Learn how to use your crockpot to make chicken breasts for easy weeknight dinners. This Slow Cooker Chicken Breast Recipe is easy and perfect as a base for a meal or for meal prepping.
Crockpot Chicken Breast Recipe
Crockpot dinners are easily my favorite meals to make. I love being able to throw everything in a crockpot and let it cook all day without having to worry what’s for dinner.
This delicious crockpot chicken breast recipe is a great base for a ton of different lunches or dinners. It’s a great recipe to have on hand for busy weeknights or meal prepping.
Why you’ll love this Crock Pot Chicken Breasts recipe:
- Quick and easy! Your crockpot does all the work on this simple chicken recipe.
- Pairs with everything. These crockpot chicken breasts pair very well with any side you choose to make!
- Versatile leftovers. I love having leftover crockpot chicken breasts because I’m guaranteed to be set on dinner for the next couple days. It’s not hard at all to turn these chicken breasts into pulled chicken sandwiches, chicken noodle soup or even chicken fajitas.
Cooking chicken in a slow cooker is simple and so juicy. I love to make a big batch at the beginning of the week and enjoy it for days.
How to make Juicy Chicken Breasts in a Slow Cooker
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
- Pour the chicken broth in the slow cooker.
- In a small dish, combine the seasoning and mix.
- First, you will rub the olive oil all over the chicken breasts. Then, you rub the chicken with the seasoning.
- Once the chicken breasts are even coated with olive oil and seasonings, place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
Unfortunately, it’s not best to cook frozen chicken breast in a slow cooker. The temperature of the crock pot doesn’t get high enough fast enough for the bacteria to be killed. It’s best to only use freshly thawed chicken or thaw them in the microwave before adding them to the crockpot.
Crockpot chicken cook time will depend on the setting you want your crock pot on. If you are like me, you like to add everything to the crockpot in the morning and let your crockpot cook on low. If you decide to let it cook on low all day, it will need to cook for 4 to 6 hours. If you want to wait till later in the day to get your crockpot chicken breasts cooking, you can cook on high for 3 to 4 hours.
You can add/remove ingredients as you see fit but I use salt, onion powder, dried thyme, paprika, pepper and garlic powder. Feel free to adjust the spices to your personal preferences.
Serving Suggestions
These Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts are SO versatile. Here are a few recipe ideas for how to use them! Simple create the recipes using the already cooked chicken.
And once you’ve decided how to use them (or if you’re eating them on their own), here are some great sides to serve:
- Cucumber Salad
- Hawaiian Rolls
- Parmesan Potato Wedges
- Crockpot Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Twice Baked Potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
72+ Chicken Dinner Recipes
See our Chicken Guide for all the best chicken recipes plus tips and tricks for juicy chicken every time.
More Ways to Cook Chicken
If the crockpot isn’t your thing, these other simple ways to prepare chicken in bulk are sure to please (and make life easy!).
- Baked Chicken Breast
- Pan Seared Chicken Breast
- Fried Chicken
- Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
- Oven Fried Chicken
Tips!
- Adjust your spices to your personal taste.
- You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs, just make sure they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Store the chicken in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Crockpot Chicken remains one of the easiest meal prep ideas. You can’t go wrong!
Your family will get excited seeing you pull out the crockpot when they know you have a chicken freshly thawed. I think you will agree this delicious crockpot chicken breast is easily a new favorite and will appear more often on your dinner menu.
More Crockpot Chicken Recipes we Love
- Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
- Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Crockpot BBQ Chicken Dip
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Crockpot Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 large chicken breasts
Equipment
Instructions
- Pour the chicken broth in the slow cooker.1/2 cup chicken broth
- Combine the seasoning in a small dish.1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Rub the olive oil and seasoning over the chicken breasts.2 tablespoons olive oil, 4 large chicken breasts
- Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
This was delicious. I can do without the thyme though LOL! I turned the leftovers into pulled chicken which was equally delish. Im wondering though what modifications I need to make to turn this into chicken rice dish?
I did leave a comment earlier but it seems to have disappeared
Hi Bev, you can certainly leave the thyme out or swap for another herb if you’re not a fan. Try following this recipe for crockpot chicken and rice (click here)!
Loved I made pulled chicken chili from leftovers
That looks delicious, Dan! Thanks so much for sharing!
I’ve never cooked chicken breast in the crockpot, not sure I’ll do it again. I cooked it on low and when I checked it after 3 hours, it was almost 190 degrees.
I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out as expected for you, Marion! Unfortunately, not all crackpots use the same temperature for low, so yours may cook a bit faster than mine!
So I’m not gonna give this a bad review as I’m just confused, I got about a inch-inch and a half thick breasts, did everything as directed. When I checked the temp at 2 hours on high the temp was 200 and they were horribly dry, idk where it went wrong but those cooked way too fast.
It sounds like the chicken was overcooked. Your crockpot’s high setting may run much hotter than mine! Next time, try it on low.
Can I make this with frozen chicken breast’s or do they need to be thawed?
You can cook from frozen. They may need additional time to cook, though!
Loved this recipe it was delicious and super simple. Easy prep and it only took about 3 1/2 hours. I just used Italian seasoning, paprika, and the salt and pepper and it was still amazing! Fantastic recipe
That looks great, Karis! Thanks so much for sharing!
I made this last night. The house smelled FANTASTIC. I used large boneless skinless chicken breasts and cooked on high for about 3.5 hours. While the chicken was very flavorful, it was so terribly dry that I could barely swallow it down. It fell apart in a good way but was just so very dry, i could not finish mine. I so wanted to like this because I WAS HUNGRY hahaha. However, the seasonins used were terrific. Maybe I will try with thigh meat next time. When I do, I’ll come back with a hopefully stellar rating for you. OR….WHAT DID I DO WRONG? I followed directions to a T.
It sounds like the chicken was overcooked. Next time, check on it closer to 3 hours with an instant-read thermometer. It should be 165°F internally!
It should have been cooked for 3-4 hours on LOW. It think that was where you went wrong. 3.5 hrs on high is equivalent to 7 hrs on low.
Yeah I had the same exact think happen with me. I was planning to use this chicken in meals with a side of rice & veggies… But I’m thinking now I’ll just be eating this in a salad with a lot of dressing. Definitely going to try it again with less time on high or follow the low setting directions lol.
Hands down the very best crock pot chicken recipe that is SUPER EASY ( I love that) and delicious. I’ll be making this once a week to have for 2 dinners!! Love , love, love the simple ingredients and the flavor! WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!!!
I love to hear that, Lori!
Was just wondering roughly how many pounds? Cuz the local grocery store I get meat from has a lot bigger chicken breasts than some where like Walmart
About 2 pounds!
If I don’t have chicken broth on hand, could I use chicken stock instead? Or what would you recommend?
Chicken stock should work just fine!
Thank you!