Golden Chicken & Noodles

This slow cooker chicken and noodles is the definition of set-it-and-forget-it comfort food. Boneless chicken breasts simmer all day in a creamy sauce made from condensed broccoli cheese soup and milk, turning tender enough to shred with a fork by dinnertime. Serve it over hot egg noodles and you’ve got a warm, filling meal with almost no active cooking.

The broccoli cheese soup does all the sauce work here. Mixed with milk and seasoned with basil, onion, and pepper, it creates a thick, golden gravy that coats every piece of chicken. Starting on high for one hour then dropping to low for the remaining 5 to 6 hours ensures the chicken heats through quickly (food safety matters) before settling into a long, gentle braise.

Cutting the chicken breasts in half before placing them in the cooker is a small detail that makes a big difference. Smaller pieces cook more evenly and absorb more of the cheesy sauce. By the time dinner rolls around, the chicken practically melts apart.

This is a weeknight lifesaver. Ten minutes of morning prep, and dinner is ready when you walk through the door.

Kitchen Tips

• Don’t lift the lid during cooking. Every peek adds 15 to 20 minutes to the cook time as the slow cooker recovers its temperature
• Cook the noodles separately right before serving. Adding them to the slow cooker makes them mushy and they absorb too much liquid
• The sauce thickens as it cools. If it looks too thick when serving, stir in a splash of milk to loosen
• Shred the chicken right in the slow cooker with two forks for a pulled-chicken-and-noodles version

Variations

• Add a bag of frozen broccoli florets during the last 30 minutes for vegetable-loaded noodles
• Swap egg noodles for rice or mashed potatoes as the base
• Stir in a cup of shredded cheddar at the end for an even cheesier sauce