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Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf. I turned everyone’s favorite dinner into an easy and delicious slow cooker recipe using pantry staples like wild rice, autumn herbs, and chicken breasts. This slow cooked chicken dinner is a hearty, but healthy meal to come home to after a busy day. The best part? It’s the easiest dinner to prepare!
If there was ever a Gerard family classic dinner, it’s chicken and rice. You guys have heard me say this before, but my dad used to make my brothers and I chicken and rice at least a couple of nights a week while growing up. It was a staple dinner, mostly because it was one that we would all happily eat.
To this day, chicken and rice is one of my ultimate comfort foods. So it’s always fun for me to come up with new ways to serve it. Especially during the cooler fall months when all I crave is warming comfort food.
I’m sure you guys have noticed. I don’t think a day’s gone bye in the last few weeks that I’ve not made something cozy and delicious. And I am A-OK with that. Everyone has their thing. Mine is definitely fall comfort food, and I am clearly embracing it. I may even have had two slow cookers and an instant pot working their magic on Monday. Always testing something new over here…
Anyway, every fall I get the urge to make a slow roasted chicken and rice dinner. It’s a classic, it’s well loved, and it’s good. This year though, I really wanted to come up with an easy way to get that slow roasted flavor, but in the slow cooker, and complete with wild rice and veggies, because I love an “all in one meal”.
I wasn’t sure how this would turn out, but in the end, I was so pleasantly surprised. This recipe is SO GOOD.
And it’s kind of healthy too. Plus it makes your house smell incredible. And did I mention it’s delicious? Oh, and simple!
Yes, you just have to make it.
Here are the details.
Start out by combining the rice and veggies in your slow cooker. I love using wild rice, it’s one of my favorite pairings with “roasted” chicken.
Next, season the chicken with fresh thyme and sage. Then pan sear it in a screaming hot cast iron skillet. Yes, I am telling you to take the extra effort to dirty a skillet by searing the chicken first. Trust me, I wouldn’t tell you to do this if I didn’t think it was needed. But searing the chicken locks in so much flavor. It’s really just something you have to do. I know it’s super, super annoying, but in the end it will be worth it. And it really only takes an extra ten minutes to sear the chicken. Not a big deal.
Add the seared chicken right to the slow cooker with the rice. Now add the shallots to that hot skillet and toss them around in the chicken drippings to give them a little color. Then add the shallots (and all those good pan drippings) to the slow cooker.
Cover, and cook low and slow for a few hours. Then come home to a perfectly cooked dinner where all you need to do is serve. Nothing else, just grab your plates and some silverware and enjoy.
Simple as that. And yes, I’m also including Instant Pot instructions, but I do prefer this in the slow cooker.
I absolutely could not love this recipe more…even if it is lacking in color, and the photos are not my favorite. It’s one of those recipes that I’ll be coming back to time and time again, because it’s easy, it’s pretty healthy, and everyone enjoys it.
I love making this dish on Sundays, for a nice family dinner. It reminds me of being a kid again and that’s always a welcomed memory!
This recipe works great for any night of the week though. You can throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning, come home and dinner is done. Could not be easier or more delicious. Feeling like you guys will love this one!
If you make this chicken and rice pilaf, please 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 also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 587 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)
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 carrot, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup wild mushrooms, torn
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken breast and or thighs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- kosher salt and pepper
- 4 shallots, halved
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the wild rice, 3 cups chicken broth, lemon juice, parsley, carrots, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and mix everything up to combine.2. Rub the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, sage, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. 3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Toss in the shallots and cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken and shallots from the skillet and place directly into the slow cooker, skin side up, along with any juices left in the skillet. Add the rosemary.4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. If the rice is hard, add and addition 1/2 cup broth and cook another 30 minutes on high.5. To serve, fluff the rice with a fork and serve the chicken, rice, and veggies together.
