Slow Cooker Chicken Breast

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings 4 servings

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This Slow Cooker Chicken Breast recipe comes out perfectly juicy and seasoned every time! Learn my tips for getting the best crockpot chicken breast, perfect for salads, sandwiches or an easy dinner.

overhead image of four chicken breasts in white slow cooker.

I KNOW.

Boring, right??

Except, perfect slow cooker chicken breast isn’t boring at all.

This chicken is so flavorful, and so juicy, with just a few ingredients (and one secret ingredient!).

I will admit, I have made plenty of dry, overcooked, unpalatable boneless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. I’m not proud of it, but we all do it every now and then, am I right??

I wanted to come up with a foolproof way to make great crockpot chicken breast — that is big on flavor (but still versatile enough to use it a variety of different ways or add your own sauce at the end), and ridiculously juicy.

Naturally, I started with this Crockpot Shredded Chicken recipe as my base, since so many of you have already loved it (check out this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken if that’s more your style!), but I made a couple swaps and additions for an extra little boost of flavor.

This slow cooker chicken recipe is perfect just on its own, with a side of rice or noodles or a big salad if that’s your thing, but if you’ve got leftovers?

Throw them in this Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti the next day, or swap the ground beef for chicken in this Rigatoni Pasta Bake.

sliced crockpot chicken breast on grey plate.

How to make perfect Slow Cooker Chicken Breast:

  1. Choose good quality chicken. I’m not saying it has to be expensive (I buy my chicken breasts frozen when they’re on sale!), but overtime I’ve noticed that there can be a real difference in quality from one box of chicken breasts to the next. Find a kind you’re happy with it and stick with it.
  2. Not too full or too empty: I use this 2.5 quart crockpot for, honestly? Almost everything these days. It’s the perfect size for 4 or 6 chicken breasts. I’ve found if I cook just a couple chicken breasts in a larger crockpot, it cooks more quickly and is more prone to overcooking. When you have your slow cooker at least half full, it gives the chicken a little “insulation” and prevents it from cooking too quickly.
  3. To sear or not to sear. I tried both ways because I like to know what I’m talking about when I’m giving you the most delicious slow cooker chicken breast you’ve ever had. What I found was not a lot of difference between the two. If you want to sear it beforehand, go ahead, if you’re frazzled enough as it is and want to dump and go, do that.
  4. Butter (my secret ingredient that makes all the difference). Or margarine. Another moment of honesty — I use margarine a lot. I just don’t hate it. Chicken thighs are known to have much better flavor and juiciness than breasts, and it’s because they have 3x the amount of fat. I figured if I added just a little bit of fat into the slow cooker, I could give my chicken breasts some of that some fat love. (SPOILER: it works. It’s delicious, and not even drowning in half a cup).
  5. Don’t overcook. If you want a longer cook time, try filling your slow cooker more than half full, as this slows down the cooking process some.
crockpot chicken breast in white slow cooker with juices.
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Tips for making frozen chicken in the crockpot:

Here’s the truth:

I woke up one morning, the morning I wanted to start testing this slow cooker chicken breast, with my chicken breasts still rock solid in the freezer because I, like many parents of 3 kids 6 and under, had forgotten to take them out.

Rather than cooking frozen chicken in the crockpot, I placed my chicken breasts in a large freezer bag, sealed it tight, and covered them with cool water (think perfectly not cold or not warm), and let them sit about 20 minutes. Flip, and let sit another 20 minutes. Perfectly thawed.

I threw them in the slow cooker and away I went.

It’s not that you can’t cook frozen chicken in the crockpot — it’s just that I knew they would cook more evenly and probably be better if I didn’t.

Now, I’ve cooked frozen chicken breasts plenty of times (remember that I used to work outside of the house and be gone for 8+ hours a day), and they’ve been just fine.

They will release more moisture and cook a little less evenly, but the world will (probably) not end.

Variations on this Slow Cooker Chicken Breast:

  • Toss in a package of taco seasoning for slow cooker chicken tacos!
  • Brush with barbecue sauce once they’re done cooking, before serving.
  • Brush with pretty much any of your favorite sauces, and there you go — the easiest dinner you never had to babysit!
  • Jazz things up and try this Crockpot Tuscan Chicken!

