Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan (Gluten Free)

This gluten free slow cooker chicken parmesan is the perfect lazy day recipe with minimal cooking for a healthy yet comforting dinner. Although the best part may be the variety of ways you can enjoy the leftovers of this big batch meal!

From chicken parm pasta to a chicken parm sub, there are so many delicious ways to enjoy this easy crockpot chicken parmesan. It has all the classic Italian flavor of your favorite chicken parm, but without the crispy breading – so it’s gluten free, a lot lighter than traditional chicken parm, and requires ridiculously little effort to make.

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Recipe Ingredients

To make this lazy slow cooker chicken parmesan, you basically build a tomato sauce in the crock pot to cook the chicken in – no breading necessary! Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• Canned crushed tomatoes
• Water
• Tomato paste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Minced garlic
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Basil
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Salt
• Chicken breast
• Shredded mozzarella cheese

It’s important to choose a high quality brand of crushed tomatoes since this is the base of your sauce. We recommend using Hunt’s, Cento, or Muir Glen. Additionally, use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil that you enjoy the flavor of on its own! This flavor will definitely come through in the sauce as well, and a bad olive oil can easily ruin the taste of your whole dish.

How To Make Crock Pot Chicken Parm

Making this gluten free slow cooker chicken parm is super easy. All you have to do is add the ingredients to the crock pot and let it cook. Shredding the chicken once it’s done is the only real work involved!

Not that you really need it because it’s so easy, but here’s the breakdown of each step:

1. Make the sauce. Add everything except the chicken breast and mozzarella cheese to a slow cooker or crock pot and stir to combine.
2. Add the chicken. Make sure it’s fully submerged in the sauce so it cooks evenly.
3. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
4. Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken breast with a slotted spoon or spider strainer and transfer to a cutting board. Shred with two forks, then return to the slow cooker and stir it back into the sauce.

And that’s pretty much it! To turn your slow cooker chicken into chicken “parmesan,” add mozzarella cheese to individual servings or stir it into the entire batch right in the crockpot. Depending on how (and when) you want to serve your shredded chicken parm, you have a few options for adding the cheese:

• Serve immediately over pasta or on a sub roll, topping with shredded mozzarella on your plate
• Stir all of the shredded mozzarella into the crock pot until it melts, to make the whole batch of chicken parm super cheesy, and serve immediately
• Keep on the warm setting in your slow cooker until you’re ready to serve, then add the mozzarella (either into the whole batch or as a topping on your plate)
• Let cool and store in the fridge for up to 5 days, reheating single servings as needed for pasta and sandwiches throughout the week (adding the cheese to individual servings after reheating)

Note that if you stir the cheese straight into the whole batch of chicken parm, the sauce will become thinner as the mozzarella releases some of its water content. Because of this, we recommend adding mozzarella to individual servings rather than stirring it into the whole pot. (But adding it all at once is a great lazy hack if you don’t mind a thinner consistency!)

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Serving Suggestions

Because this recipe makes a big batch of shredded chicken parmesan with no breadcrumbs, there are many great ways to make a meal of it. Here are some of our favorites:

• Make a super easy chicken parmesan pasta by adding the shredded chicken and sauce to cooked pasta
• Have a classic chicken parm sub
• For a healthier option, add the chicken parm to some brown rice (much like pasta but with whole grains!)
• Serve with a side salad or your favorite veggies 
• Leave in the crockpot on warm to serve a crowd
• Use this recipe as an easy spin on our chicken parm sliders recipe here

We love lazy big batch meals like this chicken parmesan because it can be used in so many different ways and provide easy lunches and dinners for the whole week!

So next time you feel like enjoying a saucy, comforting plate of chicken parm, but don’t want to go through all the effort of making it the traditional way, try this slow cooker chicken parmesan recipe. Making chicken parm at home couldn’t be any easier!

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