Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs – Tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken with hearty vegetables and a flavor-rich sauce delivers the perfect comfort food. The flawless balance of herbs and spices, celery, carrots, and potatoes will make any day much brighter. Wind down and enjoy the delicious aroma that greets you as you walk in the door.
I’m always putting my slow cooker to good use. There’s something super comforting about putting everything together, taking off for the day, and coming home to the tantalizing smells of dinner ready to go on the table. And slow cookers are also great for transporting food and keeping it warm for gatherings.
Recently, I’ve been cranking it up for this super easy slow cooker chicken thigh recipe. Hearty vegetables (celery, carrots, and potatoes) make it a complete one-pot meal. What a lifesaver!
An Amazing Slow-Cooker Chicken Thigh Recipe
The wonderful thing about slow cookers is that you can throw everything in the pot as is. Yes, you can put your meat in raw. However, it tastes a touch better if you sear your chicken or meat before adding it.
Chicken thighs in a slow cooker are especially good. Since they have higher fat content and are a well-used muscle, they get much more tender when slow-cooked. And that allows your seasonings to penetrate down to the bone. Yum!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs – The star player in this game is the most juicy and tender part of the chicken. But you can use the whole chicken or your favorite pieces.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasoning all kick chicken up on the flavor scale. Experiment with your favorite seasoning mixes for flavor twists.
- Gravy – Olive oil, butter, and flour create the perfect roux. And chicken broth turns it into a flavorful gravy. Gluten-free all-purpose flour will work if you need a gluten-free sauce.
- Veggies – Celery, carrots, yellow onions, and red potatoes give you a delicious one-pot meal for the win.
- Flavor – Garlic, rosemary, and thyme provide a soul-satisfying taste to your slow cooker chicken thighs.
How to Make Slow-Cooker Chicken Thighs
- Prep the Chicken – Prepare the chicken thighs by trimming excess skin and fat, washing, and patting them dry. Season both sides of the thighs with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Seasonings – Add the dry ingredients to a small mixing bowl: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Then generously season the chicken with the mix on both sides.
- Sear Chicken – Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large cast-iron skillet. Once the oil is hot, add chicken skin-side down. Sear until golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Transfer to a clean plate.
- Veggies – Put the celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic in a 6-quart slow cooker, and place the seared chicken on top of the vegetables. Then add the herbs.
- Make the Roux – Melt butter in the same cast-iron pan you seared the chicken, and then add flour. Mix well until the flour is fully incorporated into the oil, 1-2 minutes.
- Finish the Gravy – Next, add chicken broth and continue stirring until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to your preference, then pour the sauce into the slow cooker.
- Slow Cook It – Cover the slow cooker and simmer (2-4 hours on the High setting or 4-6 hours on the Low setting) until the chicken and potatoes are tender.
- Serve – Transfer the chicken, vegetables, and some sauce to serving plates. Garnish with herbs if desired and serve.
Recipe Variations
- A beef stew made the same way is fantastic. Replace the chicken thighs with stew beef cut into 2-inch cubes, and have at it. (You could also make it with pork.)
- While celery, carrots, and potatoes are the classic veggies in this recipe, you could also use green beans, cabbage, peas, tomato paste, etc. Let your imagination go wild. 😉
- Spice Swap – You could give this a Mediterranean flair with cumin, coriander, ginger, and smoked paprika, and add a can of chickpeas and some olives toward the end.
Tips and Tricks
- Giving the bottom of your slow cooker a spritz of cooking oil before loading it up will reduce sticking.
- Put the hardest, slowest cooking veggies on the bottom. For example, put your carrots and potatoes in before the celery.
- Take advantage of cheap cuts of meat for your slow cooker because they have the most flavor, and the slow cooker makes them fall-off-the-bone tender.
Make-Ahead Instructions
This incredible chicken thigh recipe for a slow cooker is ideal for making ahead. I love doubling the recipe, so I have enough to freeze too. You can refrigerate it for four days or freeze it for three months.
Serving and Storage Instructions
These chicken thighs are best steaming hot right out of the slow cooker. But you can make a big batch and reheat them in a saucepan on the stovetop.
Properly stored chicken lasts about four days in the fridge or three months in the freezer.
FAQs
Low and slow, if you have the time, will always be my answer. An internal temperature of 175℉/80℃ gives you well-cooked thighs, but 195℉/90℃ is even better.
Yes, it is. Even though you’re cooking your chicken at a lower temperature, it’s still hot enough to kill any unwanted bacteria. While searing your chicken adds a layer of flavor, throwing everything in the pot raw does save time.
Yes, they do. But they’re also juicier than boneless. So the extra 20 minutes they take is worth the wait.
What to Serve With Slow-Cooker Chicken Thighs
This one-pot wonder is wonderful on its own but also goes great with a few sides and a dessert. 😍
- Cucumber and Onion Salad
- Yellow Squash Casserole
- Creamy Brussels Sprouts
- Homemade Biscuits
- Lemon Pound Cake
More Mouthwatering Slow Cooker Recipes to Try
Conclusion
Deliciously simple and absolutely flavor-packed, this slow cooker chicken thigh recipe is a sure keeper. Would you like more amazing slow cooker recipes? Then sign up for my newsletter for the latest and greatest.❤️
This blog post was originally published in May 2015 and has been updated with a new recipe, tips, and photos.
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
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Ingredients
Chicken Thighs
- 4-6 chicken thighs (skin-on and bone-in)
- 1 teaspoon (5-6g) salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon (2-3g) freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon (1.5g) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (2.5g) onion powder
- 1 teaspoon (3-4g) paprika
- 1 teaspoon (5g) Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
- 4 ounces (113g) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
The Veggies
- 2-3 stalks celery, cut in 2-inch pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
- 8 ounces (227g) red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken thighs by trimming excess skin and fat, washing, and patting dry. Season both sides of the thighs with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add all dry seasonings to a small mixing bowl: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasonings. Mix well. Generously season chicken with seasoning mix on both sides.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large cast-iron skillet. Once the oil is hot, add chicken skin-side down. Sear until golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for two more minutes. Transfer to a clean plate.
