I’m in love with this Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Peppers. I’m just going to lay it out there. It’s every bit as easy, delicious, and versatile as those Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls that everyone loves so much, but with a marinara base and Italian herbs and spices.
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How to Serve Italian Chicken and Peppers
I ate this saucy shredded Italian chicken and peppers spooned over my Garlic Parmesan Polenta, but you could totally spoon this over a bowl of pasta or rice. BUT my favorite way to eat this saucy mix is to spoon it into rolls or a loaf of Italian bread, top it with some mozzarella, and make yourself the most amazing slow cooked sandwich ever. EVER.
What Size Slow Cooker Do I Need?
I used a 5 quart slow cooker, but it was only about half full, so you could probably get this to fit into a 3 quart slow cooker.
Keep it On Budget
- Bell Peppers: I added a red bell pepper to the mix for color and visual appeal. You can totally just use three green bell peppers if that’s what your budget allows, or go all out and get a trio of colors (green, yellow, and red or orange). It will taste great either way you go.
- Sauce: I used the most basic, generic jarred pasta sauce for this recipe, so don’t think you have to get very fancy with it.
- Chicken: I always buy my chicken when it’s on sale so that it’s at least close to affordable (I bought this chicken a few weeks ago and stored it in the freezer). You could even cut it down to one chicken breast and add in extra peppers and onions to bring the cost down further.
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Peppers
Servings 6 (1 to 1.3 cups each)Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers (any color) ($2.77)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.37)
- 1.5 lbs. boneless-skinless chicken breasts or thighs ($2.66*)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 24oz. jar marinara sauce ($1.65)
Instructions
- Slice the bell peppers and onions into 1/4-inch strips. Lay half of the onion and peppers in the bottom of a 4-quart or larger slow cooker.
- Place the chicken breasts on top of the onions and peppers and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the basil and oregano over the chicken.
- Cover the chicken with the remaining peppers and onions, then pour the marinara sauce over top.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours. After cooking, remove the lid and use tongs to stir the mixture and shred the chicken. The chicken should be so tender that it falls apart when pinched with the tongs.
- Serve the saucy mixture over pasta, rice, polenta, or stuffed into a roll as a sandwich.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
(shown served over Garlic Parmesan Polenta)
How to Make Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Peppers – Step by Step Photos
Start by slicing three bell peppers and one medium onion into 1/4-inch slices. I used two green bells peppers and one red, for extra color.
Lay about half of the onions and peppers in the bottom of a 4-quart or larger slow cooker.
Lay two boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (or 1.5 pounds total) over the peppers and onions. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then sprinkle 1 tsp of basil and 1 tsp of oregano over top.
Add the second half of the peppers and onions, then pour an entire 24oz. jar of marinara sauce over top.
Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours. Then it will look a little something like the photo above… not too appetizing, I know. Just wait.
Take a pair of tongs and begin to stir the mixture and shred the chicken. The chicken should be so tender that it falls apart when pinched with the tongs, so I just stirred and pinched…
And stirred and pinched…
Until it looked like this, which only took a few minutes. YUM. Now it’s done! That’s it! Seriously.
Beautifully shredded chicken mixed with sweet strips of peppers and onions, all in a delicious red sauce. What will you do with it?
I ate mine over fried cakes of Garlic Parmesan Polenta, but I would also love to stuff it into a roll with some mozzarella.
Yasssss.
Done and DONE.
I made this a while ago and was trying to think of a way to use up all the leftovers since there was so much. I threw all this into a pot and added carrots, potatoes, onions, and chicken stock to fill the pot. Threw in some spices (basil, garlic, oregano) and had me a wonderful tasting soup that lasted the rest of the week!
Forgot I also added egg noodles, about half of the bag.
What brand of marinara sauce did you use?
I used the generic brand made by my local grocery store, called Best Yet. I did use the “three cheese” flavor, though, which I think has a little (probably very little) Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago.
Dear Beth,
I’m in the early stages of pregnancy and as a result, there are very, very few foods that appeal to me right now (which for me, a loyal fan of almost all food, is very strange.. and sad) When I saw this recipe, I knew right away that I needed this marinara-y goodness in my life…and it did not disappoint. It started out in a sandwich on a beautiful bun with thick cuts of melty mozza, and ended up with me just scooping forkfuls straight out of the slow cooker. I don’t even want to tell you how much of it I’ve already eaten. Thank you, from one seriously satisfied woman.
This was my first slow cooker recipe ever – so good! I used the frozen peppers and onion bag from Trader Joe’s, which was about $3 and so worth it. The first batch I ate over rice, which was so so. I froze the rest, and with the second portion I ate with linguini, which was delicious! Thanks Beth!
This was absolutely delicious. I used skinless bone-in chicken and served it over rigatoni pasta. Mine only took 2 hours on high in my slow cooker. The chicken was sooooo tender. I did not shred mine, just left it whole. I had so much sauce leftover that I was able to serve it over some bow tie pasta the next day. Definitely going in my weekly recipe rotation. Thanks so much. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
OH I was also wondering if it could be bone in. I have bone in thighs right now. Do we think that’s why it took less time? Interested to hear thoughts.
This was just amazing, I’ll definitely be making again. I wanted to eat it faster than the crockpot would allow, so I did transfer to the cooktop to finish. I added two large cloves of garlic and about a half tsp of red pepper flakes. We ate over pasta and it was just delicious.
Super easy and good. I threw in a zucchini that needed using up and served it over pasta with parmesan cheese. Thanks Beth!
Another great recipe for my slow cooker, thanks!
This was a huge hit at my house. My chicken breasts were large, so I got 8 servings out of this meal, but it was somewhat less saucy than pictured. The polenta was also amazing. Now that I know how easy it is to make, it will become a regular at my house. Thank you, Beth!!
Just made this dish on Sunday. I served it on polenta as suggested. Other than spicing it up a bit, I followed the recipe and it turned out very well. Thanks for another great meal idea.
Another great recipe, Beth! It was so easy and delicious…definitely a keeper!!
I usually add some baking soda to my tomato sauce to neutralize some of the acid and prevent heartburn. If you were to do so, would you recommend doing it at the beginning or after its finished cooking?
Hmm, I’m really not sure. I’ve never done that so I’m not sure how it would affect the flavor.
Made this tonight, followed the recipe exactly, my first time shredding chicken, ha ha. Served it over lightly sauteed zucchini. Excellent cool weather dinner, thank you Beth! I would rate it all-star but something has happened to that function & I can’t.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so delicious! I love your blog and always look forward to your newest post in my inbox.
I discovered today that if you use dried onion, reduce the sauce by half, and cut the chicken up a bit you can fit the rest of the recipe into a 1 qt slow cooker. We’ll see whether it bubbles over and makes a huge mess.