Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese
On Monday nights, I harbor fleeting hopes that dinner will cook itself. Until that miracle arrives, you’ll find me making Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese. It’s easy, cheesy, and as close to a zero-effort dinner as I can come, without involving the digits “711-PAPA.”
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese is a dinner for nights when the act of even thinking about cooking is exhausting, and all you want to do is call Papa John’s for pizza—and those fluffy wonder breadsticks (personal weakness alert!).
I adore cooking (and breadsticks), but some nights I barely have the energy to put together a peanut butter sandwich, let alone an entire meal (which is interesting considering that I always have the energy for a pan of brownies, but I digress). My mood not to cook, however, has zero impact on my mood to eat, which is a force as fierce and persistent as the rising sun.
Monday nights are typically when cooking sounds the least appealing to me, so I try to anticipate the agony with easy meals like this Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese. It’s simple, filled with sweet Italian flavor, and you probably have everything you need to make it in your pantry rightthissecond.
As its name suggests, Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese is bursting with the classic tastes of caprese salad: basil, tomato, and mozzarella. It’s a summertime triple threat—cool flavors for warm weather that I find myself eating as often as possible these dog days.
I adore drizzling my caprese salad with a glossy balsamic reduction to give it a sweet tangy somethin’ somethin’ that ties all of the flavors together, but the extra stove time it requires to prepare is a no-cook night no-no. For our Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese, let’s create a similar effect by pouring balsamic vinegar right into the slow cooker with the chicken. As it cooks, the balsamic sweetens like a reduction, with less effort (and one less pan to wash.)
Along with the balsamic, toss in a can of diced tomatoes, garlic, a red onion, and a few spices. Set the dial, and voila! Dinner will appear. All we need is a smother of gooey mozzarella cheese and sprinkle of lively fresh basil to complete the caprese picture.
Monday night may do its worst. We have a big, yummy pot of Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese to keep us full, healthy, and happy and to ward away the delivery boy.
Unless the delivery boy has breadsticks, in which case please open the door immediately.
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Caprese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 can diced tomatoes — (14 ounces)
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, — minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 small red onion — diced
- Shredded mozzarella cheese — for serving
- Thinly sliced fresh basil — for serving
Instructions
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Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Place chicken on top of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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In a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, garlic, bayleaf, basil, and onion. Pour over the chicken. Cover and cook until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, 4 to 5 hours on low heat or 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours on high heat, depending upon your slow cooker. Transfer the chicken to a plate, then with a slotted spoon, scoop the tomato-balsamic slow cooker sauce over the chicken. Top with mozzarella and fresh basil.
Did you try this recipe? I want to see! Follow Well Plated on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #wellplated. I love to know what you are making!
More slow cooker recipes to try:
- Slow Cooker Thai Chicken (a reader favorite!)
- Slow Cooker Cheese Stuffed Apple Chicken Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Honey Pulled Pork
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About Erin Clarke
I’m fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food taste incredible. Wearer of plaid, travel enthusiast, and firmly convinced that sweets and veggies both deserve a place at the table. MORE ABOUT ERIN…
YUUUMMMM!!!! You are totally right – tomatoes, mozzarella and basil are the foods of summer! And I just LOVE slow cooker meals! My kiddos keep me pretty busy during the day, and when we return home from the pool late afternoon, and my husband is on his way home from work … and oh no … what’s for dinner? (Friday is my ‘I don’t want to cook’ day.) So when I can get dinner going in the morning and literally arrive home and dinner is ready … I’m a very happy girl!! :)
It’s almost like having a personal chef isn’t it?! Well, almost :)
This is the perfect summer Monday meal!
Making this tonight! Love the slow cooker in the summer when you don’t want the oven to heat up the house…
A-to the-MEN to keeping the heat in the house to a minimum Georgia. Secretly I don’t mind using the oven because I’m chronically freezing and Ben loves the AC on high, but I know for those who don’t have AC (or run it lower than we do) that a slow cooker is a lifesaver!
I can’t wait to make this! These photos make my eyeballs pop out of my head!
This looks INSANE.
I’m in need of some slow-cooker recipes for the next two weeks, as my in-laws will be in town. Definitely trying this one. And I agree with dessertfortwo–lovely, vibrant photos!
Looks very inviting!
so going to make this!!
Yay! I love joining you (virtually) at your dinner table via recipe :)
This is getting added to the menu asap!
Dang girl this looks off the chain good! PLus a slow cooker meal equals heaven in my book.
