Crock Pot Garlic Butter Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots

Crock Pot Garlic Butter Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots is tender chicken, buttery baby potatoes, and sweet carrots all slow-cook together in a garlicky, herb-infused butter sauce that soaks into every vegetable and makes the whole dish taste deeply rich and satisfying. Everything lands on the table from a single pot, and the prep takes exactly 10 minutes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• 10 minutes of prep, then completely hands-off: Chop, mix, dump, and walk away. The slow cooker builds every layer of flavor while you go about your day.
• A complete dinner in one pot: Protein, starchy carbs, and vegetables all cook together — no side dishes needed, no extra pans required.
• Rich garlic butter sauce that makes everything better: The buttery, herby sauce penetrates the chicken and vegetables during the slow cook, creating deeply flavored comfort food in every bite.
• The leftovers are even better: The garlic butter sauce absorbs further overnight and the second-day flavor is genuinely more developed and satisfying than day one.
• Family-friendly and crowd-ready: This dish pleases everyone from toddlers to grandparents and scales up easily by adding more of any component.

Equipment Needed

• 6-quart slow cooker (crock pot)
• Medium mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Cutting board and sharp knife
• Vegetable peeler
• Measuring cups and spoons

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Ingredients You’ll Need

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1½ lbs baby red potatoes, quartered
• 1 lb whole carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Ingredient Notes

Chicken Thighs: Bone-in or boneless chicken thighs stay significantly juicier than breasts through a 6-hour slow cook — their higher fat content protects against drying out even if the cook runs slightly long. Chicken breasts work but require monitoring; check at the 5-hour mark on LOW and remove as soon as they shred easily. For the richest, most forgiving result, thighs win every time in the slow cooker.

Baby Red Potatoes: These waxy, thin-skinned potatoes hold their shape beautifully through the long slow cook without turning to mush — a critical quality in a dish where texture matters. Russet potatoes break down completely and turn mealy; Yukon Golds are the best alternative if you can’t find reds. Quarter the potatoes to roughly 1-inch pieces so they cook evenly alongside the carrot chunks.

The Garlic: Six cloves of garlic seems like a lot, but slow cooking mellows garlic dramatically — the sharp, pungent bite transforms into a sweet, rounded, complex flavor that defines the entire sauce. Do not reduce the garlic quantity. And absolutely use fresh minced garlic rather than garlic powder here — the slow cook draws out a depth and sweetness from fresh garlic that pre-ground powder simply cannot produce.

Unsalted Butter: The butter melts into the broth and vegetable juices over the long cook to create the silky, rich sauce that coats every piece of chicken and vegetable. Unsalted butter lets you control the sodium level — the recipe already has salt from the seasoning and broth. Ghee works as a direct substitute and adds a slightly more complex, nutty flavor. Olive oil can replace the butter for a dairy-free version, though the sauce won’t have the same rich character.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prep and Add the Vegetables

Quarter the baby red potatoes and cut the peeled carrots into 1-inch chunks. Place both vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker in an even layer — potatoes and carrots go on the bottom because they take longer to cook than the chicken and benefit from direct contact with the cooking liquid.

Step 2: Make the Garlic Butter Sauce

Whisk together melted butter, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and chicken broth in a medium bowl until fully combined. The mixture should smell extraordinary at this point — that’s the garlic blooming in the warm butter. Taste and adjust salt if needed before it goes into the pot.

Step 3: Add the Chicken

Season the chicken pieces lightly with salt and pepper, then place them on top of the potato and carrot layer. Arranging chicken on top of the vegetables rather than beneath them lets the chicken cook in the steam and sauce vapors, while the vegetables absorb the buttery cooking liquid from the bottom of the pot.

Step 4: Pour the Sauce and Cook

Pour the garlic butter mixture evenly over the chicken and vegetables, tilting the pot slightly to let it flow into every corner. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–7 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours. Do not open the lid during cooking — the slow cooker builds pressure and moisture that cooks the dish evenly, and lifting the lid releases both.

Step 5: Check for Doneness

At the end of the cook time, pierce a carrot chunk with a fork — it should slide in without resistance. The chicken should read 165°F on an instant-read thermometer and pull apart easily with a fork. If the vegetables need more time, cover and cook 30 more minutes on LOW before checking again.

Step 6: Serve with Garnish

Spoon the chicken and vegetables into wide, shallow bowls or onto plates, making sure every serving gets a generous ladle of the garlic butter sauce from the bottom of the slow cooker. Scatter fresh chopped parsley over the top and serve immediately while the sauce is hot and glossy.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Place potatoes and carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker and chicken on top — dense root vegetables need more direct heat and longer cooking, while chicken is more forgiving cooked above the liquid level.
• For an optional flavor upgrade, place the finished dish under the broiler for 3–5 minutes after slow cooking — the exposed chicken and vegetables develop golden, slightly caramelized edges that add a texture contrast the slow cooker alone can’t achieve.
• Cut all vegetables to similar sizes — uniform 1-inch pieces on the carrots and quartered potatoes ensure everything finishes cooking at the same time without some pieces turning mushy while others stay hard.
• Use a slow cooker liner for zero-effort cleanup — the entire insert wipes clean with a damp cloth after removing the liner.
• Taste the sauce at the end of cooking and stir in an extra tablespoon of cold butter right before serving — this technique, called “mounting,” makes the sauce noticeably silkier and more restaurant-quality.

