cooker.
- Whisk soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger and pour over the chicken.
- Cook on LOW for 3½–4 hours, until tender.
- Remove chicken and slice or shred.
- Return chicken to the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories: 395 | Protein: 37g | Carbs: 29g | Fat: 16g | Fiber: 1g
Nutritional values are estimates and may vary with ingredient brands, portions, and preparation.
6. Slow Cooker Chicken & Black Bean Stew
Shredded chicken, black beans, tomatoes, corn, peppers, and warm spices simmer into a hearty stew that works beautifully with rice, tortillas, or crusty bread.
| Prep Time 15 minutes | Cook Time 5 hours | Total Time 5 hours 15 minutes | Servings 6 |
Ingredients
- 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 cup corn
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make It
- Place chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic, broth, and spices in the slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 4–5 hours, until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken and shred with two forks.
- Return shredded chicken to the stew and stir well.
- Season to taste and serve.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories: 385 | Protein: 38g | Carbs: 34g | Fat: 10g | Fiber: 9g
Nutritional values are estimates and may vary with ingredient brands, portions, and preparation.
Conclusion
Slow cooker chicken is a practical way to make dinner feel homemade without spending the entire evening in the kitchen. These six recipes give you a mix of comforting sauces, hearty vegetables, bold flavors, and simple one-pot meals.
Pick a recipe based on what you have on hand, let the slow cooker do the work, and finish the dinner with fresh herbs, scallions, sesame seeds, or your favorite side. The result is a warm, satisfying meal with very little last-minute effort.