Full of tender, juicy, and flavorful protein and veggies, this Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Stew with potatoes is a cozy, easy dinner recipe for chilly nights! With just a few minutes of prep, this low-calorie, high-protein Crock Pot meal will be waiting for you at the end of the day!
Hey, friends! With Christmas behind us and the New Year just on the horizon, I thought that you might appreciate a lighter dinner option for the coming days.
If you've enjoyed a few too many glasses of eggnog, more than your fair share of cinnamon buns, or just a boatload of holiday cookies, then have no fear! You can still feed your family a delicious, hearty, and satisfying dinner...while giving your body a bit of a "detox," too!
This chicken stew slow cooker recipe is very similar to a classic chicken noodle soup -- minus the pasta. I also think that a stew should have a thicker broth and an abundance of filling add-ins, so you'll find plenty of chunky carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery in this dish.
How do you make a Chicken Stew?
This simple chicken stew recipe requires just a handful of basic, easy-to-find ingredients. First, let's start with the vegetables. You'll need potatoes, onions, celery and carrots.
What herbs and spices to put in a Chicken Stew?
Place the chopped vegetables in the bottom of a slow cooker and add the herbs and spices. For a hearty chicken stew recipe, I use salt, paprika, a bay leaf, thyme and poultry seasoning. The poultry seasoning is a combination of thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram and nutmeg -- so it gives you a lot of flavor with minimal effort!
Remove the skin from bone-in chicken breasts, and then place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker. I think it's easiest to just cut off the skin using a pair of sharp kitchen shears, but a knife (or your hands) will also work.
Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, pour broth or stock over top, and place the lid on the Crock Pot.
The easy chicken stew with potatoes will cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. At the end of the cooking time, remove the chicken from the pot, discard the bones, and chop or shred the meat. Return the chicken meat to the slow cooker, remove the bay leaf, and take the lid off of the pot.
How to Thicken Chicken Stew?
If you'd like to thicken the chicken stew, I suggest adding 1 tablespoon of corn starch that has been mixed with 1 tablespoon of water. Cook the chicken stew with the corn starch slurry for 30 more minutes on HIGH heat without a lid.
The end result will be the best chicken stew that you've ever tasted!
Can Chicken Stew be frozen?
Yes! This hearty chicken stew recipe is a wonderful freezer meal! Simply prepare the stew according to the recipe below, allow to cool to room temperature, package in airtight containers or plastic freezer bags, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Can Chicken Stew be reheated?
Absolutely! Reheat the chicken stew on the stovetop over low heat, just until warm. You can also reheat individual bowls in the microwave.
COOK'S TIPS:
- Want to Prep Ahead? Chop all of the vegetables the night before, and then place them in a large zip-top bag with all of the seasonings. In the morning, just dump the whole bag into the slow cooker, top with the chicken, and proceed with the rest of the instructions.
- Use a pair of kitchen shears to quickly and easily remove the skin from the chicken breasts.
- I use bone-in chicken breasts for my chicken stew for a couple of reasons. The bone-in meat has a longer cooking time than a boneless, skinless chicken breast, so the meat stays juicy and tender while the carrots and potatoes finish cooking. The bones also give the broth tons of added flavor. However, if you can't find them or if you don't want to bother with them, then boneless thighs or breasts will also work.
- If you don't mind a thinner, more soup-like broth, you can skip the final step with the corn starch. It will still taste delicious!
What goes with Chicken Stew?
With potatoes, protein and vegetables, this dish is a one pot meal that doesn't really require anything else on the side. That said, if your family is like mine and always appreciates a bread or roll with a hot bowl of soup, then here are a few easy options:
- Aunt Bee's 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
- No-Knead 3-Ingredient Beer Bread
- 3-Ingredient Breadsticks
- Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
- Orange Cranberry Corn Muffins
If you need a simple, healthy, family-friendly dinner option that's also incredibly affordable, then my Slow Cooker Chicken Stew is the answer to your prayers!
You might also like these easy slow cooker recipes:
- Healthy Slow Cooker Gumbo
- Turkey and Pesto Slow Cooker Lasagna
- Slow Cooker Turkey Sloppy Joes
- Farmhouse Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet onions, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into small bite-sized pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 3-4 lbs. bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon corn starch + 1 tablespoon cold water
- For garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, bay leaf, salt, paprika, thyme, and poultry seasoning in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Place chicken on top of vegetables. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper.
- Pour chicken broth over everything, cover, and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- When there are about 30 minutes left in the cooking time, remove chicken from the slow cooker and chop or shred the meat. Return chicken meat to the slow cooker and discard bones. Discard bay leaf.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 1 tablespoon of cold water until smooth. Stir into the stew and cook on HIGH without the lid for 30 minutes (or until broth thickens a little bit).
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, just before serving.
Notes
- Want to Prep Ahead? Chop all of the vegetables the night before, and then place them in a large zip-top bag with all of the seasonings. In the morning, just dump the whole bag into the slow cooker, top with the chicken, and proceed with the rest of the instructions.
- Use a pair of kitchen shears to quickly and easily remove the skin from the chicken breasts.
- I use bone-in chicken breasts for my chicken stew for a couple of reasons. The bone-in meat has a longer cooking time than a boneless, skinless chicken breast, so the meat stays juicy and tender while the carrots and potatoes finish cooking. The bones also give the broth tons of added flavor. However, if you can't find them or if you don't want to bother with them, then boneless thighs or breasts will also work.
- If you don't mind a thinner, more soup-like broth, you can skip the final step with the corn starch. It will still taste delicious!
Nutrition
This post was originally published in December, 2017. It was updated in December, 2018.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
Nothing cozier than a hearty chicken stew! This is perfect this time of year after all the indulgences of the holidays.
Exactly! I totally agree, Melissa! Thank you! 🙂
Wthis is such a great warming recipe thank you
Happy New Year
Definitely! Thanks, Gloria!
This is a perfect vegetable hearty soup. I have 1/2 rotisserie chicken that I need to use soon—so thought I would take the meat off the bone. This way I can cook the bones with the vegetables and add the cut up chicken during the last 45 minutes. I have no russet potatoes either, but do have 2 sweet potatoes. I will add them, add a can of white potatoes or a can of corn. There is a variety of things that you can add or delete, according to what you have on hand or what you prefer to eat. I normally, though, tend to go right by the recipe the first time—but not able to do that unless I want to go out in this single digit (including wind chill factor) weather on this beautiful New Year’s Eve day. Happy and Healthy 2018 to you and your followers.
Hi, Cathy! You're absolutely right -- you can definitely adapt this recipe to suit your tastes, preferences, and what you have on hand. It sounds like you have a great plan. I hope that your stew is delicious! 🙂
This looks so hearty and delicious! I'm saving this to make when the weather is cooler!
Thanks, Kristy! Yes, it's definitely not a summer meal for you guys in Australia!
Blair I do not have a crock pot.
Can i adapt this recipe and make it on the stove.
Thank You
Mary
Hi, Mary! Definitely! I don't know exactly how long it will take to cook on the stove, but you can definitely simmer it (covered) on low for an hour or two (or until the veggies are tender and the chicken is cooked through).
Been looking for something like this for days! Tough to find healthy bone-in recipes...Every recipe wants to make it easy, with the boneless skinless chicken...But I wanted something that didn't have pasta, was bone-in, and had a variety of appropriate spices (which I didn't know about).
So many thanks!
Printing and adding to my cookbook binder.
Awesome, Dana! I hope that you love it! 🙂
I feel like the calorie count on this is way off. A cup of chicken is 230 calories. You have two cups of this for 162. I just made this and it’s delicious! But it’s mostly chicken and I worry about the calories being wrong. I have to track my food right now.
I used the calorie king app to count the calories. In just one cup, there is 185 calories, 10 grams carbs, 30 grams protein. Which is still healthy though. I think next time I will use one or one and a half pounds chicken. Still delicious and healthy though.
Glad you figured it out, Lindsey! Yes, calorie counts generated by the recipe cards on websites can definitely vary, depending on the specific ingredients that the calculator uses. They're great for a ballpark guide, but I definitely recommend double-checking using your specific ingredients if you need exact numbers. 🙂
Do you add boneless chicken breast WHOLE on top of veggies??
Yes, you add them whole. 🙂 Step #4 says to remove the cooked chicken from the slow cooker and chop or shred the meat. Hope that helps clarify!
Just made this. It is delicious!!!!!!!
Thank-you
Wonderful! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it, Will!
This is not a stew, just a chicken soup, very poor taste and the chicken comes like rubber.
I just made the stew yesterday. I was delicious! I added a couple of other ingredients, cilantro, curry, masala and mushrooms. I am a fan of a thin sauce for soup. I was expecting for it to be a little thicker/heartier. So next time Iwill add more additional corn starch. My family also loved it, they just called it soup.
Great! Thanks, Tali! Your additions sound perfect. 🙂
Hi, could i use bone-in thighs (not breasts) for this? Would I need to adjust the cooking time?
Hi, Claire! Yes, you can. I would still cook for the same amount of time. Chicken thighs hold up well in a slow cooker without drying out, and this will give you enough time for the rest of the ingredients to cook through. Enjoy!
This was fantastic! Will definitely be making it again.
Awesome! Thank you, Jenn!
Totally Delicious!!! I used chicken thighs minus the skin. Almost at the end took the bones out very easy cause meat fell off the bone. Thicken sauce with corn starch. Even my Hubby said best meal he's had for a while. Thank you
Wonderful! Thanks, Debra! 🙂
Delicious stew! Thank you! Also really appreciate all your tips and other info around making a chicken stew. So easy to read and follow. So much better than just following a recipe. Was just what we needed and not expensive to make. My toddler even enjoyed this one.
Wonderful! I'm so glad that your family enjoyed it, Alicia. Thanks for your kind note!
I would have given this 5 stars except for the amount of salt in this recipe. 46% of your daily recommended total for a 2 cup serving of stew is way too much for this recipe to be called healthy. I decreased the amount of salt by 75% and this tasted delicious. It does not need 2 added teaspoons of salt plus the chicken coated liberally in salt. Try it with 1/4 tsp salt and only pepper on the chicken, no salt. The natural flavour of the vegetables is greatly enhanced and really pops with the light amount of spices in this dish.
This was delicious! I didn't add celery because my kids don't like it and I went with boneless, skinless chicken thighs and it was hit. My entire family enjoyed it and it was soooo easy to make! This is going in the rotation. Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks, Jessica!
Is it just 3 cups of broth? Or do I add water to cover everything
I will be using a 6 quart slow cooker
Hi, Lisa! That's all the broth that you need, but there will be more liquid in the pot when everything is done cooking -- thanks to the condensation and the natural liquids released by the meat and vegetables. You can always add more broth or water at the end if you prefer, but I've never thought it needed anything else. 🙂
Thank you. Just wanted to double check before I start.
If I use boneless skinless chicken breasts , will the cooking time change?
Also, how do i keep the chicken moist?
Hi, Janice! You can use the same cooking time, but boneless breasts tend to dry out easier if left in the pot longer. They won't be bad, but I prefer thighs or bone-in breasts for that reason. You could shorten the cooking time to avoid drying out the meat, but your vegetables and potatoes may not be tender at that point (you'll just have to check and see). My slow cooker runs at a pretty high temperature and tends to cook things relatively quickly, so my boneless skinless chicken breasts are often done with just 2 hours on HIGH or 3-4 hours on LOW. Hope that helps!
I cut the boneless breasts and mixed them in. It was tender and delicious.
Oh, glad to know that worked well! Thanks, Jane!
This is not your average tasting chicken soup/stew. The only changes I made to the recipe were 4 cups of broth instead of 3 cups I also added 4tbsp of cornstarch/4tbsp of water mixture at the end. My family almost fought over the left overs ! DELICIOUS!!
Thank you, Heather!
I just pinned this receipe however it says 3-4 pounds of chicken and that seems like alot, the picture of the chicken in the crockpot shows only 2 good size chicken breasts. I am a bit confused. I have used several of your receipes and love them. Just not sure of the quanity for this one.
Hi, Dee! Since the chicken is bone-in, it's going to be a lot heavier than a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Two very large bone-in chicken breasts will likely weigh between 3 and 4 pounds -- but they won't yield 3-4 pounds of actual cooked meat. If you're using chicken thighs, however, you'll need more than 2 thighs (since they're smaller). Hope that helps clarify! 🙂
TY so much! Since I use boneless chicken breasts I just did not think about the weight with bones lol. TY for clearing that up. Love your recipes!! Look forward to making this. Have a great day.
Great! Enjoy! 🙂
Hi, I'm looking forward to making this! Can I cut up boneless breasts ahead of time and mix it in? My time is limited and fussing when I get home is not my thing. Thanks!
Hi, Jane! Absolutely! I don't think you get as much flavor from chicken without the bone, but the boneless breasts or thighs will still work really well!
I made this and it was easy and delicious! I cut all ingredients in half except the spices and carrots and left out the salt and we just salted our servings lightly. I will be trying it with boneless breasts next time and see if we notice any difference, and I will also try it with thighs. This will now be a regular recipe during winter. Thank you!
Your version sounds wonderful, Annie! I'm so glad that you've taken the recipe as inspiration to create your own twist. Have fun experimenting with more combinations, and thanks for taking the time to leave me a note!
I read some recipes that say to precook the chicken (brown it) due to safety concerns of raw chicken in a slow cooker. Is this a concern?
Hi, Lisa! You shouldn't need to precook the chicken before it goes into the Crock Pot. It's not considered safe to put frozen chicken in the slow cooker (because it may take too long to come up to a safe temperature), but the slow cooker is designed for raw meat -- so that's no problem. Enjoy!
Hi! I tried this it was very easy, healthy and very good! Thanks for sharing. The only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 is that my potatoes did not cook after 4 hours on high with my slow cooker. Other notes: I also added more thyme to the recipe as I love this flavor, and added garlic powder to my chicken breasts. Must try!
This was delicious, and so easy to make! I especially loved it because it lasted two nights for just the two of us, a bonus. I did use skinless thighs as we prefer dark meat, and used more cornstarch for a thicker gravy. However there is some flavor in the poultry spice that my husband doesn’t care for, this I am looking for ideas on how to flavor it with individual spices and herbs and would welcome any suggestions. Thank you Blair for a delicious recipe!
Hi, Merrilee! No problem -- you can just add more of the thyme, salt and pepper, plus maybe a bit of dried or fresh parsley (in addition to what you put on top). So glad that you enjoyed it!
Just made this and was very happy! I know this is supposed to be a healthy recipe, but I love seasoning so and found this was far too little. I added about a tablespoon of each and added some cayenne pepper for a kick and some garlic. I like my stews hardy so added more cornstarch to my liking as well. Fun recipe to work with!
That's great, Cami! I truly believe that recipes should serve as a basis for inspiration. There are so many different ways you can season or finish off this stew, so I'm glad that you made it your own! 🙂
Have been looking for a good Chicken Stew recipe for a long time so cannot wait to try this tomorrow. It looks and sounds delicious ... I have two fussy eaters so before I add the thickener if I removed the chicken, potatoes & carrots & blended the stock, onion & celery do you reckon it would keep its hearty taste? Then put the chicken etc back in to serve?
Absolutely! You'll still have all of that great flavor -- even if you decide to puree the onion and celery with the broth. Sounds like a great way to keep the kiddos happy. 🙂
Perfect thank you. Always hide their veg what they dont know wont hurt them right?? 🙂 Cannot wait to try this tomorrow. I'm in Ireland so it is getting chilly now, time to bust out the slow cooker again. Thanks Blair
I hope the little ones approve! Enjoy that cool weather -- it's still hot and muggy here in the southeastern US! 🙂