Kitchen notes · a little help before you start

Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken

Name: Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 255 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 6 each bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs); As Needed salt; As Needed Black pepper; 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 each onion thinly sliced; 1 cup apricot preserves; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon dijon mustard; 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Apricot sauce gives golden chicken a sweet, savory coating, with mustard and ginger keeping the flavor lively. The onions soften underneath and catch the sauce as everything cooks. Spoon some over the thighs at the table and enjoy the tender chicken with a fresh parsley finish.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 240 min
Total: 255 min
Original yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 10 listed

Make it part of your week

Estimating…

Main courseAmericanChickenPrep: 15 minutes or lessTotal: over 60 minutesSlow cooker

Recipe categories & planning details

Meal type: Main course
Primary protein: Chicken
Cuisine: American
Cooking method: Slow cooker
Preparation & total time: Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes

A few quick notes

1. Whisk the apricot sauce

Combine preserves, soy sauce, Dijon and ginger in a small bowl before starting the chicken's browning stage in the pan.

2. Start skin side down

Season both sides of the thighs and begin browning skin side down, turning to color the other side before slow cooking.

3. Soften onion in the pan

Add onions to the browning pan and soften them before transferring both chicken and onions into the slow cooker.

Get to know the ingredients

Thigh choices

The list allows bone-in, skin-on thighs or boneless, skinless thighs. The main pan directions describe starting with skin side down.

Apricot preserves

Whisk the preserves with the salty and tangy sauce ingredients before pouring the mixture over the chicken and onions.

Fresh ginger

Mince the fresh ginger before whisking it into the apricot mixture, so it is distributed through the slow-cooking sauce.

The last little job

Parsley over the chicken

After slow cooking, sprinkle chopped parsley over the thighs and serve with the softened onions and apricot sauce.

A little more help as you go

Look for deep golden color

The first pan stage should brown both sides deeply before the chicken moves into the slow cooker with its sauce.

Pour sauce after transfer

Move chicken and onions into the cooker first, then pour the prepared apricot sauce over both before covering to cook.

A few questions you might have

Can I use the low setting?

The directions allow six to eight hours on low after browning the chicken and softening onions in the pan.

What is the high-setting option?

The directions allow three to four hours on high for the chicken and onions after the apricot sauce is poured over.

Does the sauce need cooking before it enters the cooker?

Whisk it together and set aside. It is poured over the browned chicken and softened onions without a separate sauce-cooking stage.

Which mustard is listed?

Dijon mustard is whisked into the apricot preserves with soy sauce and minced fresh ginger for the slow-cooking sauce.

When is salt and pepper added?

Season both sides of the chicken before browning in olive oil, rather than waiting for the slow-cooker sauce stage.

Any more cooking tips?

Adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking. Nutritional information includes the chicken skin; if the skin is discarded the calorie and fat count will be lower.

Storage & reheating safety

For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.

These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures

Recipe source: dinneratthezoo.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.

Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.

How did this dish turn out?

Be the first to rate this dish.

Loading your rating…