January is a cold month even here in Florida. Cold weather always makes me crave comfort food filled with vegetables, broth, and protein. I just love a single pot meal. Today I’m using a crockpot to make stewed chicken. If you are wondering what the difference is between chicken soup and chicken stew, the main difference is the amount of liquid versus the ingredients. In soup your ingredients are usually floating in the broth while the hearty stew is filled with chunks of vegetables and meat with some broth. Often when I plan on making chicken soup, it is in reality a stew.
The necessary ingredients are probably in most kitchens already: onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, and frozen green peas or green beans. You can add both the beans and peas if you like. If you wish to add corn or peppers, feel free to adjust to your taste or what you already have. My mother always served her stews over rice and I continue to do that. It is optional of course. Take 10 to 15 minutes to put everything in the slow cooker but the frozen peas/beans, turn it on low, and come back 30 minutes before the stew is cooked to add the frozen veggies. Some people like to use chunks of boneless, skinless chicken, but I like to use skinless chicken with the bones. I think it adds flavor to the dish. You may serve it without thickening it or add a corn starch and broth mix at the end. Cooking time depends on your crock pot as some pots cook faster than others. Cook time is between 6 to 8 hours. I always say make it your own recipe with the changes you like. This dish can be frozen, but let it cool to room temperature before freezing. To reheat place in a pot on low on your stove top.
Slow Cooker Stewed Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 medium sweet onions diced
- 3 celery stalks diced and a few celery leaves
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 large peeled potatoes cut into chunks
- 1 cup frozen green peas, green beans, or vegetable mix
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground garlic
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp optional: corn starch
Instructions
- Place onions, carrots, potatoes, and seasonings in bottom of slow cooker
- Stir to combine
- Season chicken with salt and pepper
- Place on top of vegetables
- Pour chicken broth over chicken
- Place lid on cooker and cook for 6 hours
- Add frozen peas/beans/corn 30 minutes before stew is ready
- If desired, remove chicken from crock pot and remove bone and shred or cut into chunks
- Remove bay leaf
- Optional: To thicken, use corn starch with 1 tablespoon of chicken stock from pot and whisk until smooth
- Add corn starch mix to pot and mix into stew
- Cook on high with lid off for 30 minutes for stew to thicken
- Serve with crusty bread or rolls
Enjoy!
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This is my kind of meal. Thank you Carol, it looks delicious!
…we use our slow cooker all the time.
This recipe looks so good. I can’t wait to try it.
Oh that does look delicious, comfort food at it’s best.
This looks nourishing and so delicious for a cold winter’s day! I really should use my slow cooker more often!
I have used my slow cooker every week since the first of December – break it out Jeanie!
i’m with you Carol. Bones are best but the end result can be a little troublesome, so we tend to make sure it’s the bigger bones only.
Most chicken bones do seem larger to me. I hate fish bones like crazy – too small!
This looks perfect for the weather we’re having over here in the UK. What wonderful comfort food x
As you can imagine, being here in Oregon for the winter means we are fishing out our old favorite winter menus and looking for new hearty recipes! This one is a great reminder. I smiled about the “usually stew” …almost *all* of my soup recipes turn into stew. Bill can do soup, but I never seem to be able to. But both are good!
This looks so tasty, Carol. I would love to try some 🙂 #MMBC
I really do love all of the textures and flavors you’ve incorporated in your beautiful stew, especially all of the herbs!
A perfect winter meal! Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s.
I love slow cooker recipes, I can just drop it in and let the cooker do its thing. Im pinning this to give it a try. I do a meal plan every week for my boyfriend and I am always looking for easy but yummy recipes.
it looks delicious indeed! Happy to try it at home and I bet it will be perfect for any weather! Cheers from Jakarta and #OMHGWW
it’s perfect for January – thanks for the kind words
Wow. That looks heavenly, I’d love to try this!