Crockpot Smothered Chicken

Crockpot smothered chicken has tender chicken breasts slow-cooked in a rich, creamy mushroom gravy with plenty of old-fashioned Southern goodness. You can use chicken thighs, too, because some days dinner needs to work with whatever you remembered to thaw. Don't be stingy with the gravy. Nobody has ever looked at smothered chicken and wished it were drier.

Table of Contents

• 🥰 Is this slow cooker smothered chicken recipe for you?
• 🎥 Video
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 📖 Recipe
• 🔪 How to make crockpot smothered chicken
• 😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)
• 📚 More easy crockpot chicken recipes
• 🍽️ What to serve with crockpot smothered chicken
• 💬 Comments

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🥰 Is this slow cooker smothered chicken recipe for you?

• You want an easy chicken dinner. A few minutes of prep and the slow cooker takes over from there.
• Gravy is a food group at your house. The creamy mushroom gravy is rich, savory, and plentiful enough for whatever you're serving underneath it.
• Your afternoon has other plans. This cooks low and slow without requiring regular check-ins, stirring, or emotional support.
• You're firmly on Team Comfort Food. Serve it over rice, mashed potatoes, thick slices of bread, or egg noodles and let everybody go quiet for five minutes.
• You like flexible recipes. Chicken breasts work beauti

🎥 Video

🧾 Ingredients

A handful of pantry staples, chicken, and a few refrigerator regulars are all you need to get this slow cooker smothered chicken headed toward gravy-covered glory.

• Boneless chicken breasts or thighs - Breasts are what I usually use, but thighs stay beautifully tender and work just as well. Use whichever is lurking in the freezer.
• Onions - They soften into the gravy as everything cooks and add plenty of savory flavor.
• Mushrooms - Fresh mushrooms add that earthy, old-fashioned smothered-chicken goodness. Even mushroom skeptics may be persuaded once gravy gets involved.
• Chicken stock - Adds flavor while keeping the gravy from becoming too thick during the long cooking time.
• Cream of mushroom soup - The backbone of that rich, creamy gravy. This is comfort food. We are not pretending otherwise.
• Cream of chicken soup - Makes the gravy extra creamy and gives it another layer of savory chicken flavor.
• Lipton onion soup mix - Our tiny envelope of concentrated flavor and one of the reasons this recipe requires so little effort.
• Seasoned salt - Adds the final bit of seasoning without requiring half the spice cabinet to report for duty. Try my homemade Creole seasoning .

Love this? Try this next: Baked Chicken & Gravy-because once you start smothering things in sauce, there's no going back. 😘

📖 Recipe

🔪 How to make crockpot smothered chicken

This is about as complicated as putting on fuzzy socks. Toss everything in the slow cooker, turn it on, and several hours later you've got tender chicken and enough creamy gravy to make mashed potatoes feel appreciated.

1. Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot, and then top with the sliced onions. 
2. Mix together the cream of soups and the onion soup mix until smooth, then stir in the chicken broth. 
3. Spoon the soup mixture over the chicken. 
4. Top with the sliced mushrooms, and then cook on low heat for 8 hours.

You can also make smothered chicken on top of the stove.

😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)

🍄 The chicken is dry. Chicken breasts can go from tender to packing material if they cook too long. Start checking them early and remove them when they reach 165°F. Thighs are more forgiving if your slow cooker tends to run hot.

🍄 The gravy is too thin. Remove the chicken, then stir in a cornstarch slurry and cook on high until the gravy thickens. Add a little at a time. We're making gravy, not spackle.

🍄 The gravy is too thick. Stir in chicken stock a tablespoon or two at a time until it's exactly where you want it.

🍄 It's too salty. Between the condensed soups, onion soup mix, and seasoned salt, there's already plenty of seasoning at the party. Use a light hand with the seasoned salt at first. You can always add more before serving.

🍄 The sauce looks separated. Give it a good stir before assuming dinner has betrayed you. Condensed soups can look a little questionable after several hours in the slow cooker but usually smooth right back out.

🍄 The chicken isn't cooking evenly. Keep the pieces in a single layer when possible and use chicken breasts or thighs that are roughly the same size. Nobody needs one breast auditioning for jerky while another is still considering its options.

📚 More easy crockpot chicken recipes

🍽️ What to serve with crockpot smothered chicken

Crockpot smothered chicken is one of those dinners worth keeping on permanent rotation: tender chicken, mushrooms, onions, and enough creamy gravy to keep everybody happy. Add mashed potatoes and biscuits, then consider dinner handled.

And if somebody leaves gravy on the plate, frankly, I have questions.