40+ Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Dinners to Make Tonight

updated Sep 8, 2022

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Credit: Joe Lingeman
Slow Cooker Chicken Piccata

There are no shortage of ways to cook up a really great chicken dinner, and one of my absolute favorite ways is in the slow cooker. That’s right — your slow cooker isn’t just for big, tough cuts of meat. It’s also perfect for cooking up tender, juicy chicken. Whether you’re starting with a pack of meaty chicken thighs, lean chicken breast, or even a whole chicken, your slow cooker is the secret to turning it into an easy, family-friendly dinner.

What’s great about slow cooker chicken recipes is how most don’t actually take all day to cook. Many are ready to go in just a few hours, which means you can really pick a recipe that fits your timeline and schedule best. From chicken and dumplings, chicken enchiladas, to creamy French mustard chicken, here are more than 40 slow cooker chicken recipes to add to your dinner lineup right now.

Hamilton Beach Portable 6-Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

It doesn’t get much better than shredded chicken from the slow cooker, if you ask me. These recipes require little upfront prep and reward you with a big batch of tender, shredded meat to use all week for tacos, salads, sandwiches, grain bowls, and more. Chicken breasts, thighs, or a combo of the two are all fair game here.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga

If you’re not already familiar with smoky-sweet chicken tinga, know that it is your ticket to the most delicious shredded chicken tacos you’ll make.

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Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken

This saucy slow cooker favorite can be made with chicken breasts, thighs, or a combination of the two.

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Slow Cooker Salsa Pulled Chicken

Your slow cooker is the secret to the easiest ever salsa chicken. Stuff it into tacos or burritos, add it to a salad or grain bowl, or just eat it as is.

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Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

This creamy ranch chicken is full of tangy, herby flavors, thanks to a DIY ranch mix, buttermilk, cream cheese. Add a bun, bacon, and slaw, and you've got dinner.

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Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken (in Under an Hour)

Saucy slow cooker Buffalo chicken is an easy, low-effort recipe to feed a crowd that comes together with just a few ingredients.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Ragù

Meaty chicken thighs are slow-cooked in a tomato- and bacon-rich sauce paired with sweet and earthy fennel. A bed of buttery mashed potatoes is just right for cradling this homestyle chicken ragù.

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Easy Shredded Chicken in the Slow Cooker

The slow cooker is your ticket to making the easiest batch of shredded chicken for salads, grain bowls, sandwiches, and more. Use this recipe as your guide.

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

If you love a whole chicken that’s so wonderfully tender and juicy that the meat practically falls off the bone and melts in your mouth, you’re going to love cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker. You won’t get the burnished skin that comes with an oven-roasted chicken, but these recipes are worth that trade-off.

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Slow Cooker Whole Chicken in Coconut Milk

Inspired by Jamie Oliver's famous chicken in milk, this version starts with the slow cooker and uses coconut milk plus tons of fresh basil, ginger, and garlic.

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Slow Cooker Chicken in Milk

Another chicken slow-cooked in milk! This one turns out oh-so tender, and is infused with the aroma of lemon and sage.

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Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker

This recipe delivers the most delicious payoff imaginable — meat so tender and juicy it practically falls right off the bone.

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Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Soup

Starting with a whole chicken guarantees a soup that has plenty of flavor and lots of meat to shred to keep things nice and hearty.

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Whole Citrus-Braised Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Rub the chicken with seasoning, add some lemon or orange juice and chicken broth, and set the timer. The result is the most tender chicken you’ve ever tasted with just the right amount of citrus-garlic flavor in every bite.

Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts

Chicken breast in the slow cooker is one of my favorite weekend meals. Since the meat is so lean, it doesn’t require a long cook time (a couple of hours will usually do). I get the recipe going in the afternoon, then step out of the kitchen to do what I need to do around the house, and come dinnertime there’s a hearty meal that’s ready to hit the table.

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Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

A fragrant, fresh, and easy-to-make orange chicken recipe that comes together with the help of the slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken Soup

This creamy, dreamy soup uses chicken breast and the slow cooker to harness all the comforts of chicken pot pie without any of effort on your part.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Piccata

This piccata will win your heart not only for its bold layers of flavor, but also for how simple it is to pull together.

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Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Chicken Breasts

If you’re looking for an easy way to dress up that pack of chicken breasts this week, this is it! The chicken cooks up juicy and full of flavor, thanks to a sticky-sweet honey-garlic sauce.

