Description
Hearty slow cooker chicken stew brings comfort straight from grandma’s kitchen to your dinner table. Rich layers of tender chicken, robust vegetables, and savory herbs create a soul-warming meal that connects you with home-style cooking in every delicious spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
Protein:
- 1.5 pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
Vegetables:
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 large potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 pound)
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
Seasonings and Liquids:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to season
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Elevate chicken thighs with a robust seasoning blend, creating a golden exterior through careful searing in olive oil over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until exterior develops a crisp, caramelized texture.
- Craft a fragrant spice mixture combining flour, thyme, rosemary, and salt, meticulously coating the browned chicken to enhance flavor complexity and create a delicate thickening agent.
- Strategically layer ingredients in the slow cooker, arranging seared chicken alongside aromatic garlic, sweet onions, hearty carrots, and substantial potato cubes, then introduce chicken broth and a singular bay leaf for depth.
- Allow slow cooker to transform ingredients, maintaining low temperature for 6-7 hours or high temperature for 3-4 hours, ensuring chicken becomes supremely tender and vegetables achieve perfect doneness.
- Introduce final flavor enhancements 30 minutes before completion by removing bay leaf, incorporating milk and vibrant green peas, gently simmering to integrate ingredients and warm frozen vegetables.
- Present the rustic stew in warm bowls, offering a comforting, farm-to-table dining experience that celebrates slow-cooked, wholesome ingredients.
Notes
- Enhance chicken flavor by marinating thighs in herbs and spices for 30 minutes before browning, allowing deeper taste penetration.
- Select bone-in chicken thighs for richer, more succulent stew texture, as bones contribute additional depth and moisture during slow cooking.
- Customize stew consistency by adjusting liquid volume – add extra broth for thinner stew or reduce liquid for thicker, heartier version.
- Create gluten-free variation by substituting regular flour with cornstarch or almond flour, maintaining same coating technique for chicken.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 hours (on Low) or 4 hours (on High)
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg