Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
Slow-cooker chicken thighs provide tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken with hearty vegetables and a flavor-rich sauce for the perfect comfort food. The flawless balance of herbs and spices, celery, carrots, and potatoes will make any day much brighter. Wind down and enjoy the delicious aroma that greets you as you walk in the door.
I’m always putting my slow cooker to good use. There’s something super comforting about putting everything together, taking off for the day, and coming home to the tantalizing smells of dinner ready to go on the table. And slow cookers are also great for transporting food and keeping it warm for gatherings.
Recently, I’ve been cranking it up for this super-easy slow-cooker chicken thigh recipe. Hearty vegetables (celery, carrots, and potatoes) make it a complete one-pot meal. What a lifesaver!
An Amazing Slow-Cooker Recipe
The wonderful thing about slow cookers is that you can throw everything in the pot as is. Yes, you can put your meat in raw. However, it tastes a touch better if you sear your chicken or meat before adding it.
Chicken thighs in a slow cooker are especially good. Since they have higher fat content and are a well-used muscle, they get much more tender when slow-cooked. And that allows your seasonings to penetrate down to the bone. Yum!
How to Slow Cook Chicken Thighs
- Prep the Chicken – Prepare the chicken thighs by trimming excess skin and fat, washing, and patting them dry. Season both sides of the thighs with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Seasonings – Add the dry ingredients to a small mixing bowl: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Then generously season the chicken with the mix on both sides. (Photos 1-2)
- Sear Chicken – Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large cast-iron skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken skin-side down. Sear until golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Transfer to a clean plate. (Photo 3)
- Assemble – Put the celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic in a 6-quart slow cooker, and place the seared chicken on top of the vegetables. Then add the herbs. Then add the chicken on top. (Photos 4-5)
- Make the Roux – Melt butter in the same cast-iron pan you seared the chicken, and then add flour. Mix well until the flour is fully incorporated into the oil, 1-2 minutes. (Photo 6)
- Finish the Gravy – Next, add chicken broth and continue stirring until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to your preference, then pour the sauce into the slow cooker. (Photos 7-8)
- Slow Cook It – Cover the slow cooker and simmer (2-4 hours on the High setting or 4-6 hours on the Low setting) until the chicken and potatoes are tender. (Photos 9-10)
- Serve – Transfer the chicken, vegetables, and some sauce to serving plates. Garnish with herbs if desired and serve.
Recipe Variations
- A beef stew made the same way is fantastic. Replace the chicken thighs with stew beef cut into 2-inch cubes, and have at it. (You could also make it with pork.)
- While celery, carrots, and potatoes are the classic veggies in this recipe, you could also use green beans, cabbage, peas, tomato paste, etc. Let your imagination go wild. 😉
- Spice Swap – You could give this a Mediterranean flair with cumin, coriander, ginger, and smoked paprika, and add a can of chickpeas and some olives toward the end.
Tips and Tricks
- Giving the bottom of your slow cooker a spritz of cooking oil before loading it up will reduce sticking.
- Put the hardest, slowest cooking veggies on the bottom. For example, put your carrots and potatoes in before the celery.
- Take advantage of cheap cuts of meat for your slow cooker because they have the most flavor, and the slow cooker makes them fall-off-the-bone tender.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
This incredible chicken thigh recipe for a slow cooker is ideal for making ahead. I love doubling the recipe, so I have enough to freeze, too. You can refrigerate it for four days or freeze it for three months.
FAQs
Low and slow, if you have the time, will always be my answer. An internal temperature of 175℉/80℃ gives you well-cooked thighs, but 195℉/90℃ is even better.
Yes, it is. Even though you’re cooking your chicken at a lower temperature, it’s still hot enough to kill any unwanted bacteria. While searing your chicken adds a layer of flavor, throwing everything in the pot raw does save time.
Yes, they do. But they’re also juicier than boneless. So the extra 20 minutes they take is worth the wait.
What to Serve With Juicy Chicken Thighs
This one-pot wonder is wonderful on its own, but also goes great with a few sides and a dessert. Cucumber and onion salad, yellow squash casserole, and butter biscuits are good examples. Lemon pound cake is the perfect dessert.
More Mouthwatering Slow Cooker Recipes to Try
This blog post was originally published in May 2015 and has been updated with a new recipe, tips, and photos.
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs
- 4-6 chicken thighs (skin-on and bone-in)
- 1 teaspoon (5-6g) salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon (2-3g) freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon (1.5g) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (2.5g) onion powder
- 1 teaspoon (3-4g) paprika
- 1 teaspoon (5g) Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
- 4 ounces (113g) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
The Veggies
- 2-3 stalks celery, cut in 2-inch pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
- 8 ounces (227g) red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken thighs by trimming excess skin and fat, washing, and patting dry. Season both sides of the thighs with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add all dry seasonings to a small mixing bowl: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasonings. Mix well. Generously season chicken with seasoning mix on both sides.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large cast-iron skillet. Once the oil is hot, add chicken skin-side down. Sear until golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for two more minutes. Transfer to a clean plate.
- Add celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic to your 6-quart slow cooker, then add the seared chicken on top of the vegetables. Add the herbs.
- Add butter to the same cast-iron pan, let it melt, and then add the flour. Mix well until flour is fully incorporated into the oil, 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add chicken broth and continue stirring until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper to taste, then add the sauce to the slow cooker.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook (2-4 hours on the High setting or 4-6 hours on the Low setting) until the chicken and potatoes are tender.
- Transfer the chicken, vegetables, and some sauce to serving plates. Garnish with herbs if desired and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- Giving the bottom of your slow cooker a spritz of cooking oil before loading it up will reduce sticking.
- Put the hardest, slowest cooking veggies on the bottom. For example, put your carrots and potatoes in before the celery.
- Take advantage of cheap cuts of meat for your slow cooker. They have the most flavor, and the slow cooker makes them fall-off-the-bone tender.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
