12 Easy and Cozy Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes for Busy Weeknights

Getting dinner on the table during a busy weeknight can sometimes feel like loads of work, but these slow cooker chicken recipes are here to save the day.

8 Easy and Cozy Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes for Busy Weeknights

Simply Recipes

Slow cooker recipes are a busy person’s best friend, especially when it comes to preparing meals during the week. Often the slow cooker is the best way to get dinner on the table with minimal effort.

Dishes that normally require hours of simmering or stewing become more hands-off with a slow cooker. With it, you can start cooking tonight's dinner in the morning before heading out to work or before beginning a busy day and come home to a fully cooked meal. Everything from soups to stews to proteins can be prepared in this workhorse of the kitchen.

This roundup of slow cooker chicken recipes will give you a plan to make mealtimes a bit easier, especially if you’re adapting to a new back-to-school routine. Most, if not all, of these recipes, require minimal amounts of additional prep work to make a complete meal.

  • Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Casserole

    Easy Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Casserole
    Elise Bauer

    Start by browning your chicken thighs on the stovetop. Browning the meat before adding it to the slow cooker caramelizes it, which gives your dish a deeper flavor, so this step shouldn’t be skipped. This slow cooker meal is truly a one-dish dinner. Though it doesn't need anything else I like to serve mine with a garden salad on the side.

  • Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

    Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Chili Chicken Chili in the crockpot
    Emma Christensen

    This Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Chili requires minimal prep work. Make things even easier on yourself, by picking up pre-cut vegetables like onions and celery from your grocer's produce aisle. Leftover chicken chili can be used to top nachos, French fries, or a bed of rice, making this an extremely versatile dish.

  • Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Chicken Wings

    Honey buffalo chicken wings cooked in a crock pot and served with blue cheese dressing
    Irvin Lin

    Get the exterior of broiled wings without all the effort. Keeping the wings warm in the slow cooker without compromising their texture or flavor makes them ideal for households that have different eating schedules. 

  • Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken Tacos

    Two Crockpot Chipotle Chicken Tacos on a plate with lime wedges
    Nick Evans

    I prefer to make most of my taco meat in the slow cooker. Slow-cooking proteins to use in tacos is ideal because the meat always comes out fork-tender. You can even create a buffet-style setup where your family can customize and prepare their own tacos, making this dish even more weeknight-friendly. Don't limit this recipe to just tacos either. This chicken goes well on nachos, in sandwiches, and as a topping for grain bowls.

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  • Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

    Easy Chicken and Rice Soup in a bowl with bread and salad nearby. A slow cooker is behind the bowl.
    Alison Bickel

    For most people preparing soup during the week is an unrealistic goal. With this Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup, however, you don't have to worry about standing over a soup pot after a long, tiring day. Instead, everything goes into the slow cooker at the beginning of the day and simmers away. Par-cooked rice is recommended, but regular rice will stand in just fine. This soup also stores and freezes well.

  • Slow Cooker Chicken With Morrocan Spices

    Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken
    Elise Bauer

    If you don’t have a tagine, you can make this Moroccan chicken dish right in your slow cooker. Chicken thighs are cooked low and slow with spices, olives, lemon, onion, and raisins. Serve this with a side of couscous and a cucumber salad.

  • Buffalo Chicken Chili

    Bowl of buffalo chicken chili with toppings
    Aaron Hutcherson

    This recipe started out as a stovetop dish, but it transforms so easily into a slow cooker meal that it had to be included in this roundup. It takes the flavors of your favorite wings and combines them into a unique stew. This chili is amazing on its own, but can also double as a topping for baked potatoes or tortilla chips. Make this chili spicier by adding more hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes.

  • Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

    Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat
    Elise Bauer

    This pull-apart chicken requires only 10 minutes of prep before it simmers in the slow cooker for a few hours. To get dinner on the table simply shred the tender chicken before serving it on either corn or flour tortillas along with your favorite taco toppings. Grab containers of pico de gallo or guacamole at the market to make life a bit easier. If you want to switch things up, use it as a filling for burritos, tamales, or a taco salad. I like to serve these chicken tacos with a side of cilantro lime rice.

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  • Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

    slow cooker chicken stock
    Alison Bickle

    Many of these slow cooker chicken recipes call for the addition of chicken stock, and this recipe will ensure you have it on hand. Any time you have a chicken carcass, this is the easiest way to turn it into chicken stock. Snap the bones of the carcass to release marrow and collagen, add them to the slow cooker with carrot, onion, and celery plus spices and cover with water. There's no salt in this stock—add it when you use the stock in recipes that call for stock or broth.

  • Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken Stew

    Overhead view of a slow cooker chicken tagine with apricot and served with rice on a white plate.

    Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

    Looking for something to ignite your palate? This is the slow cooker chicken recipe that will do it. The Moroccan cuisine-inspired apricot chicken gets a lot of its flavor from chermoula—a marinade and relish popular in North African cuisine—and dried apricots.

  • White Chicken Chili

    White bean chicken chili in a serving bowl with chips

    Elise Bauer

    Made with white beans, chicken, and mild green chiles, white chicken chili doesn't have the heat that many beef chili dishes have, but it still has a ton of flavor. It freezes well, too, so one slow cooker full can last a while. This recipe includes instructions to make it both on the stovetop or in the slow cooker, where the flavors will meld together all day.

  • Easy Green Chicken Chili

    green chicken chili in bowls with avocado slices
    Nick Evans

    Another recipe that's adaptable for the slow cooker, green chicken chili. The green comes from roasted Hatch peppers that are mild enough to make this a kid-friendly bowl of deliciousness. Top with sliced avocado for an extra burst of nutrition.