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5 Chicken Dump Recipes

By Sharla Kostelyk

(This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.)

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Usually, when I make freezer meals, I make a variety of different things including casseroles and various meat and seafood dishes. This method works well when I have a lot of time and have prepared ahead of time. But when I just want to throw some meals together quickly and don’t want to spend hours planning and shopping for ingredients, I make chicken dump recipes. Most of them can be cooked in the crockpot which saves even more time!

These time-saving recipes are just a sample of the ones I have in my ebook, Chicken Dump Recipes.

Chicken Dump Recipes - 10 meals in one hour!Chicken dump recipes are fast to make and they often include ingredients that I already have in the house. They are perfect to make if I happen to find some spare time. These dump dinner recipes are perfect for freezing and make a wonderful gift for someone who has just had a baby, is experiencing an illness, or going through a hard time.

To get the recipes in this article along with free printable labels and full shopping lists, sign up here.

Last week, I had some appointments booked for Wednesday but then found out that my sitter for that day couldn’t make it. I had to cancel my appointments and found myself with sort of an extra day. I went on Tuesday and bought a lot of chicken and Wednesday made two sets of ten chicken meals. Since each session took me about an hour so, subsequently  I had 20 meals made in two hours!

In my morning chicken dump session, I made Chicken Hurry, Caribbean Chicken, Lemon and Garlic Chicken, Sticky Chicken, and Cantonese Chicken. I made two of each of the five recipes, therefore, I had ten meals in one hour. In the afternoon, I made Teriyaki Chicken, French Canadian Chicken, Cindy’s Chicken, Pepper Lime Chicken, and Lemon Mustard Chicken.

It is such a feeling of accomplishment to look in your freezer and see so many meals ready for busy weeknight dinners!

More Chicken Dump Recipes

For all of my chicken dump recipes, printable grocery lists, and printable labels, you can purchase my Chicken Dump Recipes. You can read more about it here.

You asked and it is now available! Beef Dump Recipes!

You also have the option to purchase all the chicken dump recipes and beef dump recipes together at a saving!

The key to successful chicken dump meals is having all your ingredients out before you start assembling. This saves time and aggravation!

Steps to making Chicken Dump Meals:

  1. Get out all ingredients.
  2. Label resealable freezer bags (you can use a permanent marker or print labels to stick on) with the name and cooking instructions.
  3.  Press the bottom of the bags to lay flat and then fold over the top in order to keep them open.
  4. Add chicken into each bag. You can use boneless, skinless thighs or breasts.
  5. After the chicken is in all of the bags then you dump the remaining ingredients into the bag.
  6. After all the ingredients are in each bag, you then remove the excess air, seal the bags, lay flat, and freeze.

5 Chicken Dump Recipes

Chicken Hurry

  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. dry onion soup mix*

*I use an MSG-free, gluten-free dry onion soup mix

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Caribbean Chicken

  • chicken
  • 8 oz. can pineapple chunks with juice
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Lemon and Garlic Chicken

  • chicken
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 Tbsp. of olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
  • 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Sticky Chicken

  • chicken
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce**
  • 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsp. ketchup

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes. **if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soy sauce

Cantonese Chicken

  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup melted honey
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce**
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for one hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Notes:

  • The recipes work best with 3-5 chicken breasts or 8-10 thighs per bag. If you use a lot more or a lot less chicken, you will then need to adjust the recipes accordingly.
  • Plan the meals so that they have some common ingredients, which saves even more money, given that there is less waste.
  • All dump dinner recipes can be made gluten-free as long as you follow the notes indicated.
  • I heard from a reader who suggested using slow cooker liners. I had never heard of such a thing, however, given that it eliminates the cleanup of the crockpot, these are another time-saving strategy.
  • Don’t forget to check out the other chicken dump recipes for even more options!

To get the recipes in this article along with free printable labels and the shopping lists, simply sign up here.

Buy my Chicken Dump Recipes book which includes 25 recipes divided into 5 plans. Each plan comes with printable grocery lists and printable labels. Read the list of included recipes.

You can also purchase both the Beef Dump Recipes and Chicken Dump Recipes together for more meal options and savings!

spinach and baby tomatoes next to a bed of rice topped with chicken
Print
Chicken Hurry
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken
Servings: 6
: 255 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. dry onion soup mix*
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place all ingredients into a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Recipe Notes

*I use an MSG-free, gluten-free dry onion soup mix

5 Chicken Dump Recipes
Print
Caribbean Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Caribbean
Keyword: Caribbean, chicken
Servings: 6
: 295 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 1 can 8 oz pineapple chunks with juice
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place chicken and all other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Print
Lemon and Garlic Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken, garlic, lemon
Servings: 6
: 280 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 2-3 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley chopped
  • 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Add the ingredients into a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

two chicken breasts on top of a bed of rice
Print
Sticky Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Cantonese
Keyword: Cantonese, chicken
Servings: 6
: 264 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce**
  • 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsp. ketchup
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Add all ingredients to a large resealable (gallon sized) freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes. 

Recipe Notes

**if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soy sauce

5 Chicken Dump Recipes
Print
Cantonese Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
 
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup melted honey
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce**
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place the chicken and other ingredients to a large resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for one hour or in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours.

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Filed Under: Cooking in the Chaos, Freezer Meals, Gluten Free Freezer Meals Tagged With: Cantonese, Caribbean, chicken, garlic, lemon, sticky

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brandi @ penguinsinpink.com says

    December 8, 2014 at 6:49 am

    What an awesome group of recipes. I’ve pinned them for later. Thanks so much for sharing.

