An easy Crock-Pot chicken recipe the whole family loves is solid gold. This Crock-Pot Italian chicken is a flavorful go-to recipe you can throw together even on your busiest days. The base is simple: chicken thighs, sliced onion, and a 24-ounce jar of marinara or tomato-basil sauce. If you want to make your Crock-Pot Italian chicken even better, add a few extra flavor ingredients from the fridge and pantry.
Crock-Pot Italian Chicken
Slow simmering chicken thighs in a tomato-based sauce is almost a magical process. You’ll end up with chicken that is tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Serve this Crock-Pot Italian chicken over your favorite pasta, or over steamed or roasted veggies for a low-carb option.
Choosing a sauce
Use a marinara or tomato-basil spaghetti sauce for this recipe. Choose a sauce that is low in sugar. A sauce with less sugar is less likely to scorch during the long cooking time. Even on the low setting, sugary sauces have a tendency to scorch in the Crock-Pot. Look for a sauce that has six or fewer grams of sugar per serving.
This is the sauce I like to use:
Crock-Pot Italian Chicken
You don’t have to use this particular sauce. There are plenty of low-sugar marinara style sauces to choose from. Choose your favorite, as long as it has six grams or less of sugar per serving. Another good option for this recipe is to use a homemade sauce, like Extra Veggie Marinara Sauce.
Prepping and cooking Crock-Pot Italian chicken
Start your Crock-Pot Italian chicken by slicing a large onion and placing it in the bottom of the Crock-Pot. Use a yellow onion or sweet onion for this recipe.
Crock-Pot Italian Chicken
Trim the excess fat from six chicken thighs, and place the chicken on top of the onions. You don’t need to trim all the fat from the chicken thighs; just trim away any large pieces.
You may be wondering if chicken breasts will work in this recipe instead of chicken thighs, and the answer is yes. Chicken thighs are my number one choice for this recipe, but you can also use chicken tenders or chicken breast fillets. If you want to use breast meat instead of thighs, I recommend doubling the olive oil, butter, and water. This is because chicken breasts are drier than chicken thighs.
After adding the chicken, you can choose to add a few pantry seasonings, including garlic salt, Italian seasoning herb mix, and dried basil. Adding these extra ingredients isn’t absolutely necessary, but I recommend it to boost the flavor of the dish. I also like to drizzle the seasoned chicken with a little olive oil and melted butter. Chicken thighs, olive oil, and melted butter provide just the right amount of fat in this dish to boost the flavor of the chicken, onion, and all the seasonings.
Pour the spaghetti sauce over the chicken, along with a little water to prevent burning. Use fully thawed chicken. Cover and cook about three hours on high or six hours on low, until the thickest part of the chicken reaches at least 165°F on a food thermometer and the meat is tender. Keep the lid on during cooking except when checking doneness.
Once the chicken has reached 165°F and is tender, check the sauce. If it is thinner than you like, the original recipe allows 30–60 minutes on high with the lid removed to evaporate excess liquid; do this only after the chicken is cooked and if your slow cooker’s instructions allow it. This optional reduction adds time. Shred the cooked chicken with two forks before serving.
Taste your Crock-Pot Italian chicken and adjust the seasonings. You may want to add more herbs, pepper, or garlic salt.
Crock-Pot Italian Chicken
Serve this Crock-Pot Italian chicken over your favorite pasta, or over steamed or roasted vegetables. Optionally, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and garnish with fresh basil.
I get pretty excited when I come up with a recipe like this one that’s incredibly easy and incredibly flavorful at the same time. This recipe is a keeper, and I hope you and your family love it!
Timing and Leftovers
The recipe card’s 3-hour cooking time and 3-hour-10-minute total use the high setting. The low setting takes about 6 hours, plus prep; optional sauce reduction takes longer. Cooking times vary by slow cooker, so check the chicken’s temperature rather than relying on the clock alone.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow covered containers and use within 3–4 days. Reheat on the stove, in the microwave, or in the oven to 165°F; do not use the slow cooker to reheat cold leftovers.
World’s Easiest Crock-Pot Italian Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning herb blend
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 jar prepared marinara or tomato-basil spaghetti sauce 24-ounce jar; see notes
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Thinly slice a large yellow or sweet onion and place in the bottom of the Crock-Pot.
- Trim excess fat from 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. It is not necessary to trim all the fat from the chicken, just any large pieces.
- Place the chicken on top of the onion slices. Sprinkle with garlic salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and dried basil.
- Drizzle seasoned chicken with olive oil and melted butter.
- Pour the jar of spaghetti sauce over the chicken. Pour in water.
- Place the lid on the Crock-Pot and cook fully thawed chicken on high for about 3 hours or low for about 6 hours, until the thickest part reaches at least 165°F on a food thermometer and the chicken is tender. Keep the lid on except when checking doneness.
- After the chicken reaches 165°F and is tender, optionally turn the Crock-Pot to high and remove the lid for 30–60 minutes to evaporate excess liquid, if your appliance instructions allow. This optional reduction adds time.
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks.
- Taste your Crock-Pot Italian chicken and adjust the seasonings. You may want to add more herbs, garlic salt, or pepper.
- Serve over your favorite pasta, or over roasted or steamed vegetables.
- Garnish with grated Parmesan and/or chopped fresh basil, if desired.
Notes
Disclosures: The author was not compensated by any person or company for the content of this post. The post may contain affiliate links. If you buy a product using these links, we receive a commission. This helps with the cost of publishing recipes on this website.
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