The best Slow Cooker Chicken Stew Recipe! This crockpot chicken stew is a cozy, healthy dinner that is so easy to make!
Made with simple pantry and fridge staples that you likely already have on hand, this crockp pot chicken stew stands out because it’s easy to make AND delicious! Toss the ingredients together in your crockpot and let it make dinner for you!
This slow cooker chicken stew recipe has chicken, carrots, celery, onions… It’s packed with protein and vegetables and is hearty and easy to make – a dinner you’ll go back to over and over again! This is the kinda meal you want to eat while curled up in a blanket on the couch; total comfort food!
liz’s top tips for slow cooker chicken stew
- Pound your chicken to make it extra tender: Pounding your chicken with a meat mallet can make it extra tender!
- Brown your veggies before hand. Sautéing veggies might seem like a simple step that you can skip, but it really makes a difference in the stew’s taste! You can brown the chicken if you like, but it’s not necessary.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Olive Oil: You’ll only need olive oil if you’re making this on the stovetop. If you’re making it in the crockpot you don’t need it!
Chicken: You can substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breasts in this recipe. You can also substitute beef for chicken in this recipe or we also have a Healthy Beef Stew recipe and an Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe and Old Fashioned Ground Beef Stew.
Onion & Garlic: I don’t recommend skipping the onion; it adds flavor.
Potatoes: Yukon golds work the best for stew because they’re tender and don’t get mealy when cooked. You can sub in halved fingerling potatoes, baby potatoes, or red potatoes for this recipe. I have not tried sweet potatoes or russet potatoes in this recipe, but I think they would become too mushy!
Carrots & Celery:I don’t recommend skipping either carrots or celery. They both add flavor! If you love your veggies – try this Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe!
Broth:Chicken broth, stock and bone broth can all be used interchangeably. Vegetable broth or beef broth will also work. We like to use low sodium chicken broth or no salt added broth.
All Purpose Flour: You can substitute 1:1 Gluten Free Flour in this recipe in place of the all purpose flour. Almond flour and coconut flour will not work. Tapicoa starch may work, but I can’t be sure without trying it!
Peas: You can omit green peas from this recipe. If you prefer corn, try our Chicken Corn Chowder.
To make lower salt: Omit salt. Use low or no sodium chicken broth.
Can you make this chicken stew in the instant pot? You can make this in the instant pot but we don’t recommend it. Instead follow our Instant Pot Chicken Stew Recipe.
Tomatoes: This recipe used to have tomatoes in it, but we removed them. We think this recipe is much better as written! If you’d like the old recipe, feel free to email [email protected]
How To Make slow cooker Chicken Stew
- In slow cooker insert, stir all ingredients together except peas.
- Cook on low for 6 hours.
- When ready to serve, stir in peas until defrosted.
- Enjoy!
How to thicken Chicken Stew
This stew gets pretty thick naturally, but the addition of all purpose flour really helps.
If your stew is not thickening, you can also take the lid off the crockpot and turn it to high so that some liquid will evaporate.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Chicken stew is a complete meal in itself because it’s loaded with protein, veggies and healthy carbs. Here are some things we like to serve it with:
- Apple Walnut Salad or Blueberry Salad for extra veggies
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Parmesan
- fresh bread or crackers
Storage, Freezing & Reheating Instructions
How to store: You can store this chicken stew in the fridge or freezer in airtight containers.
Freezing: This stew freezes very well. Store in an airtight container and allow it to cool completely before freezing. We like these containers for freezing. If stored properly it should stay good for 4-6 months.
Reheating: You can reheat from the fridge in the microwave or on the stove. If frozen, defrost the night before in your refrigerator or just pop in a microwave/pan and heat!
Slow Cooker Chicken Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 4 large cloves
- 2 cups sliced carrots cut in 1/4 inch thick coins
- 2 cups cubed Yukon gold potatoes cut in ½ inch cubes
- 1 cups finely chopped celery
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour can sub gluten free 1:1
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup peas
Instructions
Slow Cooker Instructions:
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Chop all veggies and cut chicken into 1 inch cubes.
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Optional: You can brown the chicken and vegetables in 1 tablespoon of olive oil if you’d like, but it’s not necessary. See StoveTop Instructions if you’d like to brown the meat/veggies!
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In slow cooker insert, stir together chicken, onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, flour, dried spices and chicken broth.
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Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Cooking on low is recommended.
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When ready to serve, stir in thawed peas. Discard bay leaf and enjoy!
StoveTop Instructions:
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Note: You’ll need 1 tablespoon of olive oil to make this on the stovetop. This is not in the recipe because the slow cooker instructions don’t call for it.
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In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pot and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides.
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Add the onion and garlic. Sauté for an additional 3 minutes or until the onion and garlic start to soften.
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Add the carrots, potatoes, celery, flour, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, and bay leaf. Stir to combine.
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Important: For the stovetop, you’ll want to use 2 cups of chicken broth, not 1/2 cup. You need more liquid when cooking on the stove. Add the chicken broth. Cover the pot and bring the stew to a simmer. The mixture should start to bubble and will start to thicken after about 5 minutes.
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Cook the stew, covered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Once the stew has cooked, stir in peas. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Notes
- Chicken: You can substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breasts in this recipe.
- Potatoes: You can sub in halved fingerling potatoes for this recipe. I have not tried sweet potatoes in this recipe, but I think they would become too mushy!
- Broth: Chicken broth, stock and bone broth can all be used interchangeably.
- Peas: You can omit peas from this recipe.
Storage: You can store this in the fridge for up to 4 days. We have frozen this recipe. Potatoes can get a funny texture when frozen, but we didn’t mind it!