    • Sharla says

      December 8, 2014 at 7:19 am

      Thanks Brandi!

  2. Lani @ Life Anchored says

    December 8, 2014 at 10:57 am

    You couldn’t have posted on a better day! Its grocery day and I am adding these to my shopping list!!

    • Sharla says

      December 8, 2014 at 6:49 pm

      I’m so glad! Let me know how it goes.

  3. Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says

    December 11, 2014 at 7:02 pm

    Wow you are so organized! What a great way to do so many recipes!

  4. Tammy @ TOTS Family says

    December 14, 2014 at 9:57 pm

    These are awesome! I will so try these. Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party! I’ve pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board and another board of mine!

    • Sharla says

      December 14, 2014 at 10:54 pm

      Thanks Tammy!

  5. meghan says

    December 15, 2014 at 9:40 am

    Thank you for this. Can you please post what goes with it, i.e. rice or noodles, etc.

    • Sharla says

      December 15, 2014 at 4:27 pm

      You can serve them with rice or noodles or potatoes or whatever side dishes you like!

  6. Amy says

    December 17, 2014 at 9:45 am

    How much chicken in each bag?

    • Sharla says

      December 17, 2014 at 4:02 pm

      Amy, I used 3-5 chicken breasts per bag but you can vary it depending on the size of your family. I also made some with chicken thighs and when I used thighs, I put 10-12 per bag.

      • Lori says

        November 11, 2015 at 3:58 pm

        How many pounds (about) does this translate to? I have chicken breasts that are 1 pound a breast. I *usually* do a pound per recipe, but based on seasoning and such, I wanted to see what you use.

    • Jill says

      January 11, 2015 at 8:29 pm

      How many servings are these for?

  7. Missy says

    December 17, 2014 at 9:49 am

    When you speak of breasts do you mean 3-5 full breasts or 3-5 single breasts?

    • Sharla says

      December 18, 2014 at 9:46 am

      I used single breasts but they were fairly large. Because of the nature of the recipes, the amount of chicken can be varied depending on the size of your family. Obviously, one chicken breast would leave too much sauce and ten would likely not have enough sauce, but within reason, there is room to adapt. Hope that helps.

  8. Laura says

    December 29, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    I’d love to see what these recipes look like once cooked!

  9. Michelle says

    January 4, 2015 at 9:30 am

    Where do you find the gluten-free onion soup mix???!? What brand is it??

    • Michelle says

      January 4, 2015 at 9:32 am

      These all look awesome, btw…lol. I got so distracted by the gf dry onion soup mix I forgot to address the reason for your post! HA!

    • Sharla says

      January 4, 2015 at 2:43 pm

      Michelle, there is a bulk bin store in our community that sells the MSG-free, gluten-free dry onion soup mix, but I was able to track down the name of one that is available at Amazon and added a link into the post to make it easier for people who may not be able to find it locally. The brand is Chef Swagger’s Kitchen.

      • Betsy says

        April 5, 2015 at 1:16 pm

        Publix store brand onion soup mix is also GF.

        • Sharla says

          April 6, 2015 at 2:56 pm

          Thanks for the tip!

    • ck says

      July 22, 2015 at 3:08 pm

      Typically, the store brand of onion soup mix is GF, but always reaad the label. Companies change their recipes from time to time.

  10. sarah says

    January 4, 2015 at 4:51 pm

    Are you doubling the recipe? I’m a family of 4 but my little ones will eat a half of a chicken breast each so I was thinking 3-4 breasts in each bag. So I would need 20-25 chicken breasts to make 5 meals or 40-45 breasts to make ten? Maybe I’m confused lol!

    • Sharla says

      January 4, 2015 at 7:34 pm

      Yes, to make 10 meals, I am doubling each of the 5 recipes. If you used 3-4 breasts in each bag, you would need 40-45 to make 10. It’s great for when you find a really good sale on chicken!

      • Sarah says

        January 5, 2015 at 7:40 pm

        Thank you!

    • Tammy says

      January 6, 2015 at 6:38 am

      Another option is to put a couple of extras in each bag to provide leftovers for you and your husband for lunch the next day. One less meal to worry about what to eat. 🙂 I can even envision using the Lemon and Garlic chicken the next day in a salad to add a little variety.

      • Sharla says

        January 6, 2015 at 6:50 am

        That’s a great plan Tammy! When we have one or two chicken breasts leftover, I often cut them up and use whatever leftover sauce there was plus any leftover veggies and rice to make a soup with so that it stretches it into another entire meal. Here are the recipes for the leftover soup: https://www.thechaosandtheclutter.com/archives/soups-using-leftovers/

  11. Suzanne Auten says

    January 5, 2015 at 9:45 am

    Which one of these recipes do you think would be best with boneless chicken thighs? Thanks!

    • Sharla says

      January 5, 2015 at 10:54 am

      Chicken Hurry is my favourite of these recipes. I will be publishing a follow up post with 5 more chicken dump recipes later this week and that one will have another one that is especially good when using chicken thighs.

  12. Kescherer says

    January 5, 2015 at 11:19 am

    Thanks for the idea! Sounds like my mom, just put all the ingredients together and throw in the oven at 350.