Erin, I so love this easy dish – such a wonderfully flavorful crockpot recipe. My Sundays are usually cray cray – I know what will make my next Sunday less cray cray – this in the crockpot when I come home! Thanks so much for sharing!
There has to be so much flavor in this dish with summer tomatoes and basil, love it!
Getting motivated to cook, especially after cooking and cleaning up things for a food blog, is not easy!! I will have to give this a try – I love caprese salad, so I’m sure I would love these flavor combinations!!
Can I just say yes yes yes and more yes to this dish? I am the same way on Mondays…I just stand in front of the fridge and want to wave a magic wand…and then find dinner on the table…sadly, this does not work lol! Definitely need to try this easy and delicious sounding recipe :)
This looks delicious! I like how you can just throw everything in a slow cooker and not worry about it. I don’t use my slow cooker enough but I think I might have to try this recipe out. I believe I even have all of the ingredients!
Oh gosh, this looks SO good! The tomato balsamic sauce sounds uber delicious :) Now if only slow cookers were self-cleaning, too…
I love crockpot meals for days when I don’t really feel like cooking! This looks delicious!
haha for me it’s tuesdays … no idea why but I never want to make anything!
I love planning ahead and making slow cooker meals! They’re such a great reward at the end of the day and require so little effort to throw together. I can’t wait to try this combo, Erin.
Obsessed with easy slow cooker dishes that you don’t really have to think about! I’m burnt out when I get home from work and this little chicky just sitting pretty waiting for me is my kinda dish!!
A perfect slow cooker summer meal! Love the caprese flavors and the more balsamic the better!
Simple, beautiful meals?? I’ll take ’em!
Holy bajinkas, this looks absolutely amazing. How seriously great is Caprese?! Mmmm… tomato balsamic sauce, that’ll go great with my mushroom brushetta. :)
I’m the exact same way, there are so many nights that I just wish dinner would magically appear on the table! My husband has such a weak spot for papa johns and I’m trying to make us limit pizza to only once a week, so I usually have to be strong and muster up the energy to cook something or else he would order pizza everynight! I’ll definitely be coming back to this recipe!
Ohhhh gaaaawl, this chicken looks amazing! I’m always up for a slow cooker meal. Looks so healthful and tasty!!
This is a MUST-add to my meal plan! I’m so with you – if only I could get my desire to eat to line up with days when I have the desire to cook :)
Haha I’ve feeling that way a lot lately and take-out and slow cooker meals have been a life saver :) This looks amazing – love the caprese flavors in here! Count me in for this easy and delicious summer meal!
This looks fantastic! I was just reducing baslamic last night for a caprese dish, and needless to say, I caramelized the first batch while I was doing dishes. I adore balsamic and I can’t wait to try this!
BALSAMIC FOR LIFE Danielle. I could eat it on just about anything, especially if it’s reduced!
I soooo wish supper would cook itself every single night. Or I could eat Papa Johns forever without gaining an ounce! Until then we can devour this amazing recipe!!
Mmmm looks delicious! I see the word “caprese” and I’m a goner.
Oh yeah, this is happening. I need a lot more meals like this in my back pocket. I love that the slow cooker helps reduce the balsamic too! That’s genius!
Love slow cooker recipes and this looks amazing thank you so much!
Love your instagram as well!
I’m BLUSHING! Thank you so much :)
What’s a good side for this? Besides salad?
Hi Julius! This chicken would be fabulous with any green vegetable you enjoy, such as green beans, or yes a salad. It also tastes great served with brown rice or polenta (my favorite).
Wow…I wish this was on our table tonight! Looks amazing…but sigh, just having something simple over here.
This is my kind of dinner. Yum!
This is a great way to use low-fat chicken breasts, ensuring that they’ll still be tender and flavoursome. I’m pretty much addicted to tangy balsamic so, uh, this is definitely a big YES for our dinner table! Now all I need is a slow cooker. Darn it. Why don’t I have one already?! Thanks Erin! Xx
I am very happy I took the time to write her the letters and highly recommend it to all new moms. Hope you try the recipe. . I love that I know what is in this and not like some restaurants where they add a lot of stuff. Thanks!! ckrp-eu
This may sound silly, but should the chicken be defrosted before putting in?
Not silly at all! Yes, defrosted first :-)
Hi! First time commenter here. I found your blog via Dessert for Two. I made this recipe last week and LOVED it! I am definitely keeping it. Thanks so much for creating a “no-pre-cook” required slow cooker recipe!!!! The flavor/sauce is amazing!!!
