Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan

Pasta is my weakness. I can eat spaghetti for any meal. And if I can pick a pasta dish (calories aside, of course), it's going to be chicken or eggplant parmesan.

This recipe is one of my favorites and is not a newbie. I've actually posted about it before, but it was time for a redo. Besides, I had a hankerin'! If I could choose my last meal, you better believe this would be one of the contenders.

It starts off with chicken being breaded and lightly fried to brown the breading. I did not cook the chicken throughout, but just enough to secure the breading and give that lovely chicken parm crisp. The option of dipping the chicken in an egg bath will make the breading stick a bit better, however due to a slight bit of laziness, I dipped the chicken in cold water and then in the bread crumbs. The result is a slightly lighter layer of bread crumbs but also a little less cleanup.

I then placed the chicken in the crock pot and poured sauce over it. There's a few choices here: use a jar of sauce to keep things simple, or in my case, I added some drained crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, fresh parsley, oregano, basil, a bay leaf, salt, and pepper, and a little crushed red pepper to the crock pot. Though if I were making pasta sauce from scratch on the burner I would have added some water, in this case the slow cooking releases some water from the chicken and tomatoes so I didn't find it necessary.

I laid the chicken in the crock pot, poured the sauce on top, and set it to low. I let mine cook on low for about 8 hours, overnight. It is important to note that this is going to vary by crock pot! If your crock pot runs hotter, it's going to take less time. Once the chicken starts shredding, it's ready.

The end result is something special: breaded outside, but crock pot shreddability. Slow cooking the sauce ingredients makes for a tasty flavor, too. Homemade sauce and delicious chicken for the win.


Crock Pot Chicken Parm Recipe

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts

1 cup bread crumbs (use Italian seasoned if desired)

2 tablespoons oil (I used avocado)

1 can crushed tomatoes (15 ounces)

1 can tomato paste (4 ounces)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms

1/4 cup onion

(Alternatively, add one jar of desired pasta sauce over chicken)

Instructions:

Dip chicken in bread crumbs. Add to pre-heated skillet coated with oil over medium heat and cook on both sides until breading is browned. Add to crock pot. Combine sauce ingredients and extra veggies and pour over the chicken, then set to low and cook for 6-8 hours. Serve with cooked pasta.