Balsamic Chicken: Slow-Cooker Style
Balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite ingredients, which is why I love this Balsamic Chicken recipe! We eat a LOT of chicken at our house, and you probably do to. It’s easy to fix and lower in fat than other meats and poultry. Also, most everyone likes chicken. Balsamic chicken in the crockpot is one of the easiest recipes and it has so much flavor. It’s also a great healthy meal option.
Easy Peasy in the Slow Cooker
Not that I don’t enjoy cooking a more complicated recipe when I have the time or I’m in the mood, but most days I’m pretty happy to throw something together and not have to think about what we are going to eat. If I don’t have a plan in the morning, it’s usually 6:00pm and I’m staring at the pantry and fridge, wondering what I can quickly throw together. This is not the best plan.
That’s why you will love this recipe. You literally dump everything in the crockpot, give it a couple of stirs, and leave it. That’s my kind of recipe!
Fresh vs. Dried Seasonings
We don’t grow a lot of fresh herbs, but we do have pretty good luck with oregano and basil that grow in pots on our porch. My husband, Chris, gets all the credit for keeping them alive because he remembers to water them. This is not a strong point for me. Now that we live in southwest Florida, it’s easy to grow fresh herbs year round. When we lived in Kentucky, I grew them in the late spring, summer, and fall, but usually used dry herbs in the winter months.
Herbs are fun to grow, especially with kids. They also make things taste a little fresher. So, if you have fresh basil and oregano, add it to this recipe. If you don’t, it is totally fine. The Balsamic Chicken is a winner either way.
Simple Tips for Balsamic Chicken in the Slow-Cooker:
- Dump all the ingredients in the slow-cooker. There is no need to mix it up in a bowl and then pour it in. Keep it simple!
- The chicken shreds easily. I love using my Pampered Chef shredders.
- The sauce is thickened on the stovetop after the chicken is done. If you add the cornstarch to the slow-cooker, it won’t thicken like it will on the stove.
- When I’m in a hurry, I skip thickening the sauce on the stove. I shred the chicken right in the slow cooker and we just eat it. This works great over pasta.
- Leftover chicken is great in a wrap for lunch.
- The balsamic chicken is especially good over rice or pasta.
- You can cook it on high for half a day or on low all day.
- If you use thawed chicken, cook on low 4-6 hours.
- Need to feed more than 4, just throw in more chicken. No need to increase the amount of other ingredients.
Ingredients
All these ingredients are easy to find in any grocery store. I buy a large bag of frozen chicken from Costco once or twice a month, as needed. It costs less and it is better quality than some of the frozen bags of chicken I have bought at Kroger or WalMart. It is definitely a better price per pound than Publix.
I don’t pretend to be knowledgeable about balsamic vinegar, other than I love it. Prices vary greatly based on the quality and authenticity of the product. For cooking, I like these two brands, Gia Russa and Alessi. If you are using the balsamic vinegar on a fresh salad, bruschetta, or drizzled on mozzarella, you can go with a better brand if your budget allows. Here’s an interesting article from Saveur if you want o learn more about balsamic vinegar. It’s pretty fascinating!
Balsamic Chicken in the slow cooker will hopefully become one of your favorite new recipes. It continues to make the menu at our home on a regular basis. Let me know what you think.
You are precious in His sight,
Balsamic Chicken: Slow-Cooker Style
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-5 chicken breasts)
- 1 white onion, peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (Store-bought minced garlic in a jar is the quick option!)
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup chicken broth (Typically, I use 1 Tbsp. of "Better Than Bouillon" with ½ cup water)
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (don't drain it)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil (1 tsp dried basil)
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano (1 tsp dried oregano)
- ½ tsp rosemary
- ¼ tsp marjoram
- ¼ tsp thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (Add more if you like it spicy.)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Turn slow-cooker on high
- Place frozen chicken in the slow-cooker.
- Chop onion and garlic and add to the slow-cooker.
- Add balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, red wine and can of diced tomatoes to the slow-cooker.
- Add basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, onion powder and red pepper flakes to the slow-cooker.
- Using a large spoon, give the ingredients a few stirs to mix up the mixture a bit.
- Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Be sure an check it at 4 hours. You don't want dry chicken!(You can also cook on low for 6-8 hours. Typically 8 hours it a bit long but slow-cookers vary)
- (If you want to serve it over pasta or rice, start cooking it as soon as your chicken is done. )
- Remove chicken and onion from the cooker. I like to shred it and put in a serving bowl
- Pour the remaining liquid into a pot on the stove and turn on low
- Mix the cornstarch with the water in a small bowl until there are no lumps, then add it to the sauce in your pot. Turn up the stove to medium-high and stir until the sauce thickens. The sauce will need to just come to a boil to start to thicken.
- Remove from stovetop and stir in salt, pepper and honey,
- Pour the sauce back over the chicken, or serve it separately.
- Serve the chicken and sauce on pasta, rice, quinoa or in a flour tortilla as a wrap. It's also just good all by itself with a salad.
