Slow Cooker Garlic Herb Chicken and Veggie Stew (Hands-Off Cozy Dinner)
easy slow cooker garlic herb chicken stew with vegetables and a light, savory broth. Minimal prep, lots of flavor, and perfect for busy days.
There’s something very smug about walking into your own kitchen at the end of the day and smelling dinner already done. I don’t always get that right, but when I do, it’s usually because I threw a bunch of things into the slow cooker in a mild panic earlier and hoped for the best.
This garlic herb chicken stew started exactly that way: too much to do, not enough brain space, and some chicken thighs that had to be cooked or thrown away. I wanted something I could mostly ignore, but that would still feel like real food when it was time to eat.
Slow cooker garlic herb chicken stew (ingredients in grams)
Main ingredients:
- Chicken thighs, boneless/skinless, 900 g
- Olive oil, 15 g
- Yellow onion, chopped, 160 g
- Carrots, sliced, 220 g
- Celery, sliced, 140 g
- Garlic, minced, 14 g
- Potatoes, cubed, 400 g (or skip for low-carb)
- Green beans, cut into pieces, 150 g
- Chicken broth, 1000 g
- Bay leaf, 1
- Dried thyme, 2 g
- Dried rosemary, 1 g
- Dried parsley, 2 g
- Salt, 9 g (adjust to taste)
- Black pepper, 2 g
- Lemon juice, 10 g (added at the end)
How I actually made it
I didn’t bother browning the chicken this time because I had about ten minutes to get everything in the pot before a meeting. I just seasoned the thighs with a bit of salt and pepper and laid them in the bottom of the slow cooker.
On top of that went onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, garlic, and green beans—layered more by reach than by strategy. I poured in the chicken broth, tossed in the bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and the rest of the salt and pepper, then gave everything a half-hearted stir.
The lid went on, I set it to low, and walked away for about 7 hours.
When I came back, the chicken was fall-apart tender, and the broth had turned from pale to a proper golden
. I fished out the bay leaf (always a fun little treasure hunt), grabbed two forks, and gently shredded the chicken right in the pot. Not into tiny shreds, just into big rustic pieces.
It smelled good but tasted a tiny bit flat at first, so I did my favorite little trick and added a splash of lemon juice. It didn’t