It’s that time of year again…time for sweaters, pumpkin spice everything, that chill in the air, and the most beautiful colors Mother Nature has to offer are on full display.
And the soup cravings kick in.
I am a soup-a-holic! I especially crave the pureed creamy soups (this Thai Curry Sweet Potato & Lentil Soup is one of my favorites!), but I also have a soft spot for any soup that is worthy of bread dunking.
My all-time most popular recipe is this Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew…it has been shared nearly 600,000 times (say what?!), and has gotten great reviews. So I decided to put a fun twist with this slow cooker Spanish chicken stew. And just like the original, it fills half your plate with veggies!
Today’s post is brought to you by my friends over at Half Your Plate. They have a very important mission: to help us fill half our plates with fruit and veggies!
I know I am always trying to sneak in extra veggies wherever I can…well Half Your Plate has a whole website full of recipes, tips, tricks and information to help us!
And today’s slow cooker Spanish chicken stew fills half your plate with veggies…or more! I mean, it’s really packed full of veggies as you can tell 🙂
I adapted the Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew recipe by adding in some Spanish flair: roasted red peppers, smoked paprika, saffron (just a pinch!) and peas.
It has that same healthy but comforting feel, with a totally different flavor! It’s a tiny bit smoky, with a slight saffron after-taste. How do you describe the flavor of saffron?! It’s very subtle to me, more like an aftertaste. If you don’t want to buy saffron ($$$!) just leave it out…it’s still good without.
Like the Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew, you are definitely going to want a big hunk of bread to soak up every last drop of deliciousness from this slow cooker Spanish chicken stew!
Happy start of October everyone! What is on your fall bucket list?
Disclosure: thank you to Half Your Plate for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.
More slow cooker chicken recipes for you!
- this Slow Cooker Ethiopian Chicken & Lentil Stew is an absolute flavor-bomb
- or this Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Stew, which is inspired by tortilla soup
- or these Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Thighs which are ridiculously easy to whip up!
Slow Cooker Spanish Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby potatoes halved (roughly 3.5 cups)
- 8 small chicken thighs 600g/1.3 lbs
- 2 carrots sliced
- 2 celery stalks sliced
- 300 mL jar of roasted red peppers drained and rinsed, cut into small pieces (about 1.5 cups)
- 1/2 a red onion diced
- 19 oz can of diced tomatoes including liquids, or sub 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- a pinch of saffron threads
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Before serving:
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- In the base of a slow cooker combine all ingredients except the balsamic vinegar and peas.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Stir in the balsamic vinegar and peas, cover and cook for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Recipe may be halved and cooked with same cook times in a 2.5 qt slow cooker.
Cynthia
It there a substitute for the saffron that I can use
Denise
Hi Cynthia! I can’t think of a saffron substitute, I would probably just leave it out for this recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Dona
Turmeric is considered the poor man’s saffron – but don’t use too much as it gives a different flavor.
Tievoli
Made this today and it was very flavorful! I usually like to sauté the vepgetables before putting them in the crockpot but I didn’t and it was very good. I used two legs,two thighs and two breasts and it worked out fine. I would call it more of a soup though, the broth is thin but flavorful. Perfect for dipping bread.
Denise
Hi Tievoli! Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to leave a review. I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Leslie R Barron
Did you uses bone in or boneless thighs?
Denise
I used boneless skinless, although bone-in will be fine, too, I’d just avoid anything with skin as it can end up really fatty 😀
Lizzy
For some reason cooking on low the potatoes are not done. Trying another hour.
Denise
That’s so strange! I have never had potatoes still under after that long in the slow cooker. What size did you use, and did you cut them? I hope they softened for you!
Kate
This was linked on the Huffington post and my husband thought it looked good. He was right. I used bone in thighs because that’s what I had and didn’t throw the peppers until I threw in the peas (they were home roasted so they’re much softer than the ones in the jar). It was delicious! Next week we’re going to try the Tuscan Chicken stew!
Denise
Hi Kate! I’m so happy you liked the stew! I hope you enjoy the Tuscan Chicken Stew too, it’s my most popular recipe. Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
Kate Hayner
This is in regular rotation in my house but today I’m going to be daring today and try this in the instant pot. I’ll report back how it goes.
Denise
I bet it will work great in the IP! I do my Tuscan stew at 10 minutes with 10 minute natural release. Hope you enjoy!
Jule
This was DELICIOUS! I made it with chicken breast because that is what I had but I think thighs would have been better. I also underestimated my Spanish smoked paprika (the three chilies next to the word “picante” on the tin should have tipped me off) so I ended up pouring half a cup of heavy cream into it at the end to help with the spiciness. It was still very spicy but we ate it gleefully sopping up the broth with bread and laughing about our mouths hurting. The flavor is just so good!
Denise
Hi Jule, I’m so glad you liked the stew! That’s so funny that it was spicy for you because my smoked paprika is not spicy at all.
Leslie R Barron
If the smoked paprika is fresh it is spicy. Get spices at Penzys Spices @Penzys.com for real excellent spices. I recently discovered them, threw all the old stuff out. what a difference. Just wanted to share having recently purchased smoked paprika.
Denise
Good to know! I think there are differences between brands too as I have a Spanish brand that is quite spicy 😀
Rebekah
Hey this looks really great and I want to try my own hand at it but as a student, I’d rather not have to buy a slowcooker. Do you have any recommendations for how I could oven cook it?
Denise
Hi Rebekah, unfortunately this recipe is specific for a slow cooker. Here’s a suggestion for adapting to stovetop: try cooking the onions in some olive oil, remove from the pan, then brown the chicken, then add back the onions and all the other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes or so until the veggies are cooked through and you get the consistency you’d like for the stew {you can always ad a bit more cornstarch if you’d like it thicker}. I haven’t tried this, but it would likely work! Good luck and let me know if you try it!
Shannon
Hi there!
The first time I made this I simmered it on low for about 2.5 hours covered and it turned out beautifully! I used cubed chicken breasts and added garlic. I didn’t have any saffron but the stew still turned out wonderfully!
Denise
Hi Shannon, I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen
I think this time of year, when fall is just beginning, is my favorite. I love the chill in the air and the return of fall favorite foods! This stew looks so delicious. I love how colorful it is from all of those veggies, too!
Alyssa @ My Sequined Life
Dipping crusty bread into homemade soup is one of my FAVORITE things ever. I love these flavors! Plus anything in the slow cooker works for me. 🙂
Zainab
What a great recipe! I love all the veggies in this stew.
Denise
Thanks, Zainab!
Medha Swaminathan
The paprika and saffron really take this soup to new heights- love the idea of eating this alongside crusty bread 🙂
Denise
Thanks Medha! I really love saffron (LOL!)
Amanda
This stew looks fantastic! Can you use another cut of chicken? Perhaps a breast? The hubs doesn’t like thigh meat…
Denise
Hi Amanda, you can definitely use chicken breasts…Either leave them whole and shred after cooking or cut into cubes. Either way they will be nice and tender 🙂 Hope you like it!
Annie
What a beautiful stew!! This looks like the perfect hearty dinner for a chilly night!
Denise
Thanks Annie! We have had some VERY chilly nights here lately!
Ashley - The Recipe Rebel
Yes, we are trying this soon! The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL lately but this week it’s supposed to get cooooold and it’s foggy right now and, basically, perfect hot chocolate, sweater, stew weather (and I secretly love it!). This is going on our absolutely must make list!
Denise
I hope you like it Ashley 🙂 We have had sunny but cold weather and I even saw snowflakes on the forecast!