These Healthy Crockpot Chicken Recipes are perfect for meal prep – dump in all the ingredients then set it and forget it!
Healthy Crockpot Chicken Recipes
Looking for an easy and hands-off dinner idea? These healthy crockpot chicken recipes are where it’s at! The slow cooker is one of my favourite meal prep tools when I want to just dump everything in a pot, set it and forget it. I rounded up some of my favourite crockpot recipes that will make meal prep and dinnertime a breeze.
The ingredients in all of these slow cooker recipes are very basic – you might even have some of them in your fridge or pantry already. Most of the sauces you’ll marinate the chicken in have less than 5 ingredients. From there, you can serve your crockpot chicken with a couple of veggies and any type of starch. Trust me, these meals are super easy to throw together and are so good.
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breasts – you can also try making these recipes with boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Coconut curry chicken
- Curry powder – make your own using a blend of cumin, coriander, chili powder, turmeric and pepper.
- Turmeric – saffron would also be good here.
- Garlic – use either freshly minced or jarred minced garlic.
- Salt – to taste.
- Coconut milk – you can use low-fat or full-fat coconut milk for this recipe.
- Cauliflower – swap out for broccoli instead.
- Carrots – celery or bell peppers would also be yummy.
Honey sesame chicken
- Sesame oil – you can use a neutral cooking oil like olive oil, but it won’t have the same sesame flavour.
- Low-sodium soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Honey – agave, maple syrup or brown sugar will also add a bit of sweetness to your marinade.
- Garlic – use either freshly minced or jarred minced garlic.
- Broccoli – cauliflower would be good or you can use another vegetable of your choice.
- Carrots – celery or bell peppers would also be yummy in this recipe.
Cilantro lime chicken
- Olive oil – or any neutral cooking oil of your choice such as canola or avocado oil.
- Lime juice – freshly squeezed lime juice is best but bottled will work in a pinch.
- Honey – agave, maple syrup or brown sugar will also add a bit of sweetness to your marinade.
- Cilantro – parsley would be good too although it won’t have the same flavour.
- Garlic – use either freshly minced or jarred minced garlic.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Yellow pepper – swap out for another colour bell pepper like red or orange pepper.
Greek chicken
- Olive oil – or any neutral cooking oil of your choice such as canola or avocado oil.
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed lemon juice is best but bottled will work in a pinch.
- Garlic – use either freshly minced or jarred minced garlic.
- Oregano – basil or parsley would be the best substitutes here.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Red pepper – use another colour bell pepper like yellow or orange pepper.
- Zucchini – serve with eggplant or cucumber instead.
Marinara chicken
- Marinara sauce – use your favourite store-bought marinara or tomato sauce.
- Garlic – use either freshly minced or jarred minced garlic.
- Italian seasoning – make your own using a combination of dried oregano, basil, thyme, sage and rosemary.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Spaghetti – or another noodle of your choice.
- Zucchini – swap out for another vegetable like bell peppers.
How to make crockpot chicken
- Marinade the chicken.
- Dump everything in the crockpot.
- Cook the chicken.
- Add in the veggies.
- Shred the chicken.
- Serve fresh or store for later!
Can you cook frozen chicken in a crockpot?
The short answer is you can, but it's not recommended. Depending on who you ask, this topic can be controversial, so let's just deal with the facts.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), foods need to be kept at certain temperatures to maintain food safety standards. If food isn't stored properly, you run the risk of food contamination and contracting foodborne illnesses like Salmonella. Regarding meat and poultry, the FDA says this:
“Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 °F [4 °C] and 140 °F [60 °C], doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. This range of temperatures is often called the “Danger Zone.” Never leave food out of refrigeration over 2 hours, and if the temperature is over 90 °F. don't leave it out over 1 hour.”
The problem is, it can take a long time for frozen food to thaw in a slow cooker, especially when cooking on the low setting. After frozen chicken thaws, it has to reach an internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C) to be safe to eat. Depending on the size of the frozen meat, that can take longer than 2 hours.
The safest thing to do is to thaw frozen chicken fully before cooking it in a slow cooker. Remember to use a cooking thermometer to make sure that the chicken is fully cooked before eating it, too.
The best crockpot chicken marinades
If you’ve wondered where to start on making crock pot chicken, these five recipes below will save your meal plan!
Chicken can dry out if it’s cooked for too long in the crockpot. These recipes have more liquid ingredients than a simple marinade for just that reason. Plus, all of the liquid goes into the crockpot with the chicken, even if they sat together in the refrigerator for a while first.
Honey sesame chicken
Coconut curry chicken
Marinara chicken
Greek chicken
Cilantro lime chicken
Meal prepping crockpot chicken
These recipes are great for meal prep! Store the chicken and marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag for up to 2 days before you plan to cook them.
If the chicken is frozen, you don’t need to thaw it before sticking it in a bag with the rest of the ingredients. This is a great way to thaw chicken the day before you want to cook it and it’ll defrost with the marinade ingredients. Store the bag in the fridge and the next morning, just dump it into the slow cooker.
Freezing these recipes
You have two options for freezing these crockpot chicken dishes. One is to freeze the ingredients prior to cooking and the other is to freeze the meals after they’ve been fully cooked.