- Add celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic to your 6-quart slow cooker, then add the seared chicken on top of the vegetables. Add the herbs.
- Add butter to the same cast-iron pan, let it melt, and then add the flour. Mix well until flour is fully incorporated into the oil, 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add chicken broth and continue stirring until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper to taste, then add the sauce to the slow cooker.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook (2-4 hours on the High setting or 4-6 hours on the Low setting) until the chicken and potatoes are tender.
- Transfer the chicken, vegetables, and some sauce to serving plates. Garnish with herbs if desired and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- Giving the bottom of your slow cooker a spritz of cooking oil before loading it up will reduce sticking.
- Put the hardest, slowest cooking veggies on the bottom. For example, put your carrots and potatoes in before the celery.
- Take advantage of cheap cuts of meat for your slow cooker. They have the most flavor, and the slow cooker makes them fall-off-the-bone tender.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Jess says
I love this recipe so much, I make it all the time! My fiancée gets tired of it, but I can’t get enough of the flavor, even after 3 years of finding this recipe. I use a pre-mixed Harissa seasoning when I’m lazy, but I usually use the all spices in the recipe while adding a little nutmeg. I also always use skin-on, bone-in thighs, like the recipe calls for. I’m still trying to figure out how to keep my skins crispy, so far only taking out the thighs and re-frying them before serving has worked for me. Amazing every time though, one of my favorite recipes.
tracy says
Hi. Could I make this with ras el hanout morrocan spice instead of the individual spices. I would still use the ginger and garlic but perhaps the dried morrocan spice instead of the single ingredients.?
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Tracy
ras el hangout would do just fine here. Happy Cooking!!!!
Sue says
This is probably one of the best recipes that I have tried from Pinterest, followed the recipe exactly, am making it for my 3rd time for guests, everyone really like it, you know they really mean it when they ask for the recipe!! Fantastic, thank you
Belinda says
This recipie is probably one of the best slow cooker recipes I have ever made. Quick to make, and so flavorful. My whole family loves it. Thank you so much for sharing. Great for cold winter nights. I actually use a whole chicken and cut it up into pieces when I find them on sale. My favourite recipe!
imma africanbites says
Thank you for the wonderful feedback, Belinda! Glad you and your family love it.
Brittany says
Yum! This recipe was perfect to try out in my instapot. I’ve made it twice now and both times came out perfect using the sautee then slowcook settings. The meat was so tender and flavorful that my boyfriend sucked the bones dry! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!! I look forward to trying some of your other ones soon (:
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Brittany! Thanks for your Kind words, so happy that you would take time out to let me know. Hope you like the rest of the recipes as much as you love this . Happy Cooking !!!!!
Crystal says
Made this today in Botswana for Sunday lunch – absolutely delicious! Marinated the chicken over night, browned it before church and left it cooking in the slow cooker while we were gone. When we walked in the door after church, the smell was amazing. Had company over and everyone loved it!
Candice says
Made this last week and loved it! I used about half a 14.5-oz can of diced tomatoes and think the recipe would have done well with the whole can. I’m currently cooking your ropa vieja recipe and pinned a bunch more of your recipes to try.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Candice, thank you so much for pinning . SO happy to hear it worked out well for you.
Michelle says
This recipe looks delicious!! I find that my chicken comes out a bit dry when in he slow cooker. I’m trying to remedy this. If I do this recipe on low, do you think that would keep my chicken from drying out? If so, how long on low? It seems from the comments this doesn’t happen to anyone, but it’s my families biggest complaint when using the slow cooker.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Michelle ! That really doesn’t seem to be the problem with chicken thighs. It comes out super moist in the slow cooker , every time . Please Give it a try .
Tracey says
Hi! I was curious on the nutritional facts. For 6 servings it says 398 calories. Does that include the couscous and if so how much of it. I count my macros so it’s important to know what the calories/carbs/proteins/fats are in food. I planned on making this for Xmas eve so was hoping to get the info! But looking forward to making this it looks yum yum!!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Tracy ! It doesn’t, I have updated to include couscous.
Iris says
I love that you have pics of the various stages of the meals! This looks yummy.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome!Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Lisa says
I am making this tonight for the 2nd time. It is absolutely delicious!!
ImmaculateBites says
YES! So glad to hear! Thanks Lisa
Nadine says
Wow! My chicken is in the fridge marinating!! This recipe looks so full of flavours! I’m sure we’ll love it! It’s our kind of recipes!
I looked at the other recipes you posted. Omg!! I want to try all of them!! Thy look so yummy!! Thank you for all of those beautiful recipes!!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Nadine! Go ahead and try them all! Am sure you are going to have a blast !!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
Gayle says
I just stumbled across your website and I already love it. This week I have made dishes from Morocco, Korea and Poland. I am so going to dive into your African recipes.
ImmaculateBites says
AWESOME! Can’t wait to see what you try out . Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me .
Happy Cooking!!!
Leslie Holeman says
Made this and my husband said best dish ever! I told him came from your blog he said make more of her stuff!
ImmaculateBites says
YES! You should listen to hubby more often-Hahaha. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. Happy cooking!!!
laura says
how do you know whether to leave it in the slow cooker for 3 hours or 4? thanks
ImmaculateBites says
It depends if you want your chicken to fall off the bone. I usually cook it for 3.5 hours. It’s tender and can easily be shredded using a fork.