5 Crock Pot Chicken Meals with 4 Ingredients Each

(c) Can Stock Photo

I've said it before - I love my crock pot. There is nothing easier than putting a few ingredients in the slow cooker, turning it on, and having a delicious dinner ready in a few hours. And these recipes could not be simpler - each one only has 4 ingredients.

I am also a big fan of freezer cooking - I often prep several meals at a time and freeze them. Then I just defrost the next day's dinner overnight and put it in the crockpot in the morning. I can easily make all these recipes in about an hour and have a week's worth of dinners ready to go. Or double the recipes and have 10 meals done in 60 minutes.

These are my favorite simple chicken recipes. I use either boneless skinless breasts or thighs, whichever is on sale. I use approximately 2 pounds of chicken per meal, but of course you can adjust this for your family.

All of these recipes make great freezer meals. Start with gallon sized freezer bags. Label each one with the recipe name. Put the chicken in the bags first, then mix the ingredients for each recipe. Pour over the chicken, seal, and lay flat to freeze (Tip: put a cookie sheet in your freezer first so they lay flat and don't stick to your shelves).  Defrost overnight and follow cooking directions.

BBQ Applesauce Chicken
Chicken
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 Tbsp minced onion

Mix applesauce, BBQ sauce, and onion in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Garlic Pesto Chicken
Chicken
1 jar pesto
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth

Pour pesto and garlic over chicken. If freezing, do not add broth to bag.  Add broth before cooking.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Cranberry Chicken
Chicken
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 cup French dressing
2 Tbsp minced onion

Mix cranberry sauce, dressing, and onion in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Italian Chicken
Chicken
1 small jar tomato sauce (whichever variety you like)
1 small onion, chopped (or 1/4 cup minced onion)
1 zucchini, cut into pieces

Mix zucchini, onion, and tomato sauce in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Salsa Chicken
Chicken
1 jar salsa
1 small bag frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Mix salsa, corn, and beans in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Organize Your Recipes & Make Meal Planning Easy

I love meal planning and having all of my recipes at my fingertips. If you do too, you'll love my Printable Recipe & Meal Planning Organizer.

With everything you need to organize your recipes & prepare your meal plans, this organizer has 26 total pages including:

Front Cover
Binder Tabs (pre-printed & blank)
Undated Monthly Calendar
Weekly Menu & Shopping List
Notes
Full Page Recipe Card
Half Page Recipe Cards

You'll also get 17 Category Dividers to organize your recipes, plus a blank divider to customize any way you'd like. Check it out here!