Slow Cooker Chicken Provencal

This Slow Cooker Chicken Provencal is a flavorful French dish made with chicken, garlic, buttery olives, and briny capers that braise in a decadent sauce that’s lemony, garlicky, and plain addicting!  It’s the perfect way to elevate chicken whether it’s for entertaining company or a cozy weeknight dinner.  Fabulous over a side of rice that will absorb every bit of the luscious sauce!

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Welcome to Slow Cooker Chicken Provencal, my favorite chicken recipe on the blog! 

As you’ve seen with a lot of my recipes, I’m a sucker for bright, briny foods like pickles, olives, and capers. 

Add lemon, garlic, herbs, and butter to the mix, and you’ll see why this Chicken Provencal recipe is my favorite!  Now who’s bringing the baguette?

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Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

• Bone-in chicken thighs
• Chicken broth
• Onion
• Garlic
• Castelvetrano olives
• Capers
• Lemon
• Butter
• Bay leaves
• Spices/herbs (dried thyme, dried oregano, fresh parsley, salt, pepper)

Why Castelvetrano olives? 

Castelvetrano olives are more mild-flavored and less salty than other types of olives, so they’re not going to overpower everything in this dish. 

They have a rich, slightly buttery flavor that is amazing all by itself, but when combined with the rest of the ingredients, creates a sublime medley of flavors.

I like to use olives that still have the pits in them; they have a more firm texture than pitted olives, which can get mushy.  

How to make Slow Cooker Chicken Provencal: 

1. Sear the chicken thighs in a hot pan.  This does three things: one, it gives the chicken some color, which makes it look more appetizing, and two, it sears in the juices, and three, it will provide some fond (delicious brown bits on the pan) so when we deglaze the pan and pour that goodness into the slow cooker, we’re giving it extra flavor!
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, minus the parsley garnish.  Let it cook low and slow.
3. Serve the delicious chicken over your favorite starchy side to absorb all the juices from the slow cooker, and garnish with some fresh parsley. (complete instructions on recipe card below)

What to serve with Slow Cooker Chicken Provencal?

The lemony, garlicky juices that the chicken braises in are absolute liquid gold. 

I personally like to serve this over a nice starch that will absorb the heavenly sauce! 

Farro, cauliflower rice, Savory Chicken Rice, white or brown rice, mashed potatoes, and orzo are all wonderful options to serve with this lemony chicken. 

Of course, a French baguette that mops up all that fabulous sauce is great no matter which side you serve with this.

What kind of chicken is best for Chicken Provencal?

Bone-in thighs are my favorite for this recipe.  They are full of flavor and go well with the rustic dish.

You can use boneless thighs, but the chicken won’t need to cook as long.  

How long is the cooked chicken good for?

The cooked chicken can be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and used within 3-4 days.

Looking for more slow cooker chicken recipes?  Here are some favorites:

• Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chicken
• Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo
• Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken & Broccoli
• Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Tacos (shown below)
• Slow Cooker Nando’s Peri-Peri Chicken Pasta

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NOTES:

• If you can’t find Castelvetrano olives in the grocery store, you can get them HERE from Amazon.
• I prefer to use unpitted olives as their texture is more firm than olives that have been pitted.  Just make sure to let your guests know there are pits in the olives.

Slow Cooker Chicken Provencal

Flavorful Eats

This Slow Cooker Chicken Provencal is a flavorful French dish made with chicken, garlic, buttery olives, and briny capers that braise in a decadent sauce that's lemony, garlicky, and plain addicting!  This chicken will be an instant favorite!  It's the perfect way to elevate chicken whether it's for entertaining company or a cozy weeknight dinner.  Fabulous over a side of rice that will absorb every bit of the luscious sauce!

5 from 20 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

0 minutes mins

Total Time 5 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Servings 4 -6

Equipment

• 5 quart slow cooker or larger

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs skin optional (approximately 4 lbs) see "notes" in post.
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 small yellow onion diced or thinly sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves minced
• 17-20 Castelvetrano olives approximately 3/4 cup
• 2 1/2 tbsp. capers
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 lemons (the juice of)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into pieces
• salt & pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley optional garnish

Instructions

 

• Sear the chicken thighs in a hot skillet with olive oil. We're not cooking them all the way through, we just want a little bit of color on the chicken, as it is more aesthetically pleasing. Plus, we'll get great flavor when we deglaze the hot pan and scrape the bits and pieces into the slow cooker.
• After you have seared all the chicken thighs, place them in the slow cooker. Add the chicken broth to deglaze the pan while it's still hot and scrape up the bits and pieces on the bottom of the pan, then pour everything over the chicken in the slow cooker.
• Add the onion, garlic, olives, capers, bay leaves, and lemon juice to the slow cooker. Sprinkle the dried oregano, dried thyme, and salt & pepper over everything, then add the pieces of butter on top.
• Cook on low for 5-6 hours, or until the chicken is fully cooked and has reached 165°. Sprinkle some chopped parsley over everything as a garnish and serve over your favorite starch. Make sure you spoon the wonderful juices from the slow cooker over the plated chicken! Enjoy!

Keyword Chicken, Garlic, Lemon, Olives, Slow Cooker

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