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Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken

September 21, 2015 by Lindsay 27 Comments

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This Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken recipe is the perfect one-dish meal for fall. It’s freezer-friendly so you can prep it ahead of time. In the morning, just dump it in the crockpot and dinner will be waiting when you get home.

This Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken recipe is perfect for fall. Plus it's freezer friendly. Just pull it out, dump in the crockpot and dinner cooks itself!

Hi friends!

Have no fear. Bean Bytes will be here tomorrow. I had to do a little switcharoo because today is Recipe Redux day. This month’s theme was freezer meals, which was perfect for me because you guys are always asking for easy dinner ideas.

To me, freezer meals and crockpot meals go hand in hand. It’s so easy to fill several ziploc bags with raw ingredients, freeze them and then simply dump a bagful into the crockpot and have dinner waiting when you get home!

This dish is fall-inspired and features apples and cranberries. I also used carrots because I like the way they retain their texture in the crockpot…but you could easily use sweet potatoes or butternut squash instead (or in addition to). I also experimented with adding an uncooked grain to my freezer meal and it worked great!

crockpot apple cranberry chicken

Another thing I realized is that if you’re planning to add your meal to the crockpot when it’s frozen, it’s better to freeze without any liquid. This recipe calls for chicken broth and usually I just throw it in the bag. If you’re going to let it thaw overnight before cooking that’s no big deal because it melts and you can just dump into the crockpot…but if you try to add it from frozen, the broth makes everything freeze into a big square block that doesn’t fit into the oval crockpot. So, if you freeze it flat without the liquid, you can just smack it against the counter a couple times and everything breaks up enough to dump easily.

A final note- I would add the farro to the very top, not to the middle like I did. That way, when you dump it in, the farro will fall to the bottom of the crockpot where it can get covered in broth and cook well. If you don’t do this, you’ll probably need to stir halfway through to help submerge the farro.

This Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken recipe is perfect for fall. Plus it's freezer friendly. Just pull it out, dump in the crockpot and dinner cooks itself!

So anyways, here’s how you make it:

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Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken

Crockpot Apple Cranberry Chicken 4 367x550
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This Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken recipe is perfect for fall. Plus it’s freezer friendly. Just pull it out, dump in the crockpot and dinner cooks itself!

  • Author: Lindsay L
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large apple, chopped (approx 1 cup)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1.5 pounds chicken, chopped
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 3/4 cup farro, uncooked
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1–2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1.5 cups chicken broth **only needed when cooking, not freezing**

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients, except broth to a large ziploc bag.
  2. Be sure to add the farro last so it stays at the top of the bag.
  3. Freeze.
  4. When ready to cook, smack the bag against the counter a few times to loosen. Dump contents into slow cooker. Add 1.5 cups chicken broth. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.

Did you make this recipe?

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You can peel the apple if you want to. I was too lazy. And like I mentioned above, feel free to add some extra veggies like squash or sweet potato!

This Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken recipe is perfect for fall. Plus it's freezer friendly. Just pull it out, dump in the crockpot and dinner cooks itself!

I really liked this because it’s simple and the ginger really shined. The apples add some sweetness and the cranberries add a pop of tartness. Feel free to play around with the seasonings. If you don’t like ginger you could try curry powder!

[Tweet “Stock your freezer with this Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Chicken from @leangrnbeanblog!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

For more freezer meal ideas, check out the linkup below!

An InLinkz Link-up


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Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: Apple, Carrot, Chicken, Cranberry, Onion

About Lindsay

Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christine @ Love, Life, Surf says

    September 21, 2015 at 12:16 AM

    I LOVE this idea!! And I need knew recipes to try with my kids so thank you!

    Reply
  2. CARLA says

    September 21, 2015 at 5:04 AM

    ((whispers)) I just bought an insta-pot!
    I can do this in there too yes?

    Reply
  3. Angela @ happy fit mama says

    September 21, 2015 at 5:26 AM

    This us perfect! I’m all about my slow cooker right now.

    Reply
  4. Erin @ The Almond Eater says

    September 21, 2015 at 7:04 AM

    Love farro, love make ahead freezer meals–this screams weeknight meal to me!

    Reply
  5. Linz @ Itz Linz says

    September 21, 2015 at 7:29 AM

    Sounds like the perfect combination for fall!

