Crockpot Chicken and Rice

Chicken and rice is a classic combination that comes in many forms and many cuisines. There’s Cuban chicken and rice and Italian chicken and rice; Instant Pot chicken and rice soup and stovetop creamy chicken rice soup. But if you’re looking for a version that’s perfect for busy weeknights, it doesn’t get much better than this crockpot chicken and rice recipe.

Crockpot chicken and rice brings both convenience and comfort to the table, with tender chicken, fluffy rice, and a blend of flavorful seasonings and veggies, all simmered together in a slow cooker. (Plus: cheese!) It’s a wholesome one-pot meal, much like a casserole.

Crockpot Chicken and Rice

A complete meal. While you can round things out with a salad or crusty bread, this crockpot chicken and rice recipe is a balanced dish on its own with protein, whole grains, vegetables, and dairy.

Perfect for busy schedules. Thanks to the minimal prep time and slow cooking process, this dish is perfect for hectic weekdays when you don’t have much time to cook. Set it and forget it! The chicken remains juicy, the rice absorbs the broth and seasonings as it cooks, and your house smells amazing in the process.

Comforting and cozy. Crockpot chicken and rice is exactly the kind of meal I find myself craving on a cold evening—and we have a lot of those in Michigan! It’s hearty comfort food that warms you up and fills you up.

Ingredient Notes

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs: Use whichever you prefer or have on hand. Just make sure it’s boneless and skinless for easier dicing.
• Brown rice: Do not use instant or minute rice; the long slow cooking will make the instant rice go mushy on you!
• Vegetables: Lots of healthy vegetables, like bell pepper, carrot, celery, onion, and green peas (frozen) make this crockpot meal colorful, hearty and nutritious.
• Low-sodium chicken broth: Broth adds flavor to crockpot chicken and rice, and it’s the cooking liquid for the rice.
• Seasonings: Use simple pantry ingredients like garlic powder, dried thyme, paprika, kosher salt, and coarse ground black pepper.
• Shredded cheddar cheese: For the meltiest cheese, shred it off the block yourself. If you’re in a time-crunch, bagged shredded cheese is fine too.
• Fresh parsley: Optional, for garnish.

How to Make Crockpot Chicken and Rice

Assemble. Finely chop the carrots, celery, onion, and bell pepper into similarly sized pieces so they cook evenly. Coat your slow cooker with nonstick spray, then add the chicken, rice, chopped vegetables, and seasonings. Pour the broth over the top and stir.

Cook. Make sure all the ingredients are submerged in the liquid, then cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or until the chicken and rice are both fully cooked.

Finish. Take the chicken out of the crockpot and stir in the peas and cheese. Dice the chicken, then stir it back into the crockpot. Season to taste. If you’re not quite ready to serve the meal, keep the crockpot on warm until dinnertime. If it’s not going to be very long, simply turn it off. The heavy crock will keep it warm for quite a while.

Serve. If you like, add a handful of chopped parsley to garnish the chicken and rice, and then serve it. Add a simple house salad or a Caesar salad to your meal, if you like.

Helpful Tips

• Don’t swap in white rice. I tested this crockpot chicken and rice recipe with both white and brown rice, and the results were significantly better with brown rice. White rice tends to become mushy when cooked for an extended period in a crockpot.
• Cook on high. While a lot of slow cooker recipes have the leeway to cook on low or high, this isn’t one of them. I tested this recipe several times on the low setting, and the rice (both white and brown) ended up mushy. The texture is much better if you cook it on high.
• Use low-sodium chicken broth. This ensures that the dish isn’t too salty. If you only have regular broth on hand, omit the salt from the recipe and season to taste at the end of the cooking time.
• Don’t open the lid. Each time you lift the lid, heat escapes, which can affect the cooking time and temperature of the slow cooker. Only open it when you’re ready to remove the chicken to dice it.

Refrigerate: Transfer leftover crockpot chicken and rice to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freeze: This dish will freeze, although it does thicken and the rice will be much softer. If this doesn’t bother you, portion it into freezer-safe containers or bags and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.

Reheat: Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally. You may need to add a splash of chicken broth or water to loosen it up a bit.

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• Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray for easier clean up.

• Add the chicken, rice, bell pepper, carrot, celery, onion, garlic powder, thyme, paprika, salt, and black pepper to the crockpot.

  2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, 1 cup brown rice, 1 bell pepper, finely diced, 1 cup finely diced carrot, ½ cup finely diced celery, ½ cup finely diced onion, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, more to taste

• Pour the chicken broth over everything in the crockpot. Stir well and ensure that the liquid covers all the ingredients.

  3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours or until the chicken is cooked through, and the rice is tender.

• Remove chicken and stir in frozen peas and cheddar cheese.

  1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, more for topping if desired

• Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces. Return to crockpot. Stir to combine. By this time, the cheese should be melted and the peas tender, but if not, continue to cook until they are.

• Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve garnished with fresh parsley if desired.

• Cooking on low: For best results, we recommend using brown rice and cooking this meal on the high setting for 4 hours. We tested it with white rice, and we also tested it with brown rice on low, and both yielded a more mushy result.
• Storage & reheating: Leftover crockpot chicken and rice can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. It can frozen for up to 3 months but the rice will be softer and the consistency will be thicker. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally. You may need to add a splash of chicken broth or water to loosen it up a bit.

Calories: 426kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 43g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 116mg, Sodium: 554mg, Potassium: 987mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 4813IU, Vitamin C: 39mg, Calcium: 182mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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