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Trader Joe's Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

This is a low-effort spin on the classic recipe that starts with a jar of Trader Joe's Masala Simmer Sauce.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo

This creamy slow cooker chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach is made even easier with store-bought Alfredo sauce.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

Because of its relatively short cook time, this is a great recipe to put together on the weekend — especially when you have time to prep dinner but need to get a few things done around the house.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas

Make your own sauce, but skip the rolling for this delicious slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole.

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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken

Homemade pesto is mixed with hearty chunks of chicken breast in the slow cooker, and leaves you with a week's worth of tender, herby chicken for salads, wraps, and grain bowls.

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Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

A secret sauce and crisp veggies bring this riff on a takeout favorite to the next level.

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Trader Joe's Slow Cooker Spicy Mediterranean Chicken

This easy slow cooker chicken recipe relies on just a handful of Trader Joe's ingredients.

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Slow Cooker Lemon-Garlic Chicken Breast

This recipe promises tender chicken gilded with a velvety lemon sauce infused with a richness reminiscent of roasted garlic.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

This simple chicken chili comes together with just six ingredients and is perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner.

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Slow Cooker Spinach and Artichoke Chicken

These poached chicken breasts feature a luxurious lemon broth with wisps of green spinach and forkfuls of tender, nutty artichokes.

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Italian Crock-Pot Chicken and Potatoes

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.

Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs

Whether you prefer bone-in or boneless thighs, there are a lot of ways to cook this meaty cut in the slow cooker. And since thighs have more fat than lean chicken breasts, they can stand up to a longer cook time without the risk of drying out.

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Crispy, Juicy Chicken Thighs in the Slow Cooker

Slow-cooking chicken thighs without any cooking liquid on low heat crisps the chicken’s skin while slowly braising the thighs until juicy and tender.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

There's a reason why the slow cooker works so well for chicken noodle soup: the countertop cooking appliance takes care of the simmer so you can set it and forget it.

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Slow Cooker Chicken and Potatoes

If you ask us, the best way to cook potatoes is nestled underneath chicken. The result is juicy, tender chicken and buttery, chicken schmaltz-soaked potatoes.

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Slow Cooker Creamy French Mustard Chicken

This braised chicken dish puts the classic French combination of mustard, white wine, shallots, and cream to work in a slow cooker to create a tender, saucy chicken dinner.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken tikka masala benefits from a slow simmer, which makes it the perfect fit for the slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker Honey Teriyaki Chicken

A pack of boneless chicken thighs are the best choice for this version of the takeout favorite because their meaty flavor isn’t overshadowed by the rich teriyaki sauce.

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Crock-Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken

Mixed with bell pepper & onion and coated in a thick, glossy sauce, slow cooker sweet & sour chicken comes together with a handful of pantry ingredients.

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Kerala-Style Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

This slow cooker chicken curry is deeply spiced with fennel, cinnamon, and coriander and simmered in coconut milk until tender.

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Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

Tender chicken and vegetables in a creamy sauce crowned with pillowy dumplings, all cooked in a slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Chicken thighs, peanut butter, and spicy sambal combine to create the easiest-ever slow cooker chicken tacos.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Posole

Don’t forget the toppings! A squeeze of lime juice, crunchy radishes, fresh cilantro, and crumbled tortilla chips are the final touches that make this Mexican-inspired classic sing.

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Slow Cooker General Tso's Chicken

While you can use chicken breasts or thighs to make this recipes, it's the latter that really makes it better than takeout.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Using chicken thigh for this slow-cooked soup, means the meat stays juicy and doesn't dry out.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

A warm bowl of chicken enchilada soup, made in the slow cooker, tastes like you're eating an enchilada with a spoon.

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Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

A fragrant, fresh, and easy-to-make orange chicken recipe that comes together with the help of the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice

Is there a greater power couple than chicken and rice? We don’t think so! And these four recipes will show you why — and just how easy they can be in the slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker Ginger Chicken Congee

This chicken congee is a savory breakfast which takes less than two minutes to throw into the slow cooker.

2 / 6

Slow-Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls

These chicken burrito bowls only require five minutes of hands-on prep time — the rest of the work is done by your slow cooker.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken & Rice Biryani

This Chicken Biryani requires you to do a little prep before turning on the slow cooker, but the layers of nuanced flavor you'll get on the dinner plate will confirm the added effort was well worth it.

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Creamy, Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice

The nostalgic casserole we love, made even easier with help from the slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Broccoli Bowls

The superstar slow cooker strikes again with this tasty combination of brown rice, white beans, chicken, and broccoli florets.

6 / 6

Slow-Cooker Peanut Chicken and Broccoli

All the lively flavors of stir-fry with a rich, nutty sauce minus the last-minute prep and time at the stove.

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