Slow Cooker Amish Autumn Chicken

There are some chicken dinners that just feel extra comforting when the weather starts to turn chilly. This is one of those meals. Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Amish Autumn Chicken. Slow cooked tender chicken with sweet apples, carrots, onions and a simple savory sauce make for a warm farmhouse style dinner that is easy enough for a busy weekday but cozy enough for a Sunday family meal.

I love recipes like this because the slow cooker lets simple ingredients build lots of flavor without much attention. The chicken cooks until tender and the apples soften, releasing a gentle sweetness into the savory cooking juices. Carrots and onions add even more depth, and it’s a combination that feels perfect for fall.

The recipe is especially useful if you want a simple slow cooker chicken dinner without a complicated list of ingredients. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, place the lid on top and let the gentle heat do the work. By dinnertime, the chicken is tender, the vegetables soft, and the sauce infused with fall flavors.

Serve this chicken with mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, rice or warm dinner rolls. Add a side of green beans or roasted Brussels sprouts, and the meal feels complete without much work.

Components

• 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
• 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1 pound carrots, peeled and chunked
• 1 med onion, sliced 1 cup chicken broth

Getting there

1. Grease a 6-quart slow cooker lightly inside.
2. Layer the sliced onions on the bottom of the slow cooker. Lay the chicken breasts over the onions.
3. Place the chicken on the carrots and sliced apple.
4. Evenly pour the chicken broth over everything.
5. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender and reaches a safe internal temperature.
6. Carefully remove the chicken and rest about 5 minutes.
7. Toss the carrots, apples and onions with the cooking juices. Taste the broth, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Slice the chicken or serve whole with the cooked apples, carrots and onions. Spoon some of the tasty cooking juices over each serving.

Variations & Tips:

Apples Firm. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or Fuji apples will hold their shape well during the slow cooking, and have a nice sweet-tart flavor.

Use Chicken Thighs – Chicken breasts can be replaced with chicken thighs as they are a great choice. They are more flavorful and remain tender when slow cooked.

Add Cinnamon: If you want just a little bit of sweeter fall flavor, you can add a small pinch of cinnamon to the apples.

Try Apple Cider: To add a little fall flavor, swap some of the chicken broth for apple cider.

Add Potatoes Baby potatoes or diced Yukon Gold potatoes make this an even heartier one-pot dinner.

Use Fresh Herbs: Fresh thyme or rosemary go with chicken, apples and carrots.

Don’t Slice the Apples Too Thin: Thicker slices of apple hold up better to the longer cooking time and give a better texture to the finished product.

Prevent the Chicken From Overcooking Boneless chicken breasts tend to dry out when cooked in the slow cooker for too long. Start checking them at the lower end of the cooking time.

Enrich the Sauce If you want a thicker sauce, pour some of the cooking liquid into a saucepan and reduce it slowly, then spoon it over the chicken.

Serve With Mashed Potatoes Creamy mashed potatoes are a good match for the savory chicken juices and soft autumn vegetables.

Add Green Beans: Fresh green beans are a nice counterbalance to the sweet apples and tender carrots.

Use Leftover Chicken Leftover chicken can be cut up and served over rice, noodles or a simple salad. You can use it to reheat the apples and carrots.

Make Ahead of Time: Chop the onions, carrots and apples ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to assemble the slow cooker.

Store Leftovers: Refrigerate the cooked chicken and vegetables in an air tight container. Reheat gently with some of the cooking juices to help retain the moisture in the chicken.