Stefanie, it’s so great to hear from you, and I’m so happy you found my blog! Thanks for trying this recipe, and letting me know how it turned out. Hearing from readers who make my recipes is one of my favorite parts about blogging, and I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
Hi Dee! I’m so glad you like the look of this recipe. I’ve never used bone-in chicken in the slow cooker, but I see no reason why it shouldn’t work (though your cooking time will be impacted–it will need longer.) As far as the name of my blog, there’s actually a story behind it. If you’d like to read more about me, what I’m about, and how my blog got it’s name, I have all the juicy details on my About page: http://www.thelawstudentswife.com/about-2/, as well as my FAQ page: http://www.thelawstudentswife.com/faqs/
Erin, I made this the other night and really enjoyed it. My husband and I are on a weight-loss journey, so this recipe is perfect! Thanks for your blog.
Hi Shari! I am so happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for taking time to let me know. Hearing from readers who try what I post never fails to make my day!!! Best wishes to you both :-)
I’ve made this a few times now and I have to say it’s my absolute favorite slow-cooker recipe!! So so easy and the flavors taste like I’ve been slaving away in the kitchen all day! I serve it with a fresh mozzarella, tomato and fresh basil salad and brown rice. Love it!!!!
Alexa, I am thrilled to hear this! Thank you so much for taking time to let me know. Have a wonderful day!
Do you think if it cooked on low for 9 hrs it would still come out ok? Looks amazing!
Hi Kristy! I know this isn’t the answer you want to hear, but I think that chicken breasts would definitely dry out after that amount of time. If you have a slow cooker that would automatically switch to “keep a warm” when the time expires, you might be able to get away with it with chicken thighs, but even then, I think it would risk being dry. I know this isn’t the news you were hoping for, but I really want it to turn out for you!
Hey Erin! Thank you so much for the recipe. I made it last night and think I may have taken a wrong turn somewhere- the chicken ended up tasting wonderful, but we had to shread it with a fork to eat it, and it almost had a stew-y taste to it. Was I supposed to drain the tomatoes before I put them in the crock pot? I left the chicken for 2 hours and 45 minutes on high, so maybe I left it in a tad too long? Either way, thank you for the recipe :)
Hi Carrie, It sounds like your slow cooker might just be especially powerful! The texture of the chicken is related to the cook time, so it sounds like yours must have been done early. I’m glad the recipe still tasted great! It’s normal to have a fair amount of liquid at the bottom (which is why I suggest spooning the tomatoes with a slotted spoon). Next time, I’d just try checking the chicken earlier.
I tried this one Oh so Good ! Ty
Made this for dinner tonight. We couldn’t stop eating it. This dish is so good. I already recommended it to friends.
Hooooooray Bonnie! I am so happy to hear that. THANK YOU!
I’m prepping meals for the freezer before baby #2 comes. And came across your page and my favorite flavors in this recipe. I am wondering if you could put unfrozen chicken and the sauce in a bag to freeze then throw in the crockpot frozen? Or do you think that would marinate too long for the flavors?
Hi Jackie,
I think that would work just fine! I’d suggest thawing the bag in the fridge overnight, then putting it in the crockpot once it’s thawed. I think that will help it cook more evenly. Congrats on your baby to be, and I hope you love the recipe!
We have a ton of fresh basil that needs to be used. Can you substitute fresh basil for the dried? If so, how much?
Thanks!
Hi Kate, you can omit the dried basil when cooking, then sprinkle on as much fresh on as you like afterwards! If you need more ideas, you can also check out more recipes featuring basil here! :)
This was super good! I’m not going to rate it just because I only had half the balsamic vinegar needed for the recipe… :c It was still pretty good even without that and I bet next time I try it, with better preparation, I’ll be giving it five stars! So easy and so tasty!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe Jessi! Thank you so much for taking time to leave this kind comment. I hope you enjoy it the next time around too!
Do you think this could work in the instant pot? Do you have any thoughts on cooking it in that?
Thanks!
Victoria, I am afraid I’ve never tried! I love making chicken in the Instant Pot, but think it would turn the tomatoes into a sauce under the intense pressure. If you’d like to experiment, I’d suggest you reference some articles online about converting slow cooker recipes to the IP and see if that helps. If you decide to play around, I’d love to hear how it goes!