I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out that I could take a simple marinade mix packet and use it in the crockpot. This was so simple to make but infused so much flavor into boring old chicken breasts. They stayed super moist too and practically fell apart.
I know this really isn’t a “recipe” but I figured maybe it’s something others haven’t thought to do either. It’s one of those things that makes you smack your forehead and go “duh”. All along I had the makings for an easy and flavorful meal right in my pantry.
2 Ingredient Brown Sugar Bourbon Crockpot Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:
- 1 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 packet McCormick Grill Mates brown sugar bourbon marinade
Directions:
- Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your crockpot. Follow the directions on the back of the marinade packet and whisk together ingredients.
- Pour all of the marinade over the chicken. Cook on high for 4 – 6 hours or until chicken starts to fall apart.
- Remove chicken breasts from crockpot and discard the remaining sauce. Serve with your desired side dishes.
Hope you enjoy this quick tip “recipe”. Have you ever used a mix packet in the crockpot before? Let me know what your favorite one is.
There are 5 ingredients, not 2. Also couldn’t you strain the marinade and bring it to a boil for a minute so you could serve it, maybe over rice?
If that’s your preference, sure, you could try that. It’s pretty sweet though.
Wow…somebody is a little nit picky lol. Amanda, thank you for taking time out and posting such an easy peasy recipe… Some people just have to overcomplicate everything lol.
🙂
I was thinking the same thing! hahahha
Thanks for the idea! Love chicken, love crock pot and love EASY!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
Wow!!! Thanks for the idea. I can’t believe I never thought of this.
I know right!? I was shocked at how easy it was and that I’ve never thought about doing it before either. Makes a nice quick and flavorful meal.
Great idea! Going to make this today for supper. Thanks for posting.
Thanks Jen, hope you enjoyed it.
Thanks for posting going to try it out tonight! 🙂
You’re welcome Brittany. Hope you enjoy it!
Awesome idea!! Thanks for sharing !! Have you tried any other pre-mix packets???
Hi Lisa. No, I have not tried any other packets yet. I did make bbq chicken breasts in the crockpot yesterday with just a bottled bbq sauce and it turned out fab as well.
Thanks for the idea!!!! Couldn’t find the Brown Sugar Bourbon which looks great!!!! I am cooking the chicken in the Grill Mate Mesquite flavor…it smells great!! Love cooking in my crockpot….great for women whose lives are way too busy to slave over a stove all the time.
You’re welcome Holly! I love my crockpot too especially in these humid hot days we’re having here lately. Keeps me from having to stand in front of a hot grill or stove. Plus the chicken stays so moist and tender.
Pour chunky salsa over chicken and cook in your crockpot. Makes a tasty, low calorie meal. I use a medium salsa, but others prefer mild.
I like to do that too Deb! I also like sprinkling some taco seasoning in for some added flavor.
Awesome idea!!! Thanks for sharing. I work crazy hospital hours so cooking good meals can be almost impossible sometimes. This is super simple and looks like it will taste great. Can’t wait to try.
You’re welcome Erin! We can’t get enough of our crockpot for easy week night meals!
I also love to do chicken thighs with Yoshidas marinade in the ctock pot. It makes a super easy teriyaki chicken 🙂
Yum, I’ll have to look for that at the grocery store this weekend. Thanks for the tip!
Have you tried the thighs with Yoshidas? How long did you cook it?
I know these are basic recipes, but my problem is I never know the length of time/temperature to cook meat, then I get over cautious and it ends up dry. Thanks
Hi Diane. No, I’ve never tried that. Usually chicken breasts cook for me on high for about 3 hours. It really all depends on how thick they are too.
Great idea! Trying the Mojito Lime on chicken for tonight’s dinner, added the juice of one fresh lime. Hope it’s good.
Mmm, that sounds tasty!
Stephanie, how did the Mojito Lime turn out? I have a package but haven’t tried it yet.
Sounds yummy! My sister and I are making this today. The marinade only makes about 2/3 cup….just wondered if this is enough to cook the chicken in that long or did someone add more water etc.
