My favorite recipes are ones that are quick to prepare, not too many ingredients and full of flavor. Easy Balsamic Chicken in the Crockpot meets all my criteria! It’s fast becoming a family favorite and a dish my husband requests a lot.
Do you love balsamic vinegar? I do! It’s dark, sweet, and mysterious. I use it for all kinds of things including my favorite spiced fig jam but today, we’re talking chicken! I’m a dark meat chicken girl and my husband prefers chicken breasts so, perfect marriage right? I get the dark, he gets the white, everybody’s happy! I’ve discovered another perfect marriage-the marriage of dark and tangy balsamic vinegar, garlic, chicken, spices and the low and slow cooking you get in a crock pot. If you don’t have time for the crockpot, see Kate’s Tips below for a stovetop version suggested by one of my readers.
This recipe has loads of flavor and fall off the bone tenderness. It’s super easy to make with only one additional step before putting everything in your crock pot. All you’ll need to do is take a few minutes to brown the chicken. Trust me, it adds loads of flavor to the finished product and makes it all golden and glorious looking. And it’s completely Gluten-Free! Don’t have any Balsamic? No worries, I have a great substitute under Kate’s Tips!
Browning your seasoned chicken. Golden and Glorious, right?
Into the slow cooker it goes along with the garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Only 4 hours from amazingness!
When finished it’s turned a deep brown and is falling off the bone tender. And the balsamic and chicken juices have created a delicious sauce to spoon over your quinoa.
So good and so incredibly easy! I like to serve it with quinoa and a little salad made with shaved brussels sprouts and a simple vinaigrette.
Here are a few of my other favorite chicken dishes to add to your repertoire:
- Chicken Vesuvio-Perfect for a crowd.
- Chicken Cacciatore-Italian comfort food at it’s best.
- Chicken Marsala-Easy, elegant and the ideal romantic dinner.
- Cracklin’ and Crunchy Chicken-Gluten free, easy and super kid-friendly
- Tuscan Chicken Under a Brick-For the stovetop or grill, the Italian way to cook a whole chicken.
Easy Balsamic Chicken in the Crock Pot
Serves 4
- 6-8 organic chicken thighs-preferebly bone-in and skin on, or, any combo of breasts, thighs and legs
- 3 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried, minced onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon each salt and pepper
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ cup Organic Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Wash and dry the chicken pieces.
- Mix the thyme, minced onion, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub each piece of chicken with the spice mix.
- Heat the ghee or oil in a large skillet and when hot, add the chicken pieces and cook about 5 minutes on each side, till nice and brown.
- Put the chopped garlic, remaining spices, extra virgin olive oil and the balsamic vinegar in the bottom of your crock pot. Add the chicken, skin side up.
- Cook 4 hours on high.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.
Kate’s Tips
- Serve Balsamic Chicken with quinoa, cous-cous, brown rice or mashed potatoes.
- I use all thighs. (Even my husband, the white meat guy, loves it!) Feel free to use a combination of chicken thighs, legs and breasts.
- Don’t have Balsamic Vinegar? No problem, just substitute any wine vinegar, red or white and add about 3 tablespoons brown sugar ( I use coconut sugar in place of brown).
- Try different spices. Basil instead of thyme or smoked paprika for the plain.
- Don’t want to use your crockpot? That’s totally fine! Thanks to Maureen for this tip: “After browning the chicken thighs, I left them in a deep skillet/low Dutch oven-type pan, added the garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar, put a lid on, and cooked them for an hour on top of the stove. They turned out perfectly, and I served them with brown rice cous cous and broccoli. Yum! I even saved the sauce that was left in the pan to put on the leftovers.” Great idea if you’re short on time!
When Everything Falls Apart
Do you think this would be ok with boneless skinless? We really don’t like bone in.
Hi Chloe-It should work just fine! 🙂
Just made this after a mutual friend , Joyce reeves about it! It is excellent. I used boneless/skinless and made it in my Dutch oven as I do not have a crock pot! Healthy and Delicious! Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad to hear that Rhoda! Thank you for letting me know!
I meant to say Raved about it! Whoops