  13. Shalene says

    January 5, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    I was just wondering how people these meals feed. We are a family of five and often feed the Missionaries from our church which can add an additional 2-4 people sometimes.

    • Sharla says

      January 5, 2015 at 1:31 pm

      You may have to adjust the chicken portions to accommodate for a larger crowd. Our girls eat less than one chicken breast each but our boys eat one each. There is enough sauce in each recipe that even if you added 7 chicken breasts, the recipe would still work. I hope that helps. If you felt that you needed to add 10 chicken breasts to feed your family and guests, I would suggest doubling the other ingredients.

  14. Julie says

    January 5, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    Do you have to thaw them before cooking or are you putting them in the crockpot/oven frozen?

    • Julie says

      January 5, 2015 at 2:00 pm

      Sorry! I just noticed the direction to “thaw first!”

      • Sharla says

        January 5, 2015 at 2:44 pm

        No problem! Hope they work out well for you!

        • Ariana says

          January 13, 2015 at 11:04 am

          Can you place them in frozen and double the cook time?

          • Debra says

            February 3, 2015 at 1:37 pm

            I’m also curious, if I had more time, and just put the contents into the crock pot fully frozen then added more time, do you have a recommendation of how much more time to add?

          • Tammy says

            July 20, 2015 at 6:33 am

            I put them in my crockpot frozen on low in the morning, when I get home they are perfectly done. Thanks for the recipes!

  15. Joanne Kehoe says

    January 6, 2015 at 11:57 am

    Can you explain what soya is and where I can find it. Thank you

    • Sharla says

      January 6, 2015 at 3:19 pm

      Soya sauce is made from soy beans and can be found in the Asian food aisle in most grocery stores.

    • Lil Hargrave says

      January 6, 2015 at 9:13 pm

      Soya sauce is known to some of us as simply “Soy Sauce”. La Choy is one brand of soy sauce.

    • megan says

      March 19, 2015 at 9:18 pm

      I was wondering if you meant soy sauce or if you actually meant soya sauce. Soya sauce is sweeter than soy sauce so I wanted to verify if possible. Thank you.

      • Sharla says

        March 22, 2015 at 1:35 pm

        Soy sauce works best.

  16. Melanie Sleeman says

    January 6, 2015 at 5:57 pm

    Just a quick Question, when you say pop in the oven at 350 do you mean Celsius or Fahrenheit?
    Thanks for sharing. xoxoxo

    • Melody says

      January 7, 2015 at 10:15 pm

      I would guess 350 is Fahrenheit because 350 Celsius would be wayyy too hot and 350 F is standard baking temp for most things.

  17. Haley Hollan Hernandez says

    January 6, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    This is awesome! I have 4 kids at home and three of them teenagers. This would make things easy to cook when I am having a busy day where the kids have appts and such I can turn it on after the kids leave and will be done at dinner time in the crock pot. One question though what size pot would you need for this because I would have to cook double batches????

    • Lauri says

      July 16, 2015 at 7:50 pm

      I adjust recipes to fit with my taste and diet. Fruit is healthy and it seems to me a few tablespoons of ketchup or honey with 6 chicken breasts is not excessive.

  18. Séverine says

    January 7, 2015 at 2:32 am

    Lots of sugar in your meals (ketchup, orange, raisin, pineapple…). Not so healthy.

    • Sharla says

      January 7, 2015 at 9:40 am

      Severine, It’s true that there is sugar in some of the ingredients but these meals obviously aren’t designed for people who have chosen to cut sugar out of their diets. Consider a family where the mom often goes through the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant because she just doesn’t have time to cook supper. If she makes these meals instead and serves them with a salad or vegetables on the side, not only is this healthier than fast food, her family will also all be sitting together around a table instead of eating in a vehicle which is very important.

      • Kitty says

        January 11, 2015 at 1:24 pm

        I’m delighted to have found your site today, but I agree sugar is something I would never add to a meal. My field of study, my business and my passion is healthy living, and sugar is the #3 destroyer of good health (#1 tobacco, #2 alcohol). It’s easy enough to just eliminate the added sugar and the processed ingredients, such as ketchup…I have no problem squeezing fresh orange juice into a dish or a few drops of stevia, if sweetness is required. I haven’t used a crock pot, I generally prepare everything fresh, BUT recently I have FAR less time and will gladly, and gratefully, try out your suggestions! The Lemon Garlic chicken meets my criteria! Thank you so much!

        • Kenzi says

          April 25, 2015 at 6:12 am

          Sugar (sucrose) and fruit sugar (fructose) are very different. There is nothing wrong with adding raisins or pineapple, and you can easily make substitutions for the rest (Maybe agave syrup instead of sugar, make your own homemade ketchup, etc). The recipes are GENIUS! And we all can adapt them to our own preferences. 😉

  19. Lee Ann L. says

    January 7, 2015 at 7:53 am

    I love this idea! I am going to try making one recipe of each and see if we like them first. I think we will because they sound simple and delicious. And yes, your reader is correct. It crock pot bags must cleanup much easier as long as a hole doesn’t get into the bag itself! 🙂 I am going to have to find ketchup that agrees with me and I with it (as I cannot have HFCS along with a few other ingredients).

  20. Heather says

    January 7, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    Crock pot liners are the way to go!!! No more scrubbing out cooked on food. Made by Reynolds. Here’s their site. Can be found in most grocery stores and places such as Walmart. http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/products/slow-cooker-liners/

    • Kitty says

      January 11, 2015 at 1:27 pm

      You guys ROCK!! I have learned so much here today! Just clicked the link and now know what I’m looking for in the way of liners! A whole new world has opened up to me…thank you!!

