The perfect old-fashioned Crock Pot Chicken Stew recipe packed with tender chicken, potatoes, and lots of vegetables in a tasty broth.
It's fast and easy to make this small-batch chicken stew in any size crock pot or on the stovetop with only 10 minutes of prep time with these simple step-by-step photo instructions.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken—Skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
Aromatics—garlic and onion
Vegetables—potatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms (optional), frozen corn, and frozen peas
Tomatoes—diced, optional
Chicken broth—low sodium
Salt and black pepper
Optional spices—poultry seasoning, celery seed, thyme, rosemary
Corn starch—Optional for thickening
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Featured Comment
Kristen said, "I always feel guilty when something so easy to cook tastes good. You feel like you should have worked much harder for such a great result."
Make your life easier with this classic old-fashioned comfort food that will warm you to the bone on a cold night. Loaded with chicken and veggies, it is delicious and easy to make, with many options to make it your special stew.
It uses a small 3-4 quart crock pot, but it is easy to adjust to a 2-quart mini crock pot or a full-size 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
This chicken stew recipe is naturally gluten-free and is relatively low in sodium. It will fit a healthy diet, like a low-calorie and low-fat diet.
👨🍳How to Make Chicken Stew in a Crock Pot
Prepare vegetables—chop 1 medium onion, 2-3 peeled carrots, and 1-2 ribs of celery. Next, prep the potatoes by peeling and cut into ¾ to 1-inch cubes—about 2 medium potatoes for about 2 cups. Optional - 4 oz. mushrooms cleaned and halved.
Clean, trim, and cube 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts—about 1 to 1 ½ pounds.
Add the chicken, prepared veggies, ½ cup frozen corn, 14 oz of chicken broth, 1-2 crushed or minced cloves of garlic, ½ teaspoon celery seed, ¼ to ½ teaspoon thyme(optional), ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and optionally on ½ cup of diced tomatoes.
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Add peas 30 minutes before the end of cooking. Also, stir in a slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of cold water if you want a thicker stew. If the vegetables are not fully tender at the end of cooking, go a bit longer.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
♨️How to cook chicken stew on the stovetop
- Use a heavy pan like a Dutch oven with a few teaspoons of oil over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the chicken.
- When the chicken starts to brown (4-5 minutes), add the veggies and cook another 4-5 minutes.
- Add the other ingredients except the peas. Decrease to simmer, cover, and cook for 45-60 minutes until chicken is 165° and potatoes/carrots are tender.
- Add the peas for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. If using frozen green beans, they can go in with the potatoes or near the end, like peas would.
Options and Variations
- Use skinless boneless chicken thighs for more tender meat, but cook to 180°.
- Add ½ cup of milk or heavy cream to make a creamy chicken stew.
- Add ½ cup of white wine.
- Add 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.
- Vary your herbs and spices for different flavors.
- Use thin-skin potatoes, like red or Yukon gold, and skip the peeling. If using Russets, they should be peeled.
Other crock pot recipes to warm you to the bone
Don't miss the Smaller Crock Pot Beef Stew recipe. Check out a few other crock pot soup recipes, like Cheeseburger Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup—Stovetop or Crock Pot, and Healthy Chicken Vegetable Soup.
↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size " recipe
This recipe is easy to cut in half or double to fit your needs. The full recipe makes about 4 servings of about 2 cups in a 3-4 quart crock pot. Perfect for our "for two" household with leftovers.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half or double.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- The half recipe will fit in a 2-quart mini crock pot.
- A double recipe fits in a 6-quart or larger crock pot.
Leftovers—storage and reheating
Store leftover chicken stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days or freezer for 3 months.
To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator first if frozen. Then, reheat on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium heat, which is preferred, but the microwave will work but may affect the chicken texture.
❓FAQs
All stews have potatoes of some type. After all, that is what differentiates stews from soups.
Yes, you add the chicken near the end of cooking when the vegetables are cooked. A pound of chicken will be about 3 cups of shredded precooked chicken.
