This Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken is SO easy and flavorful, you wouldn’t believe it only has just a few ingredients! The perfect easy dinner recipe for busy weeknights!
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Fall is on its way and I’m busting out all the easy slow cooker, one pot and Instant Pot recipes!
We have been kind of obsessed with chicken this summer, so I always have a ton in the freezer.
This slow cooker chicken comes together in no time with just a handful of ingredients that we usually have on hand — which makes it a win in my books!
The creamy tomato flavor combo is always a hit over here, and we love this chicken over a plate of spaghetti but it can really be a stand alone meal with a side salad if that’s your thing!
If you love this recipe, you might enjoy this Slow Cooker Chicken Breast or this Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings — they are both easy Crockpot meals!
My goal this fall (really, every fall) is to bring you more recipes for Real Life. Because summer is over and life goes back to Crazy, dinner time is rushed and spending hours in the kitchen is often the last thing on our minds.
The other reason, obviously, is that I need easy recipes like this too!
With a lot of slow cooker recipes, I find you sacrifice either flavor or texture or both. Browning meat beforehand can really help with that, but often even after that the juices need to be spiced up because after cooking for so long, the flavors just become muted.
With this chicken, though, there are no issues like that! You dump and go, and the sauce is the perfect consistency when it’s done and the flavor is awesome! So creamy and comforting, and yet only a small amount of cream or evaporated milk.
Tips for making this slow cooker chicken recipe:
- I made this recipe in a 4 quart slow cooker — if you want to double it, I suggest a 6 quart slow cooker (I have both, and use them for different things!).
- I really, really, REALLY recommend using slow cooker liners. I will gladly pay the 50 cents or whatever they cost to not have to wash that beast!
- Please always, always check the temperature of your chicken with a meat thermometer before serving just to be safe! All slow cookers cook differently.
Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
- 3/4 cup tomato pasta sauce
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Add tomatoes and pasta sauce to a 3-6 quart slow cooker.
- Whisk together cream and corn starch and add to the slow cooker. Stir in garlic, salt, basil and pepper.
- Add chicken breasts and press down into the sauce.
- Cook on low for 3-5 hours, until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. The exact cook time will depend on your slow cooker — a fuller slow cooker will take longer to cook, so a larger one will cook faster.
- Stir in fresh basil and serve over pasta, rice, or with a salad and veggies!
Nutrition Information
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Erin B says
I was nervous about making this for dinner but it came out PERFECTLY 👌🏻
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that Erin!
Becky says
I’m about to make this recipe for dinner, but I feel like I might have too much chicken. You said 4 chicken breasts, but are they 4 thin sliced chicken breasts, or 4 normal chicken breasts? Which at my grocery store are huge. I guess I could never have too much chicken, but I don’t think I’d have enough sauce. Do you by chance have a total weight for the chicken rather than the amount of breasts? It may be easier to determine how much chicken to buy.
Ashley Fehr says
4 of my chicken breasts are usually just over a pound, between 1-1.5 lbs. They are not thin, but average. I think it would be easy to add a little extra cream and tomato sauce at the end if you find you need more sauce!
Melissa says
If you don’t have heavy cream, substitute sour cream to give it the creaminess. I always add sour cream to my pasta sauce – how much depends on your taste of tomato vs creaminess flavor you’re looking for in the recipe (we like ours creamier).
Ashley Fehr says
That’s a great tip!
Kim says
What is tomato paste sauce?
Ashley Fehr says
tomato pasta sauce is a tomato-based pasta sauce
Lolo says
Made this a few weeks ago and making it again tonight, it is so GOOD! I’m going to add some sundried tomatoes to it and I make it with whole wheat spaghetti. One of the best slow cooker recipes!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Lolo!
judy says
what can i use in place of heavy cream or evaporated milk?
Ashley Fehr says
Any other cream or milk could work
Krystle Simpson says
The flavor is amazing. I followed the recipe exact (used evaporated milk) and I’m a little disappointed that it is not Creamy as the title suggests. So technically I have Tomato Basil Chicken SOUP.
Krystle Simpson says
Ps I cooked it on low for 5 hours.
Andrea says
I just made this and mine came out soup like consistency as well. I added more cornstarch and it was perfect! Also added mushrooms and it was delish!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Andrea!
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Krystle. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it! The recipe turns out as pictured when I make it. There is usually lots of sauce as we serve over pasta.
Shannon Ruse says
I made this for the first time for my husband which by the way is an amazing cook and I’m average at best and he was satisfied. Said it was delicious! I used tomato paste instead of sauce for a thicker consistency, sautéed mushrooms in olive oil and added to the sauce and had to double the sauce recipe because there wasn’t enough to cover the chicken but the flavor is spot on!! Love it💕
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing Shannon!
