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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.
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.
I used the Instant Pot method and the rice turned out fine and the flavors were good, but the chicken was terribly dry. Putting the sage, garlic, butter and chicken under the broiler at the end was strange but it worked, although I would skip it with the chicken. I then diced the chicken and julienned the sage and stirred those things up with the chicken before adding it back to the rice. It felt like it wanted to be soup but there wasn’t enough liquid. I love HBH’s recipes but this one wasn’t a fave.
Hi Latia,
I appreciate you trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it! xx
The crockpot method yielded a mushy pile of rice with extremely dry chicken. I think the broth got completely absorbed by the rice and the chicken missed out. I didn’t know chicken thighs could get so dry.
There also wasn’t any flavor and I followed the recipe exactly 🤔 very strange as normally the recipes are full of flavor.
Hi Julia,
So very sorry to hear that this recipe did not turn out well for you. Thanks for giving it a try and sharing your feedback! xx
The wild rice wasn’t absorbed by the chicken broth. There was a lot of liquid left. What should I have done? Thanks! Pixie
Hi Pixie,
So sorry to hear you had some issues with the rice! I need a little more info to better help you, what cooking method did you use? Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? What kind of rice did you use? Let me know how I can help! xx
I used the stove-top/skillet method, and followed the recipe exactly; also, I used chicken tenders instead of breasts, because that’s what I had on-hand.
1. Was I supposed to remove the sage? Recipe never said to remove them after cooking. 2. The garlic. Ingredient list said to smash them, but the instructions said to chop…AFTER putting them in the pan. Kinda confusing. 3. The carrots were mushy. 4. Maybe because I used chicken tenders instead of breasts, but the chicken was dry…maybe that was on me though.
Overall, the recipe was herbally, like the flavors you get at Thanksgiving. I liked it. On the other hand, this wasn’t my husband’s tup-of-tea.
Hi Theresa,
Thanks for trying this dish and your feedback! The sage is removed at the end of step 2. You are adding the smashed garlic in step 2 but then chopping it at the end once it has been removed. Glad you enjoyed the flavors! xx
I am still waiting for the rice to finish cooking after four hours on high in a crock pot. I will let it keep going, but will need to improvise for tonight’s dinner. It smells amazing, and I know that it will be delicious! Next time I cook this, I will treat it as an all day cook on low in the crock pot, so that whenever it gets done, it won’t be too late…..or cook the rice separately on the stovetop. 🙂
Hi Julianne,
Thanks for trying this dish and your feedback! Sorry to hear the rice is taking a while to cook. What kind did you use? I hope it tastes great! xx
Can i use another veggie other than mushrooms?
Hi Rosemary,
Sure, you could just skip them or use another veggie that you enjoy like peppers. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this for my husband and a friend, dead easy, delicious and a big hit!! My husband who’s not a big rice fan actually had 3rds…
Hey there,
Love to hear that this recipe was delish! Thanks for making it and your feedback! Have a great weekend!🍁🍃
I wish I read the reviews before trying the crockpot method. Like others, I also ended up with a bowl full of mush. This is the first HBH recipe we’ve not loved. Maybe the skillet would bring better luck so the rice holds texture.
Hi Melissa,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t have the best results using the crockpot method! Let me know if you try again using the skillet! xx
So I kinda had the opposite affect. I almost doubled the seasoning recipe because I’m feeding more…i added an extra cup of rice and 2 cups of chicken broth… in the crock pot the rice was soupy and still crunchy after 6 hours on low. Had to finish another 45 min on the stove top…and still was a bit hard but couldn’t wait any longer.. the flavor was great!
Hi Candyce,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear about the rice, what kind did you use? Glad to hear the flavors were there:) xx
I made this on the stovetop/oven and it took a lot longer than stated in the recipe. The rice was still crunchy after 30 minutes cooking and needed to be finished on the stovetop.
I couldn’t find wild rice at my grocery store but I have brown rice on hand, how would that change the cook time in the crockpot?
Hi Christine! Wild rice cooks differently than brown rice so I wouldn’t recommend subbing it, so sorry! xT
I was really excited about this meal. The picture looked so pretty; perfect for fall, but the crockpot method turned out a flavorless pile of mush. I should’ve used the skillet as the comments suggested.
Hey Tara! I’m so sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know! xT
Would this work with bone in breasts?
Hi there! Yes, that should be fine! I would probably just increase the cooking time! xT
I made this for dinner tonight and I honestly don’t understand how it’s supposed to turn out the way it looks in the photos. It should have occurred to me that cooking rice in a crockpot for that many hours would result in a mushy, sticky texture. I don’t know what I did wrong. I thought I followed all of the directions. Any help would be appreciated. It tastes really good! Thanks
Same! I just made it and it turned out so mushy!
I should have read the reviews first
Same for me——mushy rice
So sorry about that Laura!! xT
If I cook the rice separately to avoid the mushiness mentioned in above comments would I use the same amounts for the rest of the ingredients (ie. less broth)?
Hi Lisa,
I would probably reduce the liquid, but I have not tested this recipe without the rice, so it’s hard to say what those exact measurements would be! Let me know how the recipe turns out for you:) xx
This recipe has been a great hit for me. I’ve made it in the crockpot a couple of times and in the skillet tonight. I’ve never had an issue with it in a crockpot like others have mentioned tho. The only suggestion I’d make is some type of sauce to go on top of it. My sweet husband got used to most of HBH having a homemade sauce and was a bit sad that this didn’t have any. I ended up using some tzatziki sauce and it was very good, but I’d love something more personalized to this dish.
Hey Jessica,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this dish turned out well for you and appreciate you making it:) Thanks for sharing your feedback! xT