How To Make Italian Crock-Pot Chicken and Potatoes

This chicken and vegetable slow cooker meal is for anyone who hasn’t yet realized that flavorful, balanced meals are more than possible from this old-school appliance. Slow cooker Italian chicken and potatoes is a bit of a revelation because beyond being delicious — the potatoes get tender in broth and sweetened by peppers, and the chicken stays so incredibly moist — it also really shows off the meal-prepping capabilities of the slow cooker.

Here’s a simple method for cooking vegetables and chicken breast together in the slow cooker in just a few hours.

There are few staples more universally appealing (and useful!) than chicken and potatoes. These two make wonderful meal prep partners for filling dinners and no-need-to-reheat lunches (think: salad and beyond). But this version really improves on the concept. The potatoes cook alongside sweet peppers and plenty of garlic in savory chicken broth, getting tender and creamy without losing their shape. Later, baby spinach gets added to this heap of vegetables and soaks up all that flavorful liquid.

While the vegetables cook, tender lean chicken breast gets cooked on top of the crock, where it steams to perfection, staying moist and taking on flavor from simple Italian seasoning. The whole meal can cook in less than two hours while you do a Power Hour Meal Prep, or for longer while you binge read your library book.

Looking for something more decadent? Slow Cooker Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken

1. Season each component separately. Layering the veggies and chicken is key here (more on that below), so the vegetables and the chicken need to be seasoned separately to ensure they are equally tasty. If you season the potatoes and peppers first, you can use the same bowl to toss the chicken with the Italian seasoning once the vegetables are in the crock.

2. Layer it. Placing potatoes and peppers on the bottom of the slow cooker ensures they get tender, and also provide an elevated bed for the chicken breast. With the chicken breasts on top of the vegetables, the chicken will gently steam while the vegetables cook.

This slow cooker dinner cooks for two hours on high, or four to five hours on low heat, making it ideal for meal prep or Sunday dinner. Just before serving, you can add baby spinach (or other tender greens) to the slow cooker to complete the meal. We like to serve this with garlic bread for dinner, but it’s also pretty perfect all on its own.