    • Jean says

      April 24, 2015 at 2:01 pm

      When I’m prepping crockpot freezer meals, I put the liner in the crock of the crockpot to hold it so it stays open. Add ingredients to the crockpot liner, twist and secure with a twist tie. Load the liner in a labeled freezer bag. This allows me to keep some ingredients separate from others if desired. I thaw in the fridge and then load the filled liner in the crockpot and come home to deliciousness! The liners need the protection of the freezer bag to hold up against the other frozen items in the freezer.

  21. Chrissy says

    January 7, 2015 at 3:22 pm

    Can I cook these directly from frozen?

    • Chrissy says

      January 7, 2015 at 3:24 pm

      Nevermind… I just saw in the directions and the comments that they have to be thawed first… I wonder if you could cook from frozen and just cook longer in the crock pot…

      • Sharla says

        January 7, 2015 at 3:37 pm

        I would think you could but would recommend that if you do that, you check with a meat thermometer before serving to make sure that the internal temperature is high enough to be safe to eat.

  22. pianomom1 says

    January 7, 2015 at 8:13 pm

    Thank you for sharing. I teach piano later into the evening, so I always like my older sons/husband to be able to eat before I get off of work. Crockpot meals are my best option, but I love variety. Some folks are going low glycemic, but for the average family, natural fruit sugars that are included are a great healthy option, and not unhealthy at all.

  23. angela says

    January 7, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    Hi,
    Just wondering if you cook these in the oven if you cover with tin foil or not? Also if you had pictures of the finished product that would be awesome! My sister, my mom and I make freezer meals about every 2-3 months….we made 36 meals today and used 2 of these recipes, thanks! I hope they turn out yummy!

    • Julia says

      April 22, 2015 at 10:55 am

      To Angela, if you get back to this website, what other meals did you make for the freezer, you listed 36 meals made.. I would love to learn more ideas to make some for my parents’ freezer. Thanks if you can.

  24. Shawna says

    January 8, 2015 at 2:16 pm

    Have you made any of these recipes with bone in chicken? If so, thoughts on how the taste compared and how the cooking times changed?
    Thanks bunches- these sound delicious!

    • Sharla says

      January 8, 2015 at 2:54 pm

      Shawna,

      I’ve never tried them with bone-in chicken as my kids aren’t fans of anything that reminds them that the chicken used to be, well, a chicken! I’m not sure how to adjust the times for that but I think Google would have an answer for you on how to adjust the cooking time. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out.

  25. Sarah says

    January 8, 2015 at 4:16 pm

    Do you usually serve these over rice? on bread as sandwiches? over noodles?

    • Sharla says

      January 8, 2015 at 5:29 pm

      I often serve them with rice or potatoes and vegetables or a salad on the side. Some of the saucier ones (like the Chicken Hurry) we like to serve with rice because the sauce is great on rice.

      • Kitty says

        January 11, 2015 at 1:31 pm

        Trader Joe’s has a great frozen, organic brown rice that cooks in 3-minutes in the microwave!

  26. Janet says

    January 8, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    Good suggestion of using liners! Recipes sound good, looking forward to trying them out.

    • Sharla says

      January 8, 2015 at 5:27 pm

      Thanks Janet!

  27. Paula says

    January 9, 2015 at 8:04 am

    When placing in the crockpot, do you let the bag of ingredients thaw out first or put it in frozen? Love the recipes, thanks so much !

    • Sharla says

      January 9, 2015 at 9:33 am

      Paula, You thaw the bags prior to dumping the ingredients into the crock pot.

  28. Eva says

    January 9, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    Hi
    These are amazing recipes! Thanks! I am definitely going to use them! 😀
    Did you use light or dark soy sauce?

  29. Maria says

    January 9, 2015 at 3:42 pm

    Do these come out better in the oven or crock pot?

    • Sharla says

      January 10, 2015 at 10:53 am

      I find that they are more moist when cooked in the oven but usually end up making them in the crock pot just for convenience sake.

  30. Angela says

    January 10, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    Soya sauce?

    • Dave says

      January 10, 2015 at 5:41 pm

      Angela, just plain old Chinese Soy Sauce (some might say “liquid salt”, but it adds a lot more than salt to the flavor.)

      On thawing, I’d suggest popping the flat, frozen slab out of the bag first, and thawing in the pan you’ll cook in; won’t lose any good sauce that way! And I have cooked frozen meals in the crock pot/slow cooker easily. Over 4-6 hours, it makes little difference.

  31. Andrea says

    January 10, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    Have you ever (and/or can you) put potatoes to the crockpot with the chicken?

    • Sharla says

      January 10, 2015 at 8:37 pm

      Andrea,
      I have never done it, but I know there are slow cooker recipes for roasts and such where the potatoes and carrots go straight in there with the meat, so I would think you could.

  32. Cristi says

    January 10, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    I’m gone longer than 4-6 hrs during the day. Would I be able to put everything in frozen and cook on low 6 or 7 hrs?

  33. Veronica says

    January 11, 2015 at 8:06 am

    If I don’t have crockpot liners I spray or wipe the inside of the crockpot with olive oil

    • Sharla says

      January 11, 2015 at 1:17 pm

      Thanks for the tip Veronica!