I suggest a cornstarch slurry of a tablespoon of cornstarch in a tablespoon of cold water for the last 30 minutes of cooking when you add the peas. Add more if you want thicker.
Other options are using less broth in the recipe or making a roux and adding that late in cooking. Potato flakes can also be added.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 ½ pounds Skinless boneless chicken breast - trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 onion - medium – diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- 2-3 carrots - peeled and cut into 1 inch slices
- 1-2 stalks celery - diced
- 2 cup potatoes - peeled and cut into ¾ to 1 inch cubes
- 4 oz mushrooms - cleaned and halved-optional
- ½ cup frozen corn
- 14 oz chicken broth - low sodium
- 1 cup drained diced tomatoes - Optional, add if you want a tomato-based stew
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon celery seed - skip if you don't have
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon dry thyme - to taste. Optional
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch - optional for thickening-in cold water
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables—chop 1 medium onion, 2-3 peeled carrots, and 1-2 ribs of celery. Next, prep the potatoes by peeling and cut into ¾ to 1-inch cubes—about 2 medium potatoes for about 2 cups. Optional - 4 oz. mushrooms cleaned and halved.
- Clean, trim, and cube 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts—about 1 to 1 ½ pounds.
- Add the chicken, prepared veggies, ½ cup frozen corn, 14 oz of chicken broth, 1-2 crushed or minced cloves of garlic, ½ teaspoon celery seed, ¼ to ½ teaspoon thyme(optional), ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and optionally on ½ cup of diced tomatoes.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Add peas 30 minutes before the end of cooking. Also, stir in a slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of cold water if you want a thicker stew. If the vegetables are not fully tender at the end of cooking, go a bit longer.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- This recipe is set for a smaller crock pot of 3 to 4 quarts and 4 servings of about 2 cups each. It is a perfect recipe to double for a full-size crock pot and make 8 servings. A half recipe will fit in a 2-quart mini crock pot. You can also cook the smaller amount in the larger crock pot.
- The amount of chicken, like most ingredients in many soups and stews, can vary some. 1 to 1 ½ pounds range is fine. Use either breasts or thighs.
- Other ingredients like celery, carrots, and potatoes can also vary by the amount you have.
- Like most chicken stews, this is a bland recipe. Spice to your taste. Thyme is suggested by most, but we usually leave it out. The optional tomato is a nice addition.
- This is a thinner stew. In this recipe, a slurry of cornstarch in cold water.
- If the vegetables are not tender at the end of cooking, go a bit longer.
- Good refrigerated for 4 days and frozen for 3 months.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editor's note: Originally published January 12, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Featured in Our Best Soup Recipes roundup.
Gail
Hi, you wonderful cook you! I' like to make this on top of the stove or oven. Any suggestions? Also how to thicken.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Gail,
For stovetop, use a heavy pan like a Dutch oven with a few teaspoons of oil over medium high heat. When hot, add the chicken, when starting to brown (4-5 minutes) then add the veggies and cook another 4-5 minutes. Add the other things except the peas. Decrease to simmer, cover and cook for 45-60 minutes until chicken is 165° and potatoes/carrots are tender. Add the peas the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. If using green beans, they can go in with the potatoes or near the end like peas would.
To thicken, the tapioca is used but you can make a slurry of flour or cornstarch to thicken instead.
Dan
Deborah J. Lein
Easy to make. I added another carrot and celery. Kept the thyme, halved the bay leaf (to one (not my favorite flavor). I find that lemon juice adds the spark that chicken soup or stew needs. (A Williams Sonoma tip). I use fresh or organic but never use reconstituted lemon juice. It leaves a metallic aftertaste in my opinion. For a large crockpot I start with a TBSP. Small crockpot start with 1tsp. And you'll find you won't need more salt.
