Cozy up with this chunky, hearty one pot Slow Cooker Chicken Vegetable Stew. Learn what vegetables, herbs and spices go well in chicken stew, and how to make a healthy chicken stew. Your choice of herbs and spices will transform this simple dish into a new global dish each time you make it.
I love this time of year with all the leaves turning their glorious autumn colors. As the weather turns cooler, cozy meals like this Slow Cooker Smoky Chicken Vegetable Stew scented with warm herbs … (rosemary, thyme and sage in this case) start to appear on our menu.
Slow cooked meals free me up to run errands and take care of household chores. Almost anything cooking away slowly in the kitchen makes it smell amazing and cozy.
Something I’ve been doing more of lately is repurposing sauces from other meals and turning them into new dishes. To this stew, I added some of the Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce I made the other day and a touch of Spanish smoked paprika. Sauces from leftover meals can often be used as braising liquids or even used in soups. So, don’t throw away the delicious leftover sauces you create.
What Vegetables Go Well In Chicken Stew
Root vegetables are wonderful for slow cooked stews. Here, I’ve used simply potatoes and carrots from the farmer’s market, but you can add butternut squash/winter squash, sweet potatoes/yams, turnips, rutabaga or parsnips if you like. Mushrooms and tomatoes would also be nice, adding extra umami flavors.
What Seasoning and Spices Go In Chicken Stew
Choose a global theme and use herb and spice blends that match the flavor profile.
- Mediterranean – rosemary, thyme and sage, Herbs de Provence, Fines Herbes, Italian seasoning mix
- Indian – curry powder, garam masala, cilantro (add at the end)
- Thai – red, yellow or green curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice (add at the end)
- Chinese – five spice powder, dried shitake mushrooms (and their soaking liquid), garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil
- Middle Eastern – cumin, coriander, allspice, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg (or try baharat, a Middle Eastern spice blend)
- Caribbean – allspice, ginger, thyme, cayenne, thyme
- Cajun – Cajun seasoning, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, tomatoes
What Makes A Healthy Chicken Stew?
What makes this chicken vegetable stew healthy? I use skinless, boneless chicken, only one tablespoon of olive oil, low sodium broth and lots of vegetables. You can serve this slow cooker Chicken Vegetable Stew on its own, or with some crusty whole grain bread. If you like a thicker gravy, use a little mixture of cornstarch and cold water, and stir in at the end.
Here’s a video that shows how easy this recipe is to make:
Slow Cooker Chicken Vegetable Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast or thighs
- 1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 carrots coarsely chopped
- 2 celery stalks coarsely chopped
- 10 ounces fresh mushrooms finely chopped (I used the food processor)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 potatoes cut up
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 3 leaves fresh sage
- 1 small fresh rosemary sprig
- 1 1/2 cups Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce or plain tomato sauce
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
Instructions
Season chicken with paprika, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet. Place chicken in pan and brown on both sides. Remove to slow cooker. Add onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Saute until vegetables are fragrant and any liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Scoop into slow cooker. Add potatoes, herbs, Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce, and chicken broth to slow cooker and toss everything gently. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
You can substitute 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes for the Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce if you like. If you do, add a few chopped garlic cloves to the vegetables when sauteing.
This looks amazing and absolutely perfect for the colder months
Hooray for root vegetables and repurposing sauces from other meals . . this is fabulous and looks so hearty and delicious!!! I love using my slow cooker this time of the year!!
Now that there’s really a chill in the air, this sounds so good. The ultimate in healthy comfort food!
This looks so delicious! Perfect for a cool evening. Pinning so I can add it to a meal plan soon. 🙂
Gorgeous stew! And yeah for repurposing sauces from other endeavors. Genius idea!
Oh, dang, this looks good! I think I know what I’ll be making for dinner tonight!
This looks like perfect comfort food!
This stew looks delicious! what a great way to have chicken and vegetables all in one pot! Thanks for sharing…this recipe looks so tasty!
This stew looks absolutely mouthwatering! The flavors sound incredible – I could almost smell the wonderful aroma. The perfect comfort food and I love that it’s made in the slow cooker too!
I’d love a big bowl please!
Thanks everyone – it’s been cool and rainy lately, so I’ve been making stews like this and soups in my slow cooker a lot 🙂
This is a kind of meal that I look forward to coming home, and something that I want to eat the following day (and still look forward to the meal time)… What a fantastic meal with slow cooker! Chicken must be so tender and I love all these herbs!
It’s about to be Summer in Australia but damn, I’d whip out the slow cooker for this.
I just made this and it was an absolute hit with my husband and 3 picky youngsters. Thank you for an easy and tasty family meal!
So glad your family enjoyed this recipe – thanks so much for coming back and leaving a comment to let us know how it turned out.
Hello,
Can i cook this is a rice cooker?
Thanks
Nicole
Nicole, I haven’t tried using a rice cooker for this recipe, but you might be able to. I would set the rice cooker so it cooks for about 45-50 minutes to make sure the chicken is cooked thoroughly.
I’ve made this twice now. Really really good.
Tanya, so glad you’ve been enjoying this. Thanks so much for your feedback – we really appreciate it.
Made this tonight for dinner!!! Absolutly wonderful recipe! Will definitely be making again! Thanks Jeanette!
Kelley – so glad you enjoyed this recipe – thanks so much for coming back to let us know!
This looks great, but where are the instructions?
The recipe is in the post. Sorry we had some technical problems today which have now been resolved.
I love my slow cooker. The chicken vegetable stew sounds tasty!
We had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I’d like to try some of the other flavor profile examples you offered but admit I’m a little intimidated on how much of the ingredients to include!
Hi Lena – I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe. You might like to try these chicken stews for a change of pace:
Jamaican Chicken Stew: https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/crock-pot-jamaican-spiced-chicken-stew/
Thai Coconut Curry Chicken: https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/thai-red-curry-chicken-with-winter-squash/
Creole Chicken Stew: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-slow-cooker-creole-chicken-stew/
Would it be possible to cook on low for 8 hours instead?
Thanks!!
Hi Jane – that should work fine. Most slow cooker recipes I’ve seen either cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Have you ever not browned the chicken to save time and just put raw chicken in the slow cooker..does that change anything?
I have not, but I’m sure it would work too. Browning the chicken adds some extra flavor.
I substituted sweet potatoes for potatoes, and added chickpeas. I’m making this for the second time, a double batch – it’s delicious!
Love how you used sweet potatoes and chickpeas – great for an extra hearty stew!
Thank you so much for this gorgeous recipe!! We just made our first batch and it turned out beautifully! Just wondering if this can be put in the freezer and consumed for later? What is the fridge life for this?
So glad you enjoyed this recipe – thanks so much for letting me know! You could freeze this stew, but I would not freeze potatoes in the stew if you use them. They get a little mealy. Higher fiber vegetables freeze better, such as carrots, celery, celery root, parsnips, peas, and turnips (reference: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/6677-leave-out-lower-fiber-vegetables-when-freezing-stew)
This looks delicious! If I were to use dried spices instead of fresh, could you tell me how much to put in?
I would suggest using 1 1/2 teaspoons dried herbs in total (e.g., 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon sage, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary)
Sorely disappointed. Was able to use up everything in my refrigerator that was required in this recipe but unfortunately after 4 hours on high in the Crock-Pot the potatoes were still hard. Had to transfer to a stovetop situation to cook through. Flavor was Bland so I had to add some chili flakes. I’m one of those people that typically follows recipes to the T and this was one of them. I recommend if you’re going to make this to definitely use the fresh herbs. I was forced to use dried. Maybe that’s the difference in flavor that I’m lacking? I highly recommend also pre cooking the potatoes halfway through.
Hi Barbara, I am so sorry to hear this did not turn out well for you. If the potatoes were cut up (similar in size to carrots), they should have cooked through in 4 hours on the high setting (it may be a difference in the type of slow cooker?). Dried herbs should work – they should be “fresh” dried herbs (no older than 1 year). Also, I used roasted garlic tomato sauce when I made this recipe. So, if you use plain tomatoes, you should add extra garlic, and season to taste with salt and pepper. I like your addition of red pepper flakes.
I was hoping to have this dish cooking while at Im at work. Is it possible to cook it on a low setting and if so, how long should I cook it for?? Thank you in advance!
Yes you should be able to make this on the low setting for about 8 hours. Generally speaking, 4 hours on high is the same as 8 hours on low.