Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
4 Ingredient Slow Cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken
Pesto and Parmesan make a savory coating for chicken, with ranch seasoning tucked into the sauce. It's especially inviting once the cheese has melted over the warm breasts.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 260 min
- Total
- 265 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 4 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- American · Italian
- Cooking method
- Slow cooker
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Keep chicken in one layer
Arrange the breasts in a single layer in the cooker before sprinkling ranch seasoning evenly over them.
2. Whisk pesto with water
Mix the pesto with the water specified in the directions before pouring it over the seasoned chicken.
3. Stir before adding cheese
Near serving, stir chicken and sauce together to coat well before sprinkling Parmesan and covering again.
Get to know the ingredients
Dry ranch mix
Use ranch dressing seasoning mix in its dry form, rather than prepared bottled ranch dressing.
Pesto options
Store-bought or homemade pesto are both listed; whisk your chosen pesto with water before adding to chicken.
Shredded Parmesan
Keep shredded Parmesan for the last covered melting stage after stirring the chicken through the pesto sauce.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 3 steps completeMake room for 4 Ingredient Slow Cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Melt Parmesan under the lid
Sprinkle cheese over the coated chicken, cover and allow it to melt before bringing the chicken to the table.
A little more help as you go
Water is part of the directions
Measure the half cup of water for loosening pesto even though it's mentioned in the step rather than ingredients.
Choose the cooker setting
The directions give both a high and a low cooking range before the final stirring and cheese stage.
A few questions you might have
Is the ranch a creamy dressing?
Use the dry ranch seasoning packet, which is sprinkled over the chicken before adding pesto mixed with water.
Should I add Parmesan at the beginning?
Keep it for the end, after the chicken has cooked and been stirred with the sauce to coat.
Does the pesto stay undiluted?
Whisk it with the stated water portion in a small bowl before pouring it into the slow cooker.
Are chicken breasts shredded for serving?
The directions leave the breasts intact, stirring them through the sauce before melting cheese over them.
Does the lid stay off after stirring?
Replace it after adding Parmesan and allow the cheese its covered melting time before serving.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: lecremedelacrumb.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