Instant Pot
- 1. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the wild rice, 3 cups chicken broth, lemon juice, parsley, carrots, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and mix everything up to combine.2. Rub the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, sage, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Toss in the shallots and cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken and shallots from the skillet and place directly into the instant pot, skin side up, along with any juices left in the skillet. Add the rosemary. 4. Cover, select the manual setting, and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Once done cooking, use the quick release function and release the steam.5. To serve, fluff the rice with a fork and serve the chicken, rice, and veggies together.
Notes
*I slow cooked this for 6 hours on low with great results. My rice is soft, but not overly mushy. Because we are slow cooking, the rice will be softer.
I made this today for my wife and me. Cooked on high for one hour before switching to low. Pulled at four hours because the rice was getting mushy. For some reason my cook also required more stock – maybe something I did. Not bad. I tend to lean into herbs and spices more than the average person, so I might bump it up in the future, but otherwise it was very good.
The only thing I would materially change is to recommend it be served with another vegetable as a side. It was very “rice-forward” and needed the addition of a side (peas, in our case).
Thanks for sharing.
Hi there! Thank you for trying out this recipe! I really appreciate it! xT
Flavours are lovely , but mine was totally overcooked after following the recipe. I used my instant pot slow cooker setting and did for 5.5hrs on low. I was out all day and when it was finished I took the lid off and my rice was a mushy solid mass. I would def cook for much less time, but this could then mean the carrots wouldn’t be done????
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t have the best results. I wonder what would happen if you used a regular slow cooker rather than the IP slow cook setting. I think this can definitely cause a variation in results! xx
Chicken and rice is something I loved growing up as well. My family cooked it often in Florida.
Thanks for sharing Chad! I hope you enjoy this recipe:) xT
The seasoning and flavors were great, but my rice did not cook on the slow cooking at 6 hrs. Rice was overcooked and mushy on the bottom and the top had undercooked and raw pieces. I was able to save the chicken and had to make a fresh batch of rice on the side.
Hi Anna! I’m so sorry about the rice! Did you feel there was too much liquid in the dish? Let me know how I can help! xT
This is soooo flavorful. I used a box of flavored long grain and wild rice because I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be flavored or unflavored. I used thighs in the crockpot on high. Yes, the rice was soft but I liked it that way. Will make again!
Thank you for giving this recipe a try! I really hope you loved it 🙂 xT
Hi Tieghan! This recipe sounds delicious, but I always have trouble with Slow Cooker recipes with my meat not having enough flavor. I want to try this recipe in my Dutch oven instead. At what temperature do you recommend I set my oven to? I plan on doing everything the same except using a Dutch oven. Thank you!
Hi Toni,
So sorry, I have not tested this in the dutch oven, but I would set to 350F, that should work well for you. Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
We really enjoyed this recipe! We didn’t have any issues with the rice being mushy as suggested in other reviews. I’m curious if the rice type used might be the issue instead of the recipe itself. We used Lundberg Wild Blend and it definitely needed the full cook time to soften and cook properly. The chicken was perfectly tender. Excellent recipe to add to our dinner rotations! Thank you for sharing!
Hey Stefanie,
Happy Wednesday!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was delish! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT
I should have read the comments prior, the rice was very mushy (cooked on high for three hours). Chicken was good but not a ton of flavor. I love 99% of the recipes I make from this site but I wouldn’t make this again.
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for making this dish and sharing your review! So sorry to hear it didn’t turn out well for you! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT
The flavor was yum and the chicken tender but the rice was very mushy . Like stuffing consistency. I’m not surprised with a slow cooker but definitely not the texture we were hoping for
.
Thank you for letting me know! xT
One of my new favourite recipes. So much flavour! I did cook the rice separately tho, in fear it would get too mushy like comments stated.
Loving all the recipes I tried from this blog! 🌟
Hey Lisa,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xT
I agree with most of the comments. I used a slow cooker on low. The rice was too mushy. Surprisingly, after 6 hours on low, the carrots were still crunchy even though I cut them smaller than suggested. The rice took all the moisture and didn’t leave any for the carrots. I added broccoli florets for the last 90 minutes because I felt it needed more veggies. The chicken was perfect. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi Donna,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear the rice was mushy, I really am not sure why that’s happening for some! Glad to hear the chicken was good:) xT