This Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon gravy is wonderful served over mashed potatoes!
You may have seen my other recipe for chicken and gravy. It’s always been a great basic recipe for adding extra ingredients to. I’ve had readers add potatoes, carrots and even mushrooms, but never bacon. The idea for this recipe came to me when I had a delicious crispy breaded chicken with bacon gravy the other night at our favorite restaurant, though I can’t do crispy chicken in the slow cooker I sure can do the chicken and bacon gravy!
How to make Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon Gravy:
I start with chicken breasts, pepper, thyme, garlic and of course bacon.
Then I add 2 packets of chicken gravy and water. Note that I do not use all the water that the packets call for, I use 1 1/4 cups instead of the 2 cups. The reason being is the chicken will let off the liquid and I will be adding the cream after the chicken has finished cooking.
Below is what the chicken and gravy looks like after cooking for 3.5 hours on high.
Then I add heavy cream and shred the chicken with 2 forks.
I serve this with mashed potatoes and green beans. The gravy is very creamy and has a smoky flavor from the bacon.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker Size: 3-quart or larger
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 6 slices bacon sliced and cooked
- 1.74 oz. chicken gravy dry mix packets (2 PACKETS that are .87 oz. each)
- 1¼ cup water
- ⅔ cup heavy cream ADD AT THE END
Instructions
- Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over the pepper, thyme, garlic and bacon.
- In a small bowl mix together the gravy mix packet and the 1¼ cup water until smooth. Pour the gravy over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3.5 hours or on LOW for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- When the cooking time is done, add the heavy cream. Shred the chicken with 2 forks and give everything a gentle stir until the gravy and the cream are mixed.
- Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
- Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Gravy (without bacon)
- Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
- Slow Cooker Seasoning Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
- Slow Cooker Full Chicken Dinner
- Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken and Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken and Veggies
- Slow Cooker No Peek Chicken
- Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken with Rice
- Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Alpine Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
I made this for tonight’s dinner and served it over rice with some mixed veggies on the side. super yummy! my bf cleaned his plate, definitely making again 🙂
Maybe I missed it in comments, but how is this KETO, if poured over rice or mashed potatoes?
I never said it was keto. Another website deemed it was and is linking here. Gravy packets are loaded with carbs too.
Would it work the same if I used chicken broth instead of the same amount of water?
Yes! would be fine, but would be more salty
Way too much thyme. Half or less would probably work.
Did you use leaf or ground? Ground would be too strong for this.
Ugh…..I just put this all together and it has been cooking so far about 20 minutes. I used the ground thyme. Is there anything I can do to lessen the rhyme taste since I see that the earlier comment about it being too much.
Hi Jeannie, I don’t think there is anything that can be done. I think it will be fine though, I love thyme. Serve with pleny of potatoes or rice and that should dissapate it.
Can you do this with frozen chicken and if so how would I adjust the recipe and the cooking time?
thank you.
I would do 4 hours on high
How would you time this too cook in an instant pot? 20-25 minutes.
I have not tried, sorry. But that seems right if I was going to test it out.
I want to make about 8 servings do I just double everything?
Yes! that should work fine
I just had this and it was excellent!! I wouldn’t change a thing. Has anyone tried mixing everything (except the cream) together in the raw state and freezing it for a quick weekly meal?
My husband is a picky eater. He questioned the the recipe but decided to try it. I did it tonight for our 8 year anniversary and he loved it. We both think this would be good over either rotini or penne pastas. Also he’s suggested taking out the gravy and pouring alfredo over it and pouring over fetuccini, I’ll let you know when we try it that way 😉 We paired it with some sparkling grape juice (white for me, red for him) and corn and poured it over mashed potatoes. 5 out of 5 stars from both of us!
So glad you two enjoyed it and I love your serving suggestions.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My picky 7 year old absolutely loves this and it’s been in our rotation for a few months now. We serve it with green beans and potatoes as well. I like to add mushrooms to it, super delicious! I have a few other recipes of yours that i want to try, I’ve bookmarked at least 6! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear this Jessica, glad to have you here!
I only had one packet of gravy so I substituted 2 cans of cream of chicken soup as suggested with half of a can of water and it came out wonderful! It is now one of my favorites
That’s great! Thanks for letting us know that tip!
Could yu double the recipe
I used black pepper bacon and also put a few tablespoons of some left over apricot preserves I had from topping a cheesecake…..sounds weird I know but I like to improvise……it’s starting to smell really good….thanks for the recipe
I’ve made this several times and I love it! I did make one small change; I carmelize a small handful of diced sweet yellow onion in the bacon fat and toss that in with the rest of the ingredients. Yum! I plan to try it in the Instant Pot next.
Is it 1 &1/4 cup of water for the two packets of gravy total or 1 & 1/4 cup of water per packet?
Only 1 1/4. The chicken will release juices and the cream at the end will be the rest of the liquid needed.
Carb and calorie information would be helpful. My pet peeve when people have these websites with incomplete information.
Hi Barbara, I am slowing adding it on each of my older recipes. The new recipes on my site have them and eventually all will. Takes a few hours to convert each recipe. Keep in mind these are free recipes from one person, I do not have a team of people who work for me.
If youre capable of looking at this website, then youre capable of looking up the calories for this recipe.
Can you please advise how long you then leave it for when adding the cream, i assume you wouldnt serve straight away as the dish wouldnt be warm?
Hi Chloe, if your slow cooker didn’t switch to warm it isn’t enough cream to make it cold. But if you want to warm it more you can put the lid back on for 15 more minutes on high.
Since I can’t find gluten free chicken gravy mix, I’m gonna have to make my own gravy. Since it won’t be powered form, how much gravy should I use?
About 2 cups
i am making this as i type my question is can i add the bacon later so that it doesnt get to soft or does it?
It will get soft but still tastes good. You can add it later if you want it crisp.
Do you have to cook the bacon before putting it in the slow cooker?
I recommend it. The browning of the bacon is what gives it flavor. It’s just a greasy taste otherwise.
LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!!! I ADDED FRESH MUSHROOMS AND IT WAS DELICIOUS . IM MAKING A PIE WITH LEFTOVERS. HUBBY LOVED IT AND IT WAS SO EASY . WILL BE A REGULAR ITEM ON OUR MENU
Is the nutrition info for one serving?
yes, one serving.
I did everything word for word. It hit 5 hours and it burned on sides and all dried up!
So sorry Annabella, maybe your slow cooker runs hot.
Is there a substitute for chicken gravy as we don’t get them here. Can I make it from scratch? If yes,how?