Crock-Pot Chicken Parmesan (A Lighter Version of the Classic)

Updated: January, 2020

Easy Crock-Pot Chicken Parmesan will be your new go-to weekday dinner recipe! Basic ingredients with a delicious result.

It's hot. You're going to hear that a million times this summer, especially here in Texas where it's been brushing 100 degrees since mid-May.

If you don't want to heat up the kitchen, the go-to, of course, is the trusty Crock-Pot.

This Crock-Pot Chicken Parmesan is from a cookbook (The Family Table Slow Cooker by Dominique DeVito) that's totally devoted to slow cooking.

I like this recipe because instead of breading the chicken, it calls for herbs and cheese for a coating. 

And don't forget the tangy marinara and loads of cheese!

I have two crock-pots - one from the late seventies and a nice big new one from a couple of years ago. Each has its functions - the new one is better for cooking sizeable meat cuts.

This Crock-Pot Chicken Parmesan is best suited for the big new one with the lift out dish so that the chicken breasts aren't squished on top of each other.

I went fairly closely by the recipe, except that it calls for 1 ½ cups of marinara and I used 3 cups. I want enough extra sauce to cover a side of pasta and there wouldn't have been enough with the original amount. Next time I'll add even a half-cup more.

I also use less mozzarella because it would've been smothered with it and not in a good way. You can take a look and revise accordingly to your tastes.

The chicken cooks in a lot less time than called for. It was set on low for 4 hours and was done (recipe calls for 6 hours).

The chicken shreds nicely. We ended up with a little more of a Italian shredded chicken ragu, but the flavor combinations are very good and the mozzarella is gooey and plentiful.

The Family Table Slow Cooker has beautiful photos and inventive recipes. I'll probably try a few more, but I'm skeptical that some of them will work in a slow cooker (Escargot "Magnifique"?).

If you try recipes from the book, including this Parmesan, be sure and watch the cook times.

Update: The leftovers are delicious! Shredded all the chicken, added some more marinara and mixed it all with pasta. People at work are jealous.

Continue to Content

Crock-Pot Chicken Parmesan

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes

An easy, no-fuss way to make Chicken Parmesan.  Adapted from The Family Table Slow Cooker. 

Print

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning mix
• ½ C Parmesan cheese, grated
• 3 C prepared marinara sauce (your favorite)
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Lay the chicken breasts in the slow cooker.  Mix the garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning mix together in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the chicken breasts, patting lightly so it will stick to the chicken.
2. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the chicken, then pour the marinara sauce on top, covering the tops and sides of the chicken.
3. Cover and cook on low, checking after 3 ½ hours.  (Or cook on high, checking after 1 ½ hrs.)
4. Uncover and sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the chicken.  Cover and cook on low for about 15 more minutes, until cheese is completely melted.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Changes I made to the original recipe:  original called for 1 tsp. of salt - I lowered it to ½ teaspoon because the marinara is salty enough.

I increased the marinara amount from 1 ½ cups to 3 cups so we would have sauce for the pasta on the side.  Highly recommend this; otherwise, you won't have much sauce.

Lowered the mozzarella to 6 oz. from 8 oz.  It was more than plenty.

Lowered "low" cook time to 4 hours from the original 6.  It definitely would have been dry and overcooked at 6 hours.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 482Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 149mgSodium: 1716mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 53g

Nutrition Values are Approximate