This Easy Keto-Friendly Crockpot Chicken recipe makes chicken breasts so tender they fall apart at the touch of a fork. This recipe creates a savory sauce that can be spooned over the chicken for serving. This recipe can be part of a low-carb, keto, Atkins, gluten-free, dairy-free, or Paleo diet.
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The Recipe for Easy Keto-Friendly Crockpot Chicken
Sometimes simple is better. This recipe embodies both simple and easy.
This chicken is not only easy to make, but has a simple, but classic, flavor.
This recipe simmers chicken for hours in a broth with onions, celery, and thyme. That good flavor soaks into the chicken and makes a simple sauce. Are you hungry yet?
This recipe can be served as whole breasts with the sauce spooned over top. The chicken can also be shredded and served with the sauce. Alternatively, the chicken can be removed from the sauce, shredded, and then used in recipes that call for shredded chicken.
If you decide to use the recipe in other recipes that call for shredded chicken, you may wish to leave out the thyme. This depends on the final recipe using the shredded chicken. If the final recipe contains thyme already, you can leave it in.
Do you need to brown the chicken before it goes in the crockpot?
While you can slow cook chicken without browning it first, it doesn’t taste as good. Browning the chicken adds a lot of flavor.
In this recipe, I first coat the chicken pieces with glucomannan. Glucomannan is a wonderful fiber-based thickener derived from the Konjac root.
This thickener provides fiber that is lacking in many keto diets, but the fiber isn’t metabolized, so it doesn’t cause problems for most people who eat keto or low-carb.
Coating the chicken breasts with glucomannan helps brown the pieces. It also thickens the sauce as the chicken cooks.
How long does it take to cook chicken in a crockpot?
The amount of time it takes to cook chicken in a crockpot or slow cooker will depend on how large the pieces of meat are and the temperature of the individual appliance.
Typically, for average chicken breasts, I cook them for 4-6 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low. I give this range of time so that you can accommodate your schedule.
My preference is to cook it on low for about 6 hours, as the slower it’s cooked the more tender it is. I do find that some flavor can be lost at the high end of the 6-8 hour range.
Can you overcook chicken in a slow cooker
The goal with this recipe is to end up with tender, flavorful chicken breasts. It is possible to overshoot this goal if you cook the chicken too long.
Overcooking the chicken will result in a less flavorful meat with a mushy texture. This is definitely not what we’re going for!
To help prevent overcooking, many new crockpots have a timer feature. When the time is up, they switch to a “keep warm” feature rather than continuing to cook your food.
Using this timer feature can be helpful if you end up in a traffic jam, or you run late at work and can’t serve dinner right on time.
How do you shred chicken?
Shredding this chicken breast is easy because it’s so tender already!
Before shredding the meat, be sure to allow it to cool to a temperature that’s comfortable to touch. You want the meat to be still warm, since warm meat is easier to shred, but not so hot you burn yourself.
To shred chicken, you can use your hands and simply pull apart the meat.
A second way to shred chicken is to use two forks and use them to pull the meat apart. Use one fork to hold the meat, and the other fork to shred.
For more information on how to shred chicken, you might want to check out this article on how to shred chicken from Kristine’s Kitchen. She uses her stand mixer to do the job!
How do you store shredded chicken?
To store the shredded chicken, place the meat in a container with an airtight lid. If you plan to freeze the chicken, be sure your container is freezer-safe.
After putting the meat in the container, be sure to stir in a few tablespoons of the sauce from the pot. This will help keep the meat moist and add flavor.
You can store the meat for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, or 2-3 months in the freezer.
How do you use shredded chicken breast?
Shredded chicken can be handy to have on hand for a quick meal. It can be substituted for the leftover turkey in my Leftover Turkey (or Chicken) Soup, my Low-Carb Leftover Turkey Casserole, my Low-Carb Leftover Turkey (or Chicken) Avocado Salad, this keto chicken salad from Joy Filled Eats, or this chicken salad recipe from Twosleevers.
