12 Slow-Cooker Chicken Recipes You and Your Family Will Love (2024)

FAQs

What makes chicken tough in a crockpot cooking? ›

In addition, chicken breast has less fat and can become dry (chewy or rubbery) if cooked for too long. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.

We found that the only way to cook chicken (and turkey) in a slow cooker is on the low setting and for a relatively short amount of time.

Perhaps the biggest tip is to make sure to sear the chicken, even if it's just on one side, prior to cooking. That's because it helps to not only enhance the chicken's visual appeal with that golden color but also makes the meat more flavorful, which won't happen if you just toss it in the Crock-Pot.

Yes, you can put raw chicken in a slow cooker! Slow cookers and Crock-Pots are designed to cook raw meats. The direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking time and steam created from the tightly covered container destroys bacteria, making slow cooking safe. You can put frozen chicken in a slow cooker, too!

Not if you're using a leaner cut in the slow cooker, like chicken breast or pork chops. To help keep these cuts moist, decrease the cook time to 2-4 hours. While it cooks, check out our collection of crockpot chicken breast recipes.

Rubbery chicken is usually an indicator of overcooked chicken. The longer the chicken cooks, the more moisture it loses, and without moisture, the protein fibers become elastic, AKA rubbery.

Cover your crock pot and cook chicken breasts on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Chicken is done when the internal temp reaches 165 degrees F. Use chicken in your favorite recipes. Perfect for shredding!

You can overcook chicken in a slow cooker. If the chicken is cooked too long, it will become dry and tough. Check your chicken for doneness early, especially if it is one of your first times making it.

That is why tough meats become “fork tender” in the slow cooker. Chicken breasts have very little connective tissue; that means they can be cooked quickly because the long cooking time needed to soften connective tissue isn't necessary. They also have little fat, which means they can become dry if cooked too long.

Should you flip the chicken in the slow cooker? No, all you need to do is add all the ingredients into the slow cooker, cover and cook.

Is chicken breast or thigh better for a slow cooker? ›

Use chicken thighs or leg meat over chicken breast

We've come to love chicken thighs over chicken breast in general because they have more flavor and don't dry out as quickly. The same holds true in the slow cooker. Whether you go boneless or bone-in is up to you, but bone-in will have more flavor.

For safe and successful cooking

Never let food sit more than two hours before turning on the crock pot. Keep the lid on. It can take 20 minutes to regain the heat lost from removing the lid.

Over and over AND OVER again, we have found that chicken breast registers at 165° F (the FDA recommended safe temp) right around 3 hours on LOW. Sometimes less, sometimes more depending on the size of the breast or other ingredients in the slow cooker.

The official guideline is no more than 2 hours, total, between 40°F and 140°F. So, if your room is fairly cool, and all the ingredients were cold, at two hours in the off crock pot, you're just inside these guideline. I might suggest turning up the temperature to 160 just to be safe.

Overcooking leads to dry, tough, sawdusty meat with nearly no flavor. High doneness temperature for food safety. Salmonella is the food safety enemy in chicken that dies only at higher temperatures. But cooking chicken breast to an instant thermal-kill doneness temperature will cause it to dry out excessively.

These strategies involve cooking with either liquid or steam, which can soften tough fibers in the chicken. If you want to fire up the grill or oven, you can still cook up a tender piece of meat. Just make a brine or marinade and let your chicken sit in there for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.

Overcooking or cooking at too high a temperature can result in tough, dry chicken. Undercooking can leave chicken undercooked and chewy. Proper cooking techniques, such as roasting, grilling, or braising, can help maintain moisture and tenderness.