Crock Pot Chicken Stew
Hearty Crock Pot Chicken Stew is so creamy with tender, seasoned chicken and veggies. Easy comfort food that comes out perfectly in the slow cooker!
A BUSY DAY DINNER RECIPE
There’s nothing like a hearty bowl of steaming chicken stew to warm you up and fill your belly. This Crock Pot Chicken Stew is one of those comfort meals that’s not only delicious but also incredibly easy to make. Totally my favorite kind of dinner! This recipe uses the more affordable chicken thigh (so many of you have asked me to do more recipes with these) but you can certainly use chicken breast if that is your preference!
This was very good! I will definitely have this on regular rotation.
– Ben
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
If you check out my pictures, I show it served with some French Bread, but any Texas Toast or Breadsticks would work nicely. It’s also great with a side salad. Make it simple and grab a bagged salad and call it done.
You can make some Homemade Ranch Seasoning or just go without. It would still be tasty without it. Or use your favorite blend of seasonings. A little Mrs. Dash herb blend, a little thyme and rosemary or poultry seasoning all work nicely.
It shouldn’t be with this recipe since we use a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up towards the end. But if you find it is still too thin to your liking, do a second slurry. All you do is mix 2 tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and then dump it in the stew and stir. Turn it up to high and you should start to see it thicken in about 10 minutes or so.
If you’d like a kick of heat, you can add some red pepper flakes. If you want to swap out the veggies, feel free to use whatever kinds you prefer.
Leftovers can be transferred to an airtight container and can be kept for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. You can technically freeze this stew but it can often change texture once thawed (the potatoes get mushy, etc.)
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- skinless, boneless chicken thighs– you could swap this out for chicken breasts or tenderloins if you prefer.
- potatoes – russet or Yukon gold work just fine here.
- carrots, celery and onion – some stores carry this already diced in the produce section if you’re looking for a time saving option.
- garlic – you can use the jarred stuff if that is what you have on hand.
- chicken broth– if you’re sensitive to sodium, use low sodium or no sodium added chicken broth. You could even use Homemade Chicken Broth where you can control the amounts of ingredients easier.
- packet chicken gravy – use a low sodium chicken gravy or no sodium added chicken gravy mix if you need to watch your sodium intake.
- packet ranch seasoning mix– you could even use some of your Homemade Ranch Seasoning. The homemade version is great if you need to make it low or no sodium!
- heavy cream– if this is too rich or creamy for you, you can go lighter. Swap the heavy cream for half-and-half or a tad of milk (milk is much thinner than heavy cream so start with a little and add until you’re happy with the consistency. This is supposed to be stew not soup and milk will water it down more than heavy cream.
- cornstarch – this is going to be used to thicken the stew up a bit. You could skip this if you like it just the way it is and don’t want it thicker.
- frozen peas – you can use canned peas. I just don’t like how dark they are – it’s just a visual thing. I like the bright green frozen ones but you can certainly use canned if that is what you have.
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT CHICKEN STEW:
To a 5-6 quart slow cooker, add chicken thighs, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and minced garlic. In a separate bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, chicken gravy mix and ranch seasoning mix. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker on top of the chicken thighs.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours high, until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165F degrees and veggies are tender. Remove the chicken and shred it or dice it up or if you don’t want to remove the chicken just take some tongs or a couple of forks and go into the slow cooker and shred it with the tongs or forks. If you removed the chicken, put it back into the slow cooker when done dicing it up. In a bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch then pour into the slow cooker. Add the peas and stir it all together. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes (or until the peas are tender.)
Optional: Top with some chopped parsley. Then serve!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Crock Pot Potato Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken Pot Roast
- Crock Pot Beef Stew
- Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie
- Crock Pot Chicken and Ranch
- Crock Pot Mississippi Chicken
- Creamy Chicken Stew (stovetop)
- Crock Pot White Lasagna Soup
- Crock Pot Taco Soup
- Crock Pot Dr Pepper Beef Stew
- Crock Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Crock Pot Vegetable Soup
- Crock Pot Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Crock Pot Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts or tenderloins)
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced (russet or Yukon gold)
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced (see notes below)
- ½ cup diced sweet onion (can use more or less to taste)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth (low or no sodium chicken broth can be used – see notes below)
- 1 ounce packet chicken gravy
- 1 ounce packet ranch seasoning mix
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup frozen peas
- chopped parsley (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- To a 5-6 quart slow cooker, add 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 2 potatoes, peeled and diced, 2 large carrots, peeled and diced, 2 stalks of celery, diced, 1/2 cup diced sweet onion and 2 cloves garlic, minced.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups chicken broth, 1 ounce packet chicken gravy and 1 ounce packet ranch seasoning mix.
- Pour this mixture into the slow cooker on top of the chicken thighs.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours high, until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165F degrees and veggies are tender.
- Remove the chicken and shred it or dice it up or if you don’t want to remove the chicken just take some tongs or a couple of forks and go into the slow cooker and shred it with the tongs or forks. If you removed the chicken, put it back into the slow cooker when done dicing it up.
- In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream and 2 Tablespoons cornstarch then pour into the slow cooker.
- Add 1 cup frozen peas and stir it all together. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes.
- Optional: Top with some chopped parsley before serving.
- Then enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- When cutting celery, it is up to you if you want to use the tops or not. I usually cut the celery off at the top and remove that part as well as the white part at the bottom and just use the center of the celery.
- If you are at all sensitive to salt in recipes, I would recommend a no sodium chicken broth. You can always add additional salt to the recipe but you can’t take it out. Remember that the packets of chicken gravy and ranch seasoning also have salt in them.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This was really good. I was able to get this in the crockpot on my lunch break and had dinner ready after working my full time job. The best!
Can you use Rotisserie Chicken?
So good and tasty. It sure is going to be My comfort to go dish!
So easy and so full of flavor!
Thanks so very much Marybeth! I really appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment!!
Could you substitute half and half instead of heavy cream? Also, could you add more potatoes and carrrots as my boys have a very hardy appetite and then just cook it longer? Thank you.
Made this with left over roasted chicken. Discovered I didn’t have ranch dressing mix so i tried Italian seasoning mix. It was very tasty.
Definitely putting this recipe in the saved pile.
So glad i found it.
This sounds yummy, can’t wait to try it. Thank you for the recipe it will be comforting on these cool fall days.
Thanks so much for commenting Becky! I hope you love it!
Excellent recipe! I didn’t change a thing. Thank you so much for sharing.
This quickly became a favorite, even of my chicken-hating husband. So easy and absolutely delicious. Comfort food at its finest!
Yay!! Absolutely love hearing that Elaine!! And thanks so very much for leaving a comment!
Good recipe and I will continue to use this. TY
This was very good! I will definitely have this on regular rotation.
Thanks so much Ben! So glad you enjoyed it!