Slow Cooker Balsamic and Tomato Chicken [Recipe]

This is a guest post from Katie Sullivan Morford, MS, RD of Mom’s Kitchen Handbook. Check out her blog for more tasty (and healthy) family-friendly meals and don’t forget to like her on Facebook.

The slow cooker is a lifesaver on the family dinner front: Put food in the crockpot. Set timer. Serve.

It’s that easy. Unless, of course, you find yourself with a recipe that demands a lot of prep before it’s even time to start the crockpot. Spending twenty minutes caramelizing an onion or searing a pork tenderloin before the food even makes it into the slow cooker makes it more complicated than I’d like. Sure, these steps help to infuse flavor into the food, but when it comes to crockpot cooking, I want it to be quick.

This Balsamic and Tomato Slow Cooker Chicken is just that. The only advance prep is a couple of minutes of peeling and chopping. Everything goes straight into the pot, the switch gets flipped to “on,” and you can go about your business until dinner is done.

The result is a super flavorful, savory dish with fork-tender chicken that’s delicious over a swirl of spaghetti or other favorite grain. It also makes a dynamite leftover along with crusty bread for soaking up all those tasty juices.

Slow Cooker Balsamic and Tomato Chicken

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

4 hours 20 mins

Total time

4 hours 30 mins

 

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large red onion, very thinly sliced
• 4 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 26-ounce box chopped tomatoes (such as the POMI brand)
• ½ teaspoon dried, chopped rosemary
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Put onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, basil, and oregano into the crockpot and stir well.
3. Nestle the chicken pieces into the tomatoes. Turn crockpot to high.
4. Cook until the chicken is very tender, about 4 hours.
5. Add chard to the pot and stir so that it is covered with liquid. Cook 15 20 minutes longer until the chard is tender.
6. Serve over cooked whole grain spaghetti, brown rice, or farro.
7. Note: feel free to substitute kale, spinach, or other dark leafy greens and adjust cooking time accordingly.

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For more easy recipes and tips on how to serve meals to kids, check out Maryann’s book The Family Dinner Solution: How to Create a Rotation of Dinner Meals Your Family Will Love