11 Lazy Dump and Go Crockpot Chicken Dinners

These dump and go crockpot chicken dinners are the easiest meals I make.

From salsa chicken and shredded BBQ to a full chicken and stuffing plate, the chicken goes into the slow cooker raw and comes out done.

Here’s how I get through a week without turning on the stove!

I’ve had the sear-it-first argument with myself plenty of times, and the lazy side keeps winning.

Nobody at my table has ever noticed the difference, so these all skip it, and I’m not sorry.

1. Salsa Chicken

This is the one I make when the fridge has nothing in it, and it’s saved dinner more times than I can count.

Chicken breasts, a jar of salsa, a packet of taco seasoning, and six hours on low.

Buy a chunky salsa, because the smooth ones turn watery by the end.

It works as taco filling, over rice, on nachos, or cold on a salad the next day, so I always make the full batch.

2. Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies

A whole dinner from one pot, and the one I’d pick if I could only keep one recipe on this list.

Chicken thighs sit on top of carrots and baby potatoes with a honey, soy, and garlic sauce poured over everything.

Bone-in thighs don’t dry out if you’re late getting home, which is most of why I use them.

Green beans go in for the last twenty minutes only, plus a little extra sauce on the plate if you have it.

3. Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Taco night with zero standing at the stove, and my kids think it’s a treat!

Chicken, a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, and a taco seasoning you probably already have the spices for.

Shred it with two forks straight in the crock, or a pair of meat shredder claws if you do this as often as I do.

Then let it sit in the juices for ten minutes, because dry taco chicken is almost always chicken that was pulled out too fast.

Warm corn tortillas, cotija, and pickled red onion, and it’s a Tuesday I look forward to.

4. BBQ Chicken

Sweet, tangy, and the one that gets asked for by name in my house.

A bottle of barbecue sauce, a splash of Italian dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire, stirred together and poured over chicken breasts.

I know it sounds like too much sweet, and it isn’t, because the vinegar in the dressing pulls it back.

Pile it on buns with slaw, or over a baked potato if you’re skipping the bread.

5. Teriyaki Chicken

I stopped ordering the takeout version years ago, and this is why.

Soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and a little rice vinegar make the sauce, and the chicken goes in cubed so it cooks faster.

The sauce is thin when the timer goes off, so stir in a spoonful of cornstarch mixed with cold water and give it fifteen minutes on high with the lid off.

Steamed rice, sesame seeds, and green onions on top.

6. Chicken and Stuffing

A Thanksgiving plate on a Tuesday, and I want it most in January.

Chicken breasts, a box of stuffing mix, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and a bag of green beans dumped on top.

I’ll admit it’s not pretty in the pot, but four hours later the stuffing has soaked up the chicken juices and the beans are cooked through.

Don’t stir it until it’s done, since the stuffing needs to sit on top and steam.

7. Buffalo Chicken

My meal prep favorite, and I’ve eaten it four days running without getting tired of it.

Chicken breasts cook in buffalo sauce, get shredded, and go back in the sauce with a little butter.

It goes in wraps, on salads, in lettuce cups, and on baked sweet potatoes, and I use a mild hot sauce so people can add more at the table.

8. Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes

Garlicky, cheesy, and it looks like a lot more work than it is.

Chicken thighs and halved baby red potatoes get tossed in olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, and a lot of parmesan, potatoes on the bottom and chicken on top.

Eight hours on low and the potatoes are soft enough to smash with a fork, which is how I serve them.

With ten extra minutes, run it under the broiler so the skin and the parmesan get some color, and that’s the difference between fine and good.

9. Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice

My kids eat the broccoli in this one and not in much else, so it stays in the rotation!

Chicken, rice, broccoli, cheddar, and chicken broth, all in one pot.

Rice in a slow cooker is a little unpredictable, so use long grain white rice, keep it on low, and check it at three hours.

The broccoli goes in frozen for the last thirty minutes, and the cheese goes in right at the end so it melts without turning grainy.

10. Chicken and Gravy

The most dump-and-go recipe in this post, and it tastes like somebody stood at the stove for an hour.

Two packets of chicken gravy mix, a can of cream of chicken soup, a little water, and chicken breasts.

Shred the chicken into the gravy and spoon it over mashed potatoes or split biscuits.

I make extra gravy on purpose, because it’s always gone before the chicken is.

11. Chicken Fajitas

Not the skillet version with the char on the peppers, and on a weeknight I’ve made peace with that.

Sliced chicken breast, bell peppers, onion, and fajita seasoning, layered in the crock with a little lime juice.

Four hours on low is enough, and past six the peppers fall apart.

Warm the tortillas in a dry cast iron skillet while the chicken rests, plus sour cream, cheese, and more lime than you think.

Notes on Dump and Go Chicken

Breasts and thighs don’t behave the same way in a slow cooker, and most of the sad results I’ve had came from treating them the same.

Boneless breasts are done at four hours on low and get stringy by six, so if you’re going to be out all day, use thighs.

Frozen chicken straight into the crock isn’t safe, because it sits too long in the temperature range where bacteria grow, so thaw it in the fridge the night before.

Don’t add extra liquid unless the recipe calls for it, since the chicken releases a lot on its own and a watery sauce is the most common way these go wrong.

I keep a box of slow cooker liners in the drawer for the cheesy ones, and I’m not embarrassed about it.

An instant-read thermometer is the only way to know breasts are at 165 without cutting into them, and it costs less than the chicken you’ll overcook without one.

More Crockpot Chicken on the Site

If it’s chicken breast specifically you’re cooking around, I have a separate post on crockpot meals with chicken breast that don’t dry out, which gets into timing in more detail.

The quick crockpot dinners with ten minutes of prep post covers beef and pork too, for the nights chicken isn’t happening.

My own slow cooker chicken and dumplings would be on this list if I were allowed to pick my own.

For a creamier direction, the crockpot chicken alfredo pasta is a full dinner in one pot as well.