Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes
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Crisp-tender chicken cooked low and slow with baby red potatoes for a full meal! So easy and effortless!
Happy almost Memorial Day!
I hope you all have special plans for the next few days, sun-bathing by the pool with a margarita in hand.
Butters and I are contemplating driving up to San Francisco for a few days, but after that Paris trip, I’m not so sure if Butters and I are ready for another getaway just yet.
But while you guys are by the pool, I might be home all day on Monday with this.
Crisp-tender chicken thighs cooked low and slow right alongside some baby red potatoes before they’re tossed in freshly grated Parmesan.
Now. Two things here. I know some of you only like white meat. Sure, chicken breast can be substituted but I found that bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are best here, especially with that initial sear to really let the flavors seep in and caramelize.
Also, if you are using massively-large red potatoes, you can cut them into quarters or even eighths.
Most importantly. Please use freshly grated Parmesan cheese. And don’t skimp!!! You know the drill. The more the better.
Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 pounds baby red potatoes, quartered
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Season chicken with basil, oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; drain excess fat and set chicken aside.
- Place potatoes into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in olive oil, garlic and thyme; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the slow cooker in an even layer.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with Parmesan and garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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I’m making this now and there is alot of juice in the bottom of the crockpot I’m assuming from the chicken my potatoes are covered in it. Is it supposed to look like that
Yes, some liquid is normal.
Should I drain the liquid? It’s covering the potatoes!
Yes.
Hi this doesn’t need liquid to cook in? Won’t it be to dry?
I did not add any liquid but please feel free to add liquid as you see fit to suit your preferences.
Hi, I tried this recipe for the first time tonight, and unfortunately it didn’t turn out as beautifully as yours. I followed the recipe exactly, but for some reason, a considerable amount of liquid pooled to the bottom and ended up essentially boiling the chicken and potatoes – so instead of turning out crispy, everything was soggy. I have the same size slow cooker with a ceramic insert. Any ideas why this might have happened, or suggestions for how to avoid this in the future? Thanks!
It’s really hard to say – what kind of slow cooker are you using?
Hi I’m trying this recipe today and the seared chicken is no longer crispy. The skin is actually rather soft. Is this suppose to happen?
It shouldn’t be too soft, but you can also throw it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to get that nice, golden, caramelized texture.
This happened to me! I was a little disappointed in how soggy the skin was.
Lked it but chicken was really dry 6 hours on low
Annie, thank you so much for trying my recipe. You can reduce the cooking time as needed for next time. Hope that helps!
Would the cooking time change if I used skinless chicken breast as opposed to skin-on chicken thighs?
It should remain about the same.
Can you use regular potatoes instead of red potatoes as I’m not a big fan. Otherwise it sounds delish. Thanks!
Yes, of course!
What about sweet potatoes?
Yes!
Can I use skinless chicken thighs, either bone in or boneless? Silly question but does the skin help keep the chicken moist since there is no liquid added to crockpot. I have not yet used my crockpot without added liquid but willing to try it. I am new to your blog but love your recipe posts! Just making your honey garlic chicken thighs in the crockpot now. Thank you for sharing!
Yes, skinless chicken thighs can be used but I find that this is best when bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are used as they keep in all the moisture and flavors together.
I just put everything in the crock, and it smells delish!!!!! My kids all flocked to the kitchen asking what was cooking 🙂 the only thing different for me was I had to make double the seasoning for the chicken, guess I am a heavy handed seasoner! Can’t wait to grub down on this in a few hours!! Today is a busy day with sports practice etc, so a crock pot meal is perfect, Thanks!
Hi there, my slow cooker is half the size of yours (3 qts) — does that mean I will have to halve the ingredients as well as the cooking time? I’m really excited to try my first slow cooker recipe but couldn’t handle it if it came out a mess, so thought I’d ask before experimenting 😛
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot advise the appropriate cooking time. As always, please adjust the cooking time as you see fit.
Hi, I have a quick question before I try this recipe (it looks so delicious)! The picture you posted only shows 4 chicken thighs in the Crock-Pot, but calls for 8 (a huge plus for me) and the recipe says to put the chicken in an even layer. Did you just do two even layers of chicken? Thanks!
Claire, the images only show four chicken thighs for photographic purposes.
Would this work with boneless chicken thighs? I have some of those already but not bone-in…..
