Simple meets satisfying in this easy crockpot chicken meal!
Crock pot chicken and rice is a full meal with tender chicken, vibrant veggies, and seasoned rice.
Both hearty and healthy, it’s a family favorite.
An Easy Crock Pot Chicken Meal
- This quick and easy crockpot chicken and rice recipe is a perfect weeknight dinner.
- With just a few simple steps, it’s both healthy and hearty.
- This dish is a nutritional powerhouse, combining lean chicken, wholesome brown rice, and vibrant veggies for a balanced dinner.
- The Crockpot does the work making this a no-fuss favorite.
- Leftovers make satisfying lunches or dinners
- This recipe works great for using up leftover veggies, too! Serve with a simple tossed salad and some homemade dinner rolls.
Ingredients for Crockpot Chicken & Rice
Chicken – Choose boneless, skinless chicken breasts or switch to chicken thighs (about two thighs per person).
Vegetables – Onions, carrots, and peas are our favorites and a little bit of roasted red peppers add extra color and flavor. Feel free to mix it up with broccoli, sliced mushrooms, beans, or your frozen green beans or a frozen veggie medley.
Rice – I recommend instant brown rice for a quick cooking option that won’t get mushy. If you use instant white rice, reduce the cooking time slightly.
Sauce – Skip the cans of cream of chicken soup! This sauce is made with fresh ingredients like chicken broth, milk, and cheese for a homemade flavor and creamy texture.
How to Make Crockpot Chicken & Rice
- Add the vegetables (except the peas), broth, Italian seasoning, and chicken to the Crockpot.
- Stir in the peas and instant rice and cook until the rice is fluffy.
- Add sliced chicken, milk, and cheese and cook until the cheese is melted, as per the recipe below. Season with additional salt & pepper to taste.
Tips
- Prep Ahead: Chop the veggies and measure the ingredients a couple of days ahead for quick morning prep.
- Season: While the recipe includes seasoning, feel free to customize it with your favorite herbs and spices for a personal touch. Try a pinch of rosemary, thyme, or even a dash of hot sauce.
- Chicken Temp: Use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken reaches 165°F.
- Don’t Peek: Avoid lifting the lid of the Crockpot too frequently; each time you do, it releases heat and extends the cooking time.
- Cheese on Top: If you love cheese, add a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese just before serving.
Got Leftovers?
- Keep leftover Crockpot chicken and rice casserole in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat portions of this chicken recipe on the stovetop with a little milk to make it creamy again.
- Freeze portions for up to 4 weeks.
More Slow Cooker Chicken Favorites
If you’re looking for another great crock pot recipe, here are some of our favorites!
If you’re looking for more easy Crockpot dinners, try crockpot chicken tacos, slow cooker pork tenderloin, or this slow cooker beef stew!
Crockpot Chicken and Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth low sodium
- 2 large carrots peeled and finely diced
- ½ onion finely diced
- ½ cup roasted red peppers chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups instant brown rice
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- In a 4-quart crockpot, stir together the broth, carrots, onion, red peppers, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Add chicken breasts, cover, and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
- When chicken is cooked, remove and place on a cutting board.
- Stir in the peas and rice, cover, and cook on high for 15 minutes.
- When chicken is cool enough to handle, slice thinly.
- After 15 minutes, stir the chicken, milk, and cheese into the crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 15 more minutes, until cheese is melted and rice is tender.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Main Course, Slow Cooker
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Do not double like the web site allows for. I tried this and it has been cooking for 6.5 hours, still not done. The chicken cooked great. The carrots and rice are still not cooked (I used instant store brand…only one brand I could find). Taste testing, I think there’s too much onion. I used fresh mozzarella, and so far it isn’t combining well. I’m not sure I’d try it again without doubling. So frustrating when a meal we waited for doesn’t work out. Moral of the story, the web site doubling tool doesn’t work.
Im so sorry that it didn’t work out, Terri. Thank you for trying the recipe!
Made recipe but think more or other seasoning would make a vast improvement. Brown rice was bland to our pallet. I read other reviews and found rice was not quite done – we experienced the same. Not all that bad, just not flavorful enough for our liking.
