Creamy Garlic Mushroom Crock Pot Chicken Thighs
The chicken in the photos appears to be bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Browning the skin before slow cooking gives the thighs better flavour and keeps the finished dish from looking pale. The skin will soften in the crock pot, so a quick broil at the end can make it crisp again.
Equipment
- 6-quart slow cooker or crock pot
- Large skillet for browning the chicken thighs
- Tongs
- Sharp kitchen knife
- Cutting board
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- Small bowl for mixing the cornstarch slurry
- Whisk
- Instant-read meat thermometer
- Baking sheet, optional for broiling the chicken skin
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning dried
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion medium, thinly sliced
- 10 oz white mushrooms or cremini, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup chicken broth low-sodium
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp thyme dried
- ½ tsp rosemary dried
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Fresh rosemary or thyme for garnish optional
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towel. Season both sides with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken thighs in the skillet skin-side down and cook for 5–7 minutes, without moving them too much, until the skin is deeply golden. Turn and cook the second side for 2 minutes. Transfer the thighs to a plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, onion and sliced mushrooms to the same skillet. Cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and the mushrooms begin to brown.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and rosemary.
- Transfer the mushroom and onion mixture to the crock pot. Arrange the chicken thighs over the vegetables with the skin facing upward. Try to keep most of the skin above the liquid.
- Cover and cook on low for 4–5 hours or on high for 2½–3½ hours, until the chicken is tender and reaches a safe internal temperature. Bone-in thighs are especially tender around 175°F to 185°F.
- Carefully transfer the cooked chicken to a plate. Stir the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese into the sauce.
- Mix the cornstarch with the cold water. Stir the slurry into the crock pot sauce, cover and cook on high for another 10–15 minutes, until the creamy mushroom sauce thickens.
- Return the chicken to the sauce and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
- For crispier skin, place the cooked thighs on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 2–4 minutes before serving. Watch closely—the skin can brown quickly.
For the most flavourful creamy garlic mushroom crock pot chicken thighs, brown the skin-on chicken thighs in a hot skillet before placing them in the slow cooker. This quick step adds rich, savoury flavour and gives the chicken a much more appetizing golden finish.
Notes
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs work best for this creamy garlic mushroom crock pot chicken because they stay juicy during the longer cooking time.
- Browning the chicken skin before adding it to the slow cooker creates better colour and deeper flavour. It is worth the few extra minutes.
- Keep the chicken thighs skin-side up and avoid pouring the cooking liquid directly over the skin. The skin will soften in the crock pot, but this helps prevent it from becoming too soggy.
- Slice the mushrooms fairly thick. Thin mushroom slices tend to shrink quite a bit as the slow cooker chicken thighscook.
- Sautéing the onion, mushrooms and garlic in the same skillet used for the chicken picks up all those browned bits. That is where a lot of the flavour comes from.
- Add the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese near the end of cooking. Dairy can separate when cooked for several hours, especially on high heat.
- Mix the cornstarch with cold water before stirring it into the sauce. Adding dry cornstarch directly to the crock pot can leave small lumps.
- The creamy mushroom sauce may look thin when the chicken first comes out. Give it 10–15 minutes to thicken after adding the cream, Parmesan and cornstarch slurry.
- Chicken thighs are safe to eat at 165°F, but bone-in thighs are often more tender when cooked to around 175°F–185°F.
- For crispier chicken skin, place the cooked thighs under the broiler for 2–4 minutes before serving. Watch them closely. They brown fast.
- Taste the finished garlic mushroom sauce before adding more salt. Chicken broth, Parmesan and Worcestershire sauce already bring plenty of savoury flavour.
- Serve these creamy crock pot chicken thighs with mushrooms and onions over mashed potatoes, rice, egg noodles or pasta so none of the sauce goes to waste.
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