Kay Clarke says
Really good recipe but incredibly disappointing that it isn’t 134 calories per serving as suggested.
600 calories in 3/4 cup of heavy cream
75 calories in 1 cup of tomato sauce
61 calories in 14oz diced tomatoes
1136 calories in 4 chicken breasts
= 1872 calories (468 calories per portion)
…and that’s without the pasta/rice! Very misleading nutritional information.
Ashley Fehr says
67 Calories in 14 oz diced tomatoes
59 calories in 1 cup tomato sauce
150 calories in 3/4 cup evaporated milk
515 calories in 4 chicken breasts, although I am finding resources that say 660 now.
= 936 calories (234 calories per person)
Hardly misleading. The automatic nutrition calculator may have calculated the chicken breasts on the lower end.
Marlene Ramirez says
My meal came out extremely watery, basically a soup. What should I do for next time to make it creamy?
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Marlene! I’m not sure what happened. I would make sure you give the corn starch a chance to thicken the sauce, as it can take some time in the slow cooker. Other than that, you could drain the diced tomatoes for an even thicker sauce
Stacey says
My came out a bit watery too. It’s been 3 and half hours. My chicken is cooked. Should I keep it on low for longer in hopes for it to thicken up a bit?
Ashley Fehr says
It won’t thicken further, but you can always add additional corn starch slurry if you prefer and let it cook for 20 minutes on high to thicken.
Kristina says
Very flavorful and super easy to make. Loved it!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Kristina!
Linda Czerwinski says
I would give this recipe a 10 if available. Delicious, easy, economical and looks nice when plated.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much Linda!
Kristin says
This recipe was great. I did not use the crockpot, I just used my Dutch oven. I lightly browned some chicken in olive oil, added the tomatoes and the marinara, salt and basil and cooked those til the chicken was done. Added some vegan sour cream at the end (I’m dairy free ) and served over spaghetti. Really easy, quick and tasty dinner.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Kristin!
GlobalGal724@gmail.com says
Sept 2020 – Excellent, easy to make, tastes delicious, it’s guest-worthy! Highly recommended.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much!
Lauren says
I used half the amount of cream because I was running low, tripled the garlic bc it’s my fav and shredded fresh mozzarella over the chicken in the crockpot to melt before serving. Delicious. I also used a large can of seasoned sauce – any kind of good tomato sauce will do.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Lauren! Love the mozzarella addition!
ericam001@gmail.com says
This recipe was amazing. I used Zoodles and it was awesome. The only thing is I didn’t like the fresh basil at the end. I am definitely doing this again.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for your feedback!
Lynn Mahanna says
How big are the chicken breasts?
I have Perdue perfect potions and I’m
Wondering if they will be too small and over cook
Ashley Fehr says
My chicken breasts are usually around the 150 grams/5 oz mark. I would just check your chicken at the lower 3 hour mark and they should be cooked.
Karissa says
Cook on low or high? Cannot wait to try!
Ashley Fehr says
Cook on low for 3-5 hours
Catherine says
Is kcal the same as calorie? So it’s 134 calories per serving?
Ashley Fehr says
kcal is the same as calories
Jaclyn says
I made this with tomato basil pasta sauce and it was perfect. I also accidentally used the whole jar instead of a cup but I’m glad I did because it made a lot of extra sauce which we like. We ate it over jasmine rice with some veggies it was perfect! This is a good weeknight meal to put in the rotation.
Jaclyn says
I forgot to say I also added Italian seasoning to it from the beginning when it started cooking it was a good addition.
Joanie says
This was excellent and extremely easy! I used Trader Joe’s Pasta sauce, I think any good tomato based pasta/spaghetti sauce would work well. I added a splash of vodka, some red pepper flakes, and a tsp of chicken bullion in place of the salt. Thank you for this recipe ❣️
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Joanie! And thanks for sharing your swaps!
Audrey says
Can you cook this with frozen breasts or must you thaw them first?
Ashley Fehr says
I would recommend thawing first just because the extra liquid will dilute the sauce
Shannon Stafford says
Can you use coconut milk instead of heavy cream? Mind you – I so want the heavy cream, just trying to be good. LOOKS AMAZING!! Putting in the week plan this week! TIA!!
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Shannon! I haven’t tried with dairy free milk unfortunately! It will work, I’m just not sure how it will alter the flavor.
Devon says
I used low fat evaporated milk and it worked really well
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Devon!
Trn says
Did it work with coconut milk? Did you can coconut milk/cream or refrigerator coconut milk?