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Crockpot Herb Butter Chicken and Wild Rice. I turned my family’s favorite dinner into an easy and delicious slow cooker recipe that makes weeknight cooking easy and delicious! Wild rice is cooked together with vegetables, chicken, and herbs. Serve each plate of chicken and wild rice with a drizzle of brown garlic sage butter. This slow-cooked chicken dinner is a hearty, but healthy dinner. It can be made in the crockpot, instant pot, or in just one skillet! So easy to prepare and always enjoyed by everyone.
It has been bitter cold here the last week. It feels more like November 30th than the last day of October. The bitter cold has left me wanting the comfort of slow-cooked dinners. Dinners that make the house smell wonderful all day long and give off cozy vibes. You know, the ones that make you even more excited for dinner that night.
These are the dinner I’m craving right now, and the ones I’ve been cooking most! I’ve been using the crockpot every other day over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been loving every recipe thus far.
But this chicken was a real highlight.
I created the recipe with my mom in mind. During the fall she often makes a cozy chicken and rice dinner. If she was really feeling fancy and had time on a Sunday she’d even roast up a whole chicken. And if it wasn’t chicken it was her pot roast, but chicken was much more the norm.
If my mom was cooking the whole dinner that night, her side of choice was always rice. She used to buy those boxes of Uncle Ben’s rice blends that cook up in just minutes on the stove. I can’t remember which was our favorite, but I feel like it was chicken and herb flavor. Just looked it up, maybe it was this one.
Either way, my mom loved it and it paired perfectly with her simple chicken. To me, this is my comfort food. We ate this meal so much and I always remember it making the house smell so good on a Sunday or Monday night.
I took that idea and all those flavors and turned the two-pan dinner into an even tastier one-and-done crockpot dinner.
The details
This is easy no matter which method you choose. Toss the rice with olive oil, vegetables, and herbs in the bowl of your crockpot. Then pour over chicken broth. Use good chicken broth, this is one of the flavors of the rice.
And then the chicken. I like to toss it with seasonings: dried thyme, rosemary, paprika, and cayenne, then add it right to the crockpot with the rice.
Toss in a handful of smashed garlic cloves. Now everything slow cooks together creating the most wonderful smell all throughout the house.
When the chicken has cooked, pull the pieces out along with the garlic and set them aside on a baking sheet. Add butter and sage, and broil the chicken to get it crisp before serving.
Serve the garlic herbed chicken over the fluffy rice and vegetables, then drizzle any butter left on the pan over top.
I absolutely could not love this recipe more and I know it’s a recipe that I’ll be coming back to time and time again. Perfect dinner to make for family and friends in the next few cozy months ahead!
Looking for other crockpot meals? Here are a few ideas:
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon.
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Herb Butter Chicken and Wild Rice, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Herb Butter Chicken and Wild Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 643 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend (mix wild and brown rice)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 8 leaves fresh sage
- 1 parmesan rind (optional)
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, combine the wild rice, onion, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and dried parsley. Season well with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss. Pour over the chicken broth.2. In a bowl, toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, rosemary, paprika, cayenne, and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the crockpot. Add the garlic cloves. If you have one, add a parmesan rind. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. 3. Before serving, preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken and garlic from the crockpot and place on a baking sheet. Arrange the butter and sage around the chicken and garlic, then broil 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Peel away the garlic skin, then chop, and mix with the butter on the sheet pan. Toss the chicken in the butter.4. To serve, fluff the rice with a fork and serve the chicken, rice, and veggies together. If there is any butter left on the pan, drizzle it over the chicken.
Instant Pot
- 1. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the wild rice, onion, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and dried parsley. Season well with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss. Pour over the chicken broth.2. In a bowl, toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, rosemary, paprika, cayenne, and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the instant pot. Add the garlic cloves. If you have one, add a parmesan rind. Cover and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.3. Once done cooking, release the steam. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the chicken and garlic from the instant pot and place on a baking sheet. Arrange the butter and sage around the chicken and garlic, then broil 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Peel away the garlic skin, then chop, and mix with the butter on the sheet pan. Toss the chicken in the butter.4. To serve, fluff the rice with a fork and serve the chicken, rice, and veggies together. If there is any butter left on the pan, drizzle it over the chicken.