If you’re looking for additional ideas, you might want to check out the recipes in this round-up of low-carb ways to use shredded chicken.
Final words
This recipe for chicken breasts is super-tasty and very versatile. It’s one of those low-carb main dishes that the whole family will love! Enjoy!
-Annissa
Our easy Keto-Friendly Crockpot Chicken recipe makes a wonderful dinner without heating up the kitchen. This recipe has a savory sauce that can be spooned over the fork-tender chicken. This recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free in addition to being low-carb.
Easy Keto-Friendly Crockpot Chicken
This Easy Keto-Friendly Crockpot Chicken recipe makes chicken breasts so tender they fall apart at the touch of a fork. This recipe creates a savory sauce that can be spooned over the chicken for serving. This recipe can be part of a low-carb, keto, Atkins, gluten-free, dairy-free, or Paleo diet.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil (quantity divided)
- 2 small onions peeled and chopped
- 2 ribs celery sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (if making shreded chicken for another recipe you may want to leave out)
- 2 tablespoons glucomannan
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 pounds chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add one tablespoon of avocado oil. Cook the onion and celery until edges are slightly soft and the vegetables are starting to soften. Stir in thyme.
Transfer onion mixture to the crockpot. Set skillet aside to use for the chicken.
Add the glucomannan, sea salt, and black pepper to a large plastic bag (or a large bowl). Mix together well.
Place the chicken breasts in the bag and close it tightly. Shake chicken to coat with the mixture. If using a bowl, use your hands to coat the breasts.
Heat one tablespoon of the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In batches, brown the chicken breasts, making sure they do not touch. Do not cook the chicken breast through through the center.
Transfer the chicken breasts to the crockpot.
Add red wine vinegar to the pan. Stir, scraping up bits on the bottom of the pan. When vinegar has thickened, add the chicken stock and continue to scrape up browned bits. Bring mixture to a simmer, then pour into the crockpot over chicken breasts.
Cover the crockpot and cook mixture 4-6 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low. Serve with sauce spooned over or shred chicken and use in other recipes.
This is such a warming, comforting dish. Full of flavour, and the chicken is so tender!
This chicken looks great. I love using my slow cooker!
This chicken looks absolutely incredible and juicy! You can see the flavor seeping out. YUM!
These images are fantastic! Hi there, I found your recipe on Pinterest and it looks amazing. Totally perfect for the Church Potluck we are attending.
It’s a great choice for a potluck!
Annissa
Is there anything I can use in place of the glucomannan? Thanks!
You could use regular flour if you don’t need it to be gluten free. A gluten-free blend would work as well. Either of these options would add additional carbs.
-Annissa
Sounds tasty! I’ve never cooked with Glucomannan before and am super intrigued to experiment with it.
It’s my favorite low-carb thickener ever! It gives gravy and sauce a nice texture and thickens well. I’ve even made pudding with it!
Annissa
What can I use if I can’t find glucomannan?
I order my glucomannan from Amazon. I really like the way it thickens in this recipe. You could substitute xanthan gum, but don’t coat the chicken with it. Simply salt and pepper the chicken before browning, then stir 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum in the onion mixture after cooking the onions.
Annissa
This recipe was wonderful. So tasty and tender, the gravy was very good. I used my instant pot slow cooker, and cooked two large breast halves for 6 hours. I first diced the vegetables, cooked them before the chicken. Then I coated the chicken with arrowroot powder because that is what I had as a thickener. I added about 1/2 tsp- of meat broth powder to the water for cooking and 2 tsp. of arrowroot powder in 1/2 glass of water to thicken the gravy more after it was all finished.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your substitutions with everyone!
I have a question! My oven broke and the only other “oven “ I have is a toaster oven . Do you think it can still cook throughly in that?
This recipe is meant to be made in a crockpot. You could probably put it in a baking dish and bake it in a toaster oven if it is large enough.
-Annissa
Do you think I could use corn starch as a thickener .
Yes, cornstarch will work, but you will want to use less–maybe 1 or 2 teaspoons. It will add a few grams of carbohydrates to the recipe.