Hero Chicken with Purple Onions Slow Cooker. This super easy slow cooker chicken uses only 3 ingredients and basically cooks itself! Frozen chicken, pretty purple onions, and sweet balsamic sauce come together for a meal so yummy, your family will beg for seconds before dinner is even over.
This 3-ingredient slow cooker chicken is my go-to dinner hero on those crazy busy weeknights when I totally forgot to take anything out of the freezer. All you do is drop frozen chicken thighs into the slow cooker, add some pretty little purple pearl onions, pour on a sweet and tangy balsamic sauce, and just walk away. When you come back home, the chicken is so soft it falls right off the bone, and those purple onions turn into something wonderfully sweet and gooey. It feels fancy enough for a special dinner but is so simple you can make it on any regular Tuesday. My husband always asks about leftovers before we even finish eating our first plate!
Spoon the chicken and those soft purple onions over mashed potatoes, fluffy rice, or buttered egg noodles so everything soaks up all that yummy sauce. A simple green salad or some steamed green beans on the side keeps the meal fresh without any extra work. If you have a couple more minutes, grab some crusty bread to wipe up every last drop of sauce from the bowl. Leftover chicken is amazing stuffed into tortillas or piled onto toasted buns with a slice of melted cheese for an easy lunch the next day.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in, skinless frozen chicken thighs
- 2 cups small vibrant purple pearl onions, peeled (frozen ones work great too!)
- 1 cup thick balsamic vinaigrette or balsamic glaze-style salad dressing
Hero Chicken with Purple Onions: Directions
- Lay the frozen chicken thighs flat in a single layer on the bottom of your 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. No need to thaw them first — frozen is totally fine!
- Scatter the little purple pearl onions all over and around the chicken so they sit on top like a colorful, bumpy blanket.
- Pour the balsamic vinaigrette or balsamic glaze all over the chicken and onions, making sure most of the chicken gets a nice light coating of that sauce.
- Put the lid on the slow cooker and let it cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. The chicken is ready when it is very soft and the inside temperature reaches at least 165°F.
- Once it is done cooking, give the sauce a little taste and add a pinch of salt or a crack of black pepper if you want. Then carefully scoop the chicken and purple onions onto plates, and spoon some of that delicious balsamic juice right over the top before serving.