Sara
hey y'all, its crockin as we speak, one note, if you are like me and over chop veggies etc, add your chicken to the crock pot first, that way its on the bottom near the heat. i added mine last (i was chopping everything while my chicken thawed), and now my chicken is on top. i am anticipating it being tricky to get the top pieces up to temperature.
Sara Upstate NY
Sara
ps, and my crock pot is very full and tough to stir to get chicken towards the bottom.
Sandra Pare
Hi Sara. Late question, but do you remember if you had to cook it longer than normal? and did you cook on high? Thanks!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Sandra,
DrDan here. Welcome to the blog.
I don't know if you will get an answer. Peolpe seem to almost never reply around here and I missed her last winter.
I would say her issue is more related to how full a crock pot should be. Crock pots cook more redictabably when filled 1/3 to 2/3 full. If under, it heats and cooks a bit faster. If over 2/3 full and cooking is delayed. And over 75% full is always a problem.
With a stew, you do want to be sure the chicken reaches 165 degrees and the vegetables are tender.
Hope that helps some.
Dan
Justine
Hello, I add some summer savory and poultry seasoning powder to my chicken stew for extra flavor, also add rutabaga but leave out tomato, mushrooms and corn. I don't use anything to thicken it, love it just the way it is, so yummy!!
Love your recipes by the way!!
Peggy waskowiak
I used a can of cream of chicken soup. It helped to thicken it and added flavor. Add less salt
Stephanie
Is this more like a chunky soup? Would it be served over noodles, with dumplings, or just by itself? I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around what this is exactly. Thanks!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Stephanie,
Chunky soup is about right but the broth is relatively thin and not something I would put on noodles. It is for eating like a soup. If you thicken it a lot as I discussed in the post, you could use it on noodles but that is not the intent.
Dan
Kenneth
I have not made this yet but wanted to thank you for your soup for a week series. I especially like the crockpot options. I am starting to plan for this summers camping in Alaska and when we have electric hook ups I like to put a crockpot on in the morning and then explore for a day and come back to a hot and hearty meal. I add cornbread cooked over the fire and eat very well. I have at least 4 trips of options and counting from your site. I greatly appreciate your efforts.
DrDan
Hi Ken,
Please be sure to taste test this. It is bland and you might want more spice (a guy thing). See the discussion in the post.
Dan
Samantha Paul
Hello DrDan...!amazing its really nice and these dish looks sooo yummy; delicious, i will make this corck pot chicken in upcoming weekend. Thanks for sharing....!
Roxanne
Thank you for the wonderfully easy and tasty chicken stew! I found it to have a great flavour and found nothing lacking. I did add a few extra carrots and an extra stick of celery. I did use some flour and water to thicken near the end of cooking. Served with some warm biscuits and a comforting meal was enjoyed by all.
5 star ⭐️ rating definitely deserved!
DrDan
Hi Roxanne,
It is a little bland but that is what chicken stew is. I always think of this recipe as a starting point to modify.
I do love it with a good biscuit.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Therese
Well, I'm trying this recipe for the first time today. So far, after following the recipe exactly, and I put my crockpot on high, after the four hours, the chicken was done, but the veggies, potatoes and carrots especially, were still hard as a rock. So, I took the chicken out after four hours and set aside. I am continuing to cook the veggies on high. Looking like it will take an extra two hours at least. I think I will also add some flour/milk mixture to make it creamy in the end.
DrDan
Not even close. Cut in half.
DrDan
Shannon
I am going to try this tomorrow. I am new to the cock pot recipes but game to try anything this easy!
Zia
I have not used a slow cooker before, so this was the inaugural recipe for my new crock pot. I have a smaller pot than the recipe calls for, so I reduced quantities a bit. I like things with a lot of herb flavor, so in addition to the thyme I added savory and sage. Also about a teaspoon of sea salt at the beginning of cooking. Then a bit of black pepper at the end of 4 hours. It is not bland! I might even add a little cumin next time, and will also definitely try the curry version another reviewer suggested. But it turned out very tasty, and would be good with even fewer herbs.