I only followed the directions on the marinade with no other additions. As it cooks, the juices from the chicken thin it out a bit more. It won’t cover the chicken completely but I basted it every hour or so while it cooked.
I haven’t tried this yet but it looks like it will be great! Anything easy is always worth a try! With 3 children under age 4, easy is what I need! I have done a packet of Italian seasoning(the salad dressing mix) with a stick of butter over chicken breast! Thanks for the idea!
You’re welcome Megan!
How was that with the italian packet and stick of butter??? Sounds good?? I love the Mississippi roast where you use a whole stick of butter on top of a roast in the crock pot.
Hollyberry123. I had a hard time finding the packet also. In our store it was kept with the stuffing. Weird!
That’s where I find mine too Kim. You would think they’d be by the bottled liquid marinades and bbq sauces but they are not. You’ll usually find them with the other dry gravy, seasoning packets. In my local Walmart and Giant Eagle that is in a section by the boxed stuffing mixes and jarred gravies.
Trying with the Brown Sugar Bourbon packet for tonight’s dinner. Used actual Bourbon instead of water, hope it’s good.
Yum, that sounds tasty!
I’m wanting to make this tonight for our dinner. Is it okay if the chicken breasts are still frozen?
Hi Lizzie. The USDA does not suggest cooking frozen chicken in the crockpot. It’s recommended to thaw it in the microwave first if you’re short on time.
Wonder why?? I cook it from frozen all the time in the crockpot and am still alive. 😉
It keeps it in the temperature danger zone (41-135) for too long and allows bacteria to grow. It won’t hurt you if you have a healthy immune system to fight it. It is just a best practice to safely thaw it first.
I’m going to try this! My favorite is beef in the crock pot with Au Jus and you just get whatever cut of beef you want… Roast or whatever and I do brown it first, then you just add the au jus packet after mixing it per directions, I add an extra packet with no water for more flavor, and then when it’s done put it on rolls and have beef au jus sandwiches, it’s delicious! I think it cooked for 6-8 hours depending on size
That sounds delicious Helen!
My favorite McCormick ‘Grill Mates’ packet is the Garlic, Herb & Wine – it is sooooo flavorful! Sometimes in the summer we will dry rub the chicken breasts with that and put it on the grill, yummy!!
Mmm, never tried that one. You made it sound so yummy that I may have to try that when the weather warms up and the snow melts a bit. Thanks!
Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing! I use a lot of these marinades and never thought of using them in the slow cooker. Any reason why you suggest discarding the leftover marinade from the slow cooker? Is it unsafe to use it? I’d like to use a different marinade and shred the chicken so discarding the marinade wouldn’t be an option.
Hi Kay, nope no reason. You’re left with a very runny marinade that I had no use for it other than flavoring the chicken while cooking. We just wanted to eat the whole chicken breasts so we didn’t need the leftover marinade.
Wow this is so easy and tastes awesome!
And there are so many other flavors to try, I don’t thing I’ll ever make chicken in my oven again ! Lol
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it!
Wow thanks for sharing!! I hadn’t thought of doing this either. Can’t wait to try it.
No problem Amy, hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the idea! Looks great! I like to make chicken in the Crock pot with cut up potatoes, a bottle of fat free Italian dressing and some parmesan cheese. It’s delicious.
Mmm, that sounds tasty too Danielle! I’ll have to give that a try!
This was a duh moment for me as well. I often sit at work thinking of new ideas to cook for dinner the next night and when I finally started using the packs of marinade my husband really thought I had put a lot of work into the meal. It was amazing how easy these are! My favorite is the lime and teriyaki one. I use it on chicken as well.
I know right!? They make chicken breasts so much less boring with very little extra work!
I LOVE those marinade packets!! my favorite one for steak is the Mesquite. they were on sale at Winco for only approx. 50 cents each so I loaded up on all the different flavors.
definitely going to try this with the chicken in the crockpot tonight though.!