More crockpot chicken breast recipes:

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Slow Cooker Chicken Breast

4.97 from 669 votes
This Slow Cooker Chicken Breast recipe comes out perfectly juicy and seasoned every time! Learn my tips for getting the best crockpot chicken breast, perfect for salads, sandwiches or an easy dinner.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Main Course
Servings 4 servings
Calories 157cal

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, stir together the salt, parsley, garlic, pepper, onion powder and paprika. Season both sides of the chicken.
  • Add chicken broth and butter to slow cooker, and stir to combine (mash the butter up a bit to disperse if you can).
  • Add the chicken to the slow cooker, overlapping only as much as necessary.
  • Cover and cook on low for 3 hours or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. 
  • If you’re hoping for clean slices, remove to a cutting board and cover to keep warm. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 157cal | Protein: 24g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 451mg | Potassium: 430mg | Vitamin A: 150IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Keywords crockpot chicken, slow cooker chicken

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

  1. LauraC says

    This is now my favorite way to cook chicken breasts! I change up the seasonings each time, and usually make a little gravy with the broth. Love it!

  2. Paula M. Farrell says

    Made this last nite! Delicious! Stayed moist! My husband loved it! Will definitely make again! Will try adding potatoes & veges next time to save even more time!

  3. Gwen says

    Hello Ashley! I have about 8 chicken breasts. I know cooking times vary according to the crock pot, but what would be a good starting point for your recipe? Also if the chicken is double should I double everything else?? Thank you!!

    • Ashley Fehr says

      Hi Gwen! Yes I would double all of the seasoning. If your slow cooker is quite larger, then 3 hours may be enough. My slow cooker pictured here is 2.5 quarts and I cook 4 chicken breasts for 3 hours. So if your slow cooker is 4-6 quarts, you may be just fine doing 8 for 3 hours.

  4. Christine says

    Mine turned out rubbery. What did I do wrong? I added green onions, celery, and frozen green beans half way. Did this maybe mess it up? Thank you!

    • Ashley Fehr says

      Hi Christine! I don’t think that adding things half way will make a difference. It is hard to say what went wrong without knowing the cook time used. Every slow cooker is different, some are hotter or cooler so cook times can vary somewhat.

  5. Peyton says

    I replaced black pepper for lemon pepper I also put in a pinch of Italian seasoning and a pinch of weber smokey mesquite seasoning and a pinch of Johnnyy’s seasoning salt to the chicken in the crock pot. And let me tell you It turned out great! My kids and my wife love it! you should try it!1

  6. Loreal727 says

    I’ve used this recipe twice and it’s the best. Even my picky teen loved it and has named it “Good Frickin Chicken”. I didn’t change a thing either time, because I don’t see how you can rate a recipe if you’re swapping this for that or adding this and that to it. This recipe is perfect as is. Thank you Ashley!!

      • Valerie Rel says

        So I am literally the worst cook in the world! I sometimes have to have a backup plan when I’m in the kitchen. I miraculously came across your recipe and my family loved it!!!! Whenever I make chicken, I ALWAYS over cook it and it ends up dry as a desert. But it was so moist!!!! My husband said I only got an “A” because I didn’t make rice 🍚 To get the A+ (We’re Asian and he wants rice everyday 🙄) 😂😂😂 but better than my usual D’s and F’s. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!! 😃 I’m almost 40 years old and I can finally make some chicken my family will eat 😋

  7. MarinaBlu says

    When you say 4 breasts, that means like 8 pieces that usually come already in 8 pieces? Like 4 split breast to equal 8?

    Also, do you think I could put everything together in the crockpot the night before and refrigerate til next day?

  8. Mary-Alice DeSpain says

    Ashley, I made this recipe last night and if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would because it was that good!

    I cooked the breasts from a frozen state because I forgot to take them out of the freezer. The only change I made was to add about a 1/3 cup of white wine because I had an open bottle that needed to be used up.

    The chicken was so tender, moist and flavorful. This is now going to be a repeat recipe in my rotation of chicken recipes. I had it all put together in about 5 minutes! It couldn’t get any easier unless I had a personal chef!

    Thank you for this wonderful recipe.

  9. Jennifer says

    Going to try this recipe – if I wanted to cook potatoes in the crock pot, too, are there any additional steps/ cook time?

  10. Lise says

    This recipe was absolutely delicious. I am always so hesitant to try a new chicken recipe in my crockpot because it always turns out so dry. This was not the case with this one. I took your suggestion and cooked it in my smaller ceramic insert and it turned out perfect and juicy. The gravy was also excellent. Thanks. This recipe went in to my keeper file.

  11. sue pogson says

    I just made this – it took 4 hours rather than 3 to get the chicken to the right temperature but was still super-moist and tasty. Thank you.

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