One of my favorite ways to make chicken is in the slow cooker. This recipe for slow cooker chicken breasts is a variation of my slow cooker chicken. I love this recipe because it is so simple and versatile, and the chicken is incredibly moist and flavorful. These chicken breasts can be served as the main course, or shredded and used for another recipe. I used these chicken breasts as filling for chicken enchiladas. I’ve also used it for tacos, burritos, salads, and sandwiches! Having good, flavorful cooked chicken on hand is always a good thing.
I use bone in, skin on chicken breasts in this recipe because they are economical and great in the slow cooker. The skin protects them and helps keep them from drying out. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be tricky in the slow cooker since they are so lean, but I love how convenient they are, so I’m working on a boneless, skinless chicken slow cooker method to share.
- 4 bone in skin on chicken breasts, about 5 pounds total
- 2 tablespoons of all-puporse steak seasoning
- 2 teaspoons of paprika or chili powder
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Use foil balls to create a "rack" in the bottom of the slow cooker.
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Season chicken breasts.
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Lay chicken breasts on top of foil and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until temperature reaches 165 degrees.
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Serve chicken breasts whole with juices brushed over the top, or shred and use for another recipe.
Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts Recipe Notes:
I discard the skin after cooking. Since the chicken has been cooking in the covered slow cooker, the skin will not be crispy. Skin that is not crispy is not worth the calories in my book:0)
I have always cooked these for four hours on high, but recently bought a new slow cooker that runs much hotter than my old slow cooker. The chicken was up to temperature after 3 1/2 hours. Cooking time will vary depending on your slow cooker.
I like the option of serving the breasts whole, so I use foil balls as a makeshift cooking rack in the slow cooker. If they simmer in the juices during cooking, they are falling apart and hard to remove.
I usually season my chicken with paprika, but since I was using this chicken for enchiladas, I used chili powder. It was delicious, and it gave the chicken a little extra kick!
You can see all of my Slow Cooker Recipes here!
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Valerie @Glittering Muffins
October 17, 2013 at 7:06 amWould it be ok to use deboned/unskinned breasts? Btw your comment fields are invisible, I just moved my cursor to see where it would change so I could write.
Amber
October 26, 2013 at 9:34 amDo I need to add water or broth to this recipe? I’ve never cooked chicken in a slow cooker before.
Melissa
October 28, 2013 at 12:05 pmNope, no need to add water!
Yvonne M.
October 27, 2013 at 10:27 amTake the skin and put it in the oven at 350. Check every 5 minutes. It will crisp up and we call that “Chicken Chips”
Lindsey
January 3, 2014 at 7:10 amTotally going to try this! Any updates on your attempts with boneless skinless? I’m iced in today so figure I might give it a go and just keep an eye on it. Love your blog!
Melissa
January 28, 2014 at 9:36 amThank you, Lindsey! I need to work on the boneless, skinless recipe. Thanks for the reminder! xo
JEN
January 17, 2014 at 4:21 amINSTEAD OF THE FOIL BALLS, COULD YOU PUT SOME BAKED POTATOES IN THE BOTTOM?
Melissa
January 28, 2014 at 9:30 amI haven’t tried potatoes, but let us know if you do. Thanks!
JEN
January 29, 2014 at 12:59 pmI did and it worked great!
Sue
February 14, 2014 at 9:33 amNow I’m going to try it with the potatoes. How about cooking it for a longer slower time since I work during the day?
Sue
February 14, 2014 at 9:35 amJen…did you use baking potatoes. Did you wrap in foil or just leave them. I love baked chicken and potatoes cooked together but have always found that chicken in the crock pot was too fluidy…
Jeanine
February 18, 2014 at 11:35 amSo no water and just wrap chicken in foil? Sounds a wee but dry to me but will do!!!
Melissa
February 21, 2014 at 8:24 amHi Jeanine!
Just to clarify, you don’t wrap the chicken in the foil. Just use the foil balls as a “rack” to cook the chicken. The chicken has a lot of moisture in it, so no need to add liquid. Hope that helps:0)
Deb
February 19, 2014 at 2:16 pmWhat Kind of Steak Seasoning did you use?
Melissa
March 23, 2014 at 4:10 pmHi Deb,
I generally use McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Courtney
May 25, 2014 at 6:52 amCan I put drumsticks in with my chicken breasts?
Toyia Tucker
May 25, 2014 at 11:23 amThanks for the recipe. I’ll try this next week!!! Baked potatoes sounds like a good add!! 🙂
Ami
August 19, 2014 at 2:16 pmIn your 4th picture above, it looks as though the chicken has been seared but your instructions do not have that step. I’ve cooked chicken in my crockpot for years but I’ve never had it come out looking like it’s been seared. Please explain?
