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Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken is a super easy, super comforting, super flavorful dinner! Because it’s made in the crockpot, there is very little hands-on time. Let the slow cooker do the work and cook your meat and potatoes at the same time.
Crockpot Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Slow cooker garlic chicken with potatoes is a full comforting meal made right in the crockpot. Serve it with a side of veggies like roasted garlic green beans, sauteed asparagus, or even coleslaw.
You’ll start this chicken off on the stove by pan searing it.
Do you have to sear chicken before putting it in the slow cooker? No, but I recommend it for a few reasons.
First, it locks in moisture which leads to deeper flavor.
Second, it looks better! Seared chicken gets that beautiful, brown skin on it.
Slow cooker dishes are known for being a bit blah looking, but this helps pretty it up. Finally, searing it first helps to speed up the cook time.
If you’re after the same flavors but need a 30 minute meal, try my skillet garlic parmesan chicken & potatoes.
Tools you’ll need
- Slow Cooker – This is a slow cooker recipe so obviously you’ll need a slow cooker. I have had this “set it & forget it” model for years and love that it switches itself over to WARM after the designated cooking time. It is helpful for long days at the office.
- Tongs – I use tongs for everything lately but they’re especially nice for handling raw meat so you keep your hands clean.
- Skillet – You will pan sear the chicken before adding it to the slow cooker to get the skin crisp.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
- CHICKEN – Bone-in chicken thighs are used in this recipe. Because of the higher fat content, thighs (dark meat) are less likely to dry out.
- SEASONINGS – You’ll need garlic salt, paprika, and pepper.
- GARLIC – Fresh cloves of garlic are best (you can buy them peeled!), but minced garlic packed in oil works as well.
- OIL – Extra virgin olive oil is my preference.
- POTATOES – Baby potatoes are easy to work with but you can also cube a russet. I prefer to use baby red skins and/or gold potatoes.
- PARMESAN CHEESE – Shredded or shaved parmesan cheese will melt best, but grated will work as well.
If you love these flavors, try my Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta next!
How to make Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- STEP ONE: You’ll start by seasoning the chicken then pan searing it to get a crisp skin. This gives the chicken great color and locks in moisture.
- STEP TWO: Halve or quarter the potatoes, lay them into the bottom of the slow cooker and toss with seasoning.
- STEP THREE: Layer the chicken thighs on top of the potatoes, cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- STEP FOUR: Right before serving, sprinkle on the parmesan cheese, cover and let melt, and the serve!
Is it OK to put raw chicken in the slow cooker?
Yes, raw chicken is what a slow cooker is intended for.
Now if you asked if you can put frozen chicken in the slow cooker I would tell you no.
A slow cooker cooks…slow. When you start from frozen, the meat doesn’t come up to a safe temperature quick enough, leaving room for bacteria to fester.
That said, plenty of people will tell it is fine, but I personally only cook from raw.
How do you slow cook chicken without drying it out?
This recipe uses chicken thighs which have more fat content and are less likely to dry out than chicken breasts. Cooking on LOW also helps to prevent the chicken from drying out – 5 hours on LOW is good for thighs.
Can I use boneless chicken thighs or breasts?
You can, boneless will cook faster and possibly be a bit drier. I’d do 3-4 hours on LOW and make sure the chicken hits 165° and the potatoes are fork tender.
Every slow cooker runs differently. Times given are a general recommendation and should be tested in your own slow cooker and adjusted as needed.
How to store it
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
Can you freeze it?
You can freeze cooked chicken and potatoes. If they are properly stored in an airtight freezer container, they will keep for up to 3 months.
That said, I find frozen potatoes often have a texture change after being frozen and thawed so they’re not my favorite.
Need more slow cooker chicken recipes? Try these:
- Crockpot Sweet & Sour Chicken
- Crockpot Chicken Parmesan with Tortellini
- Crockpot Chicken & Rice
- Crockpot Chicken Alfredo
- Crockpot Honey Bourbon Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
Click here for my entire collection of slow cooker recipes.
Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the garlic salt, paprika, and pepper together.
- Sprinkle half of the seasoning mixture on the chicken thighs.
- In a medium skillet over medium high heat add in 1 tablespoon oil and then place the chicken thighs skin down and sear for 2 minutes or until golden.
- Combine the remaining seasoning mix with the minced garlic and remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
- Halve or quarter your baby potatoes depending on size.
- Toss the potatoes with the seasoning mix and place in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Add the chicken on top of the potatoes.
- Cook on LOW heat for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- Right before serving sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
- Top with parsley for a pop of color if you like.
- Serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Has anyone doubled this? Or added additional thighs?
Want to make for company and I don’t think 4 thighs will be enough.
Doubling in the slow cooker can get tricky, make sure you have enough room and adjust cook time.
I would like to know it I can use boneless and skinless chicken thighs?
Yes, but it’ll cook quicker so you’ll need less time.
Can this be made using boneless chicken breasts? If so, for what length of time?
You can, boneless will cook faster and possibly be a bit drier. I’d do 3-4 hours on LOW and make sure the chicken hits 165° and the potatoes are fork tender 🙂
Can boneless & skinless chicken breasts be substituted for bone in & with skin breasts ?
You can, boneless will cook faster and possibly be a bit drier. I’d do 3-4 hours on LOW and make sure the chicken hits 165° and the potatoes are fork tender 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight for my family and they loved it! It was so delicious, juicy and tender!
Yay, thanks! 🙂
First time I used Ken’s 3 chesse Italian dressing. To toss my potatoes and I also used onion powder in some kind and rosemary to toss my potatoes in. We are going to add green beans as a side dish for dinner with it. It looks yummy.
I hope you liked it!
Does the nutritional information include the potatoes or just the chicken thighs ?
The whole thing but it is just an estimate, you would need to calculate using your exact ingredients & amounts.
Don’t you need some kind of liquid in the crock pot to help with cooking?
Nope.
I have high blood pressure, could I use garlic powder? In place of garlic salt?
sure 🙂 If you haven’t tried it, we like the Costco no-salt seasoning, too.
I want to tell you, I’ve never been a big fan of chicken thighs. I’ve read comments by quite a few recipe writers stating that thighs are more flavorful, less dry, etc. than chicken breasts, but I never found that to be true. Well, maybe less dry, but not in a good way. More like “more slimy”. Despite that, I continued to try chicken thigh recipes, including several slow cooker ones, hoping to be convinced, and was always underwhelmed and never made any of them more than once.
Until this recipe. This is the first chicken thigh recipe I’ve made which turned out what I consider to be delicious chicken thighs, the first one that made me want to eat more than one thigh. The texture of the chicken is just different and much better than in the other recipes I’ve made. The garlic parmesan flavor is great as well. I will be making this again.
Yay 🎉 I generally agree with you & use breasts 90% of the time, but I’m glad you kept trying.
Could I substitute with sweet potatoes? Would it change the cooking time?
Sweet potatoes generally cook a bit faster so you may need to adjust.
If using boneless chicken breasts would I just put them into the crock pot instead of cooking them on the stove first? Since there’s no skin to crisp up?
Yes, just watch cook time because boneless breasts will cook faster.