    • Susan says

      March 20, 2015 at 6:17 pm

      Wonderful idea; I am always scrubbing the slow cooker. I am definitely going to use these recipes. Thanks.

  34. Joanna says

    January 12, 2015 at 8:03 am

    Hi! When you say pop it in the oven at 350, do you mean just throw it in a baking dish? Do you need it covered or anything? Thanks!

    (Obvious newb here – used to doing everything “old fashioned” and really want to learn these new tricks!)

    • Sharla says

      January 13, 2015 at 7:37 am

      Yes, pour it from the bag into a baking dish and then put it into a preheated 350° oven. I keep them covered because then there is more sauce as it doesn’t evaporate. Hope that helps!

  35. Mandi Deputy says

    January 12, 2015 at 11:38 am

    How many people do these recipes feed? I’ve got 5 kids and 3 of them are teen age boys! Do I need to double the recipes?

    • Sharla says

      January 13, 2015 at 8:16 am

      If your boys eat as much as mine do, I would suggest that you double the recipes! You can always use the leftover chicken to make soup and stretch it further into another meal.

  36. Jackie says

    January 12, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    I have used the slow cooker liners and LOVE them. They are perfect for any recipe that does not require stirring. Stirring can create tears and then the purpose for the liners is defeated. Thanks for the recipes!

  37. Lynn says

    January 13, 2015 at 9:52 am

    Once you thaw out the bag to put in the crockpot do you find that there extra liquid from thawing the chicken?

    • Sharla says

      January 13, 2015 at 3:16 pm

      Lynn, I don’t find that there is too much liquid even once thawed.

  38. Lynn says

    January 13, 2015 at 9:55 am

    One more quick question and forgive me if its been asked or I missed it somewhere. Each recipe makes 1 bag correct?

    • Sharla says

      January 13, 2015 at 3:15 pm

      Yes, each recipe makes one bag.

  39. Lori says

    January 13, 2015 at 11:26 am

    The Sticky Chicken doesn’t have crock pot instructions only for the oven. It can still be thrown in crock rights?

    • Sharla says

      January 13, 2015 at 3:15 pm

      I’ve never put the Sticky Chicken in the oven and the sauce it has is thicker than the others so I would suggest adding maybe a few Tbsp. of water if you’re going to cook it in the crock pot just so that it doesn’t dry out.

  40. Julie says

    January 15, 2015 at 9:42 am

    Do you thaw them before cooking?

    • Sharla says

      January 15, 2015 at 1:14 pm

      Yes.

  41. Cat says

    January 15, 2015 at 6:17 pm

    Thank you! One of goals this year is to start making “freezer meals” , and these not only sound yummy, they are simple and don’t call for outlandish ingredients I would never buy or have on hand. What a great place to start. 🙂

  42. Kacie says

    January 17, 2015 at 2:23 pm

    Do the ingredients above make enough for 2 bags each? Or is that enough for one bag & we can double the recipe to get 2 bags? Thanks!

    • Kacie says

      January 17, 2015 at 2:24 pm

      Nevermind, I just found the answer above!

  43. Lisa says

    January 17, 2015 at 11:19 pm

    Wow! You rocked my monthly scrapbooking dinner tonight with the Caribbean chicken and Lemon and Garlic chicken. I pulled out my 2 crock pots Friday night and dumped in 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs into each. Then I dumped in the rest of the ingredients and put them in the fridge. In the morning I took them out of the fridge and transported them to scrapbooking. I turned them on around 11 and boy did the room start smelling wonderful in about 2 hours! By 4:30, all the ladies were in heaven! Both dishes were absolutely wonderful!!
    I will be trying the other 3 recipes very soon!
    Do you have any suggestions as a substitute for the soy sauce. I have a lady in my scrapbooking group who is allergic to soy!
    Thank you!

    • Lisa says

      January 17, 2015 at 11:23 pm

      I love crock pot liners!! They are the only way to go!

    • Sharla says

      January 18, 2015 at 8:09 pm

      I’m so glad to hear this! Before our last two kids joined our family, I used to go on regular scrapbook retreats. I miss it.

      I’ll research the soy sauce substitute and get back to you as soon as I find out. I have something in mind but since it’s an allergy, I want to research it a bit and be certain.

    • Judy says

      February 24, 2015 at 12:02 pm

      Coconut aminos is a great substitute for soy sauce. Amazon and Vitacost both carry it if you aren’t able to find it at your local store.
      For anyone concerned about the amount of sugar used in these recipes, homemade ketchup is simple enough to make, and honey can be used as the sweetener in it, which would eliminate the HFC you would normally find in store bought ketchup. The recipe that calls for brown sugar would probably work fine if you substitute coconut sugar.

      • Sharla says

        February 25, 2015 at 9:34 am

        Thank you for the tips Judy!

  44. Patty says

    January 20, 2015 at 6:20 am

    is it ok to thaw frozen chicken for these, then add ingredients, and freeze once more? They all sound amazing.

    • Sharla says

      January 20, 2015 at 11:24 am

      If you’re going to use frozen chicken, I would recommend assembling with the other ingredients while the chicken is still frozen so that you aren’t thawing and re-freezing it. Just put the frozen chicken in each bag and add the rest of the ingredients.

  45. Dave Riddle says

    January 20, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    I’ve made two of these so far and will be making the other 8 over the next two weeks.

