This hearty Slow Cooker Chicken Stew with carrots and potatoes is such a comforting and cozy dinner! Perfect for cold winter days.
This easy chicken stew starts on the stovetop to build amazing flavors, and then it finishes cooking in the crockpot for 4 hours until the chicken is fall-apart tender.
The weather is getting chillier already, which means it’s time to pull out my crockpot and make comfort food all season long, starting with my family’s favorite slow cooker chicken stew. I love serving it with cheddar chive biscuits or bread to soak up all the delicious gravy.
After several rounds of recipe testing, I think I finally perfected the BEST crockpot chicken stew recipe. The secret is building the flavors over the stovetop first by searing the chicken and sautéing the aromatics. I know it’s an extra step, but trust me when I say it’s worth it!
We love it so much that it has become one of our go-to dinners every winter, along with other cozy stews like my Dutch Oven Beef Stew or Spanish Chicken Stew. Also try my Slow Cooker Whole Chicken!
Jump to:
Why I Love This Recipe
- It’s a full meal on its own, with tender carrots and hearty potatoes. Pair with bread or biscuits, and dinner is served.
- SO flavorful. The trick is pre-searing everything first, and then let the slow cooker do its magic until the chicken is fall-apart tender and delicious.
- Make-ahead friendly and freezer-friendly. It’s convenient and keeps really well.
Incredibly Flavorful Crockpot Chicken Stew
I tested this recipe so many times, so that you can make the absolute BEST chicken stew at home! I tried adding everything straight to the slow cooker without any sort of searing, and also browning just the chicken – both methods fell flat and lacked flavor. But when I browned both the chicken and aromatics on the stovetop first, the results were AMAZING!
- Brown the chicken, and sauté the aromatics and veggies first. This process produces brown bits that pack tons and tons of flavor.
- Bone-in chicken thighs rather than chicken breast. The bones keep the chicken so moist and adds flavor to the entire stew. I use skin-on to make it even better (you can just remove it at the end).
- Cook on HIGH for just 4 hours. If you cook it for too long, the chicken will turn stringy.
Ingredient Notes
Below, I included a few ingredient notes from recipe testing that you find helpful, especially if you need to make a few substitutions.
- Bone-in chicken thighs: The bones add lots of flavor to the stew throughout. Thighs are also moist and tender than breasts. You can also keep the skin, which you’ll brown first – this will actually add even more flavor!
- Yellow onions and minced garlic: These aromatics are the foundation for the stew.
- Tomato paste: Adds incredible depth of flavor.
- Potatoes and carrots: Use red potatoes (quartered, or even baby potatoes) or yukon golds.
- Thyme, rosemary, bay leaves: I like to use fresh herbs for best results.
- Chicken broth for the stew’s liquid base
- All-purpose flour: We’ll use this to make a slurry to thicken the stew at the very ends.
- Frozen peas and Italian parsley: The perfect way to sprinkle a little bit of green and freshness to the chicken stew!
- Olive oil, salt and pepper
As always, the quantities are listed in the recipe card down below.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
You’ll need a 6 or preferably a 7-quart slow cooker to fit everything in. Let’s make it!
Step 1 | Sear chicken
Heat olive oil in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Sear chicken on both sides until golden brown, and transfer to the slow cooker. It won’t be fully cooked through at this point.
Step 2 | Sauté carrots and aromatics
Don’t wipe the skillet clean – you want all those brown bits from the chicken! Heat more oil, and sauté the onions and carrots for just 5 minutes. As the onions sweat, scrape the brown bits using a wooden spoon.
Next, add the garlic, rosemary, and thyme for another 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste. Add about half a cup of the chicken broth (or as needed) to deglaze, and transfer everything to the slow cooker.
Step 3 | Add potatoes and broth
Next, add the potatoes, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.
Step 4 | Slow cook
Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours until the chicken is tender (3.5 hours into the cooking time, you’ll need to add the flour – see next step).
Step 5 | Thicken stew, shred chicken and serve
3.5 hours into the cooking time, make a slurry by dissolving the flour with broth. Stir it into the stew and combine. Cover and continue cooking for the remaining 30 minutes. At this point, you can also add the green peas.
Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred it (not too much though, you want a few good-sized pieces of chicken). Discard the bones. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and finish with chopped parsley. And there you have it, the most comforting chicken stew ever!
Serve with buttermilk biscuits, rolls, or anything you’d like!
Tips for Success
- Brown and sauté everything first. It’s an extra step, but so worth it! Otherwise, the stew will turn out bland. It takes an additional 15-20 minutes.
