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    Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Thighs

    September 22, 2016 by Denise Bustard 9 Comments

    Home / Recipes / Slow Cooker Chicken / Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Thighs

    Jump to Recipe

    These Southwestern crockpot chicken thighs cook over sweet potatoes and are topped with a 4-ingredient spiced tomato sauce. Add some bell peppers on top for the last hour of cooking and you'll have your entire meal ready!

    If you are looking for more hands-off yet tasty dinner ideas, these Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs and Sticky Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs are both great options, as is this southwestern chicken thigh recipe!

    Scooping out crockpot Chicken Thigh from slow cooker

    A complete meal with protein, veggies, and carbs that all cook right in the slow cooker is my favorite kind of meal!

    These southwestern chicken thighs could be served over rice, cauliflower rice or in a tortilla, or just straight up! With tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, sweet potatoes and chicken thighs, it simmers until the sweet potatoes are soft and the chicken thighs are fall-apart tender.

    Reasons you will ♡ these crockpot chicken thighs

    • they simmer in the slow cooker with tomatoes, cumin and chili powder until fall-apart tender and delicious
    • you can serve it as is for a complete meal with protein, carbohydrate and vegetable
    • you can add in extra veggies (bell peppers, red onions and corn) during the last hour of cooking

    Putting Southwestern crockpot Chicken ingredients in crockpot

    Ingredients we'll need

    • Sweet potato- roughly 6 cups; 1 large sweet potato. You can leave the skin on or peel it first.
    • Boneless skinless chicken thighs- roughly 3 pounds. This makes a big batch! See below for details on cutting it in half.
    • Diced tomatoes- we noticed in testing that the flavored diced tomatoes added significant flavor. While I haven't tested with Rotel, I bet this would be even better! Aylmer Accents were great.
    • Spices- cumin, chili powder, and salt- note that this is the chili powder blend and not pure powdered chilis
    • Optional- 1 can corn kernels, bell peppers, and red onions added during the last 1-2 hours of cooking
    • Mozzarella- added just before serving to get nice and melty. Swap for your favorite cheese or cheese blend.

    spooning diced tomatoes over chicken thighs in a slow cooker

    Sweet potatoes go on the bottom

    To ensure that the hardy sweet potatoes cook through and that the chicken thighs do not overcook, we place the sweet potatoes on the of the slow cooker and the chicken on top. This way the sweet potatoes are in contact with the heat source (which is in the bottom of the slow cooker), and the chicken is positioned away from it.

    Use seasoned diced tomatoes

    When testing this recipe, we noticed that the seasoned diced tomatoes (ie: Aylmer Accents) significantly improved the flavor. I suspect that Rotel would be a delicious addition to this recipe, however, it may also make it too spicy for kids. Another option could be to swap the diced tomatoes for chunky salsa.

    A note about liquids

    Due to the high vegetable content of this recipe, there will be liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker. This did not bother us; we simply scooped the ingredients out, draining the liquid off, and enjoyed. You could serve it over rice or tortillas to soak up the extra liquid.

    Another alternative could be to drain off the juice from the diced tomatoes before adding.

    spatula lifting crockpot chicken thigh out of the slow cooker with gooey cheese

    Optional add-ins

    If you want to add more vegetables to these southwestern crockpot chicken thighs, you can add a can of corn kernels (drained), sliced bell peppers, and sliced red onion. These ingredients add more nutritional value to the recipe and make it a full meal with carbohydrates, protein, and vegetables.

    Some other ideas that you could add in:

    • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1 can green chiles
    • diced zucchini
    • roasted poblanos, jalapenos or red peppers (diced)
    • tomatillo salsa (swap for diced tomatoes)

    Southwestern crockpot Chicken Thighs and Sweet Potatoes on blue plate

    Meal Prep + Storage Tips

    This recipe could work in multiple ways for meal prep:

    freezer crockpot

    A freezer crockpot meal is assembled (but not cooked), then frozen. To make a freezer pack, add the sweet potatoes to the bottom of the bag and place the diced tomatoes on top. Add all remaining ingredients to the bag, squeeze the air out, and freeze for up to 3 months.

    Find more freezer crockpot meals here.

    leftovers

    Leftovers may be portioned out into meal prep containers and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Heat until steaming hot in the microwave or in a frying pan, and serve. Do not reheat more than once.

    Find my favorite meal prep containers here.

    More slow cooker dinner recipes

    • Crock Pot Pulled Pork
    • Smoky Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
    • 7 No Sautee Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
    • Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
    • Crockpot White Chicken Chili
    • Crockpot Taco Soup Recipe
    hand scooping spoonful of mexican chicken thighs out of the slow cooker
    Print Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Thighs (and Sweet Potatoes)

    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: Slow Cooker
    Calories: 272kcal
    Author: Denise Bustard
    Servings: 6 -8
    These Southwestern crockpot chicken thighs cook over sweet potatoes and are topped with a 4-ingredient spiced tomato sauce.  Add some bell peppers on top for the last hour of cooking and you'll have your entire meal ready!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time4 hrs
    Total Time4 hrs 10 mins

    Ingredients

    • 1 sweet potato large- cut into large chunks (roughly 6 cups)
    • 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs roughly 12
    • 19 oz can of diced tomatoes liquids strained
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Optional (not pictured) One Hour Before Serving

    • 1 can corn drained
    • 2 bell peppers sliced into strips
    • ½ red onion sliced into strips

    Min Before Serving

    • 1 cup mozarella cheese shredded

    To Serve:

    • rice or tortillas
    • greek yogurt
    • guacamole or avocados

    Instructions

    • Place sweet potato chunks in the bottom of a 5- or 6- quart slow cooker. Arrange chicken thighs on top.
    • Stir together the diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder and salt. Spread over the chicken.
    • Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
    • Optional During the last hour of cooking, scatter the corn, bell peppers, and red onion over the chicken.
    • 15 Min Before Serving Scatter the cheese over the chicken/veggies, cover and heat until cheese is melted through.
    • Serve Over rice, in tortillas or as is.

    Notes

    Recipe can be halved and cooked in a 2.5 qt crockpot with the same cook time
     
    Storage
    Leftovers can be portioned out into meal prep containers and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a frying pan or in the microwave until steaming hot.
     
    Freezer crockpot
    You can prepare this meal as a freezer crockpot meal (assemble and freeze before cooking):
    • To make a freezer pack, add the sweet potatoes to the bottom of a sturdy freezer bag or large meal prep container and place the diced tomatoes on top.
    • Add all remaining ingredients to the bag, squeeze the air out, and freeze for up to 3 months.
    • Thaw completely before cooking as directed in the recipe card.
     
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/8 batch | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 267mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @SweetPeaSaffron or tag #sweetpeasandsaffron

    About Denise Bustard

    Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more. read more

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    Meal prep took me from feeling constantly stressed out about meals to cool, collected and in control. I want to share this amazing and transformational habit with you, so you can feel in control, too!

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