Crockpot Catalina Chicken is sweet and tangy with a little kick of spice. It’s a dump and go, fix it and forget it weeknight easy recipe! Serve this main dish chicken over rice with a green vegetable or salad for a simple, but elegant meal that’s perfect for when you have guests.
One of the things that I love about this recipe is how forgiving it is. Having a couple over for dinner? Got a kid that’s suddenly eating three times as much as they did last week? Add a few more chicken breasts. Found a great sale on chicken thighs? Use those instead. It’s literally that simple!
Listen, before we get too far into this recipe I want you to know… when you cook chicken for hours in a red sauce it stains your chicken pink. Not like raw chicken pink, but just like your chicken has taken on part of the color of Catalina dressing. This is normal! And, you’re gonna slather that sauce over the finished dish anyway, so don’t even fret about it.
Catalina chicken might seem like an odd combination. Salad dressing, onion soup, and preserves? But trust me the magic of this recipe is all in the sauce! It’s sweet and savory and at the end of cooking it thickens up into a lovely glaze.
To make Catalina chicken you’ll need:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts (or boneless skinless chicken thighs)
- One packet of onion soup mix
- Catalina salad dressing (French dressing works also)
- Apricot preserves (or peach or pineapple, feel free to mix it up!)
- Optional: Sriracha sauce or crushed red pepper flakes to make it spicy
- Cornstarch
Step by step directions:
- First spray a 6 quart or larger slow cooker with nonstick spray.
- Place your trimmed chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the Catalina dressing, onion soup mix, apricot preserves, and Sriracha sauce, if using.
- Pour this over the chicken evenly and put the lid on.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours or until the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Remove the chicken breast to a serving platter. To thicken the sauce mix two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water. Whisk this into the sauce and turn the slow cooker to high, it should take 5 minutes or so for it to thicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken breasts and serve.
More easy Chicken recipes to love:
- Wonton Chicken Taco Salad
- Chicken Zucchini Casserole
- One Pot Italian Chicken & Orzo
- Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti
Crockpot Catalina Chicken
Crockpot Catalina Chicken is sweet and tangy with a little kick of spice. It makes an easy 6 ingredient dump and go crockpot main dish.
Ingredients
- 4-6 Chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
- 1 cup Catalina dressing
- ½ cup apricot preserves
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- Optional: 1 Tablespoon Sriracha sauce*
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons cold water
Instructions
Spray a 6 quart slow cooker with nonstick spray. Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Combine the Catalina dressing, apricot preserves, onion soup mix, and Sriracha sauce.
Pour this over the chicken. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Remove the chicken breast to an ovenproof serving platter and place it in a warm oven. To thicken the sauce mix two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water. Whisk this into the sauce and turn the slow cooker to high. Cover with the lid. It should take 5-8 minutes or so for it to thicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken breasts, garnish with fresh chopped parsley, and serve.
Notes
* 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes may be used instead of Sriracha sauce.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 breastAmount Per Serving: Calories: 496Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 1380mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 28gProtein: 46g
The Accidental Happy Baker is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate provided by Nutritionix. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through the nutritional calculator of your preference Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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