    The Hurry Chicken was quite good while the Sticky Chicken was pretty bland. I would recommend adding 1 tsp of Salt, 2 Tb of Sriracha and serve the dish with a sprinkling of chopped Cilantro and a wedge of Lime to squeeze on top. I made versions of my “No Stir” risotto to serve along side.

    For the side served with the Sticky Chicken I used Rice Vinegar to give it a sushi rice taste and folded in shredded carrots since this dish seems to be going for a Thai/Vietnamese profile.

    Here is the Sticky Chicken along with the risotto recipe variation I used.

    http://www.davesdroppings.com/index.php/recipe/sticky-chicken/

    Here is the Chicken Hurry along with the risotto I made for it.

    http://www.davesdroppings.com/index.php/recipe/chicken-hurry/

    Both have pictures of the plated serving.

  46. Melissa says

    January 22, 2015 at 5:34 am

    My 12 year old daughter made 2 each of the 10 recipes for her aging grandparents this past week and filled their freezer with easy meals. We used chicken thighs in all the bags and have cooked all in the oven 45 minutes or so after thawing. Favorites so far are Cindy’s chicken and Lemon Mustard chicken. THANK YOU! Such a blessing to find these recipes!

    • Sharla says

      January 22, 2015 at 12:45 pm

      I’m so glad to hear that you liked them! What a wonderful gift for your daughter to make for her grandparents!

  47. Jennifer says

    January 22, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    Hello~ Thank you so much for the easy recipes and directions! Can’t wait to try! I tried reading through most of the comments to see if someone else asked this and didn’t find the question so I apologize in advance if it was previously asked and answered! I was wondering by any chance if you have the grocery lists for these recipes? Also for the other chicken dump recipes you have the link to?? If not I am sure it won’t be so hard to go through and do it but if it’s already done this will be that much easier! Thank you!

    • Sharla says

      January 22, 2015 at 12:44 pm

      Jennifer, I actually have an ebook coming out this weekend that will have grocery lists for both sets of recipes as well as for the 3 other sets of recipes that are exclusive to the ebook. It also includes printable labels for all the recipes. I hope you’ll check back then!

      • Jennifer says

        January 22, 2015 at 6:44 pm

        Absolutely!! Sounds great! Will you post the link to that ebook here? (how much??) Thank you!!

        • Sharla says

          January 25, 2015 at 4:11 pm

          Jennifer, the book is now available. You can find it at https://www.thechaosandtheclutter.com/my-books/chicken-dump-recipes/ or there are a few links in the post above. It’s $7 and includes 5 plans of 5 recipes each, printable grocery lists and printable labels.

  48. Laurie says

    January 22, 2015 at 4:40 pm

    Chicken Hurry was delicious! Thanks!

  49. Tessa Reeve says

    February 1, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    Have you tried canning these recipes instead of freezing? They sound really wonderful, but my freezer is quite full. I would appreciate any feed back you can give me on this.

    • Sharla says

      February 2, 2015 at 3:40 pm

      I actually have no experience with canning anything so I have no idea but perhaps one of my other readers will be able to help you out with your question.

  50. Jamie says

    February 7, 2015 at 6:09 pm

    I love the crockpot liners, you can get them in the ziplock bag section, i wish they came in a case size so i could save some money on them…

  51. BrassyApple says

    February 19, 2015 at 3:34 pm

    Hello! Do you always leave the chicken breasts whole once the meal is done? would LOVE to see the finished product of how to serve it or what it looks like when it’s done. Do you have finished pics in the ebook?

    • Sharla says

      February 20, 2015 at 10:02 am

      I almost always leave the chicken breasts whole except for the few recipes (in the book) that call for shredding them. I’ve had several people express interest in seeing pictures of the recipes once they are cooked so I will be taking some the next time I cook one but that will be a few weeks yet. We are on a huge road trip at the moment so no cooking is happening here!

      Here is a link to one recipe that’s in the book where you can see an “after” picture. https://www.thechaosandtheclutter.com/archives/freezer-crock-pot-chicken-taco-soup/

      I hope that helps a little bit.

  52. Karen says

    March 31, 2015 at 9:27 am

    I am looking to make some freezer meals for my mom and her husband. They cannot use the stove or oven so I was wondering if it is possible to cook the meals for them and then freeze them. That way all they would have to do is thaw and warm in microwave.

    • Sharla says

      March 31, 2015 at 4:29 pm

      You can absolutely cook the meals first and then freeze them for reheating. I’d suggest if you’re cooking them for just two people, that you divide them into smaller portions.

      Alternatively, they could cook the meals themselves in the crock pot, but I do think for this situation, your idea of cooking the meals ahead and freezing them would work best. I’m sure this gift will really help them.

      • Kenzi says

        April 25, 2015 at 5:34 am

        That is such a nice thing to do Karen! If you can cook the meals for them in a weekly basis you don’t need to freeze them, just stock them in the fridge. It will be easier/faster for them to reheat in the microwave. If you have to freeze them try to make the frozen bags as flat as possible, so they thaw easier/quicker than they would if it was a big frozen chunk of food. Let us know how it went!

  53. dee says

    April 15, 2015 at 11:01 am

    I can’t believe the stupid questions being asked! Common sense people!!!

  54. Lavirene says

    April 17, 2015 at 5:36 am

    Is it okay to cook food inside those plastics? And will it stick to the oven? I am rather primitive in this era.. ._.