Melissa
September 7, 2014 at 12:12 pmHi Ami,
It hasn’t been seared. The spices darken in the slow cooker. Thanks for the question!
Melissa
August 30, 2014 at 3:28 pmMmmm! This sounds great!
Nell
September 26, 2014 at 6:04 pmI think I would put some potatoes in those foil balls to bake while my chicken was getting done. One more element of the meal to have already finished.
erin
September 28, 2014 at 6:52 amIf you take the skin off is the remaining chicken seasoned?
Melissa
September 29, 2014 at 8:43 amYes!
sher
November 13, 2014 at 8:21 pmYou can put the chicken in the broiler for a few minutes if you want crispy skin
Melissa
November 14, 2014 at 9:00 amThat should work just fine!
donna
November 19, 2014 at 10:52 amI put baking potatoes in the crock pot wrapped in foil, I cook them for an hour on high and then I place my chicken beside the potatoes and cook on low for 5 hours!
Kathy
November 23, 2014 at 7:21 amThis sounds great but I agree with a previous comment, could you cook these on the low setting and if so, how long?
Leda Gregg
January 27, 2015 at 4:06 amCould you wrap potatoes in the foil or would that be too long to cook them?
Amanda
March 26, 2015 at 3:03 pmI’m going to make these the next coming week. I’m going to put potatoes in the foil! I’m so excited to see how it turns out.
Mary Faith
April 2, 2015 at 9:21 pmI’m going to try it on low for 6ish hours. Might stick the potatoes in the foil as suggested too… I’ll let y’all know what happens. 🙂
Renaie
April 3, 2015 at 9:28 amWhen I saw the pictures I thoughr the foil balls were baked potatoes. What if you foil wrap baking potatoes and use as the “rack”. Then you would have an entire meal in the crockpot. Just a thought.
Mary Faith
April 4, 2015 at 8:45 pmSo, I did this with four large bone-in chicken breasts and four large Russett potatoes. Potatoes wrapped in foil on the bottom with chicken sitting on top. I cooked it on low for 6.5 hours. Try to keep the chicken from touching the sides of the crock, it may dry out a bit where it touches the side. It turned out great!
Angel
April 25, 2015 at 1:55 pmcould I use chicken thighs or a few leg quarters?
Josh W
May 10, 2015 at 5:15 pmExcellent recipe! I had some trepidation about the whole no-broth/stock, but the chicken turned out great! I used four large russet potatoes for the base: lightly brushed with olive oil, dusted with salt and pepper, then individually wrapped in foil. Placed two bone-in breasts and four bone-in thighs on top. Everything was then dusted with McCormick Spicy Montreal Steak seasoning and a half dozen fresh sprigs of thyme. Everything was done cooking in about 3.5 hours on high. I made this for my girlfriend’s mom and sister for Mother’s Day and they couldn’t get enough of the chicken.
Relda
May 22, 2015 at 1:03 pmI love this recipe. I hate to have foil touch my food. I used smaller red potatoes scrubbed really good and then put the chicken on top of them.
Raechal McCue
August 16, 2015 at 3:23 pmMy question is for Relda, why don’t you like foil to touch your food? Is it bad for you, or does it make the food taste tin-nee… Personal preference or medically unsafe? I am learning to cook healthier and clean, not sure what that means just yet… But I would like to know. Thank you in advance!
Blessings,
Raechal
Nonnina
October 27, 2015 at 3:28 pmJust made it this morning, with individually wrapping 4 sweet potatoes in the foil. Placed 3 boneless skinless chichen breasts on top that were brushed with canola oil and seasoned with cracked black pepper, sea salt and paprika. Cooked on low for 10 hours. The potatoes were awesome, cooked perfectly, but the chicken was a bit dry, but I’m guessing it’s because there was no bone in the chicken or skin to keep it moist. I will make it again, but will use bone-in, chicken thighs, they have much more flavor. Once I added some of my favorite honey balsamic dressing to the chicken, it was fine.
Sarah
January 13, 2016 at 3:42 pmHi there everybody! I’m a college student and I’ve just purchased a little (2-quart, specifically) crockpot. would I be able to halve this recipe successfully? I’ve seen mixed comments on various recipe websites about whether or not recipes will stay true to form in a small slow cooker.
Mary Anne Wilson
April 7, 2016 at 10:59 amLove your recipes. Always looking for good slow cooker recipes due to my family’s work schedules.
Jill
October 3, 2016 at 9:56 amMade this with two bone in chicken breasts last night. Perfect. I saved the juices that pool under the foil, for future gravy making.
Dave
November 30, 2017 at 10:29 amCan i use butter on bottom instead of foil or potatoes, so chicken don’t stick