3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken Dinner

Name: 3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken Dinner
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 360 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken breasts; 15 ounces jar alfredo sauce; 24 ounces jar marinara sauce; 10 ounces can Rotel; 1 teaspoon Salt (Or, to taste); 1 teaspoon Black pepper (Or, to taste); 16 ounces Egg Noodles

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3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken Dinner is a wonderful fall comfort food crock pot classic. It’s warm and delicious and the chicken gets so tender it just falls into pieces. This chicken is sure to become an instant hit with your family.

3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken served over egg noodles in a white bowl sitting on a wooden table

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Fall is here and I’m so ready to fire up the slow cooker! This is one of my favorite crock pot chicken dinners because this chicken is so versatile! It’s perfect on pasta, great in tortillas, and wonderful on baked potatoes! And have I mentioned the best part yet… there’s just chicken and 3 jars of ingredients! I love simple dinner recipes that cook themselves in a crock pot with only a few ingredients!

Ingredients

Skinless chicken breasts (also boneless is preferred). You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer thigh meat.
Alfredo sauce – The alfredo sauce sounds weird but it really works here – it totally cuts the acidity of the tomatoes!
Marinara sauce – Whatever jar you like!
Rotel (This is just a can of chopped tomatoes with green chile peppers chopped up in it)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken shredded in the slow cooker after it's finished cooking

Cooking Instructions

This recipe is so delightfully easy! Let’s get cooking!

Step 1

Raw chicken breasts sitting in the slow cooker during the assembly of ingredients for 3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken recipe

Put the chicken breast in the slow cooker with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Step 2

All ingredients for 3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken in a crock pot, but nothing is mixed together yet and there is also a wooden spoon in the pot

3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken ingredients mixed together in the crock pot and ready to cook on low.

Add in the jar of alfredo sauce, the jar of marinara sauce, and the can of Rotel tomatoes. Mix all the ingredients together with a spoon.

Step 3

Let cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Step 4

Once the chicken is cooked through, take it out of the slow cooker, shred it with a fork, and then add the shredded meat back into the slow cooker to cover it in the sauce. Serve over egg noodles (or however you prefer!).

3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken all done after slow cooking

3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken that's finished cooking in the crock pot and falling into shredded pieces when picked up with tongs

Cook’s Note:

I use the Original Rotel — so it’s just spicy enough but not too spicy for the kids.

Serving Suggestions:

I like to serve this over egg noodles and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and alongside a big fresh salad. This chicken is also good just on its own with veggies as a side. It’s delicious on top of a baked potato! And it’s really great in tortillas as chicken tacos!

Recommended Equipment

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Crock Pot – This is my go-to crockpot. I love that the lid locks. It’s perfect for transport AND perfect for houses with little kids running around. I love knowing that the lid isn’t coming off!
Instant Pot – This is the Instant Pot that I have and use all the time. I’ve had several versions of the Instant Pot and this is by far, FAR, my favorite.
Tongs – I really like these tongs! Especially for slow cooker or instant pot meals. The rubber on the ends of the tongs prevents the tongs from cutting right through tender meat and vegetables.
Airtight Food Storage Containers – These are fantastic. They keep food air-tight and fresh so well!

Substitutions, Modifications, and Variations

Not all recipes work for everyone! There are always ways we can substitute and modify to adjust to even the pickiest palette!

Substitutions

This chicken is a little bit spicy, but not too bad. If you want more spice, use the hot rotelle. If you want almost no spice, use mild rotelle. I used the original rotelle that’s just the right amount of heat!

Modifications

This chicken has a little bit of a creamy Italian meets spicy Mexican flair for the flavor. If you want to take it over to the more Mexican food flavor, instead of marinara sauce, do a jar of salsa, and instead of alfredo sauce, do a jar of queso dip! This would be DELICIOUS in chicken tacos!

Gluten-Free

As long as you pay attention to the ingredients of your three jars of sauce, this recipe is gluten-free. But each of those items would need to also be gluten-free for that to be the case. Always, always check the ingredient lists!

Dairy Free

You could eliminate the alfredo sauce and this recipe would be dairy-free! Feel free to add in a vegan alfredo sauce to keep the flavors of the recipe going. But without the creamy sauce, this chicken is also really, really tasty!

Variations

This recipe is amazing for so many dinners. Baked potato toppers, quesadillas, pasta, and so many more ideas. Try it all of the ways to see which is your favorite! Heck, I like it plain on a plate without anything else, it’s so juicy and tender!

Storage Tips

Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Leftover Tips

These leftovers heat up really well in the microwave and they don’t get dry and chewy. The chicken is so juicy that it just warms up beautifully! If I’m heating up a bunch of it for everyone to have dinner, I’ll usually just put it in a glass dish, cover it with foil, and then warm it up the oven. Maybe 25-30 minutes at 350*.

Freezer Tips

This recipe freezes beautifully. A lot of times I’ll make a double batch and let it cook all day, then I’ll freeze half the shredded chicken and save it for another meal in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

I don’t like Rotel. What’s a good substitute?

You can use a can of diced tomatoes as a substitute. But let me also tell you, I don’t particularly care for Rotel either, and it’s just perfect in this dish. So do give it a try before you eliminate it!

Would this recipe work with beef or pork?

Absolutely! I’ve not had it with beef, but I’ve made it with pork and it’s really, really tasty! I used pork tenderloin when I made it with pork and it was really great!

Can I use my own sauces instead of the jar sauces?

Absolutely! Go for it! You want about 15 ounces of alfredo sauce and 24 ounces of marinara. Plus about 10 ounces of the Rotel. I just love the recipe because it’s simple and easy and quick to assemble with just a few ingredients.

Will this recipe work in the Instant Pot?

Yes! Beautifully! Just toss everything into the instant pot and let it cook on high pressure for about 35 minutes. It’s perfection every single time.

Wrap-Up – 3-Jar Slow-Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken

And there you have it, one of my very favorite crock pot recipes! I just love it when meat cooks in the slow cooker and then just falls apart when it’s so tender. And this chicken is a prime example of that exact thing! It’s so good and so simple! This is sure to be a hit with the entire family. Let me know what you think of it! I can’t wait to hear! Happy cooking… and until next time… Just Keep Shuffling!