Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken & Vegetables
This balsamic chicken and vegetable dish is made in the slow cooker for the perfect weeknight meal or stress-free meal prep! It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, and can be made AIP.
There’s nothing like a slow cooker meal for those busy weeknights! They’re easy, and comforting, and the clean-up is straightforward. Not every slow cooker meal is healthy, and many come loaded with cream cheese and dairy, but this one is packed with vegetables and totally dairy free!
This slow cooker balsamic chicken and vegetables is the perfect comforting, yet healthy meal that you can set and forget to serve for a simple and nourishing dinner. The balsamic flavor is subtle but delicious, and the chicken is cooked to perfection with crispy skin, and fall of the bone tenderness.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick clean up! Slow cooker meals make for an easy, straightforward, and quick cleanup!
- Perfect for meal prep. This recipe can be used as a great way to get ready for the week.
- Comfort food loaded with nutrients. You get all the flavor in this recipe without any dairy, with tons of added vegetables to make for a power-packed dinner!
Recipe Ingredients
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Bone in chicken thighs. Slow cooker meals often have the critique of the meat just being super tender and not having any other dimension, but this recipe has the best of both worlds with crispy chicken skin and tender meat! The chicken is seared in a pan first which creates crispy skin and cuts down on the cooking time.
- Green beans.
- Carrots and Sweet Potatoes. Love having these veggies as part of the dish!
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and Dried Thyme.
- Avocado Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, and Chicken Broth.
- Fresh Parsley. For topping.
- Arrowroot Starch and Water. Optional to thicken the liquid.
Substitutions and Modifications
- Bone in chicken thighs. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you’ll skip the searing in the pan and will likely have to cook the chicken longer in the slow cooker.
- Green beans. For AIP, you can either omit these altogether or add more carrots to bump up the veggies.
How to make Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Thighs & Vegetables
Here are the simple steps, with photos, to make this recipe. Find full instructions in the recipe card.
Step one. Pat the chicken thighs dry and season.
Step two. Add the chicken skin side down and sear for 4-6 minutes or until the skin is crisp and no longer sticks. Sear for another few minutes on the other side.
Step three. Add the chicken to the slow cooker along with the vegetables, seasonings, broth and balsamic.
Step four. Add the lid to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4.5-5 hours or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t skip crisping the chicken thighs! This is key to getting chicken skin that’s rendered and crisped.
- Check for doneness often. Slow cookers can vary in temperature depending on how old/new they are, so check for doneness to make sure your chicken is cooked through but the sweet potatoes aren’t mushy.
Recipe FAQS
I keep this in the fridge for about 3 days! You can reheat it in a pot on the stove for a few minutes with some of the cooking liquid.
You can, but I prefer the slow cooker! To make it in the instant pot, sear the chicken as directed then pressure cook the rest of the recipe on high for about 20 minutes. The vegetables should be tender, and the chicken cooked through.
Serve with rice or quinoa (if tolerated), cauliflower rice, or a side salad!
Technically, yes you can! However, if you’re using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs like this recipe calls for, you definitely want to crisp them beforehand to get the perfect chicken skin.
It’s preferable to slow-cook chicken thighs as they will be more tender this way. Since we crisp the skin beforehand, the chicken will cook faster in the slow cooker, even when you leave it on low. Just be sure you always check for a 165 F internal temperature.
If you tried this Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
More chicken recipes to check out…
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken & Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
- Salt and pepper to taste, omit pepper for AIP
- 3 tbsp avocado oil, divided
- 2 cups sweet potato, chopped
- 2 cups carrots, chopped
- 1 lb green beans, trimmed
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp coconut sugar, optional
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Optional to thicken the liquid
- 1 ½ tsp arrowroot starch
- 1 ½ tsp water
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Using a large, deep skillet, heat about 2 tbsp of avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin side down and sear for 4-6 minutes or until the skin is crisp and no longer sticks. Sear for another few minutes on the other side.
- Transfer the chicken to the base of the slow cooker. Add the vegetables and seasonings. Toss to combine and add the broth, balsamic vinegar, and avocado oil.
- Add the lid to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4.5-5 hours or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- If you’d like to thicken the sauce, combine the arrowroot and water and pour it into the slow cooker. Stir and allow to thicken over 5-10 minutes.
- Serve the chicken over the vegetables with parsley and spoon over some of the cooking liquid.
I cook this about twice a month and it feeds us for two-three work night dinners. It’s so easy! I leave out the green beans and add extra sweet potatoes and carrots, because I love the veggies. Sometimes I add the arrowroot at the end and sometimes I don’t and it’s delicious both ways. I’ve diversified the seasonings as well. It’s very versatile.
PS — I alternate this meal bi-weekly-ish with your Slow Cooker Pot Roast. I appreciate the ease of using my slow cooker on the weekend and having several dinners prepared for the week. Both are easy and delicious! Thank you!
So glad you are loving these recipes!!
Made this tonight with some extra veggies. I left out the green beans (even before I was AIP I was not fond of them), and added onions, brussels sprouts, and mushrooms. I also used purple sweet potatoes because that is what I had on hand. It came out so colorful, and so warming, and delicious.
This sounds really good. Do you think it would work in an instant pot.
HI, would you adjust the time for boneless chicken thighs?
I would skip the searing in the pan and you will likely have to cook the chicken longer in the slow cooker.