Made with chicken breasts, crispy bacon, and chicken gravy mix, this Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon Gravy is a delicious, one-pot substitute for a restaurant-style dinner. It’s packed with so much flavor, that your family is sure to request this comfort food more often.
Serve this delicious meal alongside a generous helping of Slow Cooker Sour Cream and Onion Mashed Potatoes and Slow Cooker Green Beans.
Why you should try this chicken with creamy bacon gravy recipe
You may have seen my other recipe for slow cooker chicken and gravy. It has always been a great basic recipe for adding extra ingredients to, 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.
Although I can’t do crispy chicken in the slow cooker, I sure can do the chicken and bacon gravy! I’ve found this chicken and gravy recipe to be super easy to make, especially with minimal ingredients. The prep time is quick and the cooking time is perfect for yielding fork tender chicken. My family loved this restaurant-style rendition of smothered chicken with creamy gravy – yours will too!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are the best option to use for this recipe both for cooking evenly and shredding easily.
- Chicken Gravy: You’ll need two packets of chicken gravy dry mix.
- Bacon: Sliced and cooked.
- Seasonings: Pepper, dried thyme, and minced garlic (or garlic powder) are the only seasonings you need for an amazing taste.
- Water: Mixed with the chicken gravy.
- Heavy Cream: This is added at the end as a thickening agent. You can use light cream or even half and half.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over the pepper, thyme, garlic, and cooked crispy bacon.
Step Two – In a small bowl mix together the gravy mix packet and the 1¼ cup water until smooth.
Step Three – Pour the gravy over the chicken.
Step Four – 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, shred the chicken with 2 forks.
Step Five – Add the heavy cream.
Step Six – Give everything a good stir and serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or a side of your choice. Enjoy!
How to serve
- This delicious chicken and gravy can be served over a bed of rice, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles.
- If you want to pair it with sides, I recommend green beans, roasted carrots, or a baked potato.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Just make sure they are boneless and skinless for the best results.
Yes. The gravy thickens during the cooking process. If you want it thicker, you can make a thickening slurry with flour and water or milk. Add the flour mixture after or with the heavy cream.
Place any remaining chicken and gravy in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. When ready to re-enjoy the leftovers, they can be warmed up over medium heat. This meal can also be frozen.
I don’t advise on frozen chicken for some studies suggest that it isn’t safe.
I have not personally tried it, but a reader did, and this is what she said: “I did the recipe as normal, on high pressure for 7 mins, and it came out fine! Not quite as flavourful as when done in the slow cooker but definitely a great option for when you need it in a hurry!”
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
- Slow Cooker Seasoning Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
- Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Gravy
- Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken and Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken with Rice
- Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Alpine Chicken
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Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon Gravy
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 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)
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 2/3 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!
How to Video:
Sarah’s Notes:
- Place any remaining chicken and gravy in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. When you’re ready to re-enjoy the leftovers, they can be warmed up over medium heat. This meal can also be frozen.
- Chicken thighs can be used instead of chicken breasts, just make sure they are boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Fran says
Want to double this recipe… How much longer should I cook it?
Sarah Olson says
I would do 4 hours on high or 7 on low. 🙂
Taylor Elmore says
What if all I have are chicken tenders? Would it still work? If so, what would I have to do to adjust it?
Sarah Olson says
They are interchangeable in this recipe. The same cooking time will work great.
Kristin says
I only picked up 1 pack of chicken gravy instead of 2. Do I need to adjust anything else to be able to use the 1 packet?
Sarah Olson says
A little less water
Cindie says
Looks DELICIOUS! Wondering if I could substitute the chicken gravy with cream of chicken soup and a little bit of water…and then adding a cornstarch slurry near the end of cooking. Would that work? If not, what would you recommend. (I don’t generally keep gravy mix on hand and right now stores are a hit and miss with any gravy mixes.)
Sarah Olson says
Yes! That should work fine! Add your cornstarch to a small amount of cold water before adding. Then turn the slow cooker back on until it thickens.
Annie says
Hey Sarah, each packet calls for 2 cups of water. Do you use 1 1/4 cups for each packet then?
Sarah Olson says
No, only add what the recipe says. The slow cooking adds the extra liquid.
Brenda says
Do you think doing it with frozen chicken would be ok? i know for most crock pot recipes it usually is!
EssEss EssEss says
I had 4 frozen chicken breasts and put them in the fridge to thaw. They were still mostly frozen when I used them. I put my pot and put all the ingredients in just like the recipe describes. Then I cooked on high for the first 1-1/2 hours, then switched down to low to finish cooking for the rest of the 6 hours (6 hours in total). Mine turned out perfectly.
Michele says
Hi, this looks amazing! Question, with all the stores being so lowly stocked right now, I can only find the brown gravy mix. Do you think that could work since there are so many other flavors? Thanks! look forward to trying this….
Sarah Olson says
Yes! Any would work fine, I am having to do that lately too.
Craig H. says
On my goodness. This recipe is absolutely amazing. Luckily I decided to double the recipe when I made it. Otherwise there would not have been any leftovers. It was a big hit. I served it over mashed potatoes the first time and rice the second. It is delicious either way. So easy to make and the prep time is so quick. Will definitely be making this on a regular basis. Thanks for a wonderful recipe. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Tiana says
Amazing!! My kids are very picky eaters and they loved it!!!
Rene´ says
I have made this recipe many times, and it is is a favorite at our house! I’ve made it exactly as written, I’ve made it and subbed 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup for the cream, I’ve made it with the addition of Portobello mushrooms and onions ( our favorite way), we’ve eaten it over rice, over mashed potatoes, and over noodles, but our favorite way to eat it is with the addition of onions and Portobello mushrooms, and using a slotted spoon, serve it on sturdy onion Kaiser buns, then serve the gravy over rice or potatoes alongside the sandwich. AMAZING! Thank you so much for the recipe, Sarah!
Ashwika says
Is there a substitute for chicken gravy as we don’t get them here. Can I make it from scratch? If yes,how?
Annabella Alves says
I did everything word for word. It hit 5 hours and it burned on sides and all dried up!
Sarah Olson says
So sorry Annabella, maybe your slow cooker runs hot.
Hollie says
Is the nutrition info for one serving?
Sarah Olson says
yes, one serving.