    • Kenzi says

      April 25, 2015 at 5:26 am

      Instead of cooking it inside the plastic bag, you should “dupm” the thawed ingredients inside the “crock pot” or “slow cooker” but not the oven. It’s great that you are learning new ways to cook!

  55. AH says

    April 22, 2015 at 11:06 am

    Can you elaborate on your thawing procedure?
    How long is enough, etc?
    Do you pull it out of the freezer the night before?
    I have cooked frozen breasts in the Crock pot but it takes all day.
    I wonder if you just added the entirety of the freezer bad frozen and double the cooking time if that would suffice.

    • AH says

      April 22, 2015 at 11:07 am

      **freezer bag (sorry)

      • kath says

        April 23, 2015 at 2:33 pm

        can’t wait to try some of these but I am also wondering about how long it takes to thaw?? just pull it out of the freezer the night before u want to make it??

        • Jean says

          April 24, 2015 at 2:10 pm

          I either pull them out 2 days before or if I do it the night before, I put the bag in a bowl of water in the fridge. They aren’t always completely thawed, but I worry about my crockpot cracking if I have a frozen chunk and a warming/hot crockpot. The hot/cold combination could crack the crock.

          • chanda says

            August 14, 2015 at 7:46 am

            i have put frozen food in my crockpot all the time no worries… you will be fine

  56. Sarah says

    April 23, 2015 at 11:59 pm

    When you say to put the Chicken Dump ingredients in a crock pot, do they need additional liquid?

    • Sharla says

      April 24, 2015 at 11:47 am

      No additional liquid needed.

  57. ShamCole says

    April 26, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    I’m just clarifying, but you mentioned using MSG/Gluten Free onion soup mix and posted a link in one of your first recipes. However, the link went to an Amazon page for Chef Swagger’s Kitchen soup mix and “Hydrolyzed Soy Protein” and “Natural Flavoring” are both listed on the label of ingredients – both of those ARE MSG. Just fyi… Maybe I’m missing something, but just be aware, just because a label doesn’t say MSG or Monosodium Glutamate, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. There are well over 90 different names for MSG so if you’re trying to avoid it, I would recommend making your own soup mix 🙂 I get my recipe from Heavenly Homemakers blog.

  58. lgcanuck says

    April 27, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    Do you think I could use pork tenderloin instead of chicken?

  59. TDotWitch says

    May 4, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    I have never in my life met any Caribbean person who has made what you’re calling Caribbean chicken. I’ve also never seen it on any Caribbean restaurant menu. We make curry chicken with yellow curry and we make stewed chicken. Not to be confused with chicken stew.

  60. Noreen says

    May 9, 2015 at 3:31 pm

    Thanks for the chicken recipes! I have a few recipes like this, but it’s always nice to have more.

  61. Laura says

    May 9, 2015 at 7:51 pm

    Love these! I’m a huge fan of freezer meals. Thanks for sharing with the Frugal Family linky!

  62. Helen @ Witty Hoots says

    May 14, 2015 at 4:52 am

    Thank you for sharing on last week’s Frugal Family Linky. Your post has been featured on this weeks Frugal Family Linky via Witty Hoots. Hope to see you sharing again soon and do pop back to grab your ‘I’ve Been Featured’ badge too!

  63. Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says

    May 14, 2015 at 5:10 pm

    I have found these are good to have on hand when I’m not going to be home at dinner time and the crock pot won’t work. Hubby can dump it in a pan and turn the oven on. Thanks for posting. Hello from Frugal Family Linky.

  64. Kristie says

    June 30, 2015 at 6:08 am

    I love this idea! I have always been a little intimidated by freezer cooking, but I can handle this!

  65. Alyssa says

    July 2, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    Hi there! I was just curious if your Chicken Dump and Beef Dump Recipe books have a kindle version? I briefly looked but didn’t see anything. Thanks so much, all of these recipes sound awesome!

    • Sharla says

      July 3, 2015 at 8:51 am

      The formatting for the Kindle versions is being worked on right now as a matter of fact! They should both be available on Kindle soon and will also be available on CreateSpace (paperback). Thanks for asking!

  66. Diane says

    July 13, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    Do you use raw chicken and combine all the ingredients prior to freezing? Or do you cook the chicken and then put all of the ingredients together before freezing?

    • Sharla says

      July 13, 2015 at 2:22 pm

      Diane, you add the chicken to the bags raw.

  67. Jennifer @ The Jenny Evolution says

    July 19, 2015 at 12:25 pm

    Im going through repinning last year’s best posts and I’m also pinning this to my personal must-do board.. I’ve got to do this! Thanks for such a great post.

    Jennifer @ The Jenny Evolution

    • Sharla says

      July 19, 2015 at 4:07 pm

      Thanks Jennifer. (I also have a Beef Dump one now and “more” chicken dump recipes one if you’re looking for more recipe ideas!)

  68. Kelly says

    August 31, 2015 at 2:15 pm

    Hi! So, I buy Chicken breasts in bulk (single breasts) and they’re huge. Almost a lb each. Is that the size of the chicken breasts that you’re using?

    • Sharla says

      August 31, 2015 at 5:18 pm

      I usually use a TOTAL of about 2 or 2 1/2 lbs. of chicken per recipe so I would say the ones you are using are much larger than what I use. Hope that helps!

  69. Bill says

    September 25, 2015 at 11:33 am

    I would be putting 3 chicken breast in each bag. does that mean I split the other ingredients in half to get 2 dinners of each, or I have to double the ingredients?
    Thank you for all these recipes.

