Slow Cooker Chicken w/ Cherry Tomatoes & Basil
This fresh & simple slow cooker chicken with cherry tomatoes & basil is an easy meal that draws on the flavors of bruschetta for a simple, flavorful meal. Let me show you how simple it is to make!
5 star review
“Made this for dinner tonight. Not only was it simple to prep on a hot Summer day (crockpot didn’t heat up the house…bonus) but tasted delish. We had it over brown rice with a side salad. It’s definitely “a keeper” and will be in our rotation of dinners. Thank you!”
– Kristen
Cherry Tomatoes + Chicken + Basil = A Match Made in Heaven
If there are three flavors everyone in my family can agree on they would be…tomatoes, basil, and balsamic! I could cook pretty much anything, and if I topped it with this magic trio, everyone would be happy. Given our love for all these things it’s amazing that I never thought of putting them all together before into a weeknight, family-friendly chicken crockpot meal.
From the first bite of this bruschetta-inspired chicken recipe, I knew this was going to be on our menu every week all summer long. It’s light, bright, beyond easy to prepare and makes the most flavorful pulled chicken you’ve ever tasted (you seriously can’t mess this one up!).
Meal Prep Tip: On weekdays, easy slow cooker recipes are such a time saver! Any hands-on prep is done in just a matter of minutes, freeing you up to do anything else but hover over a hot stove top.
Process & Tips
I’m all about simplifying around here, and this recipe is definitely simple! I intentionally designed this recipe to have a short list of ingredients, so it’s easy enough to throw together whenever you want. The prep steps are also very minimal – all you need to do is make your bruschetta mixture, add it to your chicken, set the timer function and let your crockpot work do all the work for you! Before you know it you’ll have lots of beautifully tender, flavorful, shredded chicken to enjoy for meals all week long.
The trick to keeping this recipe tasting fresh is when to add the tomato-balsamic-garlic mixture. After you mix it up, you toss some of it in with the chicken during cooking process and then add the remaining mixture on top with a generous sprinkling of basil AGAIN at the very end.
Serve it Up!
You could serve this balsamic shredded chicken with a side of veggies, in a rice or quinoa bowl, tossed with freshly cooked pasta, stuffed into a bun or with some warm crusty bread on the side. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is just with some rice or stuffed in warm pitas with a simple side salad made with any fresh greens tossed in an easy salad dressing (if it were me, I’d pair it with either the easy balsamic vinaigrette or the creamy balsamic dressing!).
Ingredients & Modifications
Chicken breasts: I used boneless skinless chicken breasts but you could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer. Both work great in this recipe. If you want to use frozen chicken, be sure to fully thaw it first before adding it to your slow cooker.
Tomatoes: Fresh cherry tomatoes but diced Roma tomatoes will also work.
Garlic: In keeping with the bruschetta inspiration and since we’re using so few ingredients, I recommend using fresh garlic cloves for this recipe.
Balsamic vinegar: The dark balsamic vinegar brings some subtle sweetness and a tangy flavor to this dish. It pairs beautifully with the natural acidity of the fresh tomatoes and really helps tie all the ingredients together.
Extra virgin olive oil: I like the subtle flavor from the olive oil but you can also use any other neutral oil you like – such as avocado, canola or vegetable oil.
Kosher salt: Look for kosher salt with the regular iodized salt at the grocery store (it has a subtler flavor). Use less iodized salt if that’s what you have on hand.
Tip: Since fresh basil has such a delicate flavor and this recipe cooks low & slow for several hours, be sure to wait to add it at the very end of cooking for the best results!
Tips for Storing & Freezing Leftovers
This recipe can be made ahead! Perfect for meal prep on busy weeks (or anytime you need to feed a crowd quickly & easily). Cooked chicken will keep well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, in a sealed container. This recipe also freezes well, store in a sealed freezer friendly container for up to 2-3 months.
Slow Cooker Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes & Basil
Ingredients
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
- 1 ½ pounds cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves, about 5 cups total
- 4 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
To Add at the End
- ¼ cup thinly sliced basil
Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Add half (about 2 cups) of the tomato mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker. Set aside the remaining tomato mixture, covered, for serving.
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, then add to the slow cooker nestled in with the tomato mixture. Top with an additional 1 cup of the tomato mixture.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6, or until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily with a fork.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board or plate, shred with two forks. Strain half of the cooking liquid from the slow cooke, then return the chicken to the slow cooker. Add the reserved fresh cherry tomato mixture, along with the fresh basil, stirring to combine.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
Notes
- Be sure to use a good quality balsamic for this recipe. There are so few ingredients, if you don’t like the flavor of the balsamic the final recipe will be bland.
- Feel free to add more garlic and salt to taste.
- For more ingredients & modifications, see the full blog post above.
OMgoodness! So delicious.