    Reply
  6. Dietitian Jess says

    September 21, 2015 at 7:50 AM

    Yum! Now that we are getting into the fall season I’m definitely craving apple recipes and fall flavors! I am excited about the addition of ginger sounds so good!

    Reply
  7. Katie says

    September 21, 2015 at 9:22 AM

    That is clever, Lindsey. Hadn’t thought of doing an ingredient freeze rather than freezing the finished dish. Makes perfect sense for the crockpot.

    Reply
  8. JaxJayne says

    September 21, 2015 at 10:05 AM

    I freeze chicken stock in ice cube trays that are 1/4 cup size. When I package this for the freezer, I add 6 cubes, so I really can just dump everything together in the crockpot, stock and all. This is a delicious fall recipe with the apple and cranberries.

    Reply
  9. dixya | food, pleasure, and health says

    September 21, 2015 at 10:51 AM

    im all for makeahead meals so this is definitely a GO 🙂

    Reply
  10. Emily @SinfulNutrition says

    September 21, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    I can only imagine how good this would make my apartment smell. Great idea!

    Reply
  11. rachel @ Athletic Avocado says

    September 21, 2015 at 12:31 PM

    this just screams fall! This is the perfect one pot meal 🙂

    Reply
  12. Arman @ thebigmansworld says

    September 21, 2015 at 1:50 PM

    I want to steal your photography food holding props…is there a word for them? Keep the content in those too 😉

    Reply
  13. Liz says

    September 21, 2015 at 2:07 PM

    What a great dish for fall!! Definitely testing this out.. just went apple picking and I have a ton of apples to cook with 🙂

    Reply
  14. Brenna says

    September 21, 2015 at 3:03 PM

    This sounds so delicious and I absolutely am going to make it! Do you think it’d work with another grain like Quinoa? I have a lot of it on hand already so I was wondering. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      September 21, 2015 at 5:57 PM

      i think so!! i’ve never done quinoa in the slow cooker but worth a shot!

      Reply
  15. She Rocks Fitness says

    September 21, 2015 at 5:07 PM

    I LOVE farro and everything about this slow cooker meal…DELISH and thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  16. Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says

    September 23, 2015 at 5:23 PM

    Love the flavor combos. For those of us without a slow cooker, what’s your recommended way to prep this?

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      September 23, 2015 at 9:07 PM

      you could try in a dutch oven in the oven at like 275 for 4 hours or so?

      Reply
  17. Whitney English says

    September 23, 2015 at 5:35 PM

    Such a pretty dish! And I love how easy it is to throw together. Think it’s time I broke out the crockpot!

    Reply
  18. Carly @ FitLiving Blog says

    September 24, 2015 at 7:14 AM

    Oh, yum! I am always looking for quick meals to make during the week and this one sounds so perfect for fall. I’ll be adding this to my list for next week 🙂

    Reply
  19. Ruth says

    September 26, 2015 at 6:24 PM

    Where have you found cranberries already??!

    Reply
  20. Bonnie says

    November 10, 2015 at 11:58 PM

    Just put this in the crockpot overnight (except with white rice)…Can’t wait to wake up and pack my lunch tomorrow! 😀 THANKS!

    Reply
  21. Alice says

    December 28, 2015 at 11:08 AM

    Hello. I put all ingredients in my slow cooker. But the meat is sitting on top of everything not covered by liquid. Will it still get cooked or do I need to add more liquid? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 3, 2016 at 10:28 AM

      It will still cook just fine.

      Reply
  22. Rebecca says

    May 15, 2016 at 3:04 PM

    I made this last night, my family felt it was lacking in flavor and kind of bland….so to save it I ended up adding some stevia to sweeten as the cranberries made it quite tart as well. I’m thinking next time maybe add more spices? or honey for the sweet?

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      May 16, 2016 at 7:57 AM

      sorry to hear that! hopefully more spices will do the trick next time!

      Reply
  23. shrlz says

    January 16, 2017 at 1:14 PM

    Very tasty – but cranberries plus red carrots I used turned the broth pink, making it a great dish for Valentine’s Day! (I’ll use a bit less broth next time.)

    Reply

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Lindsay Livingston The Lean Green Bean Healthy Living Tips and Tricks

I'm a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

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