This recipe takes those same ingredients and makes them into a super easy slow cooker meal. Chicken thighs are cheap and flavorful, and after cooking in the rich sauce for several hours they become fall apart tender. This meal on it's own is very low carb, and you can choose what you serve it with to adjust to your dietary needs.
If you haven't noticed, I am a fan of anything Tuscan flavored. Both Tuscan Shrimp and Steak Gorgonzola are some of my favorite recipes to make (and eat). I just can't get enough of heavy cream, freshly grated parmesan, and tender wilted spinach.
A lot of the meals I make in the slow cooker are soups or large cuts of beef. I like that this is something a little different, but with the same ease! By cooking everything all together first and then adding the baby spinach at the end, it ensures that everything is thoroughly cooked, but the spinach still retains its rich green color. It is so delicate that it truly doesn't need cooking time, the residual heat will do the job!
I make the cream sauce ahead of time, because it helps ensure everything is smooth and well incorporated. It only takes 10 minutes, which is worth the effort to me. If you're pressed for time, you can definitely skip this step. All you have to do is pour everything on top of the chicken breasts and let it do its thing!
Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- Crock Pot or Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 6-8 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach packed and roughly chopped
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add minced garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add chicken stock and heavy cream. Simmer on low for 5-7 minutes. Add in parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Turn off heat.
- Place chicken thighs at the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Sprinkle Italian seasoning and salt over top of chicken thighs. Add in sun dried tomatoes and pour cream sauce over top to cover.
- Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.
- After the cooking time is complete, take chicken breasts out and set to the side. Add in spinach, and stir until it wilts.
- Add chicken back to slow cooker, and you are ready to serve. This would be great on pasta, or with a side of broccoli or cauliflower. I also like to serve with an extra grate of fresh parm over the top!
Oh boy this looks delicious! Crock pot seems like a great idea for a planned ahead meal and I agree Baby spinach adds just the right touch- but it has to be tender!
I've been using my Crock pot and Instant pot a lot more now that the temperature has dropped!
yummy, maybe somewhere down the dna line you have a little bit of Italian in you! Me too!(Pasta is my weakness only topped by pizza)