Chicken Chasseur is a childhood classic for many of us, and this slow cooker version couldn't be easier. Chicken thighs and vegetables in a rich wine and tomato sauce is total comfort food. Slow Cooker Chicken Chasseur is great for batch cooking and freezing too.
When you want a comforting meal, that doesn't take much effort, this Slow Cooker Chicken Chasseur is what you need. Tender chicken that just falls apart, in a rich sauce without a packet mix in sight. This is the simplest chicken chasseur recipe and a great way to use your slow cooker.
If you are looking for some other slow cooker recipes, then why not try our Slow Cooker Beef Curry, Slow Cooker Bolognese or Slow Cooker Bread?
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What is chicken chasseur?
Chicken chasseur is a classic French dish, and one most of us probably grew up eating as it felt "fancy". The word ‘chasseur’ means a soldier who is trained and ready to ‘hunt’. This is why it is also known as hunters chicken (although different from our Hunter's Chicken recipe) as the literal translation is ‘hunters chicken’. It’s a chicken dish with mushrooms in a rich tomato, onion and wine sauce (you can use red or white).
Why you will love it
- A great way to use the slow cooker - If you are looking for new ways to use your slow cooker, then this chicken chasseur recipe is a good place to start.
- Comforting - Slow cooked chicken is like a hug in a bowl. Add in the rich sauce and some chunky vegetables and it's total comfort food.
- Adaptable - Use this recipe as a base, and then feel free to add in some other vegetables.
- Versatile - There are so many different ways that you can serve this slow cooker chicken chasseur too. With mash, crusty bread, or just a big bowl of it by itself.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Oil - A good quality olive oil to brown the chicken in.
- Chicken - We used boneless and skinless chicken thighs, as we find that they have the most flavour. They are moist and juicy, and perfect for slow cooking. You could use chunks of chicken breast, however this doesn't have the same flavour.
- Salt and pepper - Generously season.
- Onion - You can use a small brown onion, or use shallots which would add a sweeter flavour.
- Carrot - Adds some chunky texture to the dish.
- Mushrooms - We used button mushrooms, but you could use a mixture of white and brown mushrooms. Or even some portobello and shiitake if you wanted a real mixture of textures.
- Garlic - Freshly crushed is always best, but you could use crushed garlic from a jar to save time.
- Stock - The quality of the stock is important, as it adds a real richness to the dish. We used a chicken stock pot, but you could make your own chicken stock.
- Tomatoes - The quality of the tomatoes is important here too, as cheap tinned tomatoes tend to be really watery and this will give a thin sauce. So, try to get the best quality tomatoes that you can.
- Tomato puree - This will help to thicken the sauce and add a richer tomato sauce.
- White wine - This is optional (you could just add some more stock), but it adds a lovely rich flavour. You could use red wine instead if you prefer.
- Thyme - The perfect herb for this dish.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make slow cooker chicken chasseur - Step by step
One: Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Two: Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the chicken (a). Brown for 4 minutes, then turn over and brown for a further 3 minutes (b).
Three: Put the browned chicken thighs into the slow cooker.
Four: Add the chopped onions, sliced carrots, quartered mushrooms and garlic to the slow cooker.
Five: In a jug, mix together the stock, wine, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and thyme.
Six: Pour the stock into the slow cooker and carefully mix everything together, ensuring the chicken doesn't break.
Seven: Cook on high for 4 hours.
Variations
This is a really forgiving and easy to adapt with other ingredients you have that need using up. You really can't ruin this dish if you use a little less of something or a little extra of something else (apart from the stock as you don't want it to be too watery) and you can cook it for a little longer if you aren't ready to eat it after the 4 hours cooking time.
You can follow the recipe exactly, or add in different vegetables to suit your own tastes. Other veggies that work well are sweet potatoes, leek, parsnips, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, swede, butternut squash and aubergine. You could even add some spinach towards the end for a bit of a green veggie boost. This is a great recipe to reduce food waste, as you can pretty much add anything.
An easy way to add some extra flavour is by adding some cooked chopped ham or bacon before serving.
