My slow cooker chicken thighs with tomatoes and peppers is one of my standby meals that I know will be wolfed down! So delicious.
When you are out of the house all day, the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook.
That’s when I turn to the slow cooker to make sure our meal is ready for us when we get home.
This easy slow cooker chicken thigh dish is perfect because you can serve it with a green vegetable on the side (peas are great for a quick option!), with pasta, rice, mashed potato or crusty bread for a complete meal.
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Why make this recipe
- It is a quick and easy meal to prepare in the morning, and goes down well with the whole family.
- Similar to a chicken cacciatore, the delicious Italian dish.
- Based on store-cupboard ingredients (tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, dried oregano) and items you tend to have in the fridge every week (onions, peppers, chicken thighs).
- We serve it with rice or pasta and vegetables. It is also nice to have some crusty bread on the side to dip into the sauce.
- You can remove the chicken from the bone when serving if you like (which is useful for kids), as the meat just falls clean off the bone.
- Chicken thighs work really well in the slow cooker as they don’t go dry like chicken breast can.
- If you prefer not to remove the bones you can use boneless chicken thigh fillets.
Ingredients
Here is what you will need for this slow cooker chicken thigh dish (get the quantities from the recipe at the bottom of the page).
- red onion – these add depth of flavour to the dish. You can use normal brown onions instead if you like.
- chicken thighs – I use skin on chicken thighs with bone. You can switch these for skinless and boneless thigh fillets if you prefer – those are more expensive though so you could remove the skin and bone yourself and save some money.
- red pepper, yellow pepper – adding some colour and goodness to the dish. You can use different colour peppers and also add in some mushrooms, green beans or other veggies.
- chopped tomatoes – simple tinned chopped tomatoes for the base of the dish.
- cherry tomatoes – I like to add in a handful of fresh cherry or baby plum tomatoes. You can leave them out if you don’t have any.
- tomato puree – this helps to thicken the sauce and intensify the tomato flavour.
- red wine vinegar – this has a tangy flavour and livens up the tomato base with a touch of acidity and sweetness. A staple ingredient in Mediterranean cooking. Keep a jar in your store cupboard as it lasts a really long time.
- dried oregano – this balances the dish, it has a pungent and earthy flavour. You can use another herb like dried parsley or thyme if you like, although oregano works best in my experience.
- fresh basil leaves – to garnish.
Instructions
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this slow cooker chicken thighs with tomatoes and peppers recipe perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step 1. Brown the chicken thighs in a pan (I tend to do this dry or use 1 tsp of olive oil), this takes 6-8 minutes.
.Step 2. Place the chicken thighs in the base of the slow cooker pot.
Step 3. Add the diced onions, chopped peppers and halved cherry tomatoes on top of the chicken.
Step 4. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine vinegar and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours.
Serve with torn fresh basil leaves over the top, with pasta, rice or crusty bread.
Top tip
If serving small children or those who don’t like bones, you can remove the bones from the chicken before serving. The meat just comes clean off the bone.
Equipment
- chopping board
- measuring spoon
- large slow cooker – I make this recipe in my large, 5.7 litre slow cooker
Storage
Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat until piping hot in the microwave or on the stove (do not use the slow cooker for reheating).
Freeze in a tub for 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat until piping hot before serving.
More one-pot recipes
For some more one-pot recipes you can serve up as they are, you could try these:
- slow cooker sausage casserole
- slow cooker lamb tagine with pomegranates
- slow cooker allspice, orange and lemon chicken from Recipes From A Pantry
Related
Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes and Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 red onions diced
- 10 small chicken thighs or 5-6 large
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 yellow pepper chopped
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 3-4 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1-2 tsp oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh basil to serve
Equipment
Instructions
- Brown the chicken thighs in a pan (I tend to do this dry or use 1 tsp of olive oil), then place them in the base of the slow cooker pot.10 small chicken thighs
- Add the diced onions, chopped peppers and halved cherry tomatoes on top of the chicken.2 red onions, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 8 cherry tomatoes
- Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine vinegar and oregano.400 g tin of chopped tomatoes, 3-4 tbsp tomato purée, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 1-2 tsp oregano
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.salt and pepper
- As you can see this fills my large slow cooker quite well. I use my 5.7 litre slow cooker for this recipe.
- Cook for 3-4 hours on high (or 5-6 hours on low).
- Serve with torn fresh basil leaves, with pasta, rice or crusty bread.fresh basil
Notes
Rei says
The thighs came out amazingly tender and moist. Will make again!
Sue says
It’s in the slow cooker RIGHT NOW!!!! Feeling excited!!!
bakingqueen74 says
Fab Sue let me know how it turns out!
Anna says
I think I would like to have this with rice or bread. It sounds delicious, thanks for sharing
Eileen says
This looks tasty. I loving cooking with chicken thighs.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
I really love using my slow cooker for meals like this. This really looks so tasty and like that you’ve used chicken thighs which I much prefer to the breast.
Emily says
Delicious! Thanks for including my recipe x
Food Ren (@RenBehan) says
Always good to have a few tasty slow cooker recipes up your sleeve, would love to try this with some fluffy rice.
Fuss Free Helen says
Delicious, I do love a tasty chicken thigh. Love my slow cooker and the hands off cooking.
Dominic Franks (@belleaukitchen) says
these are stunning! I want them now. I LOVE my chicken thighs!
bakingqueen74 says
Thanks Dom! I’ve noticed you like them 🙂 they are one of our faves too, so versatile