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Crockpot Italian Chicken and Peppers is a healthy, delicious dinner that's versatile and customizable. Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, pasta or greens. A weeknight dinner recipe the whole family will love!
This healthy chicken and pepper slow cooker recipe was originally published in 2016. It has been revised and updated for you!
This is Crockpot Italian Chicken and Peppers is a spin on my chicken taco bowl recipe. This is a recipe I make all the time because it's so simple and easy.
Just toss the ingredients in a crockpot, go to work and when you come home from work it's ready to eat.
Plate over some rice, cauliflower rice or bowl of greens (if you're doing low-carb or Paleo) and enjoy a home cooked dinner!
Probably one of the easiest recipes you can make. Best part is it's healthy, lower calorie and gluten free!
What I Love About This Healthy Chicken and Pepper Recipe
- Easy - This recipe is one you can throw in a slow cooker and it's ready to eat for dinner. The only prep you need to do is slicing the bell peppers which I do ahead of time.
- Versatile - You can easily swap out ingredients to make this recipe your own and choose to serve it any way you like to make it fit your dietary needs.
- Simple Ingredients - The ingredients are super simple and easy to find.
- Low Calorie - Each serving is just a 202 calories. The high volume of vegetables combined with the chicken breast makes this a higher protein makes this recipe nutrient dense and naturally lower in calorie.
- Higher Protein - Each serving has 27 grams of protein. The higher water volume from the bell peppers combined with the lean chicken breast combination makes it more filling.
- Higher Fiber - Each serving has 5 grams of fiber. Fiber keeps you fuller longer!
Crockpot Italian Chicken & Peppers Ingredients
Here's what you need to make this healthy chicken and pepper crockpot recipe. You will also need a slow cooker that's 6-quart or larger.
- Chicken Breasts (I get organic, pasture-raised chicken from ButcherBox).
- Bell Peppers
- Marinara Sauce
- Italian Seasoning
For the full ingredient measurements and nutritional data, scroll to the bottom of this post to the recipe card where these details are.
How To Make Healthy Chicken and Peppers In A Slow Cooker
This is one of the simplest recipes I've ever made and it's one I make repeat!
Step One - Layer the sliced bell peppers, chicken breasts and seasonings in a slow cooker. Pour the marinara sauce over the top.
Step Two - Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours.
Step Three - Once cooked, remove the cover and place the chicken breasts on a plate. Shred the chicken breasts with two forks. Add it back to the slow cooker. Stir to mix with the sauce and peppers.
Step Four - Serve any way you want it and enjoy!
Can You Make Chicken and Peppers In An Instant Pot?
Yes, you can make this healthy chicken and pepper recipe in an Instant Pot! The Instant Pot recipe version is here. It's just as simple a the slow cooker version.
How To Serve Italian Chicken and Peppers
Here's a few options for serving your healthy Italian chicken and pepper recipe.
- Rice - Serving over white or brown rice is my favorite way to enjoy Italian chicken and peppers.
- Cauliflower Rice - For a lower carb or Paleo version, this is a great option. I also like to do half cauliflower rice and regular rice for a higher volume and higher fiber meal.
- Greens - This recipe is delicious served warm over a bed of your favorite greens.
- Pasta - High protein pasta, chickpea pasta, lentil pasta, black bean pasta are all great options for enjoying this meal.
- Zucchini or Spaghetti Squash - Spiralized zucchini or roasted spaghetti squash is another great option for serving this that's lower carb and Paleo friendly.
Substitutions For Crockpot Italian Chicken and Peppers
Here's the ingredient substitutions you can make for this low calorie chicken and pepper slow cooker recipe! Remember when you make substitutions it will change the nutritional values you see in the recipe card below.
- Chicken Breast - You can use chicken thighs, pork tenderloin, turkey breasts, turkey tenderloin or lean cuts of beef.
- Marinara Sauce - You can use any type of spaghetti sauce you enjoy with this recipe. You can also use this homemade tomato sauce instead.
- Italian Seasoning - Italian seasoning is made of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram. You can use these individual spices instead if you do not have Italian seasoning. I also like to add a touch of crushed red peppers to this meal for a bit of spice.
- Bell Peppers - If bell peppers do not work for you, I recommend adding spiralized zucchini or roasted spaghetti squash instead.
