This is the creamiest Healthy Crockpot Chicken and Rice Recipe. It’s so easy to make in the slow cooker with no canned soup required!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Cooking spray – feel free to use butter or a neutral oil to grease your crockpot instead.
- Yellow onion – shallots or red onion will also work.
- Frozen vegetables – choose different blends of frozen vegetables or use fresh vegetables.
- Basmati rice – jasmine rice would work too. If you want to use brown rice, you may need to add another cup of broth. I haven't tested this recipe using brown rice, so you may need to test this yourself.
- Dried thyme – you can leave this out, or use fresh thyme or Italian seasoning instead.
- Garlic – the fresh stuff is best, but the jarred kind will work. 1 tsp garlic powder will also work in a pinch.
- Dijon mustard – there isn't a great substitute for this. You can try leaving it out or using 2 tsp dry mustard instead.
- Chicken breasts – chicken thighs can be used if you prefer them.
- Chicken broth – add cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup to the rice instead of or in addition to the broth.
- Sour cream – Greek yogurt will work here but the flavour will be different.
- Cheddar cheese – any type of cheese can be used, but I find cheddar gives the most kick
- Parsley – cilantro or lemon zest would also be good.
How to make chicken and rice in the crockpot
Step 1: Prep your ingredients.
Step 2: Spray the crockpot with cooking spray.
Step 3: Add ingredients to the crockpot.
Add all ingredients except for sour cream, cheese and parsley in the order in which they are listed. Make sure to push rice down underneath liquid as much as possible.
Step 4: Cook on high or low.
Cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for 4 hours, stirring 2-3 times midway through cooking time.
Step 5: Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Stir in sour cream and cheese at the end of cook time, stirring well to combine.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Serve garnished with fresh parsley, and enjoy!
Tips & variations
There are a few different tips and variations you can try for this crockpot chicken and rice recipe:
- Instant Pot method: Add 1-2 tbsp canola oil to the bottom of the pot, then add the onions, frozen veggies, chicken, rice and broth in order. Push the rice underneath the liquid, cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure. Stir in the sour cream and cheese, garnish with parsley and serve!
- Ingredient prep: If you want to cut down on prep time, dice up the chicken breasts, mince the garlic and grate the cheddar cheese in advance. Store everything in glass containers in the fridge until you're ready to use.
- Different toppings: Try out different toppings and different cheeses, or mix in some additional spices for different flavours!
- More veggies: Add in extra veggies like bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, green beans, jalapenos, carrots and peas.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of the best things about healthy crockpot chicken recipes is that there’s no pre-cooking required – you basically just dump everything in the pot then set it to cook. For this recipe, you’ll add the raw chicken right into the crockpot along with the onion, frozen vegetables, rice, dried thyme, salt and pepper, garlic, Dijon mustard and chicken broth.
For this healthy chicken and rice crockpot recipe, you don’t have to be too concerned about the chicken being covered in liquid, but you should try and push the rice down below the liquid as much as possible. You want to make sure the rice is covered by the broth so it soaks up the liquid and cooks properly.
When it comes to healthy chicken crock pot recipes, you can cook the chicken and rice either on high or low, depending on your preference and how much time you have. You can cook this recipe on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.
This chicken and rice is an entire meal on its own, but if you want to serve a little something extra on the side, I'd recommend some crusty bread, brussels sprouts salad or garlic parm asparagus.
I'd recommend using basmati or jasmine rice for this recipe, as that's the kind of rice I tested with this recipe and it cooks in the proper amount of time. If you use another kind of rice, it may take longer to cook and might turn out a bit mushy, so you'll need to test it out and increase the cooking time as needed.
Storing and reheating
Like most healthy crockpot chicken recipes, this dish is great for meal prep! It will last in the fridge for up to 5 days in airtight glass containers or meal prep bowls and makes great lunch leftovers. To reheat the dish, sprinkle some water over top to keep the rice from drying out then stick it in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.
Freezing this recipe
This healthy chicken and rice crockpot recipe can be frozen for about a month, but it will likely lose some of its texture due to the sour cream. If you do freeze it, you can reheat is straight from frozen for 6 to 7 minutes in the microwave, stirring halfway through the cooking time. Don’t forget to sprinkle some water over top before reheating!
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- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing individual portions of the leftovers.
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Healthy Crockpot Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 lb chicken breasts, diced
- 2 cups frozen vegetables
- 1 cup basmati rice dry, not cooked
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Spray crockpot with cooking spray, then add all ingredients except for sour cream, cheese and parsley in the order in which they are listed. Make sure to push rice down underneath liquid as much as possible.
- Cook on high for 3 hours, or on low for 6 hours, stirring 2-3 times midway through cooking time.
- Stir in sour cream and cheese at the end of cook time, stirring well to combine.
- Serve garnished with fresh parsley, and enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Lisa says
Do you have to rinse the rice first ?
Taylor Stinson says
No you do not.
Samantha Stewart says
Followed exactly and cooked on low 6 hours – rice turned completely to mush. I wanted to love this and I’m hoping after I add the sour cream and cheese it will be better but texturally, this is disappointing.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Samantha – I’m wondering if you used instant rice? The rice in this recipe is not meant to be completely al dente as some people may be used to, as it does cook for quite some time. A slightly mushier texture does, in combination with the sour cream and cheese, add to the creaminess but I understand this may be off putting to some people. However, the rice shouldn’t be super mushy so just trying to troubleshoot what went wrong here. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you!
Sarah Lenhard says
I just had the same issue and came to see if it was just me! I didn’t use instant rice. I’ll add the sour cream and see how it tastes 🙂 it just got done
BK says
I cooked mine on high for four hours in the exact same thing happened. Wasted an entire pound of chicken and a whole bunch of/frozen asparagus. So disappointed. And I use regular basmati rice.
Beth Sampson-Tell says
This was simple, flavorful and exactly what I was looking for. I did brown the chicken ahead of time and added a little more broth to make sure the rice was covered but other than that…winner winner crock pot chicken and rice dinner.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed, Beth 🙂
Dina says
Can you use frozen chicken?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Dina – unfortunately you can’t use frozen chicken in crockpot recipes as it will put the chicken in a danger zone temperature wise.
Loa says
Can you do cream cheese instead of sour cream?
Taylor Stinson says
You definitely could! It would change the taste but it can be used instead.
Mita says
Can I substitute sour cream with yogurt?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Mita – you can but the taste will be a bit different!
Katy says
Just made this tonight and it was incredible! Reminded me of risotto. I’ll definitely make it again, and I’m glad I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
I made it in the Instant Pot and did make a couple of tweaks: I used instant jasmine rice, nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, reduced fat cheese, cilantro instead of parsley (that was just for my boyfriend’s preference), and then a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice really made it just perfect at the end.
Thank you for sharing! I just came across your website last night and I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. I’ve been an avid food prepper for years and I’m always looking for new things to add into my rotation!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed Katy, and I’m glad those substitutions worked! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Jill says
Made this tonight, it was very good. Couple of notes:
I used long grain brown rice. At 4.5 hours on high it was probably a little long, I think 4 would have been ok.
I wish I’d seen the note about paprika/chili powder sooner as it would definitely benefit from additional seasoning.
Em says
Can we use instant brown rice?
Taylor Stinson says
You could try, but I haven’t tried it myself! I know brown rice takes longer to cook so you may want to try cooking for an extra hour or two. Hopefully that works!
Valerie Rasmussen says
What is the serving size?
Taylor Stinson says
There are six servings – divide the recipe into 6 portions, and each one is a serving 🙂