Cooking time: after 4 hours on the high setting on my 4.5 qt cooker, the potatoes and carrots were still not quite done. Edible but way too firm (some of the carrot bits even had a slight crunch). Fortunately, since this was a maiden voyage I built in some extra time to my desired dinner hour. I turned the pot back on at the high setting about an hour ago and it's close to done. I think 6 hours on high will work best in my pot (Crock Pot brand).
All in all, a great recipe that I will make again, and also share with friends. Thank you!
PaulaD
For those who call “Bland”, I recommend a 1/2 tsp to1 tsp Curry Powder, will zing it up deliciously, without tomato(too much acidity) or corn. I also add a dash of Tumeric for medicinal purposes. Doesn’t affect taste & is good for you. Go light on the salt, heavy on the fresh black pepper. Canned mushrooms work fine & little red potatoes (uncut) are a treat my son likes to mash separately & add butter, then lick the fork! Have not got him completely trained yet (he is 47). He comes over regularly for”Mom’s” cooking & my slow cooker recipes are his favorite. Try cooking a pot roast, slow cooker style, same ingredients just take a cup or so of liquid, thicken with flour in sauce pan & serve as accompaning gravy.
DrDan
Thanks for the note and ratings. Excellent comments. I love variations.
DrDan
Priscilla
i made this yesterday and it was delicious but I was unhappy with the many tiny fatty chicken bits floating throughout my stew that were impossible to remove. I used organic chicken breast pieces cut into cubes. Does anyone know why this happened or how to avoid it? This really makes the soup visually unappealing. I want a nice clear broth.
DrDan
About the only place they could come from is the chicken.... Be sure to trim any visible fat, there is very little in the chicken breasts otherwise. Many have suggested chicken thighs for tenderness but that is a lot fat. There is nothing else with fat other than the broth. Most can broth is low fat but homemade is higher in fat.
DrDan
Matt
The other option is to stew the chicken in the broth first for a couple hours. Turn off the crock pot and let it cool (if you're really concerned you can pop it into the fridge overnight). After its cooled all the fat will be on the top for you to scoop out leaving the clear broth. Then just put it back on the heat and throw all the other stuff in as in the recipe.
Millie T
Thanks for the recipe! I found your site two weeks ago, and have already made this stew twice. I have to admit, I did some variations based upon what I had on hand (we use thighs since it's more forgiving on cooking time), but I feel that your proportions are right on the nose. All the adults had a couple of big bowls apiece. I took Lisa's excellent suggestion to use an immersion mixer at the end to thicken the soup up.
For those who think that this is bland, make sure to add salt & pepper to taste towards the end of cooking. Also, if you have a newer crockpot that runs hot (mine will actually bubble on low setting at around the 4 hour mark) you'll need to shorten the cooking time. I set my timer for about 5.5 hours total, but I think that it might be even better at 5 hours. Will definitely keep this in the rotation, thanks!
Matt S
Made this yesterday. Kill the thyme completely. Family hated it. I could deal with it if it was a fourth or less thyme than what the recipe called for. After eight hours in the crock on low, the potatoes were not falling apart. 1" cubes may be too large. I'll go smaller next time. I agree with the Worcestershire or something else for spark.
DrDan
Thanks for the note and rating.
I put a note in the recipe about the thyme. The potatoes are fall apart in both my larger crock pots so yours may run a little cooler then mine. But 1 inch is the biggest I would want in stew so I put in 3/4 to 1 inch.
DrDan
Marjorie Roy
Don't really need the thyme! But a little Worcestershire Sauce gives it a nice taste. I use white pepper on just about everything (well, not ice cream - haha) and a few shakes just adds to the flavor. Also love it with added tomatoes. Great recipe, DrDan! And oh so easy...
Chef
All of you saying it is bland...... Season to taste!!!! Never follow a recipe exactly unless you are baking. even then you can make small changes. It is your fault it is bland.