Yes, absolutely.
My sincere apologies for posting after making changes to the original recipe. I should preface my comments by saying, I loved your Roasted Chicken Thighs with Parmesan Garlic Cream Sauce – I made this exactly as the recipe instructed. Since I have a busy day, I’m trying out the Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken recipe – minus the potatoes (large size Crockpot brand slow cooker). My family prefers chicken legs and mashed potatoes, so I’m only cooking the chicken in the large slow cooker, potatoes in a smaller, separate slow cooker by themselves. I absolutely despise when commenters post that they made an abbreviated version of the recipe or left out ingredients because to me, this is breaking the rules — big time. Well, I’m breaking the rules today (and posting acomment about it )because I feel so strongly about the flavor of the previous roasted chicken thigh and cream sauce recipe – it was spot on – excellent – a real winner, in my opinion. This recipe is perfect for my busy day = hands off cooking!! I’m going to save my pan drippings to whip up the cream sauce (from the recipe mentioned above – Thighs with Parmesan Cream Sauce) to drizzle over the chicken and mashed potatoes when I plate it up. For the commenters who posted about lack of flavor: I think flavor comes from salting and seasoning generously, and the initial sear that seals in juices and creates a crispy outer shell – this applies to beef/pork/chicken/lamb/etc. Why do restaurant meals taste better than what we make at home? Unfortunately, it often comes down to the restaurant using a greater amount of salt and seasonings. I put 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon each of basil, oregano and rosemary in a small bowl, stirred it up and sprinkled it all over my 2 pounds of chicken legs. This is a conservative amount of salt, in my opinion. My chicken legs were then seared in high quality, grass-fed, “real” butter (in a cast iron skillet) until the skin was the most beautiful golden color. You cannot expect to just throw raw chicken in a crockpot and the end result be golden and crispy with tons of juicy flavor. Searing the meat is a step that is very important!!! I cannot imagine my chicken will not taste amazing after the delicious aromas permeating my kitchen. Also, I always preheat my crockpot on high while I prep/sear so it is heated and ready to go when I put my ingredients inside. I plan to cook my chicken all day on low. I’m only posting this because some people might have children who prefer legs instead of thighs (like me), and my kids refuse to eat any kind of potato with skin – no matter how delectable it may be!! I’m cooking my (raw) diced potatoes in a second, smaller crockpot in a bit of water, and will simply drain any extra liquid, add butter, milk, salt & pepper, parmesan cheese and whip with an electric hand mixer in the crockpot insert when the potatoes are cooked through and I’m ready to finish prepping dinner this evening. It’s a two-crocker kind of day I’ll serve a green salad if I’m short on time, or if I get home early – pan roasted Brussels sprouts to round out the meal (they take about 25/30 min at 425degrees F). Yes, my kids are weird – they’ll eat roasted sprouts but not a potato with skin. My hubs prefers boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but they are expensive in comparison to bone-in, dark meat pieces, and too easy to ruin by over cooking. Very few people I’ve met like dry, rubbery chicken. For me, this option (crockpot legs) is a win-win that serves as a compromise to please my family. I will check my chicken as soon as I return home with a meat thermometer. If the chicken is ready, I’ll turn my crockpot to the warm setting until ready to plate so the chicken doesn’t overcook. FYI to those on the fence about making this recipe: I’ve yet to make one of the recipes on this site that has not been a winner, and I cook dinner for 2 adults and 2 children in my home 5 or 6 nights every week, 365… Best of luck to those trying the recipe, and thank you DD for another delicious meal ❤️
Thanks I made it this way but added 1/2 t of garlic pepper as well. It was perfect and just right amount of seasoning. I did not add thyme nor rosemary as I don’t like them. I actually had 4 pounds of legs so I just doubled the seasonings. I used butter and olive oil to brown so butter wouldn’t burn. I eyeballed the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder for the potatoes. I also poured drippings from pan over chicken since I wasn’t making cream sauce nor mashed potatoes. Yum.
Looks great. This reminds me to use a slow cooker more often!
This meal is perfect! I’m making it! Thanks 🙂
I am definiately going to try this recipe. As a homeschooler and new blogger, I don’t have to rush in the afternoon trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Just set out a salad, (bagged – shh don’t tell) and dinner is served. Thanks!
