Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

This hearty slow cooker chicken stew is made by combining chicken breasts, potatoes, leeks, carrots, celery and lots of lovely seasoning in a tomato based sauce. It's the perfect easy set and forget meal, and only requires 5 minutes of prep!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Top tips
• Serving suggestions
• Variations
• Leftovers
• Frequently asked questions
• Recipe

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Stews are amazing for fall and winter, and this recipe is definitely a winner. If you love easy dinners, then this one is for you!

My favorite slow cooker meals are of the "set and forget" type, also known as "dump meals" or "5 minute prep meals". Basically, meals where you can simply add all the ingredients raw directly to your slow cooker, turn it on, and leave it.

And trust me when I tell you that the smell of this stew is sensational. After throwing all the ingredients in my slow cooker in the morning, I spent my day trying to concentrate on my work while the scent of homemade chicken stew travelled through my house. And when the hunger took me, dinner was ready in my crock pot!

If you love this recipe, you should check out my slow cooker beef stew, Spanish chicken stew or vegetable stew with dumplings.

Ingredients

To make this hearty chicken stew, we use chicken breasts, carrots, celery, potatoes, onion and leek.

For the sauce, we combine canned diced tomatoes with chicken broth (or water + a stock cube), tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

If you prefer a thicker stew, you will also need a thickening agent. I like to use cornflour or cornstarch, although I tend to keep this stew how it is, as it's thick enough for my taste.

Additionally, you will of course need a slow cooker.

💡 TIP! You can substitute the vegetables and seasoning with other alternatives if you prefer. Feel free to use your favorites!

Instructions

Dice the potatoes and chicken, and finely chop the carrots, leek, celery and onion. Add these, along with all the other ingredients to a slow cooker.

Cook the slow cooker chicken stew on high for 3-5 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. Although either method works, I find that stews tend to taste slightly better if they are cooked on the low setting.

If you want to thicken your stew slightly, you can combine 1 tablespoon of cornflour or cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl to form a paste, then stir this in with the stew about 30 minutes before serving.

Top tips

• Avoid removing the lid from the slow cooker while it cooks. This will allow a lot of heat to escape, and increase the cooking time of the dish significantly.
• If the stew has finished cooking, but you're not ready to serve it yet, most slow cookers have a "warm" setting, allowing you to keep the stew warm for a few hours without cooking it further.
• Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. If they are cut into large chunks, they could require more time to cook through.
• You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.

Serving suggestions

This dish is typically served as a main course for lunch or dinner. Although it can be served on its own as it is, you can also pair it with a side. Here are some of my favorite side dishes that I love to serve with my chicken stew.

• Air Fryer Broccoli - Some crispy roasted broccoli will suit the hearty stew well.
• Dill Rice - A flavorful rice dish perfect to pair with stew.
• Stoemp – Belgian Mashed Potatoes with Vegetables - Lovely mashed potatoes with added veggies.
• Crusty or toasted bread, a baguette or garlic bread.

Variations

Whole30 / paleo: This recipe is compliant with either diet!

Vegetarian: Replace the chicken with more vegetables or mushrooms for a veggie version of the stew.

More vegetables: Feel free to add any extra veggies if you want. I like to add parsnips, rutabaga, peppers, peas, cabbage or mushrooms as a nice variation. Feel free to throw in any leftover vegetables from the back of your fridge as well!

No tomatoes: If you don't like the tomato based sauce, you can simply use chicken broth instead. In this case, I highly recommend thickening the stew towards the end of the cooking time, as the broth will be quite watery.

Leftovers

I always find that leftover stew tastes even better the next day! The leftovers from this dish can be stored in airtight containers in a refrigerator for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 6 months.

Defrost and reheat the stew, then serve it warm with your favorite side dishes. You can quickly reheat single portions in a microwave. Alternatively, you can use a slow cooker or a pot on a stove top to warm up larger quantities.

As this is such a simple meal to make, and it stores incredibly well, I like to make a double batch and freeze it down in portion sizes. This way, we have homemade food ready to reheat for quick and easy future meals.

Frequently asked questions

Recipe