    • Sharla says

      September 25, 2015 at 2:13 pm

      If you are making two bags, you will be doubling the ingredients. Happy cooking!

  70. Nikki Hartline says

    October 13, 2015 at 11:55 am

    I am planning to do a few of these recipes for my Mom. She is almost totally blind and has a hard time cooking. But these appear to be things that we (my brothers & I, plus her in home helper) could set up in advance and she would still feel like she is making her own meals. Since her independence is very important to her, these seem like these will please her.

    • Sharla says

      October 13, 2015 at 7:03 pm

      That sounds like a great idea! I hope it goes well for you.

  71. Angela Lewis says

    January 9, 2016 at 9:14 pm

    I have read your comments. Do you cook the chicken first and cut the breast and then put in the bag to freeze?

    • Angela Lewis says

      January 9, 2016 at 9:16 pm

      I found my answer.

    • Melissa Evans says

      January 27, 2016 at 12:20 pm

      I also need to know this lol

  72. Tally says

    February 6, 2016 at 8:38 am

    Love this info, yesterday I made mine, thanks so much!!!

  73. Yiskah says

    February 25, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    So far I’ve tried the sticky chicken and the hurry chicken and the cantonese chicken is in the crock pot as I type. Smells delicious. I use a whole chicken cut into 8 with bones in and it works fine. The whole family loves these recipes, and they’re super easy, and easy to manipulate to personal preferences.
    Thank you so much for sharing

    • Sharla says

      February 26, 2016 at 12:31 am

      I’m so glad to hear that you are enjoying them!

  74. Natalie says

    June 21, 2016 at 8:42 am

    What is the best way to buy all this chicken? I usually buy a pack of 3 full chicken breasts from the grocery store, but that is really going to add up with these recipes. Should I buy several of the “family packs” at Kroger? Are there better stores to try like Aldi, or Gordon Food Service (we don’t have a Costco or Sam’s Club in town). Thanks for your help!

    • Sharla says

      June 23, 2016 at 8:24 am

      Hey Natalie. I’m hoping that someone else will chime in with an answer for you because I’m not going to be much help on this one. I live in Canada so we don’t have Aldi’s, Kroger or Gordon Food Service where I am. We have a few grocery stores here that are probably similar. On the first Tuesday of every month, the stores offer 15% off groceries so I buy family packs then. I also look for sales. Sometimes they have large boxes that are buy one, get one free and I stock up. We do have a Costco and I do sometimes buy the chicken from there (I compare prices), especially if I’m using chicken thighs.

      I’m hoping one of my American readers can pop in and give you some suggestions specific to the stores in your area.

    • Jetuan Range says

      August 11, 2016 at 7:49 pm

      Kroger can be OK if you catch them on sale. Have you tried Walmart? Do you have a Food Depot where you are? That would be the best place I think. (Food Depot)

  75. Jetuan Range says

    August 11, 2016 at 7:46 pm

    Can I split the chicken with both breasts and thighs. If so would you change the sauce ingredients at all?

    • Sharla says

      August 14, 2016 at 5:20 pm

      Yes, you can use both breasts and thighs and the sauce ingredients stay exactly the same.

  76. Linda says

    August 27, 2016 at 8:52 pm

    Great recipes! Just found you and pinned! I would like to start in morning before leaving for work so crockpot would be on for about 8.5 hours…..most recipes say 4-6 on low. Any suggestions? If I throw in frozen chicken breasts would this help add time to crockpot? Thank you for your help!

    • Sharla says

      September 20, 2016 at 10:26 am

      Adding the chicken breasts frozen will require adding more time. It also depends on your crock pot. Older crock pots (more than say 15 years old) cook at much lower temperatures and so if you have an older crock pot, you can leave the recipes in there for 8 hours). If your crock pot has a “Keep Warm” button, the recipes can cook on that the whole time and cook for longer or you can find crock pots that have timers on them so you can set the thawing meal in it before you leave for work and it can start cooking at the right time. Hopefully one of these options will work for you.

  77. Diane Koerner says

    December 29, 2016 at 10:14 am

    These are amazing, I love easy and tasty. I love cooking but a lot of times I’m so tired when I get home from work that the crockpot is the way to go (not to mention how nice the house smells when I come in). I also love the crockpot liners. I use them for everything. Especially the buffalo dip that is so nasty to clean up. Take care.

  78. Allison says

    February 2, 2017 at 4:29 pm

    Has anyone tried these in the instant pot?

  79. donna says

    April 24, 2017 at 7:59 am

    Love the post, but I wonder if you might suggest some sides that would go well with these chicken recipes, like the sticky chicken, etc.

  80. Steph says

    May 4, 2017 at 10:32 am

    I am having a hard time finding soya sauce ….. my local food stores don’t carry it. Where did you find it?
    And thanks for posting these recipes! Can’t wait to try them.

    • Sharla says

      May 4, 2017 at 12:56 pm

      It’s also called soy sauce. Check the asian section of your local grocery store. Hope that helps!

  81. Lisa says

    September 21, 2017 at 5:11 pm

    What size slow cooker do you use?

    (I have 4 different sizes.)

  82. Kimberlin says

    February 28, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    What is Soya sauce? Is that a brand of soy sauce? I have not heard of it so maybe it’s a regional thing.

    • Sharla Kostelyk says

      March 1, 2018 at 2:55 pm

      Same thing as soy sauce.

Trackbacks

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