22 Slow-Cooker Chicken Dinners to Keep You Cozy This Winter

December 09, 2020

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While you’re outside playing in the snow (or cozying up inside with a blanket), let your slow-cooker do the work of making dinner. These chicken dinner recipes are packed with protein and plenty of nutritious vegetables. Whether it’s Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew or Slow-Cooker Chicken Pot Pie, these comforting, hearty meals will keep you warm.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Marsala

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This slow-cooker chicken Marsala recipe gets its full flavor from plenty of mushrooms and fragrant shallots. Whole-wheat pasta soaks up the rich sauce. Round it out with a simple green salad for a comforting healthy dinner.

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Slow-Cooker Butter Chicken

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Browning the chicken and sautéing the aromatics before everything goes into the crock pot is key to building the flavors in our version of this popular curry.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew

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This load-and-go slow-cooker chicken recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Serve this Tuscan-inspired dish with crusty bread, a glass of Chianti and a salad.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta

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This rustic stew cooks all day in the slow cooker so you can come home to a comforting, hot dinner. Not a fan of polenta? Try this healthy chicken dinner over pasta instead.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots & Herb Sauce

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Impress the in-laws, neighbors or any other dinner guests with this pretty dish. It's a slow-cooker chicken recipe that actually looks and tastes like it was oven-roasted. To save time, prep the vegetables a day ahead or in the morning, and then refrigerate until ready to brown the meat and start the slow cooker.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

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We took all the flavors of classic pot pie and made it super-easy to pull together in the crock pot. Look for ready-to-bake biscuits with minimal ingredients to keep it healthy. Biscuits tend to be high in sodium, so we advise only half a biscuit per serving if you're watching your salt intake.

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Slow-Cooker Stout & Chicken Stew

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Chicken thighs can take plenty of cooking without getting tough or drying out, which makes them perfect for the slow cooker. Here we braise them in Guinness stout along with hearty vegetables, with just the right amount of bacon for added savoriness.

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Slow-Cooker Lemon, Garlic & Sage Chicken

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When making a whole, slow-cooker chicken, it's best to buy a better-quality chicken such as one from a farm stand. The flavor and texture of the bird will hold up best over the long cook time. Also, leaving the skin on during cooking will ensure that the chicken stays moist. If you have leftover chicken, use it for a chicken soup or in a chicken salad sandwich. For a beautiful presentation, serve the chicken surrounded by fresh sage leaves and roasted, halved lemons and garlic heads.

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Spicy Chicken Lasagna

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Instead of spending hours at the stove making an Italian tomato sauce for your lasagna, let your slow cooker do the work. Your family will love the chicken and mushrooms in this makeover recipe of traditional lasagna.

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Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Chicken & Chickpea Soup

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This set-it-and-forget-it slow-cooker recipe simmers away all day so you come home to a warm and healthy dinner the whole family will love. Using bone-in chicken is the key to making rich soup without adding broth.

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Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

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This hearty jambalaya is bursting with chicken, smoked turkey sausage, and shrimp. It takes just 25 minutes to prep in the morning and then your slow cooker will work its magic and deliver a tasty meal at the end of the day.

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Slow-Cooker Arroz con Pollo (Chicken & Rice)

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This one-pot chicken dinner, inspired by the traditional dish of Spain and Latin America, comes together easily in the crock pot. The instant brown rice is added near the end, to keep it from overcooking.

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Slow-Cooker Vegetable & Chicken Meatball Soup

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Don't skip cooking the onions for the meatballs. This step softens the onions so they more easily add their sweet flavor to the meatball mixture. Best part? This slow-cooker meatball soup only requires 25 minutes of hands-on time.

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Chicken & Cornmeal Dumplings

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This version of chicken and dumplings provides plenty of vegetables with 5 grams of fiber per serving. Dumplings are made with 1 part flour and 1 part cornmeal to make them standout from a traditional flour dumpling. This hearty dinner option is the perfect comfort meal.

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White Chicken Chili

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This diabetic-friendly chicken chili recipe provides 22 grams of protein in each serving. Consider topping chili with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to reduce calorie and fat content.

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Slow-Cooker Moroccan Chicken, Vegetables & Couscous

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Loaded with chicken, onion, butternut squash, apricots, chickpeas and couscous, this slow-cooker recipe is not only bursting with color and texture, but it's also packed with protein and a host of vitamins and even contains a dose of fiber.

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Corn Bread-Topped Chicken Enchilada Casserole

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For a twist on the classic chicken enchilada casserole, this slow cooker recipe is topped with homemade corn bread.

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Slow-Cooker Umami Chicken & Vegetable Ramen Bowl

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Not only is this show-stopping dish beautiful, it also contains all the protein, carbs and vegetables needed for a complete meal. And the fact that it only requires 20 minutes of hands-on time means that you can make this slow-cooker ramen anytime.

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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

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This slow-cooker gumbo recipe skips the fat when browning the flour and swaps in turkey sausage and brown rice, resulting in a healthier dish with the classic Creole taste.

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Slow-Cooker Chickpea & Tomato Stewed Chicken

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Cooking the chicken in the butter ups the poultry's succulent flavor. Using the drippings that remain in the pan to cook other ingredients--onion, garlic and tomatoes--builds even more deliciously complex flavor into the dish. Garnish with additional fresh rosemary sprigs, if desired.

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Curried Chicken with Naan

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Chicken thighs with spicy rub are slow cooked with onions and carrots until tender. The chicken is chopped up and served on warm naan with mango-ginger chutney and spinach.

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Chicken with Sourdough Stuffing

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Don't wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas to serve this popular combo chicken with stuffing recipe. Be sure to use a hard-crusted, dense, sourdough loaf for the stuffing, as a lighter bread may not give the best texture.

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