Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
This Slow Cooker Chicken Stew is the perfect family dinner for a cool autumn evening. It’s full of tender chicken with potatoes, carrots, and celery and goes wonderfully with hot buttered biscuits.
A few years ago, the General Mills Company asked me to create an entree that would be great to serve with buttermilk biscuits. I knew immediately that it should be a stew. Definitely a chicken stew. I just can’t think of anything more welcome during the fall season than warm biscuits and stew.
I also wanted the recipe to be really easy to put together and one that the whole family would enjoy. So that’s how this Slow Cooker Chicken Stew came to be.
You can prep all the ingredients for this recipe in just a few minutes. Then pop everything into your slow cooker, set it and forget it. When you arrive home from work or after a day of running errands, this hearty chicken stew will be waiting for you. All you need to do is cook up a few biscuits or a pan of cornbread and dinner is ready!
Why We Love This Recipe
- It’s easy! Chop the veggies, brown the chicken, and let the slow cooker do the rest.
- Comfort food – what’s more comforting on a cool night than warm stew with biscuits?
- Economical – No expensive ingredients required.
About the Ingredients
- Chicken – Choose whatever you like or the least expensive cut at the grocery store. Boneless, skinless chicken parts are very convenient, but they come at a premium cost. Remove the bones and skin yourself and save loads of money! Both white and dark meat work well for this recipe.
- Potatoes – I like Yukon gold for this recipe. They hold up better to the long cooking time than floury potatoes like Russets.
- Cream of Chicken Soup – Gives a creamy richness to the finished stew.
- Poultry Seasoning – I always have this on hand, but if you don’t, just leave it out. It does give great flavor to the chicken, but I’m not sure it’s worth buying a whole container for one recipe.
- Fresh Parsley – Substitute dried if you like. Remember herbs substitute at 1/3 dried for fresh. So for this recipe, you’d use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried parsley in place of the 1/4 cup of fresh.
You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
Prep the Chicken
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (roughly 3/4”). Sprinkle with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss the seasoned chicken pieces with the flour.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the chicken, working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan, and cook until lightly browned on all sides.
- Place the chicken in a slow cooker.
TIP: Take care when handling raw chicken. I use a plastic cutting board that can go directly into the dishwasher to be sanitized.
Chop the Vegetables
- Cut the potatoes and celery into roughly 3/4” inch pieces and add to the cooker. Peel the carrots and cut them into similarly sized pieces. Do the same with the onion. Roughly chop the parsley and add it into the slow cooker with all the vegetables and the chicken.
Must Have Slow Cooker
This crockpot is easy to clean! The stoneware insert and lid can both go in the dishwasher.
Check it out >
Combine the Soup and Seasonings
- In a small bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup with water, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over chicken and vegetables in the cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours.
- Serve with a side of biscuits.
Storage and Reheating
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within three days. Freezing is not recommended because frozen potatoes become too soft and grainy textured.
Options and Variations
- To make a richer, creamy chicken stew, add 4 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream during the last 30 minutes in the crockpot.
- Vary the herbs and seasoning to suit your own tastes. Simple salt and pepper is perfectly fine. If you enjoy a specific herb with poultry, go for it!
Questions
To make the stew on the stovetop, use a large heavy pot such as Dutch oven. Brown the chicken in the pot and add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through (about 45 minutes to 1 hour).
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 rib celery
- 4 medium carrots
- 1 medium yellow onion
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 1 soup can water
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (roughly 3/4”). Sprinkle with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss the seasoned chicken pieces with the flour.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the chicken, working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan, and cook until lightly browned on all sides.
- Place the chicken in a slow cooker.
- Cut the potatoes and celery into roughly 3/4” inch pieces and add to the cooker. Peel the carrots and cut them into similarly sized pieces. Do the same with the onion. Roughly chop the parsley and add it into the slow cooker with all the vegetables and the chicken.
- In a small bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup with water, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over chicken and vegetables in the cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours.
- Serve with a side of biscuits.
Notes
- I like to use Yukon gold potatoes. Their skin is so tender that no peeling is necessary.
- Substitute fresh herbs for dried. Dried herbs are more potent, so when using fresh, use about three times more than dried.
- Boneless, skinless thighs also work very well in this recipe. Use whatever you have on hand!
- This recipe easily doubles to accommodate larger families.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post originally sponsored by General Mills and published on October 16, 2012. It has been updated with additional information.
I love the soup THANK YOU LOVE IT mmmm!!!!! (:
Hi Lana
Doubt you’re still following this thread but if you are, could you tell me what size crock pot you use for your chicken stew. I have 3 different sizes with 3 -4 quart being the smallest a 5 quart & a 7 quart being the largest. Your recipe due to ingredients you say to add does not appear to be that large ( which is good as there’s only two of us ) but I’m not quite sure what size crock pot I should use to make your lovely sounding chicken stew, thus my question as to what size you usually use?
Thanks ever so much
Stay safe
Joycelyn
That was my smallest slow cooker – about a 3 quart, I think. Hope that helps!
Thank you Lana
I though my small one would be the best to use but wanted the awesome recipe expert Lana Stuart to confirm that.
Have the best of days
Stay safe
Joycelyn
Can I cook it on a low setting for longer than 4-5 hours?
I haven’t tried that, but I’m sure it would work.
Love this recipe!! My first time making a chicken stew in the slow cooker. I omitted the 1 can cream of chicken soup added chicken broth. I made a roux and added at the end to thicken the stew. Filled the mason jars and stored them in the freezer. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
The weather here is finally cooling off, so I’m anxious to start cooking some hearty & comforting meals for my family. This “Chicken Stew” sounds delicious, and also very easy to prepare. I plan to make it this coming Sunday evening, when we all get together. I will double the recipe, and I’ll use (both) chicken breasts & thighs…. so that everyone will get their favorite piece of chicken. The only thing which I will do differently, is to add a couple of good sprinkles of garlic powder into the flour mixture (for more flavor), but not too much! A little bit will bring out the flavor of the chicken, but you won’t have an overpowering flavor of garlic in the dish. Also, I plan to use (Heart Healthy) ‘Cream of Chicken Soup’, instead of the regular one. Enjoy! I
Could I make this stew without the cream of chicken soup? Could just use a chicken broth or stock?
Sure, Nannette. It’ll be chicken soup if you do that. The cream soup gives it a creamy, thicker consistency making it more of a stew.
In the ingredients it calls for flour but in the directions it doesn’t use it. Is this correct? I don’t want to miss a step. Thank you!
Jennifer – you’re right! The text of the post does mention the flour, but the print recipe did not. I have corrected it and apologize for the error!
HI! just wanted to thank you for your page….I’ll be married soon & have been so afraid of not being a great cook to my husband. But now that I’ve found you Lana (thank God), i know I’ll have a well-fed and happy husband :) God Bless you
You’re so welcome, Hope!! Glad you enjoy the blog.
This is perfect, I work long, long hours and needed something filling and healthy, that was easy to make. The cubing and browning of the chicken makes the chicken so tender and moist.
Out of personal preference, I skipped the onion and used tried herbs instead and a fat free can of soup.
Thank you for this delicious recipe, it has made my dinner preparation, much more relaxing!!!!
I was looking for something filling and healthy and easy to make. I work long, long hours….and this was perfect!!!! The cubing and browning of the chicken first, is amazing. Leaves it tender and delicious. I skipped the onion and the fresh herbs, out of personal preference and used none fat soup.
Thank you for this delicious recipe, I live in hot New Mexico, and it’s still perfect for dinner!!!
Just moved to the Pacific Northwest from sunny So Cal…was not prepared for the cold nor the rain. Opened up your post for this soup the other day and decided to make it since we were going to be out of the house for most of the day. Cannot tell you how comforting it was to come in from the cold to the comforting smell of this stew! My whole family enjoyed it tremendously. THANK YOU!
Thanks, Kimberly! I’m so glad your family enjoyed the chicken stew. It’s lovely comments like yours that really make blogging so much fun. Stay warm and dry out there in the Pacific Northwest!
Oh this does sound lovely, perfect cool weather food!!! I have a bunch of baby potatoes I need to eat up, this would work perfectly!!! Yum, Hugs, Terra
This looks like a great, and easy meal. I’d definitely pair this with a nice chardonnay, lightly oaked of course.
Thank you, Matt. It is both great and easy.
It looks hearty, comforting, and so delicious.
Oooh…great comfort food! And a marvelous reason to dust off my crockpot! This one would be hubby approved :)
It was definitely approved by the hubby in this house!
I’m all about the bread along with soup. In fact, if there isn’t, even at a restaurant I’ll ask.
Oh, definitely. It’s just not soup without bread, right?
Sounds great Lana and now I’m craving both bad…the stew and some biscuits. I make homemade biscuits and I use Pillsbury; sometimes timing is everything and when I don’t have the time? They taste perfect to me!
Right, Barb! There’s just not always time to make homemade from scratch and these are perfect for those days.
I love watching the seasons change. Stew is the first sign of cooler weather. Then comes soup! Can’t wait. GREG
Soups and stews are the best thing about Fall for sure! I’ve often thought of doing a series with a soup-a-week from the time the weather starts to cool right through winter.
You know, when we were growing up, the biscuits were there not only as bread, but for soppin’ – catching the last drop of goodness.
I can’t imagine anything better for soppin’ up that wonderful stew than freshly baked biscuits. And, if you can get that homemade biscuit flavor (and all around comfort) by using the wonderful Pillsbury product, and saving time, all the better.
Thanks. I think I know something that will be served at my house this weekend!
Miss P
You are so right. We rarely had a meal without some kind of bread to go along with it. If Mama tried to leave it out, Daddy would always ask, “Where’s the bread?” It was so essential to getting the last drops of goodness from the plate, that in some families it was considered an additional utensil :-)
Oh how funny – I just started my own slow cooker chicken soup and came to check recipes and here is your version. Awesome! I think I’ll cube my chicken next time as you did.