Slow Cooker Chicken Pesto and Vegetables–tender bites of chicken, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and potatoes enveloped in flavorful basil pesto sauce. An easy one pot meal that you can make in your crockpot.
Get the INSTANT POT version of the recipe here
Slow Cooker Chicken Pesto and Vegetables
When I made this recipe for slow cooker chicken pesto and vegetables I did the “one pot meal” dance. That involves me dancing around my kitchen island while my kids watch me warily. I just love one pot meals that contain the protein and the vegetables and the starch all together.
I love the “freshness” factor in this dish as well. The basil pesto is so tasty. I buy mine at Costco in a jar and use it for all sorts of recipes. The green and yellow zucchini squash and the tomatoes add a summer twist to this dish as well. This is a healthy meal that is great as dinner and the leftovers are perfect the next day too!
More recipes you’ll love…
Slow Cooker Pesto Mushroom Chicken
Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Risotto
Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Rice Soup
What Slow Cooker Did You Use?
To make Slow Cooker Chicken Pesto and Vegetables I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.* I love this slow cooker (you can see me talking about it in a video here). It cooks low and evenly. I love the medium heat choice because most slow cookers that I’ve seen only have the option of cooking on low or high. If you’re going to buy just one slow cooker, this is the one that I recommend.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Pesto and Vegetables
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2-3 hours on low
- Total Time: 45 minute
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
Tender bites of chicken, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and potatoes enveloped in flavorful basil pesto sauce. An easy one pot meal that you can make in your slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds yellow or red potatoes
- 1 medium yellow zucchini squash
- 1 medium green zucchini squash
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
Instructions
- Add ingredients to the slow cooker. Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the pot. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place into the pot. Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the chicken. Cut the potatoes into quarters (or 1 inch cubes). Put the potatoes on top of the chicken.
- Slow cook. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
- Prepare vegetables. While the chicken and potatoes are cooking cut your zucchinis into quarters: cut off each end of zucchini and cut lengthwise in half. Cut each half in half again ending up with quarters. Line up quarters and slice across zucchini. Slice the tomatoes in half.
- Finish the dish. Remove the lid. Stir the zucchinis and tomatoes into the pot. Let the zucchini heat up and partially cook in the hot pot for about 5 minutes. Then gently stir in the pesto. Toss together. Scoop onto serving plates and enjoy.
Notes
I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.*
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooker
Keywords: one pot meal
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*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.
Made this today and it was delicious! 2 hours on low was perfect to cook the chicken thoroughly and with the pesto? Ohmigosh my new favorite. Thank you! I’m going to make it again for sure. Looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!
★★★★★
Thanks Nikki for the 5 star review!
It didn’t say when to add the pesto.
step 4
I have had the chicken and potatoes on high now for 2.5 hours and the potatoes are still hard. They are baby red potatoes cut in half. I cut them again in half so it would cook better. The chicken is already cooked. The zucchini, squash and tomatoes have been in there for 30 mins so far and so far, still hard. I added more broth and mixed it up. I just added the pesto. I will keep everything in the pot for another hour. I hope it turns out. A bit frustrating. I would give 3 hours at a minimum. I would also suggest slicing the squash and zucchini thinly.
I added spices to mine as I love a kick to it. I hope it turns out. I’m tired.
★★★
Oh I’m sorry. What kind of crockpot are you using? They all cook so differently.
Just tried this, not bad!
Three hours at the bare minimum and really make sure that chicken is in child bite sizes.
Added .5 tsp of red pepper flakes to give it a kick.
It taste pretty darn good served cold.
★★★★★
Glad you liked it!
Hi! if i’m going to end up serving this with pasta and omit the potatoes should i tweak the other ingredients?
★★★★★
I’d keep everything the same. 🙂
Ok to use frozen chicken?
Is 1/2 cup broth enough to cook this?
Thanks!
Yes the frozen chicken will work but you’ll need to cook longer if it’s frozen by about an hour. 1/2 broth will work great!
I would recommend high heat for this . I would also recommend sautéing the chicken to lightly brown. After 3 hours my poached chicken had that layer of , well, let’s call it chicken funk . You know what you usually need to skim off . I preface this by saying I’m an experienced chef. I would cook for 3 to 4 hours on high , then add your. Zucchini ,summer squash , and tomatoes . I kept the tomatoes un cut. It is more like a chicken veggie stew. I did in fact serve with crusty bread and top with Romano cheese. I felt another 30 minutes on high to cook veggies allowed for them to marry into the broth. Enjoy
Thanks for your ideas!
Did you mean cook on high 2-3 hours?
No, for the small bites of chicken 2-3 hours should be sufficient. Having said that, every slow cooker cooks differently. Mine cooks a little hotter. You may need more time for yours.
Karen,
Looking forward to making this. Quick question…your photos show what appears to be strands of shredded cheese added yet I do not see a cheese ingredient/topping in the recipe. If it is a cheese, what type did you use and how much?
Art
Hi Art, I just sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on the meal at the end of the cooking time. It’s mostly for the photograph to make it look a little more appetizing. You can sprinkle with parmesan if you’d like. Can’t go wrong with that!