Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken cooks low and slow until tender: saucy, savory, and mostly hands-off for busy weeknights.
Weeknight Slow-Cooked Chicken in a Rich Tomato Sauce
An easy, mostly hands-off slow cooker supper that yields fork-tender chicken bathed in a savory, slightly tangy tomato sauce.
This recipe is the kind of dinner that rescues busy evenings: a short bit of prep and a long, lazy cook in the slow cooker turns ordinary chicken breasts into something deeply satisfying. The slow, moist heat keeps the meat tender while the sauce builds flavor, so you come home to a comforting one-pot meal instead of a last-minute scramble.
The sauce leans on sun-dried tomatoes and crushed tomatoes for bright, concentrated tomato flavor, with garlic, onion, tomato paste and Italian seasoning rounding everything out. A pinch of red pepper flakes wakes up the sauce with a little heat, and quickly searing the seasoned breasts before they go in the slow cooker adds golden, caramelized notes you won’t get otherwise.
Small techniques make a big difference: soften the onions and bloom the tomato paste in the skillet to pull up any browned bits, then simmer briefly with chicken broth before pouring over the chicken. Let it cook low and slow for about four hours so the flavors meld and the sauce thickens around tender, juicy breasts.
Serve it spooned over pasta, polenta, or mashed potatoes, or tear into it with crusty bread to soak up every last drop. It stores and reheats beautifully—sauce continues to mellow overnight—so it’s easy to plan ahead or pack for lunches the next day.
Ingredients
How to Make Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and season both sides with the kosher salt and black pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chicken 2 minutes per side until lightly golden; you do not need to cook through. Transfer the seared chicken to the slow cooker.
- Thinly slice the onion and mince the garlic; chop the sun-dried tomatoes into smaller pieces if large. In the same skillet, sauté the onion 3–4 minutes until softened, add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds more.
- Stir the tomato paste into the skillet with the onions and garlic, then add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth; scrape up any browned bits and bring the mixture to a simmer for 1–2 minutes.
- Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes over the top. Cover and cook on LOW for 3.5–4 hours or on HIGH for 2–2.5 hours, until the chicken is tender and reaches 165°F.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and stir the shredded chicken back into the sauce along with the heavy cream, grated Parmesan, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Cook uncovered on HIGH for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly and the cheese melts into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or pepper if needed.
- Stir in the chopped basil right before serving. Serve the Marry Me Chicken over rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes and spoon extra sauce on top.
Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken
Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken cooks low and slow until tender: saucy, savory, and mostly hands-off for busy weeknights.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 4 hr
- Servings
- 6
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and season both sides with the kosher salt and black pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chicken 2 minutes per side until lightly golden; you do not need to cook through. Transfer the seared chicken to the slow cooker.
- Thinly slice the onion and mince the garlic; chop the sun-dried tomatoes into smaller pieces if large. In the same skillet, sauté the onion 3–4 minutes until softened, add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds more.
- Stir the tomato paste into the skillet with the onions and garlic, then add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth; scrape up any browned bits and bring the mixture to a simmer for 1–2 minutes.
- Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes over the top. Cover and cook on LOW for 3.5–4 hours or on HIGH for 2–2.5 hours, until the chicken is tender and reaches 165°F.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and stir the shredded chicken back into the sauce along with the heavy cream, grated Parmesan, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Cook uncovered on HIGH for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly and the cheese melts into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or pepper if needed.
- Stir in the chopped basil right before serving. Serve the Marry Me Chicken over rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes and spoon extra sauce on top.
Nutrition
- Carbohydrates
- 12
- Saturated Fat
- 10
- Sodium
- 780
- Fiber
- 3
- Unsaturated Fat
- 13
- Protein
- 50
- Fat
- 23
- Cholesterol
- 170
- Trans Fat
- 0.2
- Calories
- 540
- Sugar
- 6