Chicken Madison–an easy dump and go slow cooker recipe with chicken, mushrooms, garlic, artichokes, and sundried tomato pesto. It has a rich savory flavor and tastes great served over mashed potatoes.

Chicken Madison
This was such a good Sunday dinner recipe. We had friends over after church and I loved that I could dump everything into the slow cooker before we left and come home to dinner basically done. I served it over slow cooker mashed potatoes with corn and fruit salad on the side and it felt like a tasty meal without a bunch of stress. The sundried tomato pesto gives the sauce a restaurant-style flavor even though the ingredient list is actually really simple. And the whole cloves of garlic cook down and get soft, mellow and almost sweet. (I like buying a big bag of whole peeled garlic cloves at Sam’s or Costco and freezing them). I also liked that this was a true dump and go slow cooker recipe and it didn’t need canned cream soup. Enjoy!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs–or chicken tenderloins (2 hours on low)
- Sliced mushrooms–or one can of sliced mushrooms, drained
- Garlic cloves–or ¼ cup jarred minced garlic
- Artichoke hearts
- White wine vinegar–or lemon juice
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Dried thyme
- Quick cooking tapioca–or flour or cornstarch
- Sundried tomato pesto–or basil pesto for a different flavor, or chopped sundried tomatoes
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
Steps
Cut each thigh into 4 pieces and add to the slow cooker. I use my kitchen shears for this step. Add the remaining ingredient into slow cooker and stir.


Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Stir and serve over mashed potatoes.

Notes/Tips
- Mashed potatoes are perfect with this recipe but it’s also really good over rice, egg noodles, polenta or garlic bread.
- I made these slow cooker mashed potatoes in a separate slow cooker.
- Serve alongside a serving of steamed broccoli, green salad or green beans.
- I used my 6 quart Ninja slow cooker.
- Chicken thighs work best because they stay tender and juicy during slow cooking.
- This makes a good amount. If you want to cut it in half for a smaller group you totally can.
- This recipe is gluten free and dairy free.
- This is good with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top.
- If you want to make it even richer you could stir in a splash of cream at the end.
- Quick cooking tapioca is a small pellet-style thickener that helps sauces thicken in the slow cooker without clumping. You can usually find it near the pudding, baking ingredients or Jell-O section at the grocery store.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with sundried tomato pesto are Dump and Marry Me Casserole and Creamy Italian Chicken Soup.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.


Chicken Madison
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3-4 hours on low
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
An easy dump and go slow cooker recipe with chicken, mushrooms, garlic, artichokes, and sundried tomato pesto. It has a rich savory flavor and tastes great served over mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
- 40 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- 20 peeled garlic cloves
- 1 (14 oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
- 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 Tbsp quick cooking tapioca (or flour or cornstarch)
- 1 (6.7 oz) jar sundried tomato pesto
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Cut each thigh into 4 pieces and add to the slow cooker. I use my kitchen shears for this step.
- Add the remaining ingredient into slow cooker and stir.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- Stir and serve over mashed potatoes.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooker
More slow cooker chicken recipes…
Old Lady on a Bus Chicken
Old Lady on a Bus Chicken is chicken tenderloins that can be made in your Instant Pot, Crockpot or oven. The secret is the barbecue sauce that has a special ingredient…orange juice concentrate!
Kentucky Wildcat Chicken
Tender bites of chicken in an amazing sauce made super fast in your Instant Pot!
“Don’t Knock it Till You Try It” Chicken
Easy slow cooker (or oven) chicken that is savory and sweet. It’s got apricot preserves, onion soup mix and chili sauce…it sounds strange but is actually really good. Don’t knock it until you try it!
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.




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