More Healthy Crockpot Meals
- Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Joe's
- Crockpot Pulled Pork
- Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
- Crockpot Salsa Chicken
- Crockpot BBQ Chicken
- Crockpot Buffalo Chicken
- Crockpot Chicken Shawarma
- Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore
Healthy Crockpot Italian Chicken and Peppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Green Bell Pepper sliced into strips
- 1 Red Bell Pepper sliced into strips
- 1 Yellow Bell Pepper sliced into strips
- 1 Orange Bell Pepper sliced into strips
- 1 lb Chicken Breast boneless skinless
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 24 ounce Marinara sauce
- Pinch salt & pepper
Instructions
- Layer the sliced bell peppers, chicken breasts and seasonings in a slow cooker. Pour the marinara sauce over the top.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
- Once cooked, remove the cover and place the chicken breasts on a plate. Shred the chicken breasts with two forks. Add it back to the slow cooker. Stir to mix with the sauce and peppers.
- Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, over pasta, or a bed of greens.
Video
Notes
- 1 serving is approximately 1 1/2 cups
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my nutrition clients.
- Click here for the Instant Pot version.
Nutrition
I have made this a few times and always turns out great. My grandson says he loves it when Grammy makes things in her "crocodile" pot! Love that kid! He is here with me today and told me he would help Grammy get out the Crocodile!
Thanks for such a great recipe for this cold blizzard day!
I tried to recreate it but added raw garlic and fresh dill at the end. Turned out pretty good! Thank you Megan, you are a goddess!
I have a 2 qt crockpot that my daughter gave me for Christmas and I still haven't used. I keep finding these huge recipes. So, can I make this halved? Only use two peppers, and 6 oz of chicken? That will still last me about 4 meals. I bet it is good with an Italian roll instead of lettuce or rice, or over a small portion of pasta. I only use all natural non-hormone fed meat, but very little. Can you add some garlic and onion?
Yes, you can half the ingredients and add garlic and onion!
How is the servings measured? Is 1 cup 1 serving?
I don't know how many cups. I place in separate containers to count & seperate the servings.
Can you double this recipe if you have a6Qt crockpot. I have to cook for a crowd and they can't have dairy. This would be perfect!
I'm sure you could. They will love it!
Approximately how many chicken breasts or pounds of chicken are you using here?
12 ounces is approx 3/4 pound.
I know, I've been hesitant to share warm recipes because it's spring but it's still snowing in some places so meals like this are much appreciated. I love how short the ingredient list is and that it's so easy to make!
I still have some I'm going to sprinkle in. In case you didn't notice!
Yum. JUST YUM. I'm a sucker for marinara sauce, and we love bell peppers. and just yum. This would be gone in about 2 days.
If only you lived closer!
Every time I go to AZ or NV I marvel at the nut job weather. Or even here... it never really got cold! I mean.... it's like 65 now which feels chilly in the shade. But that's nothing!
But this crock pot meal IS something. I need to break mine back out. It's been a couple weeks!
It's been strange weather here. It was 60 the other day and this weekend it's supposed to be 90's. It's been this way all winter. At least once it's hot, you know it's just HOT.
90 degrees sounds great right now. We slept w the window open last night so it was really cold when we got up. I'm sitting in my sweats with the heat cranked drinking hot tea to try and normalize my temperature haha. I should add this meal into it as well!
Yeah, I don't miss that at all. 90's is good weather, but when it starts so soon that means it's gonna be a long summer.
I am pretty convinced that the crock pot is God's gift to the world. I mean, it's so easy and makes everything SO delish. This is a perfect, healthy weeknight meal!
Yes! Don't you think it should be a standard appliance and have it's own space in the kitchen?
I can't believe how easy this recipe is! It's right up my overworked alley, and I bet the bf would actually eat it too. Thanks for the inspo, I am actually going to make this on Sunday. My "throw things in and let them cook" experiments with the crock pot have all been huge flops!!
Let me know how you like it!
90s for that long might kill me! It's starting to feel warmer here now that a few days are in the 60s. For some reason I haven't taken out my crockpot all winter, needs to change!
It's dry so it feels cooler than you think. You need to start making some of your desserts in the crockpot!
This is totally up my ally! Sounds so delish and you have me craving chicken...at 6am 😛
HAHA the blogger struggle is real isn't it?
I love recipes like this that are easy, healthy, and that my kids will also enjoy! Looks delicious, Megan!
Thanks Blair! I'm all about easy.