Slow Cooker Peach Chicken with Basil
Slow Cooker Peach Chicken with Basil combines juicy peaches, balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil for an easy, flavorful dinner anytime. Easy enough to throw together on a weeknight, this one’s bound to become a new family-favorite recipe!
Basil + Peaches = A Match Made in Heaven
Unpopular opinion? I love using my slow cooker ALL year long.
In the winter it’s a no-brainer, churning out warming and hearty soups and stews.
But it’s also the perfect warm weather solution, helping to get dinner on the table without heating up the kitchen.
So I wanted to come up with a fresh new summer inspired slow cooker recipe for you.
And when I saw fresh peaches coming into the market I knew I wanted to pair them with basil in this oh-so-simple dinner.
Together with the balsamic vinegar and onions, this family-friendly chicken dinner creates its own delicious sauce as it cooks low & slow in the crockpot.
This recipe makes a lot of shredded chicken, so you can enjoy leftovers all week! Add them to veggie & grain bowls, on top of simple green salads, or enjoy stuffed into a bun (the options are almost endless!).
Process & Tips
This is one of our favorite dump and go slow cooker recipes and it’s so easy to throw together on busy weeks!
All you have to do is throw these simple ingredients in the slow cooker, turn it on, and a few hours later you’ll have an amazing meal just waiting to be served.
I find that slow cooker chicken recipes can be a little flat after cooking for hours, so for this recipe I add a splash of vinegar and extra pinch of salt at the end of the cooking process to brighten up the flavors.
I also top the cooked shredded chicken with sliced peaches and plenty of basil to kick up the summer flavors an extra notch (and add a punch of color).
What to Serve Alongside
You can serve this chicken as-is, atop greens, cooked rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice or piled into a bun.
Add a veggie alongside to round things out, something-green like simple steamed broccoli or snap peas or even this creamy purple cabbage slaw would be a great choice.
My husband, Andrew and I also added plenty of hot sauce for a little something extra (I don’t know about you but I’m a big fan of a good sweet & spicy flavor combo!).
Looking for a grilled peach chicken recipe? Try this Peach Chicken Basil Glow Bowls with a delicious, summery peach dressing and mixed grilled veggies!
Ingredients & Modifications
Chicken Breasts or Thighs: I used boneless skinless chicken breasts but chicken thighs also work great in this recipe! Feel free to use whichever is your favorite. If you want to use frozen chicken, make sure to fully defrost it before adding to your crockpot.
Peaches: Look for medium sized peaches and don’t worry about peeling them before cutting them into slices. They add a light sweetness that balances the other salty, tangy, and savory flavors super well. If you want to use frozen peaches, be sure to thaw them before adding to your slow cooker.
Basil: Fresh basil leaves have got to be one of my favorite ingredients, there’s nothing quite like it! Since it’s such a delicate herb & flavor, wait to add it until the end for the best flavor.
Onion: I love the extra savory flavor that onion adds to home cooked dishes, but feel free to omit them from the recipe if you don’t like them. The dish will be fine without them.
Balsamic vinegar: The balsamic vinegar goes perfectly with the peaches & onions mixture. It’s also my secret way of lifting up the flavors of the dish, I add it after the low & slow cook time to freshen and brighten everything up.
Garlic powder: I love the convenience and ease of using granulated garlic powder in this recipe, but you could also use fresh minced garlic if you prefer.
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.
Meal Prep Tips & Storage
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.
This recipe can be made ahead! Perfect for meal prep on busy weeks (or anytime you need to feed a crowd quickly & easily).
This Recipe Is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreePaleoWhole30
Slow Cooker Peach Chicken with Basil
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
- 1 large white or yellow onion, very thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 6 medium peaches, diced
To Add at the End
- ¼ cup tightly packed basil leaves, thinly sliced
- hot sauce to taste, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Place the sliced onions in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker along with 1/2 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons vinegar and half the diced peaches. See note on sugar, below.
- Sprinkle the chicken evenly with 1 teaspoon salt, then nestle into the mix, covering with some of the peach-onion mixture.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or high for 2-4 hours. See note on cooking time, below.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the fresh peach mixture. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining diced peaches with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, stirring to combine.
