Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts- Easy, delicious tomato basil chicken that slowly cooks to creamy, tender perfection with just a couple of common ingredients for a perfect weeknight dinner the whole family loves!
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Lazy Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts
What’s the best thing about this tomato basil chicken recipe? You add everything into the crockpot and forget about it until it’s time for dinner! This recipe is the easiest weeknight meal, but it tastes like take-out!
Hearty and healthy, these chicken breasts come out packed with a savory basil flavor and smothered in a creamy tomato basil sauce. Made with cream cheese, tomato sauce and Italian spices, it’s packed with delicious flavors the whole family will love.
How To Make Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts
Made with only 8-ingredients, this recipe is super easy to make! Get out your slow cooker, gather your ingredients, and sit back and relax! Here’s what you need to get started:
- Diced tomatoes with Italian herbs- These can be found in the canned food aisle of the grocery store.
- Pasta sauce-I use traditional spaghetti or marinara sauce.
- Cream cheese- Let the cream cheese sit on the counter for 30-minutes to soften.
- Basil- Fresh is always best, but you can use freeze dried as well.
- Chicken breasts- boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best for this recipe, but you can use any boneless, skinless chicken you prefer.
- Seasoning- For flavor, you’ll need minced garlic, salt and pepper.
Let’s get started…
- First, add the tomato sauce, cream cheese, diced tomatoes, garlic, salt, basil, and pepper to the slow cooker. Stir and mix well.
- Next, add your chicken breasts to the slow cooker. Press it into the sauce until fully submerged.
- Put your lid on the slow cooker. Set it on high and cook for 4-hours, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts and FAQs:
- There will be lumps of cream cheese when you mix it with the sauce and spices. This is ok, we want it mixed but not too smooth. The lumps will melt as it cooks.
- Check the internal temperature of the chicken. It should be 175? internal temperature.
- Add more cheese. A cup of grated parmesan cheese is delicious on top.
- You can use chicken thighs in this recipe as well. Cooking time stays the same.
- If you want, you can shred the chicken before serving it.
FAQs
You should put your slow cooker on high to cook the chicken. However, you can also cook it on low, but will need to increase the time to 8 hours.
With prep time and cook time, you can have this recipe done in about 4 hours and 10 minutes. Or, if you want to cook it on low, it will take 8 hours and 10 minutes.
You can use frozen chicken instead, but you will need to increase the time by at least an hour. Additionally, you will want to check the internal temperature before you serve your chicken. Keep in mind that other professionals do not recommend cooking frozen chicken in the crockpot. This is all up to what you feel safe doing.
If you are going to use fresh basil, then you need to cut it down a bit. The best way to do this is by chaffolding the basil leaves. Roll the basil leaves horizontally and then carefully slice ribbons of basil off the rolled leaf. This will give you long ribbons of basil that you can use or can cut down further into smaller pieces.
You can use your favorite pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce. You can use homemade sauce or buy a jar. Marinara is also a great sauce to use for this basil chicken recipe.
This chicken stores really well in your refrigerator for 3-5 days. Simply place it in a tupperware bowl and put it in your fridge. Additionally, it makes a great freezer meal. Let your chicken and sauce cool completely, and then put it in a freezer Ziploc bag. You can store it in the freezer for up to 3-months.
What To Serve With Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts
You can serve your juicy chicken in this delicious creamy basil sauce on top of rice, with pasta, vegetables, or potatoes. I like to serve these chicken breasts with a heaping pile of rice, my Roasted Parmesan Garlic Asparagus, my Pan Roasted Butter Carrots, or my Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts.
If you're looking for more delicious, easy side dish recipes, click here to see our complete side dish recipe index.
Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts
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Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts
These Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts are creamy, delicious, healthy, and so easy to make in your crockpot.
Ingredients
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
- 1 cup pasta sauce
- 1 cup cream cheese, softened
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup basil, freeze dried or fresh, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Add tomato sauce, cream cheese, diced tomatoes, garlic, salt, basil, pepper to slow cooker and stir well to mix. There will be lumps of cream cheese which is ok, we want it mixed but not to smooth.
- Add chicken breasts to slow cooker, and press into sauce until submerged.
- Add lid, set slow cooker to high.
- Cook on high for 4 hours, until sauce has thickened and chicken has reached 175 internal temperature.
- Serve with pasta, rice, vegetables, or potatoes and enjoy!
Notes
- Stir the sauce, but don’t worry about lumps of cream cheese - they will melt.
- Add more cheese with up to a cup of grated parmesan cheese.
- Use any pasta sauce you love - three cheese, tomato basil, and spicy arrabiata are all favorites of ours for this recipe.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 423Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 168mgSodium 855mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 2gSugar 5gProtein 51g
Nutrition is automatically calculated by Nutritionix - please verify all nutrition information independently and consult with a doctor or nutritionist for any and all medical and diet advice.
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