Tips & Variations

Add More Vegetables: Green beans, halved mushrooms, sliced zucchini, or frozen peas all integrate seamlessly. Add tender vegetables (zucchini, peas, green beans) in the last 1 hour of cooking on LOW — they overcook and turn mushy if added at the beginning. Heartier mushrooms can go in at the start alongside the potatoes and carrots.

Make It Creamy: Stir in ¼ cup of heavy cream or 2 oz of cream cheese right before serving for a richer, creamier sauce that clings to every piece of chicken and potato. This transforms the dish from a buttery pan-sauce style to something closer to a cream-braised chicken — equally delicious and particularly popular with kids.

Freezer-Friendly Version: Cool the fully cooked dish completely, then portion into zip-lock freezer bags or airtight containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently in a covered saucepan with a splash of chicken broth to restore the sauce. The potatoes soften slightly after freezing but the flavor remains excellent.

Serving Suggestions

This dish is a complete meal all on its own — protein, starch, and vegetables in one pot with a delicious sauce that serves as a natural gravy. Spoon it into wide shallow bowls so the sauce pools around the chicken and vegetables, and serve with a thick slice of crusty bread for mopping up every last drop. [Internal link: Sweet Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken]

For a Sunday dinner spread, serve alongside a simple green salad with a light vinaigrette and warm dinner rolls. The clean brightness of the salad dressing cuts through the richness of the garlic butter sauce and makes the combination feel balanced and intentional rather than heavy.

Shred leftover chicken and toss it with the remaining vegetables and sauce over egg noodles or mashed potatoes for an entirely different next-day meal that uses every bit of what you made and tastes like a completely different dish. [Internal link: Instant Pot Chicken and Rice]

Common Mistakes

• Using russet potatoes: They break down into a starchy, mealy mush during the long slow cook. Always use waxy potato varieties — baby reds or Yukon Golds hold their shape and texture through the full 6-hour cook.
• Putting chicken on the bottom: The chicken cooks perfectly when placed on top of the vegetables, absorbing steam and sauce vapors. Buried beneath the vegetables it sits in pooled liquid and can overcook unevenly.
• Reducing the garlic: Six cloves feels like a lot, but slow cooking mellows garlic into something sweet and complex rather than sharp. Cutting it down produces a noticeably blander sauce that misses the point of the recipe.
• Lifting the lid repeatedly during cooking: Each lid lift releases steam and temperature, adding 15–20 minutes to the cook time. Set it and leave it completely alone until the timer goes off.
• Not tasting the sauce before serving: Slow cooker dishes concentrate during the long cook and sometimes need a final seasoning adjustment. Always taste the sauce at the end and add salt, pepper, or a splash of lemon juice to brighten the finished dish.

What to Serve With Crock Pot Garlic Butter Chicken

With potatoes and carrots already in the pot, this dish needs very little on the side. A simple green vegetable like steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, or sautéed green beans rounds out the plate without adding any complexity to the cook. The garlic butter sauce doubles as a dipping sauce for the vegetables, which makes every component of the meal taste connected.

Crusty French bread or warm sourdough is the most natural accompaniment — the bread soaks up the garlic butter sauce from the bottom of the bowl in the most satisfying way possible. This single addition turns a simple weeknight dinner into something that feels genuinely special without any extra cooking.

For a Sunday family dinner with a crowd, double the recipe in a large oval slow cooker and add a big batch of fluffy mashed potatoes on the side. The garlic butter sauce from the slow cooker serves as an instant, rich gravy over the mashed potatoes that requires zero extra effort and gets the highest compliments at the table every single time. [Internal link: Slow Cooker Street Corn Chicken]

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use frozen chicken in this recipe?

The USDA recommends against cooking frozen chicken in a slow cooker because the meat spends too long at temperatures where bacteria can grow before reaching a safe internal temperature. Always use fully thawed chicken — thaw overnight in the refrigerator or submerge in cold water for 1–2 hours before adding to the slow cooker.

How do I know when the chicken is fully cooked?

The most reliable method is an instant-read thermometer — chicken is fully safe and cooked when it reads 165°F at the thickest part. You can also check by pressing a fork into the chicken; fully cooked chicken shreds apart easily with minimal pressure.

Can I make this with bone-in chicken?

Yes — bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks work excellently in this recipe and add even more flavor to the sauce as the collagen from the bones releases during cooking. Increase the cook time by 1 hour on LOW to ensure the meat near the bone reaches full temperature.

Why are my carrots still hard after the full cook time?

Dense root vegetables sometimes need extra time depending on how large they were cut. Make sure carrots are cut into 1-inch or smaller pieces — thick chunks don’t cook through at the same rate as the potatoes. If they’re still firm, cover and cook on LOW for another 30–45 minutes.

Can I add cream to make a richer sauce?

Yes — stir in ¼ cup of heavy cream or 2 tablespoons of cream cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking on LOW. Both options thicken and enrich the sauce noticeably without curdling at low temperatures. Add dairy only at the end to prevent separation during the long cook.

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