- I’d recommend using bone-in chicken thighs. The bones will infuse the stew with even more flavor, and chicken thighs in general are moist and tender.
- I like to use skin-on chicken – it adds even more flavor! Just remove it before serving.
- If you want chicken to fall apart less (it will still be very tender), cook for a total of 3.5 hours.
- Try not to cook for more than 4 hours. I’ve tried 6-8 hours and it became a bit too stringy.
How Long to Cook
Cook on HIGH for 4 hours total. I’ve tried 6 to 8 hours on LOW, and the chicken pretty much fell apart too much. It actually became stringy. In fact, if you want it to not fall apart too much, cook for 3.5 hours total rather than 4.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, that would be ideal!
You can, but the chicken may fall apart a bit too much for my taste, but totally up to you! You’re looking for tender pieces of chicken, which can be achieved with 4 hours (or even 3.5 hours) on the HIGH setting.
Yes, although I find that thighs turn out more tender and tasty. If possible, find bone-in breasts. The bones add lots of flavor to the stew.
Pairing and Serving Ideas
There are so many side dishes to pair with this slow cooker chicken stew. I always serve with some sort of bread or biscuits to soak up all the stew. Try these:
If you’re looking for more comforting stews and braises to make this weekend, these are my all-time favorites:
I’d love to hear from you! If you loved my recipe, please consider leaving a 5-star rating and a comment down below. Sign up for my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest
Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
Equipment
- 6-quart slow cooker or 7-quart
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs - extra fat trimmed
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil - for searing
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 medium carrots - peeled and sliced
- 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves - or ¾ teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced - or ¼ teaspoon dried
- 3 medium red potatoes, quartered - or baby red potatoes
- 3 bay leaves - dried or fresh
- 5 cups chicken broth, divided - plus more as needed
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Season chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear chicken on both sides until golden brown. Then, transfer to a large slow cooker. Tip: Let chicken sear on each side undisturbed to get that golden brown color.
- To the same skillet (don’t wipe it clean), add more olive oil. Sauté the onions and carrots for 5 minutes. As the onions release moisture, scrape the brown bits from the pan using a wooden spoon to deglaze. Tip: If any spots are burning, add a splash of broth to deglaze.
- Next, add the minced garlic, thyme, and rosemary, and sauté until fragrant for another 1-2 minutes. Then, add the tomato paste and stir to coat the veggies. Add about ½ to ¾ cup of chicken broth and deglaze the brown bits. Transfer everything into the slow cooker, along with the chicken.
- To the slow cooker, add the potatoes and bay leaves, and season with ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Add in 4 cups of the chicken broth. Cover and set it for 4 hours on the HIGH setting.
- 3.5 hours into the cooking time, dilute flour with about ⅓ cup chicken broth (at room temperature, don’t use hot broth) to make a slurry. Add the slurry, along with the peas. Stir to combine. Cook for the remaining 30 minutes. It will thicken up as it cooks.
- Remove the chicken and roughly shred it with a fork, discard the bones. Return the chicken and stir to combine, along with fresh chopped parsley. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- Serve warm with bread of biscuits. Enjoy!
Notes
- If your slow cooker or multi-cooker has a sauté or browning function, you can just use that instead and make everything in one pot.
- I’d recommend cooking on the HIGH setting for 4 hours. I’ve found that longer cooking times made the chicken a bit stringy. However, if you don’t mind that, feel free to cook on LOW for 6 hours.
- Why use bone-in chicken thighs. The bones will infuse the stew with tons of flavor. Thighs are also moist and tender.
- If you used skin-on chicken, be sure to remove the skin from the stew at the very end before serving.
- Storing: Refrigerate leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
- Make-ahead: You can make ahead and keep it warm for a few hours, or make it the day before and refrigerate. Reheat in the microwave oven.
- Bone-in chicken thighs: Boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts.
- Herbs: Instead of 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, use 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme. Instead of ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, use ¼ teaspoons dried. Adjust to taste.
- Potatoes: Yukon gold is a great option. Use any kind of potatoes, except Russet potatoes because they disintegrate easily.
Becky richards says
I used boned chicken quarters instead of thighs and il cook on high for a bit longer but looks great already
Grace says
This is a keeper. I did the stovetop part before bed last night, so it was all ready to put in the crockpot on my break today. Luckily I freeze tomato paste in 1 TBSP portions, so no waste there. The only change I made was to size down the recipe because I’m only feeding 2 people and already have plans for the next couple of nights. I’ll make sure to have fresh, crusty bread next time to clean the bowls.