Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes
Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes is a delicious crock pot meal made with juicy chicken thighs, potatoes and carrots in a flavorful gravy. This is one of the best slow cooker recipes for an easy dinner!
I am so excited to share this recipe with you! As I was testing this slow cooker recipe to get it just perfect for you to make in your kitchen, this crockpot chicken and potatoes quickly became a favorite with my family.
Take just one bite and you’ll see why. First, we have tender, juicy chicken thighs, cooked to perfection in your crockpot. Then we have vegetables: potatoes and carrots, smothered in a rich and flavorful gravy that hardly took any effort to make. This easy crockpot chicken recipe is going into our regular meal rotation and I’m betting it will become a favorite of yours, too.
This is the kind of wholesome comfort food that I love to cook for my family. It’s quick to prep, you can make it ahead (thank you, crockpot recipes!), and it’s both satisfying and nourishing. If you like this recipe, you’ll also love my Crockpot Chicken Breast, Crockpot Chicken and Mushrooms, Tuscan Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs and Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice.
How to make Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes
My goal is always to keep my recipes as simple as possible while also maximizing flavor. Let’s run through the ingredients and directions for how to make this easy crockpot chicken.
Ingredients
- Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Thighs: I tested this recipe with different types of chicken and found that bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs worked best. The bone helps to keep the chicken moist as it cooks low and slow in the crockpot. If you prefer, you can remove the skin from the chicken before cooking but I did not find this to be necessary.
- Onion and Garlic: Flavor! You’ll sauté the onion and garlic on the stove to soften their flavor.
- Thyme, Rosemary and Bay Leaves: This is my favorite combination of herbs in this recipe, but you can try other seasonings if you prefer. I use dried herbs because I always have them on hand, but you can substitute fresh. If using fresh, you can just throw a few whole sprigs of thyme and rosemary in the slow cooker and remove the stems after cooking.
- Tomato Paste: The tomato paste adds richness and depth of flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, you can omit it.
- All Purpose Flour: The flour is needed as a thickener for the gravy.
- Chicken Broth: I recommend using low sodium chicken broth so that you can better control the amount of salt in your meal.
- Carrots: You’ll want to cut the carrots up fairly small – I recommend 1/2-inch half moons. This way, the carrots will be sure to cook in the same amount of time as the chicken. You can also use whole baby carrots, if you want to skip a chopping step.
- Potatoes: Any type of baby potatoes will work well in this recipe. If the baby potatoes are small (about 3/4-inch wide), you don’t even have to chop them. If they’re bigger, halving the potatoes will ensure that they cook until tender.
Recipe Steps
- Brown the chicken. Please don’t be tempted to skip this step, as it adds so much flavor to this crockpot meal. You’ll brown the chicken in some olive oil in a skillet on the stove. Brown the chicken on both sides, starting with the skin side down. Then set the chicken aside but keep the pan on the heat.
- Sauté the onion. Now you’re starting to create the layers of flavor for your gravy. Again, you might want to skip these stove top steps, but I tested this recipe without cooking any of the ingredients on the stove and it was not good. At all. So trust me on this one, these few extra minutes of prep time before you add the ingredients to your slow cooker are well worth it.
- Add seasonings, flour and broth. Once the onions have softened, you’ll add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, tomato paste and flour to the skillet. Stir for about 30 seconds, to cook off the raw flavor of the garlic and flour. Then pour in the chicken broth and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens. This will only take a minute or two. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Layer ingredients in the slow cooker. Put the carrots and potatoes in the bottom of the crockpot. Then spread the onion mixture from the skillet over the top. Place the bay leaves and then chicken on top of the vegetables.
- Slow cook. You can cook this crockpot chicken on low or high. Both work well, so choose based on what works best for your schedule. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How to tell if chicken is done? The best way to tell if your chicken is done is to use an instant read thermometer. Chicken should be cooked to 165° F, measured at the thickest part, away from the bone.
- Can I cook frozen chicken in a crockpot? No, you shouldn’t cook frozen chicken in a crockpot. Cooking frozen meat in a slow cooker can be a food safety risk. The low and slow cooking process means that frozen chicken could stay in the “danger zone” for long enough for bacteria to possibly multiply.
- Can I make this recipe with chicken breasts? This recipe works great with bone-in chicken breasts, and the cook time and method are the same. I tested this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it did not work well. The chicken dried out in the time that it took for the potatoes and carrots to become tender.
