Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Recipes
Chicken Dishes Using Crockpots

Slow-cooker-chicken-recipes save on money, your time and waste. Utilize all chicken meat with these easy chicken slow-cooker-meals to get the most out of your dishes.

Who doesn't love a good comfort food chicken dinner?

Slow-cooker-chicken-recipes are easy on the pocketbook, and you won't run out of ideas for recipes to cover every part of the bird.

You will find that chicken is a regularly scheduled weekly item on the dinner table menu. It's prepared, cooked and served even much easier than pork or beef, which are the other two basics people consume most often.

Do you save beef for your Sunday meal? Most do.

Many families serve chicken in some form at least twice per week and crockpot chicken recipes are very popular. Why not make Sunday your day instead to dust off the crockpot, and test out some slow-cooker-chicken-recipes?

Most parts of a chicken cook quite nicely in a slow cooker, though some parts like the white and dark meat cook a little differently depending on the temperature settings.

Ever notice how the legs and thighs cook much faster?

That's because when frying, there is much more fat content in these parts. Chicken wings are extremely fatty, but chicken breasts are thicker and less fatty, so they take a bit longer.

The slow-cooker keeps meat from drying out, when cooking "chicken with the bone in." Don't cook chicken breasts too long though, because even in a slow cooker they can dry out that way.

Why not slow cook your meat from the frozen stage? You can you know. That's a great time saver. How many times have we all forgotten to take meat out to thaw overnight?

Cook your chicken from the frozen state and avoid drying the meat out.

Another advantage to your slow cooker is that it cooks well regardless of whether your chicken is thawed or not.

You would save on cooking time of course if it was thawed. The heat generated by your crockpot has to work to defrost your chicken first before it can start to cook it. This is what is important to remember when cooking from the thawed stage. It has to be thawed first, so remember to ALWAYS extend your cooking time.

raw whole chicken,slow-cooker-chicken-recipes

Be Sure To Avoid Salmonella Bacteria

This is so common in raw chicken. Slow-cooker-chicken-recipes are no exception. You don't want "bloody juices" laying in the bottom of your crockpot. Wash your chicken well just as you would if cooking it anywhere but the slow cooker. Be sure to rinse well and get rid of any reddish juices first. Cut off hanging chunks of fat. I've always done this with a turkey and I do it with chicken too. Season your chicken to whatever your preference.

A Few Good Crockpot Cooking Tips To Follow When Using Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Recipes

You need a little bit of liquid that will heat and start the cooking process. You don't need to use water, you can use a bit of chicken broth that has had some spices added if you like. Frozen chicken doesn't require much liquid, as water will be produced as it thaws. As this liquid heats, it will be absorbed by the meat and enhance the flavor of your chicken recipe.

Lightly flour and then lightly brown the chicken for a minute or two before placing in the slow cooker. Add the drippings from the bottom of your frying pan to the broth in the crockpot just like you might do when making gravy. This will make the chicken flavors more enhanced as well.

Adding vegetables or other leftovers to the mix? Add the harder vegetables like carrots at the start, as they take a lot longer to soften. A tomato on the other hand would be like soup if added too early. Add those for a tomato base towards the end of the cooking time. Pre-cooked vegetable leftovers should only go in at the end merely for reheating.

Speaking of cooking time it's an important item to consider.

Pieces of chicken need at the very least 3 hours of cooking time. A high setting of one hour is the same as a few hours on low. Meat that is frozen to begin with needs the most time of all.

What about spices? Are they fresh or dried?

Dried spices take longer to let go of the flavor, so give them two hours of cooking time. The fresh herbs only take about an hour to work their way into the food, so an hour in the cooker is enough.

Here are some easy slow-cooker-chicken-recipes to get you started towards some very tasty and enjoyable chicken suppers.

crockpot

Whole chicken in the Crockpot

Rinse well under cold water inside and out. Cut off large excess pieces of fat, and remove the neck.

Season with salt and pepper on the inside and outside of the bird.

With the breast upwards, place in a crockpot and cover.

Cook on low heat for 7 hours.

Remove and place on a serving tray. Cover with foil.

You can save the juices from the crockpot for later use as a broth or a chicken gravy. Refrigerate and remove the fat that will form on the top for a "healthier" broth.

Crockpot Chicken Thighs And Dumplings - A slow-cooker-chicken-recipes favorite!

4 or 5 chicken thighs

2 cans salt free chicken broth

1 medium onion cubed

3 medium chopped potatoes

small package baby carrots

1 tsp. garlic

1 large celery stalk chopped

sprinkle with paprika, salt, pepper, and thyme

Combine all ingredients into the slow cooker, and cover with 1 and 1/2 cans water.

Cook on high 5 hours, or on a lower heat setting for 7 hours if away for the day.

An hour before you want to serve this delicious mix of chicken and vegetables, spoon bisquick over top as per box instructions for a nice biscuit-like dumpling. You can also place ready made pillsbury dough biscuits over top and cover as well. Serve when the biscuits have risen nicely.

Crockpot Chicken and Noodles

Using boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs works well here.

Place the chicken pieces in your crockpot. Cover with 1 can of mushroom soup (creamed)

Cook on low heat for 7 hours or high heat for 4 hours.

Combine: 1/4 cup of flour and and one cup of sour cream. Mix well and gently stir this into the chicken. Make sure it is evenly distributed through the juices. Let cook another half hour on low heat.

Serve over cooked noodles. A salad is a great side dish!

Like your chicken Italian style?

Tasty Italian Crockpot Chicken

Chop 5 boneless chicken breasts into pieces and lay in the slow cooker.

Using dry Italian dressing mix, add 1/3 cup water and mix. Add to crockpot. Cook on low setting for 3 hours covered.

Combine 1 can of cream of chicken soup with a small package of soft cream cheese, and a can of the pieces and stems of mushrooms. Add over top chicken and cook one and a half hours.

Dish this out over rice or pasta noodles. Pasta and rice is very popular with slow-cooker-chicken-recipes because they are hearty and filling.

Whole Chicken Spiced Up In The Crockpot

Rinse a roasting chicken well inside and out with cold water.

Combine these spices:

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. Montreal chicken spice

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. onion powder

1 bay leaf (place inside the chicken)

Rub the spice mixture onto the bird. Put into a plastic bag and seal well. Refrigerate overnight.

Ready to cook? On a bed of chopped onions (white or green) in the bottom of the crockpot, place the chicken.

Cook on low 8 hours and enjoy.

I do hope you enjoy these slow-cooker-chicken-recipes.

These slow-cooker-meals are so easy to throw together quickly. I know I appreciate the ease especially on work-days!

And, don't forget the leftovers in the fridge to save on wasting food. There's really nothing in my opinion that can hurt when added to crockpot-chicken-recipes. It does such a nice job of enhancing food flavors.

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