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This Creamy Crockpot Chicken recipe is the perfect cold-weather dish! It's easy, hearty, and the flavorful cayenne will warm you right up.
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👩🏻🍳 Why You'll Love This Creamy Crockpot Chicken
This creamy crockpot chicken recipe has been a real lifesaver for me. I love to enjoy a home-cooked hot meal at the end of the day, but like many people, when I am tired and hungry, I don't really have the patience to start a big involved cooking project. That is a huge factor in my love-affair with my slow cooker!
Even though I have started using an instant pot, which I LOVE for some things (especially corn on the cob, potatoes, and just about any fresh veggie), my best dinners are still the chicken breast crock pot recipes. (Although I often use chicken thighs instead, as they are not much different nutritionally and my family loves to have dark meat sometimes).
Recipes like this one are so easy: prep in the morning, turn on the crockpot, and by the time dinner rolls around there's almost no work to do.
This creamy crockpot chicken is perfect for colder weather but will taste delicious all year long. For only 6 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep, this delicious dish comes together perfectly every time!
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- pepper and onion strips - these frozen veggies come sliced and ready to go, which makes for easy prep!
- cream cheese - gives this dish a rich and creamy texture.
- cream of chicken soup - helps prevent your chicken from drying out and increases the creamy flavor.
- ranch dip mix - sort of a secret ingredient; this dip mix will add so much flavor for almost no work at all!
- cayenne pepper - provides a bit of heat to contrast perfectly with the creaminess of this recipe.
- chicken breast - you can also use thighs if you prefer dark meat.
🔪 Instructions
- Place pepper and onion strips, cream cheese, cream of chicken soup, ranch dip mix, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
- Mix well.
- Place chicken in the bottom of the crock pot and spread the mixture over top.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours, then serve!
👪 FAQs
No, you can put the raw chicken right in the crock pot. I have even used frozen chicken, adjusting the time time to be sure that it is fully cooked. As when you're working with any kind of raw meat, be sure to thoroughly wash your hands and any surfaces that were touched by the raw chicken!
There are a few things you need to do.
First, make sure your lid is on tightly to keep in the moisture while cooking.
Second, make sure you aren't over-cooking. Try checking your dish at the minimum time threshold (usually 4 hours). If the chicken in done, turn your crock pot to WARM until you're ready to serve.
Third, make sure the cooking temperature isn't too high. If you continue to have issues with dry chicken even after look at all of these things, it could be that your crock pot's LOW setting actually cooks at too high a temperature. You may want to try another crock pot or re-adjust cooking time.
I personally prefer to use boneless, skinless thighs. They tend to be more flavorful and it's generally harder to dry them out. However, lots of people prefer boneless, skinless breasts, and they'll work just as well, just be sure to not overcook them!
Yes, here are a few others that look delicious!
This Crock Pot Creamy Ranch Chicken and Potatoes from Wishes and Dishes looks really tasty! You don't even have to peel the potatoes, and if you use baby carrots you don't even have to worry about peeling and cutting up carrots, either.
I also like this Cheesy Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti from The Recipe Rebel. It looks so delicious, I can't wait to try it!
And I love the flavor combo in this Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken from Buns In My Oven. This is on my must-try list!
If you allow it to cool and then store properly in an airtight container of some kind, your chicken should last at least 4 days or so.
You can also freeze this dish for up to 4 months! When it comes time to serve, just leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight if possible) to thaw.
In a pinch, the microwave is a good way to get this chicken heated through again, but if you have some more time you could also pop it in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or so.
•It’s important to look at the “best by” date, but also pay attention to the color.
•Your chicken should be a nice, healthy pink hue.
•It’s best to buy only as much as you’ll need. If you have to buy more but don’t plan on using the excess chicken right away, you can store it in the freezer for up to nine months.
•If you’re storing chicken in the fridge, you should try to use it within 1 to 2 days.
Creamy Crockpot Chicken is the perfect comfort food and tastes incredible served over pasta or rice (but it's also delicious all on its own!).
📖 Variations
- If you prefer, you can use fresh peppers and onions and slice them into strips yourself! While the frozen is super handy and convenient, this could up the freshness factor of your dish!
- There are a number of other vegetables that would be delicious with this recipe. Try mushrooms, broccoli, or asparagus to switch up the flavors a bit.
- If you can't find ranch dip seasoning anywhere, here's a list of some spices and seasonings that you combine to get the same effect: garlic powder, onion powder, dill, parsley, chives, salt and pepper.
- Any creamy soup will achieve just about the same consistency for this recipe, so if you want you could switch up the flavor with something like a cream of mushroom or cream of broccoli soup.
🥗 Suggested Side Dishes
Serve your creamy crockpot chicken with some of these yummy sides!
🍗 Additional Crockpot Chicken Recipes
If this creamy crockpot chicken has you craving other simple and tasty chicken recipes, allow me to direct you to a few more classics!
Creamy Crockpot Chicken Recipe
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📋 Recipe Card
Crock Pot Creamy Cayenne Chicken
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pepper and onion strips (1 bag frozen)
- 8 ounces light cream cheese, softened
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup (1 can)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ranch dip mix
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (start with a little less, and add more for a bigger kick!)
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the pepper and onion strips, cream cheese, cream of chicken soup, ranch dip seasoning, and cayenne pepper.
- Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot, and top with the pepper and onion mixture.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve over pasta or rice.
Notes
- You don't need to cook the chicken prior to putting it in the crock pot. I have even put frozen chicken in the crock pot, adjusting cook time to be sure that it is fully cooked.
- As with any raw meat, be sure to wash your hands and any surfaces that were touched by the raw chicken thoroughly!
- If your chicken comes out dry, here are a few things you need to do the next time. First, make sure your lid is on securely to minimize the loss of moisture during cooking. Second, make sure you aren't cooking it too long. Try checking it at the minimum time threshold (usually 4 hours). If the chicken in done, switch the crock pot to WARM until you are ready to serve. Third, make sure you aren't cooking it at too high of a temperature. If you have issues with dry chicken even after checking all these things, it may be that your crock pot's LOW setting actually cooks at too high a temperature. You may want to try another crock pot.
- You can use any boneless skinless chicken, however if you use boneless, skinless thighs they are generally more flavorful and it is harder to dry them out. However, lots of people prefer boneless, skinless breasts, and they will work fine as well, just be super-careful to not overcook!
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in December 2018, but was republished with tips, step by step photos, and a recipe change in December 2020.
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Happy cooking!
Tara
Oh yum! This creamy chicken looks incredible over the bed of pasta. I would also love to try it with the quick parmesan garlic bread.