Slow Cooker Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
Slow Cooker Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken — An incredibly rich-in-flavor all time Jamaican classic- Jamaican Brown Chicken Sauce right in your slow cooker.

Ok …so I know it’s not exactly pull out the crock-pot weather for some folks but I just can’t help but share this slow cooker brown stewed chicken with you. There is so much to love here. I can’t begin to tell you how much am in love with this brown stew chicken. The chicken marinate alone would have you hooked from the get go. This will make your taste buds happy and true to my kind of recipes, you don’t need napkins. Because you are going to lick your fingers clean and nibble on the bones.

Nobody is watching anyways! And who cares if they are watching. They will quickly follow your lead before the meal is over. Can you tell I have tons of experience in this domain? Grab a seat while I tell you about this classic Jamaican Brown stew. Chicken on the bone is marinated with an aromatic blend of spices (ginger, garlic, thyme, pepper, green onions, overnight (preferably) browned to enhance its flavor, then slowly simmered in a fragrant sauce of garlic, herbs, bell peppers, ketchup, onions. Yep! Really tasty! It’s straightforward and a snap to put together. Don’t be deterred by the ingredients.

Traditionally, it is made with whole parts of chicken.However, I prefer chicken thighs – ease of preparation, rich meaty flavor and most important they can easily withstand the longer cooking time and emerge meltingly tender.
If you don’t own a slow cooker, you can always make this on stove top too, it’s just that easy and practical. Just follow the same instructions and instead of adding everything into the pot, you add some stock, bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it simmer. Easy! Pair it with this rice and peas or this coconut rice and you are all set. Want a quicker version? Check out this brown stew chicken here.
Celebrate this Holiday Season with this Sorrel drink here.
Tips and Notes:
- When adding chicken, it is a great idea to brown the chicken first, for a few minutes, sauté the garlic, onions stove top, before adding to the crockpot. Small step = huge flavors.
- If you want to throw everything in the crockpot and cook away, that’s fine too. I tried it and it wasn’t bad at all. But I prefer the former.
- Jamaican Browning sauce aka burnt sugar is a favorite West Indian condiment use in most households to add, sweetness and color in stews, soups, and even cakes.
- It’s available in Caribbean Markets, Wal-Mart and even some supermarkets. Don’t sweat it! You can certainly make this without burnt sugar
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”BCgvR0So” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 20:14:42 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Slow Cooker Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken” description=”Slow Cooker Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken — An incredibly rich-in-flavor all time Jamaican classic- Jamaican Brown Chicken Sauce right in your slow cooker.”]
Heat up a skillet or large sauce pan with about 2 tablespoons oil, and then brown the chicken about 3-4 minutes until chicken is golden brown Drain any excess oil from the skillet and leave about 2 Tablespoons of oil. Add onions, garlic, hot sauce, smoked paprika, and bell peppers. Stir for about 2-3 minutes until onions is translucent. Add to crockpot, deglaze pan with about ¾ cup of water/stock then add to slow cooker, together with ketchup, brown sauce and any remaining marinade from the chicken. Cover and cook on high for about 3-4 hours.
Are you on Instagram? Then join me for a visual feast of tasty recipes.
Thanks for this recipe! It was really delicious. I used chicken seasoning instead of salt as I used chicken stock which is already quite salty. So easy to make! Thank you!
Awesome! Glad it worked out well for you.
What size crock-pot did you use?
I used a 7 quart . 5 quart would work as well
Great recipe! Easy to make and very tasty!
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know
This is, in a word, amazing. It’s the second time I’ve made it in a month. My husband was over the moon with this recipe. I paired it with your rice and peas. Oh, that sauce!! I just finished off our third day of leftovers and they were as tasty as Day 1. I cannot wait to try out more of your recipes.
AWESOME!! So glad it worked out well for you Valerie. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Happy Holidays!!!
Making this for an office “potluck” tomorrow. I’m not using bone-in thighs, but thigh and breast meat cut down to bite size. Smells delicious and I’ve only put the chicken in the marinade!
OH My! You’re co-workers are going to love it Mike! Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
Quite right – it was a hit, lots of compliments! I liked it so much that I made it again on Saturday for dinner! Fabulous both times, thanks for sharing it!