I had cooked a whole organic free-range chicken for bone broth and could not bear to throw away the meat, even tho it was pretty tasteless after simmering for 36 hours. So I went in search of a shredded chicken recipe with delicious sauce to flavor the meat and found this. I threw 3 large roma tomatoes, a large clove of garlic, the 3 tbs of balsamic, the 4 of EVOO, and the salt in my vitamix. The marinade that created is stunningly delicious. I had to add a little water to make it pour over the chicken, and I’m going to let it marinate for a day for the chicken to soak it up.
I have to cook for a meeting next week. They are definitely getting this chicken dish. I will follow your recipe exactly for that.
Thanks for sharing.
Emily, I love that you were able to use the meat from your bone broth and LOVE the idea of blending everything together to make a marinade. Thanks for sharing that idea. I hope it’s a hit for your meeting, too. 🙂
Hi Robyn,
My fridge is old and cranky and froze all my beautiful fresh organic basil. So my meeting group is getting chicken slow-cooked in the marinade I made from the frozen basil leaves, and the rest of the ingredients. It’s cooking right now. I’l let you know how it turned out!
Bummer about the basil, Emily. I hope it still turned out okay and that everyone enjoyed!
It was a huge hit. Absolutely delicious!
Yay, glad everyone enjoyed Emily!
This is going in my crock pot right now! I have the day off but have tons of errands today so it’ll be nice to come home to this dish…especially since it’s a rainy day. What do you recommend eating with it? I was thinking maybe serving it over some brown rice.
Shannon, yes, brown rice would be great. It’s great over pasta as well, or with some crusty bread. I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight. Not only was it simple to prep on a hot Summer day (crockpot didn’t heat up the house…bonus) but tasted delish. We had it over brown rice with a side salad. It’s definitely "a keeper" and will be in our rotation of dinners. Thank you!
p.s. love your one bowl brownies too. They don’t last more then a few days in our house. 🙂
Kristen, I’m so glad you enjoyed. Loved the idea of serving the chicken in rice bowls, and bonus that your kitchen stayed cool! So glad you’re enjoying the brownies as well. They definitely don’t last very long around here either! 🙂
Made this and it was a winner! I served it over quinoa. My husband who normally doesn’t eat tomatoes and thinks quinoa is a vegetable even enjoyed it. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Ashley, fantastic, so glad you and your husband enjoyed!!
Made this today! Sooo yummy and simple. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah, yay, so glad you enjoyed!
Do you refrigerate the leftover tomato mixture or leave it at room temp? I’m making this with seeded large slicer tomatoes since I was given 6 of them (hate to compost the seeds and juices, but seemed like a good way to use them). Looks delicious in the crock pot!
Melissa, if it’s just during the day I let the tomatoes sit at room temp. If you’re making it more than a day ahead I’d refrigerate. Hope you enjoyed this one!
So the basil only goes over the chicken at the end? It doesn’t go in the tomato mixture at all?
Michael, that’s correct, per recipe instructions. Add the fresh basil at the end for best results. Hope you enjoy.
I’m wondering how to sub dried basil in place of fresh as I don’t have any fresh available at home currently – add during cooking towards end instead?
You can try adding dried basil during the cooking process. You’ll definitely miss the flavor of the fresh at the end, but it should still taste okay. I hope you enjoy!
Is this something that could be done in the Instant Pot? Thanks!
Hi Lauren, I haven’t tested it, but I think it could work. It’s possible the balsamic could set off the burn function, but otherwise it should work. You could try 8 minutes high pressure with a quick release. If you try it let us know how it turns out!
We followed the recipe exactly. The end product was very sweet and lacked seasoning. There was no reminiscence of bruschetta. If we were to make it again, we might try adding a bay leaf, onion, oregano, more garlic, a low salt herbal blend, and use Roma tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes.
Made this tonight and it was delicious!
I made as directed and served with brown rice and salad. The fresh basil was the icing on the cake.
So easy and so tasty!
Yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed this one. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
While this was certainly easy, for me it lacked any vibrancy of flavor. The marinade was delicious and what I would try instead is cooking the chicken either in the slow cooker with a little chicken broth or just cook on the stovetop. Make the tomato marinade and pour it over the chicken after shredding it up so it retains that freshness and vibrancy. I ended up reducing all the liquid on the stove, making another batch of just the marinade minus the tomatoes and pouring that over the chicken (and pasta). The idea is a good one. The flavors are incredible when fresh. The slow cooker killed the flavors though.
Thanks for your notes, Nacy. Holding aside half the tomato marinade mixture and adding it at the end is meant to retain vibrancy that the slow cooker inevitably takes you as you noted. I agree that if you want a stronger flavor cooking the chicken in chicken stock with a splash of the marinade and keeping the reserved to add at the end for freshness will work really well.
So easy to make, flavorful and delicious! I added a little more minced garlic than the recipe calls for, because my husband loves it, and served it over toasted multi-grain crostini with fresh mozzarella.
Rebecca, wonderful to hear this one was a hit for you and your husband — thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts!