Lazy Crock Pot Chicken With Mushrooms

Lazy Crock Pot chicken with mushrooms on a platter

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 6 hrs 2 mins
Total: 6 hrs 12 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 4 chicken breasts

Whether you just don't feel like cooking or you have a busy day ahead of you, this slow cooker chicken is the perfect solution. All you have to do is throw four ingredients together in the crock pot with some basic seasonings and then set it and forget it. The slow cooker does all the work, creating a rich sauce from the cream of mushroom soup and sliced mushrooms, while you go about your daily routine.

Serve the cooked chicken with its sauce over hot white or brown rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes. Add a salad or some steamed green beans, carrots, or spinach on the side for a well-balanced family dinner.

"A fantastically easy meal to put together, this crock pot chicken is also delicious. Adding the flour thickens the sauce perfectly, and the paprika gives the dish a nice flavor. It’s a great main for a family dinner that’s versatile enough for other chicken pieces if you adjust the cook time." —Colleen Graham

Lazy crock pot chicken with mushrooms on a rectangular white platter
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika

  • 1 (10.75-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, strained, liquid reserved

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for lazy crock pot chicken with mushrooms gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  2. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels.

    Chicken on a platter, patted with a paper towel

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  3. Sprinkle them all over with the salt, pepper, and paprika, and then arrange them in the crock pot.

    Seasoned chicken in a crockpot

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  4. In a bowl, whisk the cream of mushroom soup with the flour and the reserved liquid from the mushrooms. Stir the mushrooms into the soup mixture.

    Cream of mushroom soup, flour, and mushroom liquid in a bowl with a spoon

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  5. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

    Chicken with the mushroom sauce mixture in a crock pot

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  6. Cover the pot and cook on low for about 5 to 6 hours, or until the chicken is cooked and tender.  The chicken's internal temperature should read 165 F on an instant-read thermometer.

    Lazy Crock Pot chicken with mushrooms in a slow cooker

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  7. Serve sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley and enjoy.

    Lazy Crock Pot Chicken with mushrooms on a platter

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Tips

  • Chicken breasts can become dry and tough when slow-cooked for longer than 5 or 6 hours. Some newer crock pots cook at higher temperatures, so check the chicken breasts for tenderness after 5 hours if your slow cooker tends to cook foods quickly. Because chicken breasts are so lean and can dry out easily, it is recommended to cook them on low instead of high.
  • If you have to be away for more than 6 hours, consider using boneless chicken thighs, as they are more forgiving than chicken breasts. The chicken thighs contain more fat than breasts, so they maintain their tenderness and juiciness after 8 hours in the slow cooker on low. Chicken thighs don't yield as much meat as chicken breasts do, so you might need 6 to 8 for a family of 4, depending on the size of the thighs and your family's appetite.

Recipe Variations

  • Add a chicken bouillon cube to the sauce for extra flavor.
  • Replace the cream of mushroom soup with cream of chicken soup or cream of chicken with herbs.
  • If you crave smoky flavor, add about 1 cup of diced ham to the dish.
  • Sprinkle crumbled cooked bacon over the chicken just before serving. 
  • For a burst of color, add some pimiento or red bell pepper strips to the chicken during the last hour of cooking, or garnish the chicken with sliced green onion tops. 
  • To turn this dish into a complete meal, add some frozen peas toward the very end of cooking; the peas only need about 10 minutes or so to heat up.

Can I put frozen chicken in the slow cooker?

For food safety purposes and to ensure the dish cooks evenly, you should always defrost frozen chicken before adding it to the slow cooker. The USDA points out that the amount of time it takes for frozen meat to reach a safe temperature allows for bacterial growth. Plan ahead and move the chicken from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it thaw overnight.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
376 Calories
8g Fat
30g Carbs
43g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 376
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 105mg 35%
Sodium 471mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 11%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 43g
Vitamin C 2mg 12%
Calcium 84mg 6%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 539mg 11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Article Sources
The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Jeffers MK. Cook Slow to Save Time: Four Important Slow Cooker Food Safety Tips. USDA. 2021.