Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Broccoli (Over Rice)
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By Alyssa Rivers
on Dec 26, 2020, Updated Aug 16, 2024 |
Slow-cooker creamy chicken and broccoli over rice is a super easy, delicious meal the whole family will love! Moist chicken and tender broccoli combine in a cheesy sauce that’s absolutely divine.
Slow-cooker meals are the best! Just put the ingredients in and let the slow cooker do the work! They’re perfect for busy days, Sunday dinners, and everything in between. Try these slow-cooker dinners: Slow-Cooker Beef Bourguignon, Slow-Cooker Jambalaya, and the Best Slow-Cooker Mongolian Beef.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple: Throw everything in the slow cooker, give it a few hours; dinner is served!
- Flavor: The combination of creamy soups, chicken, and tender broccoli, all topped with salty cheddar cheese, is so delicious and the ultimate comfort food!
- Family-Friendly: Your family is going to love this delicious meal! It’s a hit with kids and adults; once they try it, they’ll ask for it again and again!
Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Ingredients
Pantry staple ingredients make this recipe easy and quick to throw together. My secret ingredient is the Cajun seasoning. It adds just enough kick to give it the best flavor without making it spicy. It’s absolutely amazing.
- Cream of Chicken Soup: You can buy this at the store or make your own for a truly amazing sauce.
- Cheddar Soup: This can usually be found near the canned cream soups in the soup section.
- Chicken Broth: This will enhance the flavor of the chicken.
- Salt: To taste
- Cajun Seasoning: Adds a unique blend of spices.
- Garlic Salt: Adds a nice bit of garlic flavor.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: These cook up nice and tender, so shredding them is easy!
- Sour Cream: Makes the sauce rich and creamy.
- Broccoli Florets: You can use fresh or frozen broccoli for this recipe.
- Cheddar Cheese: I like using medium cheddar for a cheesy tang.
Crock Pot Chicken Broccoli Instructions
You’ll love how easy this creamy chicken and broccoli is to put together! It’s the best feeling when you can sit back and let the slow cooker do the work. The slow cooker melds all the flavors into the chicken, creating moist, tender chicken that is packed with flavor.
- Combine: Spray a 6-quart crockpot with pan spray and add the cream of chicken soup, cheddar soup, chicken broth, salt, cajun seasoning, and garlic salt. Stir everything together until combined.
- Place: Lay the chicken breasts over the soup mixture in the bottom of the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high 3 hours.
- Shred: Before the last 30 minutes of cooking, shred the chicken with two forks.
- Add the rest of the ingredients: add the broccoli, sour cream, and cheese. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for the remaining 30 more minutes until the broccoli is tender and heated through. Serve over rice and garnish with more shredded cheese if desired.
Tips and Variations
This slow-cooker chicken and broccoli is so creamy and easy to make! Here are some extra tips and ways to change it up so it’s different every time!
- Chicken: If you have extra time, you can pre-cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces before cooking it and skip the shredding part at the end. Just add the sour cream, broccoli, and cheese in the last half hour of cooking. Skinless, boneless chicken thighs would also work for this dish, but pre-cut them, as they won’t shred as easily.
- Serve With: We love to serve this dish over white rice, but it can be served over other things instead! Try it over brown rice, pasta, quinoa, riced cauliflower, baked potato, or sweet potato instead.
- Swap the veggies: Try adding additional veggies or completely taking out the broccoli! Sauteed mushrooms, peppers, onions, steamed carrots, or cauliflower are great options. Frozen peas are easy to add and don’t need to be thawed!
- Garnish: Top this dish with extra shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, or chopped fresh herbs like chives or rosemary.
- Add some spice: Spice up your creamy chicken and broccoli by increasing the Cajun seasoning or adding a pinch or two of cayenne pepper! You can also serve this with hot sauce on the side so people can add spice to their own portions after being served.
Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Instant Pot Instructions
Here are the instructions if you’d rather cook this in the instant pot.
- Add the Chicken: Add the chicken breasts and chicken broth to the bottom of a lightly greased Instant Pot and sprinkle all the seasonings over them. Close the lid and pressure cook for 15 minutes with a manual release.
- Shred the Chicken and Combine: Carefully open the instant pot and remove the chicken to shred with two forks. Add the shredded chicken back into the pot, broccoli, cream of chicken soup, and cheddar soup.
- Sauté: Turn on the sauté feature of your instant pot and bring the dish to a simmer. Stir often to avoid scorching the bottom, and cook until the broccoli al dente, about 10-15 minutes.
- Serve: Turn the instant pot to warm and stir in the sour cream and cheese until fully combined. Replace the lid and allow it to sit for a few minutes to warm back up. Serve as desired.
Making Ahead of Time and Storage Tips
Creamy chicken and broccoli can be prepared in advance in a couple of different ways:
- From Fridge: Prepare right up until turning on the slow cooker. Cover the crockpot and refrigerate until you are ready to cook it. Continue as directed with cooking for 4-6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
- Cook Chicken in Advance: Prepare everything until you have shredded the chicken. You can keep it in the crockpot or transfer it to a separate airtight container to refrigerate for up to 3 days. When you are ready to finish it, reheat it in the slow cooker for 1-2 hours on low, stirring intermittently, or reheat it on the stove pot over medium heat, stirring frequently until heated through. Continue adding the broccoli and remaining ingredients.
- From Freezer: Prepare everything until you have shredded the chicken. Let it cool completely, then add it to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you are ready to use it, remove the bag from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cook on high in the crockpot for 1-2 hours or until heated through. The more frozen it is, the longer it will take to reheat. Once fully heated and steaming, continue as directed in the recipe card.
- Leftovers: If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat thoroughly before serving.
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Spray a 6-quart crockpot with pan spray and add the cream of chicken soup, cheddar soup, chicken broth, salt, cajun seasoning, and garlic salt into the bottom of it. Stir everything together until combined.
Lay the chicken breasts over the soup mixture in the bottom of the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high 3 hours.
Before the last 30 minutes of cooking, shred the chicken with two forks and add the broccoli, sour cream, and cheese. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for the remaining 30 more minutes until the broccoli is tender and heated through.
Serve over rice and garnish with more shredded cheese if desired.
Updated on August 26, 2024
Originally Posted on January 27, 2014
Calories: 434kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 41gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 1483mgPotassium: 1074mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1183IUVitamin C: 56mgCalcium: 234mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.