Can plain white Minute Rice be used in place of brown rice in this recipe?
We haven’t tried but other readers have used instant white rice with great results.
Would I be able to double this recipe?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Kayla. For the best results in a Crock Pot, you will want it to be a maximum of 3/4 full so as long as it fits it should be just fine. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
has anyone tried using frozen veggies?
This recipe does use frozen peas Leanne and other frozen veggies can be added, but they may need to be added sooner to ensure they are heated through. Enjoy!
Everything came out great besides the carrots. I would recommend cutting the carrots REALLY small or just using smaller carrots. Also i added a little bit of beef broth at the end to add a little extra flavor. Definitely would do it again!
I loved this recipe! It came out perfect with the instant brown rice. I am thinking of making it again with zucchini. Have you done it using zucchini before, and do you have any suggestions on timing for when to add it to the crock pot?
We have only tried this recipe as written but I would suggest adding the zucchini in step 4!
I did this tonight with finely diced zucchini during step 4 and it came out perfect. Thank you so much for the guidance!
I got a crock pot so I could cook food while I was at work 4 hours is way too quick to cook food. I need stuff that cooks for at least 9 hours.
We have lots of options for slow cooker recipes here.
I only have regular brown rice, it takes 60 minutes to cook. If o wanted to use that instead of the instant, would I add it at the beginning, with the veg, and chicken on top?
We have only tried this as written so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it goes if you try it.
Can’t wait to make some of these recipes
Okay I didnt get instant rice and I have regular brown rice how long will it take in the crock pot to get done
I haven’t tried this with regular brown rice so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it goes if you do try it!
Followed the recipe almost exactly. I was never expecting a crockpot recipe that I’ll be cooking for 2-5 hours to need Instant Rice and used regular rice. It’s my fault for not noticing the INSTANT RICE ONLY component and how important it is that this recipe ONLY WORKS WITH INSTANT RICE. I’ve cooked chicken, rice, and veggies a number of times in crockpots and never had an issue because they were never INSTANT RICE ONLY. I wish the title of the recipe was “Crockpot Chicken and Instant Rice”. Now I’m just throwing away a bunch of ingredients that I didn’t have the resources to throw away. This was a needed meal.
I am so sorry to hear that Justin. This recipe does require instant brown rice, as listed in the ingredients. It is not added until the very end in step 4 though, if you added the regular rice at the start of the recipe you may be able to cook it a little while longer to salvage it.
Disappointed!! I followed the recipe from beginning to end. After adding the rice and cooking for 30 minutes, the rice was still hard. I had to add a lot of liquid and continued to cook on high for an additional 2-1/2 hrs. At that point I wasn’t even hungry and now I have a Tupperware filled with uncooked rice and chicken. Into the trash tomorrow.
So sorry to hear that Sue. When you added the rice did you cook it on high?
It’s an ok recipe, but a little added broccoli would be nice. Also, 2 chicken breasts for 6 people is a little skimpy & stingy on the meat. Just sayin’…..
I tried it for the first time tonight. I followed the instructions exactly and my family loved it. Don’t be discouraged from trying this by any of the negative reviews, if you take your time and follow the instructions it will be great. I plan on trying a different crockpot recipe of yours once a week.
How much is considered a serving?
Hi Taylor, the serving size will vary on the size of the vegetables used but it will be about ¼ of your total recipe, around 1 1/2 cups per serving.
I am going to try this but im cooking for myself so 2 servings would be the max. Do i just use 1/3 of everything in the ingredient list?
⅓ of all of the ingredients would make this recipe into 2 servings. I can’t say for sure how they would cook in the slow cooker as a slow cooker should generally be at least 1/2 full. It may work if you have a small 2qt slow cooker. Let us know how it goes for you!
I was really excited because this looked good, but it was pretty disappointing. The rice wasn’t even close to done after half an hour, and I had to add a lot more liquids and cook for about another hour, maybe more. When it was finally done, it tasted mediocre, not very flavorful.
So sorry to hear that Carissa. We use instant brown rice with this recipe and have never had an issue with it.