Skillet
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. In a large oven-safe skillet, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, the chicken, thyme, rosemary, paprika, and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. Set the skillet over high heat. Sear on both sides until golden, 3-5 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the butter, garlic, and sage. Allow the butter to brown around the chicken. Remove everything from the skillet to a plate. Chop the garlic.3. To the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the wild rice, onion, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and dried parsley. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes, then pour over the broth. Bring to a boil.4. Slide the chicken, garlic, and any juices left on the plate back into the skillet. Bring to a boil. Cover the skillet and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook for 15 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked into the rice, but not all of it. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked. 5. To serve, fluff the rice with a fork and serve the chicken, rice, and veggies together.
This post was originally published on October 31, 2022
I’ve made this recipe numerous times. It does take effort but it’s worth every bit of it. I use Lundberg wild blend rice and it’s amazing every time. The leftovers are just as good! I’m going to try to make just the rice today with sirloin steaks.
Hey Jessica! That sounds delicious! Glad the recipe is working so well for you! And such a perfect idea to pair the rice with sirloin steaks for a quick, tasty meal. Enjoy! xT
I made this in the crock pot. I read the reviews first and saw the issues others had with rice either being under- or overcooked. I cooked the rice and veggies (minus the mushrooms) for about 90 mins on high before adding the chicken, garlic, and sage, which I marinated in the fridge while the veggies cooked. (I opted to skip the final step with the broiler and just used the crock pot.) About 1 hour before it was done I added the mushrooms and put some pats of butter on top and dropped the temp to low. I also added some additional chicken broth at about this point, because I wanted it to be a bit more saucy at the end. It all turned out beautifully after a total of about 4 hours or so.
Thanks so much, Nicole:) So glad to hear this recipe was a hit, I appreciate you making it! Happy Sunday!
I commented earlier but I also wanted to mention I used Uncle Ben’s boxed rice – I think it’s important to find a rice with a cooking time close to the simmer time. Whole grain rice will require 45-50 minutes and of course it ends up crunchy/under cooked. Rice that takes less than 20-30 minutes to cook will be mushy, I assume, in a crockpot recipe.
Thanks so much for sharing, Holli! So glad you enjoyed this dish! Have a wonderful week! xx
Mushy mess. I had to dump all the rice after 5 hr and put the chicken on “keep warm” in the crockpot with more broth to keep it moist before dinner. Had to remake rice on the stove. Waste of ingredients/money 🙁
Hi Liv,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe! xT
I made this dish following the instant pot version. Overall, the flavors of this recipe were great, however, after 20 minutes at high pressure there was still an excessive amount of broth that hadn’t been absorbed by the rice. It was like soup! I had to put the instant pot on sauté for several minutes to reduce all the broth. That being said, I felt that everything else cooked adequately, as in not over cooked or undercooked.
Hi Erika,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback. Glad to hear the flavors were enjoyed, sorry to hear about the broth! xx
So I acquired the ingredients for this recipe prior to reading the comments. I was a little nervous to tackle it because it seemed like there was a 50/50 split between the rice being mush, and the rice being crunchy. But after looking closer it seemed the 5-6 hours on low was not long enough to cook the rice. On the flip side, 2-3 hours on high was too long. So I followed the recipe to a T & popped my slow cooker on low. I hoped for perfect rice, but as suspected it was a bit crunchy. I decided to pull the chicken for the broiler and then turned the rice and veggies on high to cook while the chicken was getting crisp. (I actually waited about 15 minutes before I put the chicken in the oven to let the rice have a little more cooking time.) The rice cooked & it was a hit with the fam 🙂
Hi Cristen,
Fantastic! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and appreciate you making it! Thanks for sharing all of your notes. Have a great week! xxT
I had the same issues as other commenters sadly. I am an avid HBH reader too! I used chicken breasts and chose to cook in the slow cooker on high for 3 hrs as directed. My chicken was really dried out but the carrots and rice were way undercooked. I tried to boil on the stove to finish cooking but cracked my slow cooker container .. now that one can only be on me lol
Bummer! Really wanted to love this one.
Hi Madison,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you had issues with the dish…I think it could be the varieties of rice brands that is causing this. Sorry to hear about your slow cooker, did you put it on the stove? xx
Man, I always read the comments before trying a recipe but this is one time I didn’t and wish I had. Like others I ended up with terribly mushy rice and dry chicken. The flavors were great and I think if I’d made the rice separately and done the instant pot chicken & veggies I would’ve been super satisfied. Now I have a house full of tired kiddos complaining about this meal they’ve been waiting all afternoon to eat. Still love HBH but this one was not a winner for us.
Same! awful!
This recipe was such a disappointment. After 5 hours on low, the wild rice had turned to mush and had very little flavor. The recipe has the potential to be good, but the cooking method is just wrong; it might be all right if seasoned better and simmered on the stove for 30 or 45 minutes, but 5 hours in the slow cooker is too much.
Hi there,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! x
My rice also turned to mush and I was disappointed at first, but after we started eating I quickly changed my mind. It was very similar to stuffing! I think my wild rice “mix” was mostly white and brown rice, with a little bit of wild rice mixed in, so that’s probably why it was so mushy. I almost didn’t do the step with the butter and broiler, but SO glad I did. This will definitely be a regular recipe for us now 🙂
Hey Lindsay,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Happy Friday:) xT
Easy to make lived recipe. Can I freeze leftovers
Hey Vanessa,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try:) So glad it turned out nicely for you! x
This tasted amazing but I did the instant pot recipe and it ended up closer to a soup. Followed directions to a T but there was either too little rice or way too much chicken broth. Wonder if anyone else went the instant pot route and if it needed adjustments I missed?
Hi Kat,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! I wouldn’t say this is soup like, but it does have liquid, you might be able to see in the photos:) Did you have more liquid than that? If not, then it’s totally normal! x
I made the instant pot recipe. The chicken was so moist and the meal was amazing!! Thank you for the great recipe.
Thanks so much, Laura! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for giving it a try! Enjoy the short week:)
Our whole family loves this dinner. Definitely a staple in our house. The sage garlic butter is just next level.
Hey Scott,
I appreciate you making this recipe so often and your comment, so glad to hear it always turns out well! Happy Labor Day Weekend! xx
Made this in skillet using chicken thighs. This is about the fifth time that I have made it and I’ve found that it helps to cook the wild rice on the stove top for say 20 to 30 minutes before putting it in the pan with veggies. Not mandatory but helpful. That way the rice is thoroughly cooked and it finishes nicely in the oven! Not too mushy and not too dry/crunchy, tho who doesn’t love a crunch to their rice. Lovely flavors for not a ton of effort. It’s a great recipe! Thx
Hey Mimi,
Happy Sunday! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Flavours were amazing, however the brown rice turned to mush!
I ended up picking the veggies and chicken out and will be remaking some rice for lunch.
I googled other brown rice slow cooker recipes and it says 2 to 3 hours on low. I don’t understand how the brown rice is meant to hold up in a slow cooker for 5 to 6 hours on low.
Hey Hilary,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you had some issues with the rice. I’ve never had any issues with the rice before so I am sorry to hear it didn’t workout for you. Next time, you could wait to add the brown rice! xx
I will not be making this again. I cooked it on low for 5 hrs and the chicken turned out dry and the brown rice was mushy but the wild rice was crunchy. And there was a ton of broth left that it didn’t soak up.
Hi Megan,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it did not turn out for you! xx