Bistro Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
Cozy french-style Bistro Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice loaded with herbs and lemon essence! A must-make this season.
Hurray for slow cooker season!
The time has come to start dinner earlier in the day, in order to come come to a house filled with welcoming aromas at family mealtime.
I never think to pull out my slow cooker in the summer or early fall… I’m too busy grilling. However, this week I moved my tropical potted plants into the house and pulled out the slow cooker. Fall has officially arrived.
Today I want to share a mild comforting slow cooker dish that your whole family will love. This twist on the classic slow cooker chicken and rice is simple and easy to make, with light flavors of butter, garden herbs, and lemon.
To make Bistro Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice, I simply sautéed garlic and onions in butter to soften them, prior to adding to the slow cooker. (A must when slow cooking less than 10-12 hours.)
Then I added the buttery onions and garlic to the crock and topped them with a fresh bouquet of rosemary and thyme, chicken breasts, fragrant jasmine rice, and lemon slices.
Cover and let the slow cooker work its magic!
When the rice is firm but fluffy, and not a moment longer, remove the herb bouquet and the chicken. Chop the chicken, then toss it back into the rice.
Viola!
See how easy it is?
Bistro Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice tastes (and smells) of a classic french bistro, yet with a lot less effort than classic french dishes.
The mild, yet alluring, flavors will satisfy even the pickiest eaters. You’re kids will love it!
Kick off crockpot season with our Bistro Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice recipe. It’s a great recipe for both busy weekday meals, or large weekend gatherings.
Â
Bistro Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 1/2 cups jasmine rice
- Bouquet de garni (bundle of herbs with 2 sprigs rosemary and 4 sprigs thyme)
- 1 lemon sliced and seeds removed
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 5 cups chicken broth
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Place the butter in a medium skillet and set over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes to soften, then pour the onions and butter into the crock of a large slow cooker.
- Add the bouquet de garni and the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Pour the rice over the top and lay the lemon slices over it. Then pour the chicken broth over the rice.
- Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 3-5 hours. (The first time you make this dish, be watchful of the rice. All slow cookers are slightly different, and you do not want the rice to cook to mush. Turn the slow cooker off when the rice is firm and fluffy. My slow cooker takes 2 hours on high.)
- Pull the chicken breast and the bouquet de garni out of the crock and cut into bite-size chunks. Add the chicken back to the crock and toss. Serve warm.
I have read multiple reviews with people stating that the rice was oddly cooked, mushy on the bottom and underdone on the top. When I made it the first time, that happened to me except my chicken was also underdone! That was no good. I’ve realized that this recipe is just not slow cooker friendly, at least for me. I cook the rice on the stovetop with the butter, onion, herbs, and lemon slices. I make the chicken in the crock pot just plain on its own. When it’s all done, I combine it together. That’s just how I’ve had to do it, and it still turns out really tasty!
Does the chicken need to be thawed? Wondering if it could work with frozen tenders.
Hi Dawn,
In this recipe, it calls for thawed chicken. I’m not sure how much longer it would take with frozen chicken. Maybe someone in our online cooking family would know… Has anyone else tried this recipe with frozen chicken? We’d love your input!
This was a flop for me as well! So disappointed. The rice was hard on top and mush on the bottom! I checked on this dish several times and there was need for concern. All of a sudden it looked like something happened to it. Smelled great but unable to eat it. Rice was too far gone. What a waste.
We made this and the flavor was good. However – we had the crockpot on high for 4 hours and the rice did not cook at all. We had to take the chicken out, dump the broth and rice mixture into a pot, and boil it.
I followed to a t, I’m a pretty good cook, the rice toward the bottom of crock pot was a soggy mess and the rice on top was crunchu. What a waste of expensive jasmine rice. Hopefully I can salvage the chicken..
I really like this recipe but I haven’t quite mastered cooking the rice just right. I have tried cooking on both high and low settings on different occasions and either have mushy rice or under cooked rice. Doesn’t stop me from continuing to try though, I am determined! I am not a fan of rosemary and thyme so I substitute with my own concoction of dried basil, oregano, and parsley.
Such a great classic recipe you’ve got here!
So sad. I hd such high hopes for this recipe. Mush mush mush. It turned to mush while still leaving the rice crunchy. ?
Hi Adrianne,
So sorry that happened! All slow cookers vary a bit… I’ve got a tutorial on slow cooker tips to help adjust recipes to fit YOUR crockpot. Hope this helps! http://www.aspicyperspective.com/how-to-use-slow-cooker-properly/
Does anyone know the calorie intake on this ?
This was a flop for me. I’m not sure what went wrong, but I ended up with mostly mushy rice, plus some undercooked rice, and the lemons on top turned bitter so the whole dish had a bitter taste to it. Has anyone experienced this and/or have suggestions on how to avoid these problems?
Could be the rice, try using the rice she recommends. I hate mushy rice