I made this recipe exactly as posted and my chicken thighs were VERY dry and some of my potatoes, near the edges of the crock pot, were actually burnt. It seemed to lack some liquid. I would not serve the finished product to quests as the presentation was BAD and the taste nothing to brag about. Question: Was this recipe really kitchen tested? If so,
what brand was the crock pot?
Note to Helen: Think about my comments………it may save your dinner week.
Thank you for your feedback. But instead of blaming the recipe, it is important to remember that many factors are at play here that may result in a failed outcome. I only share recipes that have been successful and well-tested in my own kitchen, but I understand that failures and mishaps can happen. But with a little bit more information, we can troubleshoot what went wrong to have a successful turnaround next time.
I used Hamilton Beach. What size and brand slow cooker did you use?
Thank you for your response. I have a Rival with a ceramic insert……..and I just love it and the results I have gotten using it. I live in Arizona and everyone thinks I am the Crock Pot Queen with all my crock pot recipes. I would never advise anyone to prepare ANY recipe for the first time and serve it to quests as it could be a disappointment to all. In addition, if one has to put 1 cup of cheese on a dish before serving……it also can add to the dryness of the dish. I will try your recipe one more time adding some low sodium chicken broth and see what happens. With all the herbs and spices the broth may just be the magic touch for me.
In addition, I want you to know my results were crock pot cooking for 3 1/4 hours on high and I also Pam sprayed my pot. Thanks again….
Another thing that could affect the outcome of the recipe is the size of the thighs. The weight of the chicken was not specified, but I know that there are some very small thighs and then there are some that are really huge. This would affect the time needed to cook and the amount of moisture you will get from the meat.
Another factor is the size of the crock pot with respect to recipe scale, according to Alton Brown, crockpots need to be nearly full to work well.
My husband & tried this recipe tonight for dinner. Great recipe!
My only problem was that after crisping the skin in the skillet & then putting it in the crockpot for 6 hours on low, the skin got very soft. I just popped the chicken under the broiler to crisp it up at the end.
Thanks for another great recipe!
I just wanted to say thank you for all your recipes you save me a plenty of time. I’m a mother of a three-year-old and work full time
I usually start and prepare the meals in the evening before bed and in the morning I pop everything in the crock pot before I leave for work and drop my son off at school.
By the time we arrive home in the evenings meals in a Crock-Pot are usually ready just to sit down and enjoy. So thank you very much for taking the time to make these incredible recipes.
I only eat the breast and the wing of the chicken. What would you recommend that i could use to substitute other than using thighs? Thank you.
Chicken breasts would be a great substitute.
With chicken breast would you have to cook for less time?
Yes.
How much less time?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Have you tried this in an instant pot? If so, could you share the cooking directions for that’s method? This sounds so tasty! 🙂
I actually haven’t. Sorry!
I made it in the instant pot. I used the saute feature to brown the chicken like she said and then I used the slow cooker option so I really ended up using one pot. If you want to make it quick then saute the chicken first and then put in the potatoes and chicken with a cup of water and manual high pressure for 4 min. Let it NPR for 5 min and then pull it out and make sure your chicken is at an internal temp of 165. Either way the instant pot is such a great tool for this recipe!
Thank you for sharing your experience Carlie! So glad it came out great!
How am I able to save these recipes without posting them to my timeline please. Also I notice that there is no “share” box available.
Phyllis, if you scroll to the bottom of the post, there is a “sharing is sexy” area where you can share on any of your social media channels. You can also email it to yourself.
I save all my recipes to Paprika Recipe Manager. It is a great app. You scale recipes; plan meals for the upcoming weeks; make a grocery list and more. Yes, you have to pay for it. But I believe it is worth every penny. http://paprikaapp.com
I save all of mine to Pepperplate, one of my favorite apps
I use pepperplate as well, and it’s free!
I save all my recipes to Paprika Recipe Manager. It is a great app. You scale recipes; plan meals for the upcoming weeks; make a grocery list and more. Yes, you have to pay for it. But I believe it is worth every penny.
http://paprikaapp.com/
Hi Chungah!
Just want to take the opportunity to tell you how much I love your recipes and notes about Butters, etc. Congratulations on the upcoming book. Looking forward to that also.
All the best in the future!
I agree with you, Victoria! The Paprika app is money well spent!