What to serve with slow cooker chicken chasseur
We think that mashed potatoes go perfectly with this chicken chasseur. Here are some mashed potatoes recipes to try - Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Vegetable Mash or The BEST Creamy Mashed Potatoes. You could also serve it on top of a jacket potato. Why not try our Air Fryer Jacket Potato recipe?
You could serve it with rice too if potatoes aren't your thing. Why not try our Oven Cooked Rice or Perfect Microwave Rice?
We always like serving some extra vegetables where we can, so we served our Cabbage with Cumin with this. But you could also serve it with Garlic Spring Greens or Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli.
Storage
Store: Once the casserole has completely cooled, you can put it in an air tight container and it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze: This freezes really well, which is why we make a big batch of this to keep in the freezer. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Defrost: You can leave this to defrost in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: You can put it in the microwave for 2 minutes, or heat through on the hob (stovetop).
Frequently Asked Questions
Because this is cooked in the slow cooker with the lid on, no liquid can escape so slow cooker dishes are always more liquidy. We don't mind this so much, however if you want your slow cooker chicken chasseur thicker, then you can take the chicken thighs out, pour the rest of the dish into a saucepan and then simmer until it has reduced. If your slow cooker insert bowl can go straight on the hob, then you can do it in that too. You can also add a cornflour slurry to thicken it (although we don't like the flavour this adds) or even a little chicken gravy granules for a quick way to thicken it.
These are added at the start of cooking, however they do release a lot of liquid, you might need to thicken it if you don't like a thin sauce.
You don't have to, but frying it a little first does lock in the flavours and give it a crispy outside, and although that does give the dish a little more flavour, we don't find that the meal is missing anything without it. It's more important to seal the meat in something like our Slow Cooker Beef Curry.
We have cooked ours on high for 4 hours, however you can cook it on low for 8 hours. As mentioned before, this is a pretty forgiving recipe though. So if you are cooking it on high, then 6 hours will be fine too and if cooking it on low then it will still be delicious after 10 hours.
Extra tips
• This might not look like a lot of liquid to add, but slow cooking doesn't release a lot of liquid, so if you add too much then the finished dish will have too much liquid.
• If your chicken chasseur is too thin, you can add a cornflour slurry to it or even some gravy granules.
• Feel free to adapt the vegetables that you use.
More slow cooker chicken recipes
If you’ve tried this slow cooker chicken chasseur recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Chasseur
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 4 Chicken thighs
- 2 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 1 Onion - finely chopped
- 2 Carrot - sliced
- 3 Garlic clove - crushed
- 220 g (2.25 cups) Button mushrooms - quartered
- 175 ml (0.75 cups) White wine
- 400 ml (1.75 cups) Chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon Tomato puree
- 200 g (1.33 cups) Chopped tomatoes - tinned
- 0.5 teaspoon Dried thyme
Instructions
- Season 4 Chicken thighs with 2 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoon Olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the chicken. Brown for 4 minutes, then turn over and brown for a further 3 minutes.
- Put the browned chicken thighs into the slow cooker.
- Add 1 Onion, 2 Carrot, 220 g Button mushrooms and 3 Garlic clove to the slow cooker.
- In a jug, mix together 400 ml Chicken stock, 175 ml White wine, 200 g Chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon Tomato puree and 0.5 teaspoon Dried thyme.
- Pour the stock into the slow cooker and carefully mix everything together, ensuring the chicken doesn't break.
- Cook on high for 4 hours.
Recipe Tips
- This might not look like a lot of liquid to add, but slow cooking doesn't release a lot of liquid, so if you add too much then the finished dish will have too much liquid.
- If your chicken chasseur is too thin, you can add a cornflour slurry to it or even some gravy granules.
- Feel free to adapt the vegetables that you use.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Charla says
Sound delicious and budget friendly! Time to dust off my slow cooker to try this recipe.
Louise says
Pure comfort food. I love that this can be made in the slow cooker ahead of time.
Kathleen says
From the veggies to the incredible sauce; I am loving all the flavors in this chicken chasseur.
Tayler says
I made this chicken for dinner last night and it was amazing! definitely adding to our regular rotation.