Slow-cooker smothered chicken with mushrooms is the Betty Crocker comfort food recipe that lets your slow cooker do all the work.
Bacon gets browned first for its drippings, then the chicken is seared, mushrooms are browned, and everything goes into the slow cooker with onion, garlic, and cream of chicken soup.
Three hours on High and you have tender, saucy chicken in a creamy, bacon-flecked mushroom sauce. A splash of heavy cream stirred in at the end takes the sauce from good to luxurious.
Serve it over angel hair pasta and you have a dinner that tastes like you stood at the stove for hours.
At a Glance
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 10 minutes (High)
- Total Time: About 3 hours 40 minutes
- Servings: 4
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Best Occasion: Weekend dinner, when you have time to prep but want hands-off cooking
What Hits Your Plate
Each serving is tender, fall-apart chicken thighs in a creamy mushroom sauce studded with bits of smoky bacon and soft onion.
The sauce is thick and savory from the cream of chicken soup, with an earthy depth from the browned mushrooms and a smoky undertone from the bacon drippings.
The heavy cream stirred in at the end adds a velvety richness that makes the sauce cling to whatever you serve it over. Over angel hair pasta, every strand gets coated.
It is comfort food that earns its name.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 3 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces – browned first; its drippings flavor everything
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs – the main protein; thighs stay juicier than breasts
- ¼ teaspoon salt – for seasoning the chicken
- ¼ teaspoon pepper – for seasoning the chicken
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms – browned for earthy depth; cremini or button
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil – for cooking the onion
- 1 medium onion, halved and sliced – softened for sweetness
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped – aromatic base
- 1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup – the shortcut that makes the sauce creamy
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream – stirred in at the end for richness
Smart Swaps
- Chicken breasts: Use boneless breasts but check at 2½ hours. They dry out faster than thighs.
- Cremini or shiitake mushrooms: Both have more flavor than button mushrooms. Betty Crocker recommends them for a bolder dish.
- Mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken: Doubles down on the mushroom flavor. A good swap if you love mushrooms.
- Over mashed potatoes: Skip the pasta and serve over mashed potatoes. The sauce is basically a gravy.
- More bacon: Use 5 to 6 slices for extra smoky flavor.
Kitchen Tools
- 3- to 4-quart slow cooker
- 12-inch skillet
- Tongs
- Nonstick spray
Step-by-Step Cooking Guide
While your finished dish may not look exactly like the images in this post, following these instructions will give you the same delicious SLOW-COOKER SMOTHERED CHICKEN MUSHROOMS. So please follow with me!
Step 1: Brown the bacon and chicken
Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until browned and crisp.
Transfer the bacon to the slow cooker with a slotted spoon, leaving about 2 tablespoons of drippings in the skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Increase heat to medium-high, add the chicken, and cook about 3 minutes per side until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
Step 2: Brown the mushrooms and soften the onion
Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the vegetable oil and sliced onion. Cook and stir about 4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the condensed cream of chicken soup to the slow cooker and stir everything to combine.
Step 3: Cook and finish with cream
Cover and cook on the High heat setting for 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
Add the heavy whipping cream, stir to combine, cover, and cook for about 10 more minutes until hot.
Serve over angel hair pasta. According to Betty Crocker, this recipe has a 4.4-star rating and is the definition of slow-cooker comfort food.
Nutrition Snapshot
- Calories: ~460 per serving (estimated)
- Protein: ~46g (estimated)
- Fat: ~25g (estimated)
- Carbs: ~12g (estimated)
- Highlight: High protein and relatively low carb. The mushrooms add almost no calories but significant savory flavor. The cream of chicken soup and heavy cream make it rich, so serve with a lighter side.
Kitchen Wisdom That Matters
Brown the bacon, chicken, and mushrooms separately before they go in the slow cooker. Each one leaves fond in the skillet that the next ingredient picks up.
If you skip the browning and put everything in raw, the dish tastes flat and one-dimensional. Fifteen minutes of stovetop work makes an enormous difference in the finished flavor.
Leave the bacon drippings in the skillet when you transfer the bacon to the slow cooker. Those 2 tablespoons of rendered bacon fat are pure flavor.
When you sear the chicken in them, the chicken picks up a smoky depth that carries through the entire dish. Drain the drippings only if there is more than 2 tablespoons.
Add the cream at the very end, not at the beginning. Heavy cream can curdle during long slow cooker cooking. Adding it in the last 10 minutes keeps it smooth and silky.
Brown the mushrooms separately from the onion. Mushrooms need high heat and space to brown properly. If you crowd them with onion, they steam instead of sear. Brown them first in the bacon drippings, then reduce the heat and cook the onion in oil.
do not skip the bacon. It is not just a garnish here. The bacon drippings are the cooking fat for the chicken, and the browned bacon pieces add smoky depth to the entire sauce. Without it, the dish tastes like cream of chicken soup with chicken, which is fine but not special.
When Things Go Sideways
Sauce is too thin. Cook uncovered on High for 15 more minutes to reduce. Or stir in 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water.
Chicken is not tender after 3 hours. Your slow cooker may run cool. Continue on High for another 30 minutes and check again.
Cream separated or curdled. It was added too early or the slow cooker ran very hot. Whisk vigorously. Next time, add the cream in the last 5 minutes only.
Variations to Try
- Add peas: Stir in 1 cup frozen sweet peas with the cream for color and sweetness.
- Shiitake mushrooms: Use a mix of button and shiitake for a more complex earthy flavor.
- Over mashed potatoes: Skip the pasta and serve the chicken and sauce over creamy mashed potatoes. See our slow-cooker smothered chicken for a cream cheese version.
- Add spinach: Stir in 2 cups fresh spinach with the cream. It wilts in minutes and adds a green element.
What Pairs Well
Angel hair pasta is the recommended base. Mashed potatoes or rice are equally good. A side salad or steamed green beans for something fresh. Crusty bread for soaking up extra sauce. For another slow-cooker chicken dinner, see our crockpot smothered chicken legs.
Keeping It Fresh
Store the chicken and sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
The sauce may thicken as it sits, so add a splash of broth or cream when reheating. The flavors improve overnight.
How to Prolong the Recipe
Freeze the cooked chicken and sauce for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the stovetop, whisking to bring the sauce back together.
The cream-based sauce may separate slightly after freezing but whisking restores it.
You can do all the stovetop browning the night before. Store the browned ingredients in the slow cooker insert in the fridge. In the morning, add the soup, place the insert in the cooker, and turn it on.
Leftover chicken and sauce make excellent next-day pasta or a creamy base for chicken pot pie. Browse our chicken recipes for more ideas.
Questions You Might Have
Can I cook this on Low instead of High? Yes. Cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours. The texture is slightly different but the flavor is the same. Add the cream in the last 15 minutes.
Do I really need to brown everything first? For the best flavor, yes. If you are short on time, you can skip the browning, but the dish will taste noticeably blander. The fond from browning is where the depth comes from.
Can I use canned mushrooms? You can, but they are already soft and will not brown. Fresh mushrooms give you better flavor and texture. If using canned, skip the browning step for them and add directly to the slow cooker.
Can I make this without a skillet? You can put everything in the slow cooker without browning, but the flavor is significantly less complex. The browning step is where the fond and the smoky bacon flavor are created. Skip it only if you are truly pressed for time.
What size slow cooker do I need? A 3- to 4-quart slow cooker is specified. If you only have a 6-quart, it works but the sauce will be more spread out and slightly thinner. Cook the same amount of time.