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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
Like most slow cooker recipes, it was overcooked mushy rice and dried out chicken after 6 hours on low. The flavor itself wasn’t too bad–it’s just that slow cooker food in general is kind of sad. I’d definitely do this in a dutch oven and bake it instead and it would probably turn out better. It also needed a squeeze of lemon or some kind of acid at the end to round things out.
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for trying this recipe out, so sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
This will become one of our family favorites! Next time will reduce the broth amount though. Delicious!!
Thanks so much Shayla!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! xx
Hi Teighan! What a wonderful reciepe. I was wondering if I can make the dish with iron cast skillet?
I am swedish, so pardon if my english is not the best!
Manu thanks,
Hannah Loof
Hi Hannah,
Yes, a large cast iron skillet will work well for you! I hope this recipe turns out amazing! xx
Is it okay to use fresh thyme instead, and if so, how much? I didn’t realize I was out of dried thyme.
Hey Melissa,
Sure, fresh thyme would be great, I would use 2 tablespoons:) I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Hi ! This recipe is delicious, but the rice did not cook well. I turned it on high for 3 hours and it wasn’t cooked. I loved the flavor, but I want to make this work well. Any tips ?
Hi Erin,
Thanks so much for giving this dish a try! So sorry to hear about your rice! What kind of rice did you use? Was the liquid absorbed? Let me know how I can help! xT
Put on high for 3 hours. 3 hours later, very hungry and I have a sloppy mess. Recipe is first failure from a great cook. I have a high end slow cooker. Heating oven now to put the slop in. Also removed lid from slow cooker to see if this helps. Disaster recipe. Wild rice is expensive. So is eating everything you can find when dinner is —so far3 hours late. Boo
Hi Kathy,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xx
Lots of good flavors! I used my instant pot and the rice didn’t absorb any of the liquid at all so I had more of a soup. I ended up adding everything to a skillet to fry it up with some butter. Good flavor, just need some tweaking.
Hi Raegan,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry about the liquid with the rice. What kind of rice did you use? Let me know how I can help! xT
I made this in the instant pot as directed, but the rice was not done and there was a ton of liquid still in the instant pot. How do I fix this with the instant pot method?
I ended up having to cook the rice separately on the stove after the chicken was done cooking in the instant pot, otherwise good flavor but ended up taking a lot longer than expected.
Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Karina,
So sorry to hear you had issues with the rice! What kind of rice did you use? Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know how I can help! xT
My husband hasn’t stopped moaning “Mmmmmmmmm” and my very picky 7 year old rated this recipe (on a scale of 1-5) a 1,000,000, AND asked for seconds. So yeah, it’s a win. I was nervous since so many expressed they’d had trouble with this recipe.
A couple of things I did:
– I used Lundberg’s brand wild rice blend.
– I did a small dice on all the veggies so they’d mix in the rice like a pilaf, and so I could hide the mushrooms from my husband and daughter. shhhhhhhh……they still haven’t figured it out.
– I used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs because I can’t be trusted not to overcook chicken breasts. The skin crisped up nicely under the broiler.
– I could not find fresh sage so I sprinkled dried rubbed sage over the butter pats on the sheet pan before broiling.
The texture of the rice and veggies was like an ultra-creamy risotto – seriously comforting. Will make this one again!
I have this in the slow cooker right now. Kitchen smells wonderful! I also used Lundberg Wild Blend and as I felt the liquid/rice ratio was off, I added less broth. There still seems to be a lot of liquid. I have had it on low for 4 hours. How long did you cook yours? Recipe says 5-6 hrs. on low.
I cooked on low for 2 hours, on high for 1, as I got started late.
Hey Rachael,
Happy Sunday!! Lol so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT
Fantastic. I made the skillet method and tweaked the recipe just a little. I like my onions a bit caramelized so cooked them until just brown and then added the celery cooking it until softened. The flavors are well balanced. I served it with a crisp Chardonnay which was a perfect pairing. This makes 6 generous servings. I will definitely be making this again.
Hey Genevieve,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)
I made this for guests last night, and it was a big hit! I used chicken thighs, and cooked it for 5 1/2 hours on low. I skipped the broiler/sage step, because we were ready to eat, but the chicken was moist and tender and delicious!!
Hey Anne,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback! I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xx
If you can cook this dish in one skillet on the stovetop then into the oven for a total time of 35 min why would anyone bother with a crockpot for several hours and then transferring to a pan for the broiler?
To have it ready to go!
Hi there,
Slow cookers can be easy for families that are busy, just pop it in the slow cooker for the day:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I made this in the crockpot, was a little nervous how it would turn out, based on the various comments, but it was absolutely delicious. This will be in our dinner rotation, for sure.
Hey Nicole,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)
First recipe I’ve made from HBH that has been a complete and utter fail. Had to throw the entire thing out – such a waste of ingredients, time and food.
Hi Jenah,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. Please let me know how I can help! xT
I used a combo of brown and wild rice and followed crockpot recipe on low. The flavors were great but the rice was complete mush. Zero texture. I would rate it a one but luckily I realized in time what had happened and made rice separately. I added a small amount of mushy rice/veg to the newly cooked rice and it was okay-ish. Flavor was very nice, though. Just not sure how to save the recipe….
Hi Susan,
So sorry to hear you had some issues with the recipe! I’m not sure why some are having issues and others are not! It could be the difference in slow cookers. Next time, I would try the stove top and see how that works out for you! xx
Overall this recipe came out very mushy
Hey Dana,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed! Please let me know if there is anything that I can do! xx
I liked this! But I would tweak it some next time. I used a plain wild rice packet, which I think I’d add the boxed with spices added to it (I know… I know.. not completely homemade, but I do like the flavor the spices add to to recipes). I also cooked this on low for 6 hours and the rice wasn’t completely done, so after I broiled the chicken and we ate dinner, I threw the chicken/sage/butter back in the crockpot and let it cook on low another 2-3 hours. The rice was perfect after that and there’s more flavor cooked in.
Hey Whitney,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)