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This Slow Cooker Chicken Stew is brimming with juicy chicken, tender carrots, chunky sweet potatoes, and tangy tomatoes cooked in a hearty, creamy broth fragrant with herbs. It’s hearty and nutritious, with comforting flavors that will brighten up even the coldest day!
A winter favorite, along with my amazing slow cooker coq au vin, or this fabulous and cozy beef stew!
Why We Love This Chicken Stew Recipe
- Comforting and Heartwarming: The stew, with its savory broth, juicy tomatoes, and a hint of real cream, is a soul-warming meal, making it perfect for winter days.
- Rich and Flavorful: The combination of smoked paprika, garlic, and marjoram spices up the stew, offering a rich flavor that enhances the taste of the chicken and root vegetables.
- Nutritious and Satisfying: Packed with wholesome ingredients like sweet potatoes, carrots, and potatoes, the stew is not only delicious but also nourishing, making it an ideal meal for the end of a long day.
- Convenience and Ease: The ease of preparation using a slow cooker adds to its appeal. It’s a ‘set it and forget it’ kind of meal, making it incredibly convenient for busy lifestyles.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: You’ll need about one pound of boneless chicken breasts. If you need to use bone-in breasts instead, get a little over a pound to account for the bone and cartilage weight.
- Sweet Potatoes: This recipe uses two medium sweet potatoes, cubed.
- Carrots: The carrots should be cut into half-inch slices.
- Yukon Gold Potato: Cube a large Yukon Gold potato, or other waxy potato of your choice.
- Tomatoes: You’ll need a large can of diced tomatoes. Don’t drain them; the liquid adds a great tomato juice flavor to the broth.
- Chicken Broth: Homemade broth is great, if you have it! Store-bought chicken (or veggie) broth is usually what I use, and I prefer to use low-sodium.
- Salt and Pepper
- Smoked Paprika: This bright and fragrant spice brings a wonderful smoky flavor all on its own.
- Dried Marjoram: I don’t know about you, but I don’t use marjoram often enough. It’s great, very similar to oregano but with a milder, sweeter overall taste.
- Cream: To make this recipe extra cozy, a quarter-cup of heavy cream adds richness and brings it all together. Totally optional, but totally recommended!
How to Cook Chicken Stew In A Slow Cooker
It’s almost unnecessary to even write out the instructions, you guys, because it really could be summed up as, “Dump in the ingredients and cook it.” Ah, the wonderful world of slow cookers! How I love them. ❤️
- Add All Ingredients (Except Cream) to the Slow Cooker. Combine the chicken breasts, cubed potatoes, sliced carrots, tomatoes, broth, salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, marjoram, and pepper in your slow cooker. If you like, you can cut up the chicken breasts into cubes before putting them in the slow cooker, or leave them whole and shred the chicken later on, when it’s cooked through.
- Slow Cook Until Chicken Is Done. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- Shred the Chicken and Finish the Dish. Remove the chicken breasts and transfer to a cutting board; shred the chicken. Return the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker. Stir in heavy cream; recover and continue to cook for 10 more minutes. At this point, I also like to use my immersion blender and blend the soup just a tad bit, for about 20 seconds, only to add a bit more thickness. Again, all up to you, but it’s a great touch.
- Serve. Ladle in bowls, garnish with basil, and serve.
Recipe Tips And Variations
- Don’t Overcook The Chicken: Something I’ve learned is that, some slow cookers cook faster and at a higher temperature than others. So, if you can, check your chicken an hour or so ahead of time, to see if it’s already done. If the chicken’s internal temperature registers at 165˚F, the stew is done.
- Substitutions: This versatile stew recipe allows for numerous substitutions and additions, like using dark meat chicken, experimenting with parsnips, adjusting potato types, adding cubed winter squash, enriching the broth with white wine, topping with melted cheese or cheese-topped toasted bread, and incorporating cooked crumbled Italian sausage.
- To Peel or Not To Peel: The skins of veggies can be very nutritious and they contain a lot of fiber. So, depending on your taste, you can leave the peels on, scrubbing the veggies well and cubing them as you normally would. I don’t mind doing this with waxy potatoes, though I generally peel carrots and sweet potatoes; but some people leave the peels on all three!
What To Serve with Chicken Stew?
Any salad would be nice with this stew, but I think the flavors of this avocado lime Ranch dressing salad or this broccoli apple salad really contrast nicely with this dish. I have such a weakness for fresh bread with soups and stews; lavash, anyone? Or this recipe for my skillet cornbread!
A broccoli cauliflower salad and my air fryer broccoli are also a perfect accompaniment to stews. And for dessert, treat yourself to a peach cobbler or blueberry banana bread.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- To store leftovers, transfer cooled stew tp airtight containers and store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or freeze it for up to 4 months.
- To reheat, place the leftovers in a small saucepan and heat on low, until fully heated through.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
- Instant Pot Chicken Pho
- Easy Chicken Cacciatore
- Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
- Hunan Chicken
- Jambalaya Recipe
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Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
Enjoy the comforting flavors of this slow cooker chicken stew recipe packed with tender chunks of juicy chicken, sweet potatoes, and carrots simmered in a rich, creamy tomato broth.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed or frozen
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, cubed
- 2 large carrots, cut into ½-inch slices
- 1 (about 10 ounces) large yukon gold potato, cubed
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, undrained
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- chopped fresh basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine chicken, sweet potatoes, carrots, potato, tomatoes, broth, salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, marjoram, and pepper in your slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the soup and transfer it to a cutting board. Shred the chicken into pieces. At this point, if desired, use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup for about 20 seconds to maintain a thicker, creamy texture.
- Return the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker.
- Stir in heavy cream; recover and continue to cook for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the lid and taste the soup for salt and pepper, and adjust accordingly.
- Ladle the stew into bowls and garnish with chopped fresh basil. Serve.
Equipment
Notes
- You can cut up the chicken breasts into cubes before putting them in the slow cooker, or leave them whole and shred the chicken later on, when it’s cooked through.
- Toward the end, and before I add in the shredded chicken, I use an immersion blender to blend the soup for about 20 seconds, to add a bit more thickness.
Nutrition
Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 575mg | Potassium: 1203mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 14216IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Did you make a recipe? Leave a rating
Substitution for cream for dairy free?
Hi!
I know that the brand “Silk” makes dairy-free cream. If you don’t mind a bit of coconut flavor, you can also try using canned coconut cream.
I’m confused, is it a stew or a soup??
The recipe is for a stew. While I did use the term ‘soup’ interchangeably in a few spots, it’s definitely a stew – characterized by its thicker consistency and hearty ingredients.
This is a terrific recipe that I highly recommend and will make again soon! I did add an extra large sweet potato because I really like them, cut up another carrot (mmmmm) and used a russet potato because our yukons were all gone. We only had half-and-half, which worked out well, but the heavy cream would be dreamy.
Do you peel the potatoes?
Yes, I peeled the potatoes.
Made this last night. The perfect dinner for a rainy night in Los Angeles! It was delicious. I added more heavy cream to make it a bit creamier. My family loved it!
That’s great! I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Making this today. Added fresh broccoli and asparagus in the last hour of cooking. Hoping it tastes as good as it smells! Fingers crossed 🙂
I hope you’ll enjoy it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Such a comforting and filling meal! A new favorite meal at my house!
This looks so delicious and tasty! Can’t wait to make this!
Thank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