Slow cooker apricot chicken is the perfect balance of sweet, savory, creamy and delicious . This easy 5 ingredient, dump and go dish will quickly become a favorite.
If there is such a thing as a perfect "toss it all together and walk away dish", this may be it. It just doesn't get much easier. Mix together 5 simple ingredients, smother some uncooked chicken with it and - voila - dinner! Add a side dish of some easy rice or baked potato and a vegetable and a no-brainer meal will be set to go. Your diners will rave!
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How To Make Creamy Apricot Chicken
In addition to chicken, you will need to assemble the easy sauce. Apricot chicken sauce is made of:
- Apricot preserves
- mayonnaise
- ketchup
- onion soup mix packet
- garlic salt
Start by placing boneless skinless chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, add all the above listed ingredients and stir well to combine. Smother chicken with sauce and cook. Yep, that's pretty much it!
What Kind Of Chicken Works Best
This creamy chicken dish works perfectly with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs. I haven't personally made it with bone in pieces, but I imagine it would be delicious on legs, thighs and drumsticks, in particular. If you try it on any bone-in pieces, I would love to hear how it goes in the comments below!
Chicken breast is always drier, especially when slow cooked. Thighs are more forgiving and can be cooked longer without drying out. However, thighs (dark meat) are smaller and tend to have more connective tissue. If you don’t have a preference taste wise, thighs are the way to go. However, if you are a fan of less fatty chicken, stick with those breasts! If you do decide to use breasts and feel they are a little too dry, slicing or shredding them after cooking will help them to absorb more sauce.
How To Serve This Crockpot Chicken
This dish intentionally has lots of excess sauce. Mostly because it is so yummy! Serving this dish with sides that can absorb some of the excess sauce will make for a marvelous meal. This includes: rice, baked potato, mashed potato, mashed cauliflower, riced cauliflower and broccoli. Pasta and some crusty bread for dipping would also be great choices.
How To Store Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
Dishes made with mayonnaise are generally not great in the freezer. Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator and will last for 3-4 days. Apricot chicken is delicious dish cold making leftovers a great lunch option. Cold leftovers make an especially delicious addition to a garden salad.
Can This Dish Be Prepared in Advance?
This is a great dish to mix together in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can then just pop it right into the slow cooker when you are ready. Although slow cooker liners are not for everyone, this is one instance where they can serve a double duty. You can mix cold ingredients in a liner, close tightly with a clip or twist tie and store in a refrigerator safe bowl until you are ready to cook.
Please note that chicken does not do well when left in the slow cooker on warm for hours. It will get rubbery. Here are some recipes that work better If you need to be out all day, but still want to come home to a warm slow cooker dinner,
Apricot Chicken Hints & Hacks
- This Russian chicken crockpot recipe works really well with both thighs and breasts. If you choose breasts, you may want to shred or slice your chicken after it is cooked to allow it to absorb more of the sauce.
- This dish is delicious served warm or cold and makes for great leftovers!
- To confirm when chicken is finished cooking, I suggest a meat thermometer. Chicken that is over cooked can be dry and rubbery. According to the FDA, chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Here is my favorite meat thermometer.
- Slow cooker liners are an optional but helpful hack whenever using a crockpot. They allow you to cook with little to no cleanup. I like to buy mine in bulk for a better per-piece price.
- In the market for a new slow cooker? Here is my current favorite.
📖 Recipe
Lazy Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
Equipment
- 3.5 qt or larger slow cooker
- measuring cups and spoons
- mixing bowl
- slow cooker liner or parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 3 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8 skinless, boneless thighs
- 1¼ cups apricot preserves
- 1½ cups light mayonnaise
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 Packet onion soup mix
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Place slow cooker liner or parchment paper, if using
- place chicken pieces into slow cooker
- in a mixing bowl, add apricot preserves, mayonnaise, ketchup, onion soup mix and garlic salt and stir well to mix
- pour mixture over chicken pieces and make sure they are all well smothered in sauce.
- cover and cook on high 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked through. You can confirm your chicken is finished by using a meat thermometer. Chicken is considered safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- If you are using breasts, remove them from sauce and slice into thick slices. Return to sauce and keep on warm until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Great Crockpot Chicken Recipes:
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken
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