Name: Crock-Pot Chicken Parmesan
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 2 tsp garlic powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1 tbsp Italian seasoning mix; 1/2 C Parmesan cheese, grated; 3 C prepared marinara sauce (your favorite); 6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

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. I was born and raised in Texas and will never get used to the summer heat, but still love living here.

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.

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 1/2 cups of marinara and I use 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.

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.

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the chicken, then pour the marinara sauce on top, covering the tops and sides of the chicken.
Cover and cook on low, checking after 3 1/2 hours. (Or cook on high, checking after 1 1/2 hrs.)
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 1/2 tsp because the marinara is salty enough.

I increased the marinara amount from 1 1/2 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

Texas has two seasons – Winter and Summer. This year we had a cold, icy winter and then it was suddenly 85 degrees. OK, there were a few beautiful clear days in the 60’s and 70’s, but that’s over now! This is the time of the year that I pull out the old (and I mean old) crockpot and bring out the trusty slow-cooker recipes.

I got this crockpot in the early 80’s and have worked it to death. It still works, but one of its little feet broke off, so I have to put a pot holder under it so it’ll be level. What a workhorse!

A few years ago I finally got a great new slow-cooker. It’s the kind you can pull the ceramic pot out of and clean easily. I use it a lot, but certain recipes are just better in the old upright crockpot with olive green flowers on it.

I worked on this Slow-Cooked Beef Carnitas recipe a long time before coming up with the perfect combination of tender beef and Mexican spices. It cooks all day long and it smells soooo good at the end of a long work day when you walk in the door.

After 7 or 8 hours on low, the juicy roast is shredded and the flavorful sauce that’s left in the pot is thickened and used as one of the delicious sides to add to the soft stuffed tortilla. It’s really hits the spot when you’re craving Tex-Mex or Mexican food.

You can add or leave out whatever you like – we don’t use onions, but 2 or 3 tablespoons might be good thrown into the crockpot.

These Slow-Cooked Beef Carnitas are delicious. Bret usually has the leftovers for breakfast mixed with scrambled eggs, salsa and wrapped in a soft, warm tortilla!