# Simple slow-cooker chicken recipes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560 "2008-04-23T16:21:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/1 "2008-04-23T16:21:15Z")
Ideally, something that will make use of a whole chicken, but anything is welcome. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/2 "2008-04-23T16:46:06Z")
cut the chicken up, some chicken broth to line the bottom, toss in some uncooked rice, add chicken, top off with a couple of cans of cream of whatever soup. Sometimes if I forget to defrost frozen chicken breasts I use the same method but omit the rice. It cooks all day and by time I’d get home from work, it is moist & yummy. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/3 "2008-04-23T16:47:08Z")
**Crock Pot Salsa Chicken** Take one chicken, one jar of cheap salsa and half a can of pineapple (feed the other half to your nagging toddler). Cook at low for as long as you feel like it. (6 hours or so). Add in half a bag of frozen corn (Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn is awesome for this!) and a can of black beans for the last hour, if you like. **Crock Pot Taco Chicken** Take one chicken, one onion (halve it if you like, but no need to chop), one can of diced chiles, 1 packet of taco seasoning (or your own mix of cumin, oregano, paprika and cayenne), 1 cup chicken broth and cook on low. The resulting chicken is great as is over rice or shredded for tacos, burritos, etc. **Crock Pot Chicken "Alfredo"** Take one chicken, 1 packet of Italian salad dressing mix (yes, you read that right), and 2 tablespoon butter. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Sautee one small chopped onion and 2 cloves garlic in a little additional oil on the stovetop. Add 1 can cream o’ chicken soup (lowfat is fine), 8 ounces of cream cheese (lowfat or nonfat is fine) and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Add to the crock and cook another hour or so. Serve over noodles. \*\* Crock Pot Apricot Chicken\*\* (from my mother’s recipe file - I’d never have tried it otherwise! It looks disgusting to read, but it’s SO good!) One chicken, 1/2 cup French or Russian dressing (I haven’t tried reduced calorie ones yet), 1/2 cup apricot preserves (reduced sugar is fine), 1 packet dried onion soup mix. Combine and cook on low for 6-8 hours. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/4 "2008-04-23T19:51:20Z")
**WhyNot** , those recipes look delicious. One question - do you section the chicken before or after cooking? ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/5 "2008-04-23T20:24:37Z")
Line the bottom of the cooker with sliced onions and any other veggies that appeal (bell peppers, celery, carrots, what-have-you). Rub the chicken – whole or sectioned – with jerk sauce. Put the chicken on top of the onions/veggies. Throw in a can of pineapple juice, or some chicken broth, or some white wine, or a combination of these. Delish! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/6 "2008-04-23T20:33:24Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] **WhyNot** , those recipes look delicious. One question - do you section the chicken before or after cooking? [/QUOTE] Depends how lazy I’m feeling and what I want the final presentation to look like. Obviously, for the shredded Taco Chicken, there’s no need for anything to look pretty, so I cook it whole and it basically falls off the bone when it’s done. The Salsa one I can do either way, depending on if I feel like I have more time at the beginning of prep or just before dinner. The “Alfredo” one I usually cut the chicken up beforehand. I throw the backs in there, as well, for flavor, even though we don’t eat them as parts, or I throw the backs in my ginormous freezer bag of Parts For Stock. It’s also excellent with boneless skinless breasts or thighs (or both.) The Apricot one I like to do in parts, and if I’m feeding guests or feeling ambitious, I put the pieces under the broiler for a few minutes just before serving to caramelize the glaze and crisp things up a little bit. I forgot to write that in before. Mmmmmm…I’m going to try **Beadalin** ’s Jerk recipe next! That looks really yum. I did something very similar once with a pork roast and it was divine, but I never thought of doing it with chicken. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/7 "2008-04-23T22:51:51Z")
This couldn’t be simpler: Take a chicken, wash and put in the crockpot. Pour on a bottle of Cattlemen’s BBQ sauce (for some reason, this works best), and crock all day (I do add stuff like salt & pepper, maybe a bit of garlic powder). It’s delicious, more so than you might think. ---
**Author:** ![evangelinagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@evangelinagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evangelinagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/8 "2008-04-24T00:00:12Z")
Because I know you like spicy food, here goes. 🆒 Crock Chicken Jambalaya In the crock pot, put the following: 1 TBS olive oil chicken (you can use a whole chicken cut up, or breasts or whatever you like) 1/2-1lb of kielbasa 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes 1/2 bell pepper 1 qt. chicken broth 1 teaspoon oregano 1 tsp Cajun seasoning Cayenne to taste ( 1/4 tsp is suggested, I put quite a bit in…this hearty dish will bite back!) 1 chopped onion 1 stalk celery Crock all day. (7 hours or so) The key to this is in the presentation. You can serve it on rice, but for low-carb, I use fresh spinach. The hot broth wilts the spinach, and you talk about YUM! I say go for it. Hope this helps. Best Dishes! EG ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/9 "2008-04-24T01:08:46Z")
When you cook meat in a crockpot, are you supposed completely cover it in liquid? I’ve seen recipes for pulled pork that only use some small amount of sauce. I though it was basically an appliance for cooking stews and things, so you would want to have the meat submerged in liquid. I would think it would cook faster that way. ---
**Author:** ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/10 "2008-04-24T03:30:31Z")
**WhyNot** , could you clarify about how much salad dressing is in “a packet”? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/11 "2008-04-24T04:13:09Z")
[QUOTE=bathsheba] **WhyNot** , could you clarify about how much salad dressing is in “a packet”? Thanks! [/QUOTE] “A packet” as sold in the store is probably around 2 Tablespoons of dry mix. I make my own and keep it in a big jar and scoop out whatever I need it, so it’s a lot cheaper in the long run. My mix is pretty standard: 3 parts garlic salt 3 parts onion powder 3 parts white sugar 6 parts dried oregano 1 part ground black pepper 1 part dried thyme 1 part dried basil 3 parts dried parsley 6 parts salt “Parts” can be teaspoons - in which case you end up with around 1/2 a cup of mix, or it can be pinches to make just enough for this recipe or cups or scoops to make a bulk quantity. I use about 2 Tablespoons of this mix in that recipe, or one packet of store bought mix. To clarify, it’s just the dry mix, not the prepared salad dressing, in the “Alfredo” recipe. You just want the Italian flavor seasonings in there, not the oil and vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/12 "2008-04-24T06:08:29Z")
Excellent! I would have to go to a cash and carry to find the dry stuff so thanks for the recipe (and the heads up because I would have thrown in the liquid dressing and we have enough arguments in this house about my cooking as it is). ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/13 "2008-04-24T11:01:41Z")
[QUOTE=riker1384] When you cook meat in a crockpot, are you supposed completely cover it in liquid? I’ve seen recipes for pulled pork that only use some small amount of sauce. I though it was basically an appliance for cooking stews and things, so you would want to have the meat submerged in liquid. I would think it would cook faster that way. [/QUOTE] No, you don’t have to at all. You can, of course, but meat gives off its own juice (as will any vegetables that you add), so you will always end up with more liquid than you start with. Also, without the liquid covering the meat, it just slow-roasts. In short, you can, but ya don’t hafta. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-recipes/446560/14 "2008-04-29T14:51:15Z")
FWIW, here’s what I came up with, inspired by a lot of the posts above: 1 whole chicken, emptied of its cargo, washed 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and stuffed into the chicken 1 bottle of Stonewall Kitchen’s Curried Mango Grille Sauce 4 hours on high in the slow cooker, turning it over once about half-way through Y-U-M!