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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 was so good. I’d been looking at it today and couldn’t get it off my mind.
I’ve noticed a lot of people have had problems, almost didn’t make it. But, I did the skillet method with no problem.
Hey Sarah,
Fantastic!! I love that this recipe turned out tasty for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
I was disappointed 🙁 Rice came out mush, chicken was too dry and the dish didn’t have any flavor.
Hi Whitney,
So sorry to hear that this recipe was not enjoyed! Thanks for making it and sharing your review, please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
After reading all the reviews, I was hesitant to make this in the crockpot or instant pot. So, I tried stove top. Positives: the flavors are awesome! Cons: hard to cook the rice and chicken without drying the chicken out. Time to cook the rice according to the directions is at least double with directions provided. I pulled the chicken out early and covered it to make sure it didn’t dry out. Not sure this is a dish to make together. And not sure how to separate it to make it work. I would make this again if I could figure out how to separate the rice and chicken to get the flavors that were so good!
Hi Mary Lou,
I appreciate you giving your feedback and trying this recipe! I’m sorry to hear you had some issues, I think it must be the difference in brands of rice that is causing such a difference in cook times. Again, sorry for the trouble! xT
Instant pot recipe leaves you with soup.
Hey there,
So sorry to hear you had some issues with this recipe, please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT
I made the skillet version and loved it! The rice has so much flavour!! I used to chicken breast this time! Thank you, for such a yummy fall recipe!
Hey Breanne,
Fantastic!! I love that this recipe turned out tasty for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
I had such high hopes for this recipe. At the end of the cooking time, I was left with mushy rice, dried out chicken, and the taste was just … off. I typically will rinse my rice prior to cooking it, but I did not in this instance so I don’t know if that is why I ended up with mush. I am finding it harder and harder to get good, tasty meals from either a Crock Pot or an Instant Pot because I can’t build the flavors and taste test like I can with stovetop or oven made dishes.
I’m with you here, I had a similar experience. I also agree that the crockpot/instant pot tend to mess with the flavors…I love the idea of the dish, and will try the stove top method to see the difference.
Hi Michele,
So sorry to hear that this recipe was not enjoyed! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! Unfortunately, I do not why there have been so many differences in results with this dish! xx
This looks amazing and I’m trying it today! However i realized after that I bought bone in chicken breasts. Do I need to adjust my cooking time or anything?
Hey Jen,
Which cooking method will you be using? You should be able to follow the recipe as written for the slow cooker! I hope you love it! xx
I don’t have a crock pot but I have a Dutch oven.. would the cook time vary in this case?
I like the idea about doing it in a Dutch oven. I think I might try putting it in the oven at 325 or 350 for 2 hours (or less?) Any thoughts?
I haven’t tried it like that so I can’t say, but you could just follow the skillet instructions using the dutch oven:)
Hi Tala,
Please follow the skillet instructions listed above using your dutch oven. I hope you love this dish! xT
This was delicious! So much better than the old Uncle Ben dish.
Thanks so much Laura!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you making it! xT
I made this dish for the first time tonight in a crockpot. It was delicious! I ended up adding an extra 1/2 cup of wild rice to help soak up the chicken broth, turned out perfect!
Hey Brooke,
Fantastic! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing what worked well for you, so glad to hear it turned out! xT
Had such high hopes for this recipe but unfortunately the instant pot directions left me with more of a soup than rice as pictured. Very disappointed
Hey Tanisha,
I apologize for any trouble you had with this recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
Maybe it’s due to differences in slow cookers (but other HBH slow cooker recipes have been fine for me), but I followed the recipe exactly and the rice was completely crispy and undercooked and there was a ton of liquid left at the end of 6 hours – it was practically soup. I cooked it on low – would recommend only attempting on high
Mine also turned out like soup using the instant pot directions! Such a letdown
Hi Liz,
I appreciate you sharing your feedback and making this recipe! It must be the differences in slow cookers and brands of wild rice that readers are having such different results. So sorry to hear it didn’t work for you! xT
Made this for dinner tonight in the instant pot and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! So much flavor and the texture was perfect. Will definitely be making on repeat.
Hey Alexandra,
Amazing!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for sharing your review! xTieghan
I love just about everything on HBH, but this recipe was a disappointment. I chose the slow cooker route, and the rice came out mushy, the chicken was super dry, and the flavor was very bland. Perhaps stovetop would be better?
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for sharing your feedback on this recipe, I’m so sorry to hear you had issues! What kind of rice did you use? Let me know if you give the stove top a try! xx
I had no problem with this recipe. Followed exactly, except I did cut the broth by 1/2 cup. Did not do the oven portion. Thought it was delicious and had no problem with the rice it was perfect. Wonder if some maybe didn’t rinse their rice. Maybe that made a difference. Loved it and would make again!
Hey Sharin,
Perfect!! Thanks a lot for making this dish and sharing your feedback and what worked well for you! Love to hear that it was enjoyed:) xx