Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken
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Tender and flavorful slow cooker mediterranean chicken with olives, onions, and roasted red peppers makes a hearty and tasty meal all made in one dish.
The slow cooker is constant around our house! If you’re loving yours too, try Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Soup, Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala, Best Easy Slow Cooker Ribs, and Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Chicken & Orzo.
I love slow cooker meals so much, I sometimes wonder if I should be a spokesperson for some massive slow cooker producer. I mean seriously, do you know how much I use this kitchen appliance?? Let’s just say it’s a lot. A LOT. It’s not just that it’s so convenient to toss everything in a pot, cover, and come back a few hours later to a whole meal ready to go. It’s also that I love the way slow cooking meals can bring out more flavor in the dish. Like in this mediterranean chicken dish. All those flavors melding together for a while in the slow cooker makes them ten times better.
But let’s talk about a couple of ingredients here. First of all the olives. I’ll preface this by saying that I rarely use regular black olives in my cooking because I just don’t care for them. But kalamata olives? Those are my jam. I adore the briny, salty taste of kalamata olives. If you haven’t tried them, this is your chance to fall in love with these little black beauties.
The other ingredient you might not have a pre-existing relationship with is capers. They too are briny and salty and I can’t get enough of them, particularly in this dish. They’re those little green pea-looking things you see throughout this dish ^^^. They aren’t expensive and they add a lot to this chicken dish. Together with those kalamata olives, onions, and roasted red peppers… there’s some serious flavor happening here. Not to mention aromas. Your home will smell like a little slice of Southern Europe when you make this dish and that is a very very good thing.
What people are saying about this Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken
“This is delicious! I made this today with bone-in chicken thighs. The chicken was falling off the bone, juicy and tender. I sauteed the onions and garlic before putting in the crockpot. Will make this again!” – Jennifer
“I made this tonight and it was so AWESOME! My guests said it was like a gourmet meal in a restaurant! Served it with garlic Parmesan potatoes and nothing was left!!! Not even a caper!!!” – Jerry
“I made it today and it was so delicious!! It is super easy to make. I didn’t have a lot of time so I opted to do the two hours on high but used thighs instead of breast, they were very moist.” – Gabrielle
“I tried this for my family of four tonight and it was DELICIOUS!!! Even the 3 yr. old & 5 yr. old enjoyed it! I served it over orzo pasta and topped with fresh thyme. Also used red/purple onion instead of yellow. YUM…definitely a ‘keeper’!” – Jill
Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 medium-large boneless skinless chicken breasts , OR 4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- juice of 1 medium lemon , (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup kalamata olives
- 1 cup roughly chopped roasted red peppers
- 2 tablespoons capers
- fresh thyme, oregano, or basil for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes on each side til browned. Transfer to greased slow cooker.
- Add onions, olives, red peppers, and capers to slow cooker (tuck them around the sides so they aren’t covering up the chicken). Whisk together italian seasoning, lemon juice, and garlic and pour over chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours. Garnish with fresh thyme, oregano, or basil and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great meal, family loves it. I make 2 crockpots at a time with a mix of breast and boneless thighs. I double the recipe and add 2 cans of artichoke hearts.
Do you have to cook chicken ahead of time? Can’t you just put all in crock pot? Making it for dinner tonight.
You don’t have to but I would recommend browning it because the browning seals the juices in the chicken and makes it more tender.
I made this for supper and could not believe how quick and easy it was. I used chicken thighs added cut up fresh asparagus to the crockpot too. Everything was so delicious. This recipe cooks in just a couple of hours. Perfect for a busy week day.
When you say roasted red peppers, does that mean the one’s from the jar?
Thank you!
Yes 🙂
How insane would it be to quadruple the capers? I LOVELOVELOVE them.
Lol that’s personal preference 🙂
My go to crock pot meal, especially when company is visiting for multiple days! I serve over pasta and sprinkle with feta, add artichoke hearts…so delicious!
When do you add the artichoke hearts? At the end, or do you let them slow cook?
Can I add canned artichokes?
This recipe doesn’t call for artichokes but I’m sure you can use canned artichokes as an addition 🙂
What type of onion do you use for your Mediterranean chicken? There’s yellow, sweet, red,
I use yellow but any onion will work 🙂
It was really nice and would def do it again
Can you substitute fresh red peppers for roasted red peppers?
Yes 🙂