Aren’t they great? They give so much flavor with very little effort involved.
What is a good side dish with this chicken??
Hi Sharon. Pretty much any side dish goes well with this chicken. Potatoes, rice, noodles, etc.
Thanks! Great idea! I can’t wait to try this. My other favorite marinade packet is the “Mojito Lime” I can’t wait to try it with that one too. Yum!
I always see that one in the store but have yet to try it. I’ll have to break down some day and try it, lol.
So my favorite packet crock pot recipe is a pack of ckn breasts, box of stove top stuffing mix (plus ingredients on box), and 1 can crm of ckn soup. Put stuffing mix + ingred in bottom, then ckn, then soup on top. Cook on low 6 – 8 hrs.
The first time I made this my brother asked for it again the next day.
Mmm, that sounds interesting. May have to give that a try, thanks Robbie!
Try a pork tenderloin, one can of chicken broth and just a packet of the Carolina Brew. Don’t make it into marinade, just dump it on top. Cook on low 4-6 hours for a 3lb tenderloin.
Hi Bizzymama. I’m not familiar with Carolina Brew, what exactly is that?
I love this idea. I use their Chipotle Pepper a lot. Love it with Goya yellow rice with peas and Mexican corn mixed in. Salad on the side and it’s a meal in about 40 depending on method to cook chicken.
Mmm, that sounds delicious!
I feel like it’s not healthy to add all of the pre made seasoning to my food. It’s not organic and chocked full of chemicals and sodium your body doesn’t need nor know what to do with. I see you chose organic chicken? But the seasoning is not.. Doesn’t seem very healthy.
You’re right Diana but I feel it’s ok when done in moderation. It’s not something I do every week or even every month.
I just set mine up in the pot! I’ll let you know how it goes! Thank you!
Awesome, hope you like it!
I need help lol I feel a stupid, first time using the marinade packets but mine got really clumpy?
That’s weird Darlene. The marinade should be really runny when you mix it, before you pour it over the chicken.
Can’t believe I never thought of this – brilliant!
Thanks Cyndy!
Is this really sweet?
Hi Christie. No, I don’t find this to be very sweet at all.
Did you use frozen chicken or thawed chicken? Thanks!
Hi Kendra. I always use thawed chicken. The USDA does not recommend using frozen chicken in the crockpot.
Does it taste like the carryout bourbon chicken????
Hi Z, I’ve not had carryout bourbon chicken before. Sorry I couldn’t help.
I bought this marinade the other week and was trying to figure out what to do with it. You can buy a sampler pack of different marinades from Amazon if you want to experiment.
http://www.amazon.com/McCormick-Grill-Special-Marinades-Seasoning/dp/B00KFL8VYG/ref=sr_1_7?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1406966815&sr=1-7&keywords=Grill+Mates
Hi! Thanks for the simple recipe. Sounds good! Can’t wait to try it. I have a question though. Do you think I could prepare marinade and put in a freezer bag with chicken and then freeze? Thanks!
Hi Kristen. I’m not 100% sure but I really don’t see why you could not try that.
We loved this! I also added sliced onions and fresh broccoli. Next time, and there will be a next time I’ll add more veggies. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Mmm, that sounds good Andrev! I’ll have to add veggies to mine next time too. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I made it tonight and it was so beyond good and a huge hit with my picky eaters
That’s awesome Michelle! So glad it was a hit!
By luck I came across this today while my chicken was marinating in this McCormick’s flavor! So I cut up some bell pepper and threw it all in the crockpot for dinner. Cannot wait to eat! Thank you for posting!
Oh cool, I hope you enjoyed it!
I just ran across your idea! Never thought of it. I am going to try tomato, garlic and basil marinade from McCormick and serve over pasta. Will thicken marinade into sauce. Thanks!
Sounds delicious Stacey!
I found your recipe awhile back and love, love it. Make it all the time! In fact, I’m making it tonight for a meal I’m putting together for another family.
That’s great Cece! So glad you like it.