Recipe of the Week: Crock-Pot Marry Me Chicken

Home | Lifestyle | Food & Drinks | Published September 23, 2025

Crock-Pot Marry Me Chicken by Brandie Skibinski

If you love tender, flavorful chicken in a creamy garlic sauce, you’ll absolutely love this Crock-Pot Marry Me Chicken.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts – as I stated above, you could certainly make this with other cuts of chicken, I just have not tested it and can’t tell you how to adjust the time.

• salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder – these seasonings are going to add an additional layer of flavor to the chicken.

• butter – I prefer salted butter here. I don’t think it makes it too salty. But you want real butter and not margarine (which is just oil).

• chicken broth – if you really want to reduce the sodium, you could use a low sodium chicken broth.

• cornstarch – this will help thicken the broth. I would not substitute with flour as it can get lumpy in the gravy.

• heavy cream – it has to be heavy cream, not milk. Also, if you have a slow cooker that runs hot (where it likes to boil), I would wait to add the heavy cream until the end (maybe the last 30 minutes or so of cooking).

• garlic – I prefer fresh garlic in this recipe over the jarred stuff but use what you prefer.

• red pepper flakes – I am super sensitive to spice and I don’t find this spicy at all. But you can certainly leave it out if you prefer.

• sun-dried tomatoes – these are the star of this dish. They add such a decadent and unique flavor. You can leave them out if you absolutely must but it is not recommended.

• freshly grated parmesan cheese– you could also use a finely grated mozzarella cheese.

• fresh basil leaves – this is optional. I would not substitute with dry. Fresh basil just goes very nicely with the sundered tomatoes.

HOW TO MAKE CROCK-POT MARRY ME CHICKEN

Season the chicken on both sides with the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and melt the butter. Sear the chicken breasts until golden brown, take the pan off the heat, and set aside. You are not cooking the chicken all the way, you just want it brown on both sides.

Whisk together the chicken broth and cornstarch in a bowl until there are no lumps. Add the chicken broth mixture to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Whisk in the heavy cream (note: if you have a slow cooker that runs hot, I would wait to add the heavy cream in at the end), garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Place the seared chicken breasts into the slow cooker and pour the olive oil and butter from the pan on top. Top each piece of chicken with the chopped-up sundried tomatoes. Place on low for 6-8 hours.

Take the chicken breasts out and whisk in the parmesan cheese to the sauce. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker, cover with sauce and add the basil, serve immediately.

Crock-Pot Marry Me Chicken

Tender, juicy, flavorful chicken made in the Crock-Pot – insanely simple too!

Prep Time: 15minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6hours hours 10minutes minutes

Total Time: 6hours hours 25minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Brandie Skibinski

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• ▢ 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ▢ ½ teaspoon onion powder

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons butter

For the sauce:

• ▢ 1 ½ cups chicken broth

• ▢ 3 Tablespoons cornstarch

• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream

• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, minced

• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper

• ▢ ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• ▢ ½ teaspoon paprika

• ▢ ⅓ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, drained

• ▢ ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

• ▢ 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Instructions

• In a small bowl, mix together: 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Season 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts on both sides with the seasoning mix.

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 2 Tablespoons butter (allow the butter to melt.)

• Sear the chicken breasts on both sides until golden brown, take the pan off the heat, and set aside. Note: You are not cooking the chicken all the way, you just want it brown on both sides. Turn off the heat but keep the leftover oil and butter in the pan (you'll use that in a bit)

• Whisk together 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and 3 Tablespoons cornstarch in a bowl until there are no lumps.

• Add the chicken broth mixture to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.

• Whisk in 1 cup heavy cream, 4 cloves garlic, minced, 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon paprika.

• Place the seared chicken breasts into the slow cooker and pour the olive oil and butter from the pan on top.

• Top each piece of chicken with the chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Place on low for 6-8 hours (do not cook on high – see my notes below.)

  The larger your chicken breasts, the more time they may need to cook to get nice and tender. Do not keep lifting the lid while it is cooking, this will take it longer to cook and your meat may not come out as tender. Cover and let it cook – don't mess with it.

• Take the chicken breasts out and whisk in 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker, cover with sauce and add 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped to the top and then serve.