At the End
- When ready to serve, turn off the heat and remove the chicken to a cutting board. Shred the chicken with two forks or slice against the grain.
- Return the chicken to the slow cooker, stirring to coat with accumulated juices.
- Serve the chicken topped with the fresh peach mixture and sprinkled with fresh basil in a bun, over rice, cauliflower rice, or on its own. Top with hot sauce if desired.
Notes
- Nutrition information calculated using chicken breasts and without the optional hot sauce.
- A note on the sugar: this recipe really lives and dies based on the sweetness of the peaches you’re using. If your peaches are super sweet and ripe, you likely don’t need the sugar. If they are off-season or less than ripe, the sauce will likely taste bland and thus the sugar is helpful. If in doubt skip the sugar, with the option to add it at the end to the cooking juices if the chicken sauce tastes bland.
- A note on the cooking time: every slow cooker is different, so if you’re unsure, begin checking on the short side of the cooking time directed.
- Omit the onions from the recipe if you have an onion-hater. The dish will be fine without them.
- While the basil is shown in the slow cooker photo, please follow the recipe and add the fresh basil at the end.
- For more ingredients and modifications, see blog post above.
My husband and I really liked this recipe! We turned it into salads with spinach, wraps with guacamole and filling dinners with brown rice. We work a long day, so it ended up in the slow cooker on low for 8-9 hours instead of just 6, but the peaches have so much juice, that everything stayed moist and yummy.
Stacy, I love hearing this! And I absolutely love the idea of adding the peach chicken to wraps with guacamole and brown rice. Genius! I’ll definitely be trying your version soon. 🙂
I enjoyed this recipe and it was so easy. I also had to do an 8-hour cook time on low, and the chicken stayed moist. I’ll be trying some other slow cookers next.
Dee, Great to know about that 8 hours on low worked and glad you enjoyed!
Hi! I’m so excited to try out this recipe, but I was wondering if I could substitute a white fish for the chicken (I’m kind of chickened out). How would that change the cook time? And would the sauce still turn out okay?
Seana, hmmmm, that’s tricky — fish in the slow cooker is quite different than chicken and without testing it specifically I’m not sure. On thought I have is to just bake your white fish — not ideal if it’s hot where you are — but you can start with this white fish recipe as a base, and swap in the peach-balsamic mixture for the lemon herb sauce in that recipe and use half the peach sauce during baking and top the cooked fish with the remaining peach sauce and basil after cooking. Let me know if you give it a try!
A delicious entré. Now having it again as a midnight snack.
Perfect, so glad you enjoyed!
So the basil is for after it cooks?
Karen, yes, the basil goes in fresh at the end, per the recipe. The photo shows some of the raw ingredients, but follow the written directions and you should be good to go.
Thank you for this awesome recipe! This saved my birthday party. 😉
I initially wanted to barbeque, but had to switch plans due to the weather… so I looked for a good slow cooker recipe – and fell in love with yours.
And what should I say? My guests loved it! I’ll surely cook that again. <3
I only added some honey and cinnamon to it.
Yay, so glad this one was a hit Dorothee!
Oh boy didn’t read all directions and put everything in at once 😊😳 hope it comes out ok ! Excited
Kathy, if you have any extra peaches and basil you can add some at the end for a bit of freshness, but either way it should be fine!
What hot sauce do you recommend?
Hi Carrie, for this recipe I’d go with something like Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (not too hot, with plenty of tang).
I love the kids in the kitchen tips – I have a three year old little boy who LOVES to help cook. I just purchased a bushel of peaches to preserve – looking forward to trying this dish out this week with the last of our fresh basil.
Fantastic, Angela! Sounds like a yummy fun cooking week in your house. 🙂
This is excellent!! I just made this tonight and I think it is fantastic. It’s light and perfect for summer. I used two large and two regular peaches and that was plenty for my husband and me. I cooked on high for 4 hours but could have stopped after 3.5 hrs as the chicken cooked fast. Thank you for a lovely recipe.
Adria, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one!
This looks great! Can you freeze it?