- Can I make this recipe with boneless chicken thighs? Yes, but you may need to reduce the cook time a little. I recommend checking to see if they are done after 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. However, boneless chicken thighs are naturally more juicy and flavorful than boneless chicken breasts, so you can probably get away with cooking them for the full time listed in the recipe.
- Can I add other vegetables? Other root vegetables, such as parsnips, would work well in this recipe. Be sure to chop them small so that they cook to tender. You can substitute 1-inch cubed sweet potatoes or butternut squash for the baby potatoes. Fresh green beans would also be delicious!
- What to serve with crockpot chicken and potatoes? Really, all you need with this crockpot meal are some homemade yeast rolls or crusty bread to soak up any extra gravy. If you like, you can also serve a healthy tossed green salad.
More Crockpot Chicken Recipes
- Crockpot Chicken Tacos
- Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
- More BEST Crockpot Chicken Recipes
- Crockpot Whole Chicken
Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes
Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes is a delicious meal made with juicy chicken thighs, potatoes and carrots in a flavorful gravy. One of the best slow cooker recipes for an easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, about 3 pounds
- salt and pepper
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 4 large carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 ½ pounds baby potatoes, halved or quartered as needed to make ¾-inch pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- chopped fresh parsley, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and brown on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a clean plate.
- Add the onion to the hot skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until onion starts to soften. Stir in the garlic, thyme, rosemary, tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the chicken broth. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until sauce thickens, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Remove pan from the heat.
- Place the potatoes and carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the onion mixture from the skillet and spread it out into an even layer over the vegetables. Add the bay leaves. Place the chicken on top of everything else, skin side up.
- Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 2 ½ to 3 hours, until chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and potatoes and carrots are tender. Remove bay leaves and serve.
Notes
- Bone-in chicken breasts may be substituted for the chicken thighs and the cook time will remain the same. I would recommend using about 3 bone-in chicken breasts.
- If using boneless, skinless chicken thighs, they will cook faster than bone-in thighs. I recommend checking on them after 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.
Serving: 1/6 recipe, Calories: 482kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 142mg, Sodium: 185mg, Potassium: 1023mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 8172IU, Vitamin C: 28mg, Calcium: 52mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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Hi Kristine,
This recipe looks great! Can this be done in the instant pot? Thank you.
I haven’t tested this in the Instant Pot, but here is what I would try. Heat the olive oil in the IP on saute. Add the chicken thighs (in batches as needed) and brown on both sides. Remove chicken to a clean plate. Add the onion and saute, then add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, and tomato paste (but not flour) and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits.
Add the chicken back to the pot, with the potatoes and carrots on top. Add the bay leaves. Pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, followed by a 5 minute natural release. Then quick release any remaining pressure. To thicken the gravy, you can remove the chicken and veggies and then stir in a cornstarch slurry of 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water. Cook on saute until the gravy has thickened.
If you try it, please let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Making this right now giving it a 5 stars just for the smell alone. It was super easy to follow instructions, and I cannot wait for husband to come home and try. Found this link via Pinterest.
So delicious! I definitely needed to add more salt though for me personally. Next time, I’ll more aggressively season the chicken before browning it in the pan. Tastes even better the next day; Now I need to make some biscuits to go with it! Hahahaha.
Even cheating, this one came out great. I used the correct chicken listed (bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs), but I sub’d “real” potatoes for whole potatoes from a can haha (I used two cans). I also used a frozen bag of carrots & peas, since I didn’t have any fresh carrots on hand; I was nervous the peas would disintegrate, but they stayed whole and weren’t mushy!!
Great flavor, but was the gravy supposed to turn out more like a broth? It was nice and thick when it went in.
It shouldn’t be as thin as broth, but will be a bit thinner than when you put it in because the chicken and vegetables release some liquid as they cook.
Hello,
Would i be able to do this recipe with boneless skinless chicken tenderloins?
I don’t think boneless skinless chicken tenderloins would work well in this recipe. They would be overcooked and dry out in the cook time needed to cook the potatoes and carrots.
This is one of the heartiest slow-cooked meals I have ever made! The only ingredient I omitted was the bay leaves, but it didn’t matter; it was still good.
I’m actually anticipating the crisp days of fall so I can enjoy this meal while watching a good movie.
Would drumsticks work with this recipe?
