Low Carb Keto Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Thighs are a perfect meal for a busy weeknight. You can make this in your slow cooker, Instant pot or you can bake them! Just 4 carbs per serving!
LOW CARB BALSAMIC CHICKEN
This amazing slow cooker balsamic chicken recipe has been a popular post since it was first published in 2012! It is simple enough for any weeknight meal and delicious enough for company.
With a few ingredients and 2-4 hours in your slow cooker, you have the most tender, mouthwatering, flavorful, chicken the whole family will love!
Pair it with any side dishes you like. The slow cooker does all the work and you will have an amazing dinner waiting for you when you get home from a long day.
HOW TO MAKE BALSAMIC CHICKEN
Ingredients
You will need some dry spices like garlic powder, dried basil or you could also use dried parsley, sea salt, black pepper, dried minced onion. You will also need minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and of course skinless, boneless chicken thighs.
Directions
Combine the first five dry spices in a small bowl and spread over chicken on both sides. Set aside.
Place the olive oil minced garlic and half of the balsamic vinegar into the slow cooker.
Lay your chicken thighs in the slow cooker, they can overlap.
Cover and cook on high 2-3 hours if you have a newer slow cooker and 3-4 if you have an older slow cooker.
HOW TO SERVE BALSAMIC CHICKEN THIGHS
I've got a bunch of delicious low-carb side dishes to serve this with;
- Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
- Loaded Cauliflower
- Cauliflower Rice salad
- Oven Fried Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
- Low Carb Cheesy Bacon Hasselback Zucchini
But of course if you don't feel like making anything too involved, a simple cauliflower rice is always good as is a mashed cauliflower.
Palmini rice is a new favorite of ours and we do still enjoy Shirataki rice too!
BONELESS VERSUS BONE-IN THIGHS
Using boneless chicken thighs is best for perfectly tender and juicy slow cooked chicken, but of course you could always use chicken breast if you're not a fan of dark meat. You could even try this recipe using pork tenderloin if you like.
Bone-in thighs will also work just fine, you may need to cook them a bit longer, possibly an hour more. Make sure to use an internal thermometer and insert near the bone. You want a reading of 165 degrees F.
My entire family loved this chicken and each child asked for seconds of it which rarely ever happens! Don't be worried about the balsamic flavor, it is subtle and not strong at all. The kids will only notice how moist and tasty the chicken is, I promise!
TOOLS TO MAKE BALSAMIC CHICKEN
Slow Cooker-I love using my crock pot weekly for that wonderful smell when you come home knowing you've got dinner ready to go for the family!
or Instant Pot- As much as I love using my crock pot, having an Instant Pot does save time when you need to get dinner ready in under an hour.
HOW TO BAKE BALSAMIC CHICKEN THIGHS
If you'd rather not use the slow cooker or instant pot. Simply follow the directions for seasoning your chicken.
Instead of placing the oil, garlic and balsamic into the slow cooker, add it to a bowl and toss and coat the chicken thighs. Place in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight is even better.
When you are ready to bake, place parchment paper on a large baking sheet pan and preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Lay thighs evenly on pan without overlapping. Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
CAN I SWAP CHICKEN THIGHS FOR BREASTS?
Check this Post if you prefer using chicken breasts for this recipe instead. This recipe has also been adapted to use with beef!
Check out my newest recipe, Crock Pot Balsamic Roast Beef!
Other crock pot recipes you might like:
- Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken Breasts
- Crock Pot Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
- Crock Pot Beef Burgundy
- Crock Pot Shredded Mexican Style Chicken
- Crock Pot Sugar Free BBQ Pulled Chicken
KETO SLOW COOKER BALSAMIC CHICKEN THIGHS
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons dehydrated onion
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar divided
- 8 chicken thighs boneless, skinless (about 24 ounces)
- sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Combine the first five dry spices in a small bowl and spread over chicken on both sides.
- Set aside.
- Pour olive oil and garlic on the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour in ¼ cup balsamic vinegar.
- Place chicken on top.
- Sprinkle remaining balsamic vinegar over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 hours if using boneless, if using bone in thighs, high for 2-3 hours. If you have an older slow cooker you may need to cook another hour.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley on top to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Kevin
I made this yesterday and the entire family, even the picky eater, really enjoyed it. I saw people asking about longer cook times and this is how I made it work for us. I removed the skin and cleaned up the fat on the thighs. On a cookie sheet I froze the thighs spread out so they would not all stick together and then put them in a freezer bag. The next morning I made it with putting the thighs in individually, pouring the balsamic and then sprinkling on the seasoning. Set on low for 8 hour they came out great. We served on to of rice and corn.