- Freezing recipe ingredients raw: If you want to freeze everything before cooking it, prepare the bags as stated above and freeze for up to 3 months. Be sure to completely thaw the bags in the fridge overnight before dumping everything in the crockpot.
- Freezing cooked ingredients: You can freeze the cooked meals for up to 3 months. Don’t leave them at room temperature before freezing though; chill them in the refrigerator. I also wouldn’t recommend freezing certain vegetables or pasta – try to just freeze the chicken if you’re not sure if the rest of the ingredients will defrost well.
More crockpot chicken recipes
There are so many amazing and talented bloggers creating new recipes that making healthy crockpot meals has never been easier! You can find healthy crockpot chicken recipes for every dietary need and in nearly every cuisine you want. Whole30, gluten-free, paleo… you name it!
Whether you want to cook with chicken thighs, breasts, or a whole chicken, you can find a recipe for it in the collection below!
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili via Diabetes Strong // Crockpot Greek Chicken Gyros via The Seasoned Mom
Healthy Crockpot Chicken Thighs with Green Chiles via Clean Eating Kitchen // Crockpot Butternut Squash Chicken Curry via The Girl on Bloor
Slow Cooker Whole Chicken (Rotisserie-Style) via Cooking Classy // Crockpot Chipotle Chicken Soup via Salt and Lavender
Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Teriyaki Chicken via Joy Food Sunshine // Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken via The Girl on Bloor
Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken Soup via Amee's Savory Dish // Slow Cooker Chicken Mole Tacos via The Gingered Whisk
Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo via The Lemon Bowl // Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala via The Girl on Bloor
Low Carb Crockpot Beef and Broccoli via Low Carb Yum // Healthy Crockpot Tumeric Chicken via Sweet Phi
Slow Cooker Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Stew via Center Cut Cook // Slow Cooker Pumpkin Quinoa Chicken Chili via Ambitious Kitchen
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Healthy Chicken Fajita Quinoa Soup via Eat Yourself Skinny // Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma via A Clean Bake
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on refrigerating the leftovers.
- I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're freezing the chicken in Ziploc bags.
- You can also freeze these recipes in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Healthy Crockpot Chicken Recipes {5 Ways}
Ingredients
Coconut curry chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 (400mL) can coconut milk
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 2 carrots, sliced
Honey sesame chicken
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
- 2 carrots, sliced
Cilantro lime chicken
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, sliced
Greek chicken
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 zucchini, sliced
Marinara chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 (696mL) jar marinara sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1 lb spaghetti, cooked
- 1 zucchini, sliced
Instructions
- Add chicken and sauce ingredients of choice to crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. You may choose to add and cook vegetables such as bell peppers, cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, etc. in the last remaining hour of cook time instead of the full cook time.
- Once cook time is up, remove chicken and shred or chop. Add back to crockpot with vegetables and gently stir to combine.
- Serve over rice or pasta (optional), as desired. Enjoy!
- To freeze: add all ingredients to a large freezer-safe Ziploc bag and freeze up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight then add to crockpot to cook once fully defrosted.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Andrew says
Hi thanx for recipes made a few for a weeks prep wandering about leftovers for reheating them
Taylor Stinson says
You can reheat the leftovers in the microwave for a couple of minutes with some water sprinkled overtop!
Megan says
The marinara was amazing. I am wondering about the nutrients though! It has just one nutritional info for all the recipes and it doesn’t seem to add up. A lot of fat for some recipes that have only oil and chicken as sources of fat. So I’m wondering if there is more accurate info?
Renee says
Hi,
Do you have the chicken cooked before putting in the crockpot?
Thanks,
Renee
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Renee – no it is raw when it goes in the crockpot.
Stacey says
I have made several of these and they are all delicious. I currently have the Honey Sesame Chicken in the crockpot – what is the serving size for each portion?
Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Stacey – I don’t provide servings by weight/cup unfortunately! You will need to take the number of servings listed and divide into portions. Each portion is a serving.
Stacey says
I tried the Greek Chicken and it was awesome! We loved it. I want to try the Marinara chicken this week – could I add different vegetables such as green peppers, onions, and mushrooms? Do you think it would cook the same in the crockpot?
Thanks for your help!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed Stacey! You could for sure add different veggies, they would probably cook up the same 🙂
Stacey says
Thank you! We made the crockpot chicken fajitas last night – fantastic! We are loving this new way of eating and these recipes are easy and inexpensive to make. We froze part of the fajitas so we can make the burrito bowls next week!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!!! 🙂
Mike Z says
We tried the honey sesame recipe. It was very flavorful and extremely moist. Would definitely recommend it. Also added mushrooms. Can’t wait to try the Greek next.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed it Mike!! 🙂
Mindy says
How long do you marinate for?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Mindy – there’s no marinating time required for these recipes 🙂
Blossom Smith says
If I were to double this recipe, would I need to increase the time I’d allow it to cook in the slowcooker? Or would it be roughly the same amount of time?
Taylor Stinson says
It would be about the same amount of time!
RICA M RUIZ says
Thank you! Is the cooking time the same?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes it should be 🙂
RICA RUIZ says
Can these recipes be doubled? For example, 2 lbs of chicken?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes they can 🙂 As long as you have a slow cooker that is at least 6qrt you are good to double the recipe!