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.

Apricot chicken on a round gray plate with a bowl of mini potatoes and a bowl of broccoli in the background

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!

Jump to:

How To Make Creamy Apricot Chicken
What Kind Of Chicken Works Best
How To Serve This Crockpot Chicken
How To Store Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
Can This Dish Be Prepared in Advance?
Apricot Chicken Hints & Hacks
📖 Recipe

How To Make Creamy Apricot Chicken

Jump to recipe card for exact quantities

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

ingredients for sauce in a bowl with labels prior to mixing

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 made it with bone-in pieces, but I believe it would be delicious on legs, thighs, and drumsticks. If you try it on any bone-in pieces, I would love to hear how it goes in the comments below!

close up of cooked chicken breast with sauce beling sliced by a large knife

Chicken breast is always drier, especially when slow-cooked. Thighs are more forgiving and can be cooked longer without drying out. However, thighs 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.

a medium distance view of a plate containing apricot chicken breasts and thighs covered in sauce

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 double duty. You can mix cold ingredients in a liner and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

sliced chicken breast put back in sauce in pot

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 overcooked 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.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.