I currently have this yummy recipe cooking in the crock pot, I am so excited to see how it turns out! My husband is a big fan of brown stew chicken and he is anxious to say the least! Its also my first time making brown stew chicken *fingers crossed* .. going to use this wait time to look for more recipes on your site; Thank you!
Am so flattered . Thank you so much for trying out my recipes. Am working on it – only wish I had 48 hours in a day. Hopefully soon.
Hello!
I love buying brownstew chicken from the takeaways near me, but want to try it myself. Here in London it always has carrots in it. Have you cooked it in the slow cooker with carrots? Very interested to know and am going to have a go, so fingers crossed!
Hi,
Carrots or no carrots this is a win. You can’t go wrong either way.
Thank you Imma for sharing your wonderful recipes. Your blog is the first that I’ve subscribed to and I must admit that I’ve been on it daily since discovering this recipe. OMG! Delicious! Just as good or even better than the Jamaican restaurants that I’ve eaten from when I lived in Florida. I tripled the recipe and prepared it with ease as your instructions are easy to follow. Definitely a winner with the family. The flavors are so developed. Makes me feel like a grandmother prepared it which is awesome and very comforting. I think I’ll have to put all of your recipes in a hat and draw them out one at a time since there are sooo many that I’m anxious to try lol. Thank you again.
Yay!!!. Your comment put a smile on my face . Thank you so much . You are too kind Franny. Can’t wait to see what you end up drawing out of the hat – hahaha! Happy Cooking!
Just made this and it was so yummy. I’m from the UK and I couldn’t find any browning sauce in my local supermarket so i left it out, does it just add darkness to the dish?
I will definitely be doing this again.
Thanks
It adds darkness and some flavor too, but not that much.
im tryn it right now….i will let you know imma
Awesome! Can’t wait
5 stars, just made it…instant favorite! This is almost as good as the amazing Jamaican restaurant I first ordered this dish from. Along with rice and cabbage and greens. So delicious, thank you!
That’s so nice of you, David. Thank you for the wonderful feedback. Glad you like it.
So happy I found this recipe….its exactly what ma-belly wanted 🙂 I doubled the recipe because I double the chicken portion. This is a keeper, thank you for sharing. Now I just need to make it thicker and not as watery…any advice? Thank You! Dee (FL)
So happy you enjoyed it, Dee. You can use 1 tablespoon tomato paste to thicken it up. Or add about a tablespoon or two to the vegetables while you saute them and then add to the slow cooker. Hope this helps.
How Long does this recipe take to cook inside I regular stove top pot ???
About 45 minutes depending on chicken size.
Hi
Wanting to cook this recipe at the weekend.
I’m in the UK. Can you browning sauce in supermarkets and when you say ketchup is that brown or red ketchup?
Thank you
It’s red ketchup.Am not too familiar with the supermarkets in the U.K. But you would definitely find it in international markets or Caribbean markets.
Yes – awesome recipe. Ive recently been getting into my slow cooking so i’ll def give this a try. (Might also swap out the chicken for the beef)
If you do try it. Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks.
Hi Imma! I’m so excited to try this today- have been marinating the chicken since yesterday! Question, is there a reason you cook it on High for 3-4 hours versus on Low for a longer time?
None at all Nicole. Just want it to cook quicker. Feel free to cook it on low for a longer period of time. Do let me know how it work for you. Thanks !
I made this tonight. I used chicken drums but otherwise followed the recipe. It was not the taste I was aiming for, but it was definitely quite tasty. Thank u for the recipe. Question though. I saw with the oxtail u use allspice, why not with chicken, if they are both stewed?
Just a matter of preference and what I do have on hand . You can certainly add it to this brown stew chicken or any caribbean chicken meal. Glad to hear you enjoy the chicken and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Forgot the rating! Thank you again!
I can’t wait to make this recipe this week! Do you remove the skin from the chicken?
No, I don’t.
Thank you for responding so quickly! The recipe is absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again.
Made this with the rice and peas. Absolutely delicious.
AWESOME! Glad it worked out well for you!!!! Thanks for taking the time to share.
I have been eyeing this recipe for some time. I finally made it this past weekend and paired it with some veggies for ahealthier carb options. MAN oh MAN the stew came out perfect…..it is so yummy! Imma fan! (PUN INTENDED)
My mom is Kenyan so I will have to check out the other recipes for sure since she never gave me any of hers lol
AWESOME! Glad you to hear you enjoyed it. Love the fact that you paired it with veggies. Good Choice