Are you on the hunt for the ideal weeknight dinner? The kind that fills your home with a wonderful aroma, demands very little effort, and has everyone at the table eagerly asking for more? We certainly know that feeling. The daily grind can leave you with little enthusiasm for complex cooking, yet the desire for a nourishing, tasty meal remains. This is why we are thrilled to introduce what we consider the perfect answer: our wonderfully simple recipe for Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken Veggies.

This dish is a genuine one-pot marvel, bringing together succulent chicken and a variety of hearty vegetables, all gently simmered in a flavourful, rich garlic butter sauce. It’s the type of comforting food that truly brings the family together. You can forget about hovering over a hot hob; your slow cooker does all the work, magically turning basic ingredients into a remarkable meal. Let’s begin and show you how to make this your family’s new go-to dish.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Simple and Time-Saving: This is the quintessential “set and forget” dish. With just a small amount of preparation in the morning, you can return home to a beautifully cooked dinner. It’s absolutely ideal for those hectic days.
• A True One-Pot Meal: Everything cooks together in the slow cooker, which not only allows the flavours to meld beautifully but also, most importantly, means there’s far less washing up to do.
• Packed with Flavour: The fusion of melted butter, generous amounts of fresh garlic, and savoury herbs results in a sumptuous sauce that beautifully coats every piece of chicken and vegetable. It’s comfort in a bowl.
• Great for Families & Adaptable: The flavours are mild and appealing, making it a hit even with the fussiest of eaters. You can also effortlessly substitute the vegetables depending on what’s available or in season.
• Nourishing and Well-Rounded: With lean protein from the chicken and a wealth of vitamins from the vegetables, this is a complete meal you can feel great about serving to your loved ones.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 600-700g)
• 700g baby potatoes, halved
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch chunks
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 150g green beans, trimmed
• 100g unsalted butter, melted
• 8-10 cloves of garlic, minced
• 60ml low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried parsley (plus extra fresh parsley for garnish)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken Veggies

We’ve laid out this recipe in easy-to-follow steps. The real magic of a slow cooker dish lies in its simplicity, letting the ingredients and the gentle, consistent heat do their thing. Follow our guide, and a delicious meal will be ready and waiting for you.

1. Prepare Your Ingredients

First off, let’s get all our elements prepped. This is the most hands-on part of the process, and it will only take a few moments.

1. Wash and chop your vegetables: Give your baby potatoes a thorough scrub and slice them in half. Peel the carrots and cut them into satisfyingly thick chunks. Place these into the base of your slow cooker. As the firmest vegetables, they require the longest cooking time, and putting them in first ensures they become perfectly tender.
2. Get the chicken ready: Pat the chicken breasts dry using a paper towel. This step helps achieve a better sear if you decide to brown them first (we’ll cover that in a bit!). Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper.

2. Create the Luscious Garlic Butter Sauce

This sauce is the very soul of the dish and what makes our Garlic Butter Chicken so delicious. In a medium-sized bowl, simply whisk the melted butter, minced garlic, chicken broth, fresh lemon juice, honey, dried thyme, and dried parsley together. This straightforward mix yields a sauce that is rich, savoury, and perfectly poised with a subtle sweetness and tang.

3. Assemble in the Slow Cooker

Now it’s time to put it all together.

1. Arrange the seasoned chicken breasts right on top of the bed of potatoes and carrots in the slow cooker.
2. Pour your prepared garlic butter sauce over the chicken and vegetables, ensuring an even distribution.
3. Pop the lid on your slow cooker, and that’s it!

4. Cook to Tender Perfection

Set your slow cooker and allow it to work its magic. You have two options for cooking, based on your daily plan:

• Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.
• Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

We typically suggest the low setting, as it produces exceptionally tender chicken that almost falls apart. Roughly 30-40 minutes before the end of the cooking cycle, add the broccoli florets and trimmed green beans. This timing helps them cook to a perfect tender-crisp texture, avoiding any mushiness. If you’re a fan of garlic-infused meals, our Lemon Garlic Chicken provides another delightful, zesty twist on this flavour pairing.

Expert Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken

Although this recipe is wonderfully simple, we’ve got a few professional tips to take your Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken from delicious to truly exceptional.

Searing the Chicken (An Optional but Flavourful Step)

To build an extra dimension of flavour, consider searing the chicken breasts in a hot, oiled frying pan for 2-3 minutes on each side before you place them in the slow cooker. This technique, known as the Maillard reaction, gives the chicken a lovely golden crust and deepens the taste of the entire dish. It’s not a mandatory step, but it’s a worthwhile trick if you have a moment to spare.

Perfecting Your Chicken Veggies

The versatility of this Chicken Veggies meal is one of its greatest strengths. Feel free to get creative with different vegetables! Here are some suggestions:

• Hardy Veg: Onions, parsnips, and sweet potatoes can go in at the start with the potatoes and carrots.
• Tender Veg: Bell peppers, asparagus, or courgettes can be added during the last 30-45 minutes of cooking.
• Leafy Greens: Try stirring in a couple of large handfuls of fresh spinach just before serving, allowing it to wilt into the sauce.

For another brilliant one-pan dinner idea, have a look at this easy recipe for Chicken Breast And Green Beans, which offers classic flavours with very little fuss.

How to Thicken the Sauce

When everything is cooked, you’ll find a wonderfully flavoured, thin sauce in the bottom of the pot. If you’d rather have a thicker, gravy-like sauce, it’s quite simple to do. Just remove the chicken and vegetables, then transfer the liquid to a small saucepan. In a separate bowl, mix one tablespoon of cornflour with two tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry. Whisk this into the saucepan over a medium heat, allowing it to bubble for a minute or two until it has thickened to your liking.

Serving and Storing Your Delicious Slow Cooker Dinner

This dish is a full meal in itself, which makes it the perfect Slow Cooker Dinner. To serve, just place a chicken breast on each plate, add a generous helping of the vegetables, and spoon plenty of the garlic butter sauce over the top. A garnish of freshly chopped parsley adds a lovely pop of colour and freshness.

Should you wish to make the meal go further, it pairs beautifully with a piece of crusty bread to soak up every last bit of the delicious sauce. For any leftovers, let them cool down completely before transferring to an airtight container. They can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat thoroughly in the microwave or on the hob until it’s piping hot. As advised by the NHS, it’s vital to ensure leftovers are reheated correctly to prevent foodborne illnesses.

FAQ

A Perfect Dinner, Every Time

And there you have it—a straightforward, flavourful recipe for Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken Veggies that we’re confident will become a regular feature in your meal planning. It’s the ideal response to the daily “What shall we have for dinner?” dilemma, providing a comforting, home-cooked meal with the least possible effort.

We really hope you’ll give this recipe a go and adapt it to your own tastes. Try out your favourite vegetables, adjust the garlic level as you see fit, and savour the wonderful results. Please do leave a comment below and let us know how you got on!

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Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 3-6 hours
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 600-700g)
• 700g baby potatoes, halved
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch chunks
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 150g green beans, trimmed
• 100g unsalted butter, melted
• 8-10 cloves of garlic, minced
• 60ml low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried parsley (plus extra fresh parsley for garnish)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Place the halved potatoes and sliced carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season with salt and pepper, then arrange them on top of the vegetables.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, minced garlic, chicken broth, lemon juice, honey, dried thyme, and dried parsley to create the sauce.
3. Pour the garlic butter sauce evenly over the chicken and vegetables.
4. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
5. Add the broccoli florets and green beans to the slow cooker for the final 30-40 minutes of cooking.
6. Serve warm, garnished with fresh parsley if desired. Optionally, you can thicken the sauce on the stovetop with a cornflour slurry.

Nutrition: This is a nourishing and well-rounded meal, providing lean protein from chicken and a wealth of vitamins from the vegetables.