I haven’t tried that, but I think you could.
I used skinless chicken tights hope that works
Skinless chicken thighs will work fine. If they are boneless, see the note at the end of the recipe about cook times. 🙂
I’m new at this cooking in a crock pot. I was looking up other meals to make besides roast beef when the picture along grabbed my attention. Can you use a chicken base gravy instead of a tomato base gravy?
That sounds like a good variation, let me know how it turns out.
How can I tweak this so I can use the bonelss breasts I have right now instead?
Hi Andrea, in the post I noted that I tried this recipe with boneless chicken breasts and it didn’t work well. The chicken dried out in the time that it took to cook the potatoes and carrots.
Just made this. It’s almost ready. Can’t wait. Are you on FACEBOOK?
Hi Kristine. Your recipes never disappoint and this one is no exception. It’s absolutely delicious! The only change I made was using white sweet potatoes cut into small chunks. As another commenter said its even better the next day. Definitely making this recipe again. Thank you for all your wonderful meal ideas. I am an email subscriber and that’s how I got this recipe.
will substituting mushrooms for carrots work ? My husband doesn’t like carrots. Also I have a 4 Qt and a 7Qt. Which is better for this recipe ? Thank you !
Yes, I think mushrooms will work well in this recipe. My 5 quart slow cooker was pretty full when I made this (as you can see in the photos), so unless you are scaling the recipe down, I would try it in your 7 quart. Enjoy!
This recipe is delicious! My husband loved it and went back for seconds. Will definitely make this again.
I made this today using boneless/skinless chicken thighs & it was delicious ?.
I just set this up on my crockpot for tonight’s dinner… my house already smells heavenly!! I did use tapioca flour instead of regular to keep it Whole30 friendly… worked like a charm. Can’t wait to dig in tonight ❤️❤️??
I made this today and I have a couple of issues. First, the sauce was very oily. How do I fix that? Second, it really had no flavor although the chicken was perfectly moist. Where did I go wrong?
If your sauce turned out oily you could try removing the skin from the chicken thighs next time. I’m not sure why it had no flavor. You could try adding more salt and pepper, as everyone has different tastes when it comes to seasonings.
This dish is delicious.
ehhh this was kinda bland for me
Thank you for trying the recipe! It may be that it just needed more salt, as everyone’s tastes are different when it comes to salt in recipes. 🙂
Pretty good! The chicken was so tender and yes, like most people, I had to add salt to my dish. I added fresh string beans with the potatoes and carrots which made it an all-together meal. Thanks!
This was delicious. I substituted oat flour for the white to make it gluten free. Used less of it as oat flour is heavier than white flour. Next time I’ll add more salt.
The house smelled wonderful too. ?
Looks delicious! Can I substitute tomato paste for tomato sauce? Don’t have any paste on hand. Thanks
Sorry I meant *tomato sauce for tomato paste
I would just leave it out. Tomato sauce is much thinner and the flavor is less concentrated, so I don’t think you’d even notice whether it was there or not if using just 1 tablespoon.
This was so easy. I only used three thighs because that is all I had. Didn’t have baby potatoes so I used small russets and cut them like I would for stew Doubled them and the carrots. Very good will make again.
Was delicious! Like the other post suggested I could had used more salt and pepper to the gravy. I will definitely try this recipe again! Thank you!
Hi Laura,
I’m glad you enjoyed this! I often err on the side of using less salt and pepper in my recipes because readers can always add more, to their tastes, but you can’t take it out once you add it. 🙂
Tried ur crock pot chicken and potatoes, and it was delicious.
This recipe was delicious and easy, my family loved it. I used chicken thighs and the chicken was juicy, tender and flavorful. Served this with buttermilk biscuits to sop up the gravy. I did make a few minor changes and definitely will be making again. Recommend these changes: Brine the chicken the day before cooking; add 1 tsp Chicken Bouillon in with the tomato paste; add Pearl onions during the last 1.5 hours of cooking.
Cooked this many times – yummy!
Going to make this today as it looks so yummy!
I would find it helpful to have the size of crockpot used for the recipe as I’m a newbie… Thanks!!!
Hi Yvonne,
I used a 5 quart slow cooker. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
If I use drumsticks instead, should I change the cook time?
Drumsticks will take longer to cook. I’d suggest adding 1-2 hours to the cook time as a starting point. Use an instant read thermometer to test when the chicken is done.