Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken and Broccoli

Does pesto and ranch sound like a weird flavor combination to anyone else? It did to me when I first heard of this crock pot pesto ranch chicken, but I promise this is one of our go-to weeknight crock pot meals. It never disappoints and is a healthy dinner too! My favorite part of this recipe is that it is pretty much a dump-and-go crock pot recipe. Meaning that I get a protein and and a veggie for dinner without hardly doing any cooking!

I have genuinely no idea where this recipe came from, I came across it on Pinterest years ago and because it’s so simple, had committed it to memory. My measurements might be a little different because I normally just eyeball everything, plus I add broccoli to this recipe to make it more of a meal. If you know who the OG of the recipe is, please let me know and I will credit them!

I mentioned in a recent Friday Favorites post that I was utilizing my crock pot more recently, and this is a recipe I make probably once every couple of weeks. It is only 5 ingredients, healthy, easy, and a HUGE hit for our whole family (toddler included!).

How to Make Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken and Broccoli

Lay the chicken thighs out on the bottom of a crock pot. Cover evenly with ranch seasoning and pesto. Then add chicken broth or water to the bottom of the crock pot.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours.

When there is about 1-2 hours (for low) or 30 min-1 hour (for high) before serving, add in your bag of frozen broccoli.

When ready to serve, if preferred, you can shred the chicken with two forks.

How to Serve Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken and Broccoli

You could leave the chicken thighs whole if you wanted to– they are going to be so tender that they shred super easily! I normally use two forks and shred the chicken up.

Our favorite ways to serve pesto ranch chicken thighs is over egg noodles, rice, cauliflower rice, or with a side salad. For the ultimate easy weeknight meal, I would do microwaveable cauliflower rice or microwaveable wild rice!

Substitutions

If you prefer chicken breasts, you can absolutely use them instead of chicken thighs in this recipe. I personally prefer chicken thighs in the crock pot because sometimes chicken breast dries out in the slow cooker.

You can also use fresh broccoli in this recipe instead of a bag of frozen. I just use frozen to make it an even easier dump-and-go slow cooker meal so that I don’t have to do much cooking on busy days.

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