Yes, this freezes well, minus the fresh basil!
Can you use frozen peaches?
Yes, frozen peaches will work–just be sure to defrost them first prior to using in the recipe.
Would canned peaches work?
Becca, I haven’t tried, though they might work. They will probably dissolve/become mushier faster than fresh, but I think the final dish should still taste good.
So, I added a layer of two sliced to the top spring onions/scallions, substituted three sliced garlic cloves for garlic powder (Maybe four), one sliced lemon on top and subbed 1/4 cup of apple evidence vinegar for half the balsamic. Perfect.
Used chicken legs, will use quarters next time. Didn’t yield enough meat.
Thank you.
Thanks for your notes, Sid! Sounds like a yummy variation.
Absolutely delicious! Subbed red onion but otherwise made as directed. Served over rice but would also love to try with greens or in a wrap (maybe even cold?). Perfect summer flavors and keep-the-kitchen-cool recipe!
Lindsay, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks for sharing your review! 🙂
I googled the difference between a slow cooker & a crock pot. I used a slow cooker, a metal pot on a hot base, not a “crock pot”. As I have both. It is cooking away now, so I will see how it turns out.
Hi Candace, they are essentially the same thing. If you are using a slow cooker this recipe should turn out just fine for you!
I thought what a great recipe but it left me a bit disappointed. The peaches turned into mush and I can’t really taste them over the balsamic vinegar. I’m glad I tried the recipe but won’t make it again.
Hi Holly, sorry to hear this wasn’t a favorite for you. The texture of foods cooked low and slow in the crockpot are always going to be soft and tender, so if that’s not your preference it might be something to consider when selecting slow cooker recipes!
OMG! This was super easy and I ate and ate! It was absolutely DELICIOUS!! The different flavors combined to make an out of this world dinner. I had just gotten a Market Wagon delivery with Bibb lettuce and served over it…..literally almost no calories!!!! A definite keeper!!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Jennifer, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one! Love the idea of serving in Bibb lettuce cups. Yum!
The basil really kicks this up a notch! At first I thought it was a tad bit blah, that is until I added the basil and wow – it really compliments the dish. Keeping this recipe! Whatta tasty summer dish! Also, this really made my house smell good for hours! Not the intended result, I know, but an added benefit for sure!
Peej, so glad you enjoyed, and agreed, the fresh basil and peach at the end help kick up the flavors after the long cook time. And I think the good house smell is one of the best parts of slow cooking! Cheers.
This is on repeat in our kitchen! I love to take it to work for lunch on top of arugula or baby spinach (the greens wilt when heating the chicken in the microwave). We love it so much that we buy, slice, & freeze fresh peaches at a local orchard during the summer specifically for this recipe!
Michele, ohhhh, fresh peaches sound dreamy right about now. So glad you’re enjoying this one and thanks for leaving a review!
Made it in an instant pot and just pressure cooked it for 21 minutes. (I also used frozen peaches and it still turned out great.) We topped it with cheese afterwards and had some delicious nachos. I’ll definitely make it again.
Nora, what a fantastic idea to use this chicken in nachos! Will definitely be trying it that way next time. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
What a great combination of flavors! This was easy, flavorful, and filling. It hit the spot and the fam enjoyed every bite.
Yay, so glad you enjoyed this one – thanks so much for leaving a review!
Can you substitute plums for the peaches? Currently it’s hard to find peaches where I live. Thanks!
Would frozen defrosted peaches be an option for you, because those will work well if you can’t find fresh. If you can’t find any peaches, you could try plums, though it might not come out as sweet and saucy. But they could still work, so if you give it a try let us know how it turns out!
Came across this recipe while searching for summer slow cooker chicken recipes. This recipe was not something that I would normally try but happy I did. Used frozen peaches and chicken tenders but otherwise followed the recipe. Very good with a nice flavor. We had our favorite hot sauce ready but didn’t need it. Served over rice with all the onions and juices.
Yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed trying something new, and great idea to use chicken tenders and frozen peaches. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Like all the recipes I’ve tried from Real Food Whole Life, this was absolutely delicious. So simple, so health,y and super tasty. I went with the chicken thighs and actually forgot to add the fresh basil. I served it over white rice and everyone loved it. The sauce was a perfect complement to the rice. No hot sauce needed in our case! Honestly, you can just spoon this and eat it on its own. Unlike my family, I try to stay away from white rice so my serving was 1/2 a cup of white rice covered with the chicken, onions, and peaches. Delicious!
Wonderful, so glad you and your family enjoyed this one and that the sauce was to your liking! Thank so much for leaving a review!
Thank you for posting this recipe. I’m curious if it can be doubled. If so, do I need to adjust the recipe at all? Thanks!
I haven’t tested this one doubled, but it should work, you just might need to add extra cook time. I hope you enjoy!
Made it in my instant pot. Poultry setting. Pretty delicious and the kids who don’t think meat should be sweet ate it 💗
Served it on rice and as sandwiches with a side of corn on the cob.
Yay, so happy to hear you and your crew enjoyed this one. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
I love this recipe 💕 My daughter acquired it and made it for me served over Jasmine rice.
Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful to hear you are enjoying this one, Josie! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Haven’t yet made – wondering what granulated garlic powder is? Is that different somehow from just regular garlic powder?
Claire, granulated garlic powder is finely ground dried garlic ground into fine granules (instead of a fine powder–it’s what you’ll find most often at the store so you should be good to use what you have on hand for this recipe.
This was incredibly easy. I used thighs and loved how it turned out. My peaches were a little under ripe, but I only had balsamic vinegar glaze, so it sweetened it up a little. And the under ripe peaches gave a good contrast texture for when you add the uncooked peaches. I ate the chicken with freezer ancient grains and habanero hot sauce. Very tasty. Oh. I also did it in the instant pot for 9 mins since I didn’t have the time for the slow cooker version. I’ll try this again as intended, as I imagine the flavors develop more depth that way.
Wonderful to hear this one was a success for you, Dawn. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Recipe looks delicious but haven’t made it yet. Wondering if I could omit the sugar or use honey/maple syrup instead if needed?
Yes, you can omit the sugar completely or substitute maple syrup. If your peaches are extra sweet you likely don’t need it — but if you’re using off-season peaches that aren’t sweet on their own you may find it necessary. Totally up to you!
The dish is finger licking good!
So happy to hear you enjoyed this one!
I made this recipe several times and loved it before the change. Excited to try it now! Question, am I able to make the “peach mixture” the night before and put it in the fridge until it’s time to add to the recipe?
Megan, I think making the peach mixture the night before would actually add to the flavor, so it’s a win/win! I made a few edits to the recipe based on a few people saying the flavor was bland–I think it really matters how ripe and sweet your peaches are, since there are so few ingredients in this one, so it you have really good peaches and you make them ahead the flavor should be extra delish.!
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve made it twice now, the first time as instructed and the second, modified. While the first try was good, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. I used boneless thighs and after 6 hours on low, they were already overcooked for me (I do have a feeling that my slow cooker runs a little hotter than the average). I was out of basil and the peaches with the sugar made it sweeter than I’d like which the balsamic didn’t help that much. So, it was ok but a little disappointing. I kept thinking that this recipe had good bones and didn’t want to just quit. So the second time I added onions, salt, pepper and chicken and let it cook on its own on high for 2 hours, then added the chopped peaches to cook together for about 30-45 mins. After I tasted the chicken, it was clear no extra sugar was needed, so I just added more salt and substituted lime juice for balsamic vinegar. Delicious! We had it over brown rice and my spice loving partner even refused the hot sauce! Next time, I was thinking I would add some kale together with the shredded chicken and maybe some bell peppers together with the fruit. I saw someone suggest plums and that sounds like a great idea too! All in all, my only notes are to be careful with the sugar and mind the cooking time. Thanks again for such a versatile recipe!
Nika, thanks for these great notes, I’m sure others will find them helpful! I agree the sugar can be tricky — it really depends so much on how sweet your peaches are to begin with, so I’ll add that note to the recipe card. Thanks for the tip on the cooking time as well — I’m sure that will be helpful for others as well. Cheers!