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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
This recipe packed so much flavor! It paired well with some homemade rolls. The timing was a bit off for me as well. I cooked on high and the chicken was ready after 1 hour & 45 minutes, so I took it out at that point. I ended up making a different side with this meal because the rice was still pretty hard with a lot of liquid (but I let it keep cooking in the crockpot). The rice ended up taking closer to 4 & 1/2 hours on high – BUT it was great. I didn’t have a Parmesan rind on hand, so I added a little Parmesan when the rice finished cooking.
Hey Lauren,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
We love HBH at our house! We make anywhere from 2-3 recipes/week.
We were however a bit disappointed in this recipe as a lot of the spices were very strong and competed and overpowered with each other- I even cut the amounts way back. It was very hard to tell what spices were actually used because the taste was so strong. I was looking forward to the sage butter at the end of the recipe but you definitely couldn’t taste it at all.
I used the crock pot on high @4 hours and my rice was perfect. I don’t know what brand everyone used because I don’t do instagram so I didn’t see the video.
Will definitely make this again but will cut out either the thyme or rosemary.
Hi Vicki,
Thanks so much for your kind message and making so many recipes! So sorry to hear that this one was not enjoyed! Please let me know if there is anything that I can do! xT
Gloopy mess. Definitely not a crockpot or instant pot meal, way too much broth for the rice. A good tule of thumb is 1 cup of liquid for every cup of rice. A better way to do this (and how I should have done this) is to make the rice separately, in a pan sear the seasoned chicken, deglaze with lemon juice and white wine, remove from the pan. Caramelize the onions and mushrooms, add garlic and spices, sauté the rest of veggies and add the chicken back to the pan and cook until the juice runs clear. Serve over rice. The mushrooms and onions really need to be caramelized for flavor and texture (as written they just get rubbery), overall a mess of a recipe. The butter is so unnecessary, like so much of the butter and cream on this blog. Skip this one.
Hi Deanna,
Thanks for sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. Thanks for sharing what might work well for you, let me know if you give that a try! xT
Just made this to the directions in the slow cooker. While the taste was delicious my SO has a problem with the consistency. The rice was mush. He said it reminded him of everything he doesn’t like about casseroles. He also said he was kind of lame when it comes to certain dishes. LOL! So there’s that. I would almost do this next time and put a crust on it.
Hey Natasha,
So sorry about that!! I’m not sure why some are having issues with mushy rice and others have hard rice. At least the flavor turned out for you:) xx
I just made this recipe and used the crockpot directions. It turned out super tasty, so well seasoned and full of flavor. When the recipe called to “fluff the rice” though, I couldn’t do that because it did come out in a more risotto like texture, but that wasn’t a negative for me, since it still tasted very delicious. I think when cooking this in the crockpot, it probably would work best to cook it on a high setting, instead of the low one I used. That way, the rice isn’t soaking liquid for so long and therefore doesn’t get overly cooked. Also, while I used the sage leaves, I don’t really see the point of using it now that I’ve already made the recipe, since you’re supposed to only throw it in right before popping the chicken to get broiled and the leaves immediately crisp up without releasing any flavor. If you have it on hand, go for it, but I think it can be skipped entirely. Either way, this was still a success and I would make it again!
Hey Jessica,
I really appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing what worked well for you! I’m sure this would be helpful for others:) So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! xT
Made this tonight and used 2 cups of chicken stock. The rice was done but it was very liquidy. Needed a lot of salt to make it more flavorful. Some family members still said it was bland. I enjoyed it though.
Hi Wendy,
I appreciate you making this dish and sharing your feedback! So glad you enjoyed it, sorry about the others:) xx
I made this tonight and it turned out pretty soupy. The flavors were great, but it wasn’t what I expected. Any tips for making this less soupy?
Hi Chloe,
So sorry this turned out soupy for you! Which cooking method did you use and what kind of rice did you use? Let me know!! xx
This recipe was delicious, but the rice was complete mush after cooking in the crock pot for that amount of time. I’m going to try again adding the rice with only an hour to go to see if it helps.
Hey Julia,
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, so glad to hear you enjoyed the flavors! Sorry to hear about the rice, let me know if you try another cooking method! xT
I made this today in the crockpot, and it was a complete bust. The rice was mushy and had almost no flavor. The chicken was OK, meaning, not dry, but not a whole lot of flavor there either. I won’t be making this recipe again.
Hi there,
So sorry to hear you had issues with this recipe and that it was not enjoyed! Please let me know if I can help in any way! xT
Really great flavor but mine ended up soupy. Any suggestions on how to fix this? I used an instant pot.
Hey Dani,
Thanks so much for giving this dish a try, so sorry to hear you had issues! What kind of rice did you use? Let me know! xx
Made this recipe tonight. I cooked it in the crockpot according to instructions. The flavors were delicious, but the rice turned to complete mush. I wouldn’t make this again in the crock pot.
Hi Virginia,
So glad to hear you enjoyed the flavors here, but so sorry to hear about the rice! Let me know if this turns out differently for you on the stove top! xT
I must have done something wrong because I have so much liquid in my instant pot that there’s no way to fluff the rice! And my chicken looks dry and purple. I followed recipe perfectly, so I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Caren,
So sorry to hear you had some issues!! What kind of rice did you use? Please let me know how I can help! xx
Hi, I would like to try this recipe, but not yet have a crockpot. Which crockpot do you use? I especially like the oval-like shape I see on the pictures. Thank you!
Hey Katya,
Here is the link for my crockpot:
https://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?id=900703822&pid=uid3696-43323264-41&aid=43342403&utm_content=productwidget%3A632085a5bd0af23cf3bc1d8e&utm_medium=referral
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Usually all the recipes I try are fantastic, but the rice was so soupy in the crockpot. I had read the reviews and decided to try 2 1/2 cups of broth but it was still too much. I’m going to have to pass on this one-but I’m still a big fan!
Hi Mary,
So sorry!! I’m not sure why this is happening for some! Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, again sorry for the troubles! xx
I’m making this as I write . I have some in process comments.
Since I didn’t have wild rice in the house I subbed barley. After reading previous comments I thought there was a bit of finessing that needed to
work. Not all slow cookers are heating exactly the same. Plus I was using a different grain. So I checked to get the chicken thighs up to about 155-160 . Used much less chicken stock to begin with and then removed the thighs and turned up the slow cooker to high .
It’s still pretty simple . Tighen might
Have different thoughts. But for me- checking at intervals made all the difference between watery soupy and dried out chicken. Still delicious , smells wonderful and I will make it again.
Hey Jeannie,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:) Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT