Potatoes and diced chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker, a jar of creamy parmesan garlic sauce thinned with water poured over, and four hours later it is done.
Fifteen minutes of assembly and no browning step. This is a genuine dump-and-go recipe rather than one pretending to be.
The jarred sauce is the whole shortcut
A cup of creamy parmesan garlic sauce, the kind sold as a wing sauce.
It carries garlic, parmesan, cream and seasoning already balanced, which is a considerable amount of work skipped. Building the equivalent means a roux, cream, stock, grated cheese and a lot of garlic.
Any brand works. They vary in thickness and saltiness, so taste yours before you commit if you are sensitive to either.
If you would rather make it, a cup of heavy cream with three grated garlic cloves, half a cup of parmesan and a pinch of salt gets you close.
Thin it with water before it goes in
Half a cup of water or chicken stock whisked into the sauce in a bowl first.
Jarred sauces of this kind are thick, and a slow cooker adds no liquid of its own. Poured in neat, the sauce sits on top and the potatoes underneath cook dry.
Whisking it in a separate bowl rather than stirring it in the cooker means it actually combines. Slow cookers do not agitate, so anything poured in as layers stays roughly in layers.
Potatoes on the bottom, chicken on top
Two pounds of potatoes cut into inch and a half to two inch chunks, tossed with oil and seasoning in the bottom of the cooker. Chicken over them.
The base of a slow cooker is where the heating element sits, so it runs hottest. Potatoes take longer than diced chicken breast, so they belong where the heat is.
Reversed, the chicken overcooks and dries out while the potatoes are still firm.
Cut the potatoes larger than the chicken. Inch and a half chunks against inch and a half diced chicken means the chicken, which cooks faster, is still in bigger pieces than it needs to be to survive four hours.
Four hours on high, or six on low
Until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.
Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165F. The source works on appearance, and four hours will get diced breast well past that, but a thermometer through the thickest piece is the reliable check.
Test a potato with a knife rather than the chicken for doneness overall. The potato is the slower ingredient and it decides when the dish is ready.
Cheese in the last twenty minutes
Two cups of mozzarella and optionally a quarter cup of parmesan, added with twenty minutes left and the lid back on.
Cheese added at the start spends four hours in liquid and separates into oil and rubbery strands. Twenty minutes is enough to melt it into a layer over the top while it still holds together.
Keep the lid on for that final stretch. The trapped steam is what melts it, since there is no top heat in a slow cooker.
Season the potatoes separately
Three quarters of a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper and the paprika go on the potatoes with the oil. The remaining salt and pepper go on the chicken.
Splitting it means both components are seasoned rather than relying on the sauce to carry everything. Potatoes in particular are bland and absorb a lot, so seasoning them directly makes a difference you can taste.
The paprika is mostly for colour. A slow cooker browns nothing, so the finished dish would otherwise be uniformly pale.
Serving
Parsley over the top, which is worth doing for the same reason as the paprika.
Six servings at around 566 calories, with 59 grams of protein, which is high for a dish this easy. <p>It needs nothing alongside it, being protein, starch and sauce in one pot. A green salad or steamed broccoli cuts through the richness if you want something. ## Which potatoes Any waxy or all-purpose potato holds up well over four hours. Yukon Gold and red potatoes both keep their shape. Russets break down more, which thickens the sauce and gives a softer result, so it depends what you want.
Leftovers
Three days refrigerated. The sauce thickens considerably as it cools, so add a splash of milk or stock when reheating. Warm it gently, since a cream and cheese sauce can split if pushed hard.
Slow Cooker Parmesan Garlic Chicken and Potatoes
Description
An easy slow cooker dinner of chicken and potatoes in a creamy parmesan garlic sauce with melted mozzarella.
Ingredients:
Instructions
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Combine the potatoes, olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper and the paprika in the bottom of a slow cooker and stir until well coated
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Add the diced chicken on top and sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper
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Whisk the parmesan garlic sauce and water together in a bowl until well incorporated, then pour the mixture over the chicken and potatoes
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Cook on high 4 hours, or low 6 hours, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife
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During the last 20 minutes add the mozzarella and Parmesan and continue cooking with the lid on
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Sprinkle with parsley to serve.
Note
Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165F; the source works on appearance alone. Whisk the sauce with the water in a separate bowl before pouring it in, since slow cookers do not agitate and layers stay as layers. Potatoes go on the bottom where the heating element sits, chicken on top. Add the cheese only in the last 20 minutes with the lid on; added earlier it separates. Nutrition per serving from source: 566 calories, 44g carbohydrates, 59g protein, 16g fat, 6g saturated fat, 148mg cholesterol, 648mg sodium, 1404mg potassium, 4g fiber, 4g sugar. Keeps 3 days refrigerated; loosen with milk or stock when reheating.