Brenda
so you put them in the crock pot frozen? Did you say if they were bone in or not?
Kevin
Yep, frozen. Bone in but cleaned of the skin and extra fat. With 8-10 thighs this gives me the right cook time for 7-8 hours.
Brenda
thanks Kevin!
Karen
I love this recipe. I find that it taste better if you use a better balsamic vinegar. I buy lucini.
Jessica
The picture looks like this chicken was grilled as there are gorgeous sear marks pictured. lol. should the chicken be seared before or after the crock pot?
Brenda
The chicken was NOT seared. This is how it came out of my crock pot, I kid you not.
Mary Lutz
It looks like your recipe is going around without credit, paired with a photo stolen from another recipe! Here is one site I saw posted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151814637588670&set=a.10151814637523670.1073741931.56892453669&type=1
Brenda
thank you so much for letting me know!
Penelope
I made this tonight, and thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Like another reviewer, I found this recipe by googling "chicken thigh crock pot," although I admit I was really looking for a different recipe I had come across the week before that included chick thighs. I'm glad I was unsuccessful in my search, because it led me here! My husband is a very picky eater (won't eat dark meat) and loved this! I didn't tell him it was thighs (hee hee)! The meat was so tender, my one year-old enjoyed it as well, and I can rarely get her to eat meat that isn't ground up! I used one package of thighs, which was about 6, and in my crock pot, it was done at around three hours on high. I continued cooking on low for the last hour, but I could have probably served it without that last hour on low. It was so easy! I will definitely make it again!
Brenda
Thanks for sharing Penelope and I'm so happy the hubby and toddler liked it too!
alicja
I found your recipe when I googled "chicken thigh crockpot" and I have to say that it turned out amazing! this was only my second time using the crockpot, and only a first with chicken and I was impressed at how easy it was! I let the crockpot run at only 3 and a half hours on high (the kids were starving!) and everything was done and cooked perfectly! I used bone in chicken thighs (I took the skin off before before cooking) and I served it with just a salad. I'd love to pin it on Pinterest to save it but I can't seem to find a way to do that....anyway thank you for the recipe, it was delicious!
Brenda
Happy you and the family enjoyed the recipe! Every picture has a pop up pin it button when you hover the top middle to corner of any picture.
Anna
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I made it for dinner tonight, and it's delicious. I used bone-in chicken thighs, and it turned out just fine.
Mikal
First thing I'd like to say about this recipe is that it was delicious! The next thing is that mine did not come out nearly as pretty as these pictures! I've actually made a couple of versions with just a couple of deviations from the original.
I cooked mine to specifications the first time around but with a few less chicken thighs (mine were boneless). Because I lessened the amount of meat, I did reduce the time a bit. I think I ended up right around 3 hours for 4 thighs. They came out perfect but any longer and they would have been overcooked. I did try adding mushrooms and that was kind of a bad idea. They absorbed too much vinegar and were really strong. Next time around I omitted the mushrooms and all was good.
The 3rd time I cooked a variation of this recipe I used all of the same seasonings and ingredients except I used chicken breasts and baked it (at 375) in my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker. AMAZING! Obviously this defeats the crock pot (easy) portion, but this recipe is awesome even outside of the crock pot.
Thank you for posting this!
april
I've made this twice and loved it. We used the leftovers and made a pizza using a bit of alfredo for the sauce, the balsamic chicken, parmesan, mozzarella and fresh basil. To. Die. For.
I'd ike to make this in my Pampered Chef covered baker like Mikal did….how long in the oven, I wonder?
E.R.
It WAS delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It will be a regular at my house.
E.R.
Prep on this recipe is quick and easy. It's cooking in my crock pot, now.
This will be Sunday dinner. If it tastes as good as it smells, it will be delicious.
Care
Made this and followed the recipe EXACTLY...it was pretty awful! The balsamic vinegar taste is VERY strong and my chicken thighs really dried out.
Nickythebean
I am going to try this with a cut up pork roast later this week. It is a pork butt roast. Any suggestions? 🙂
Brenda
Here's my crock pot pork tenderloin to compare, https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/crock-pot-balsamic-pork-tenderloin/
Susan
Disappointed! I used thighs and I thought it tasted over cooked.I prefer the taste of baked chicken.
Karen
I found this recipe on facebook. I wanted to print it out but couldnt so I did a google search. Voila! I made this yesterday--DELICIOUS!!!
Kristie
Can I use chicken legs since I don't have thighs or chicken breasts... Do I cook it the same amt of time it says in crockpot.
Brenda
Someone on FB told me they cut up a whole chicken and followed the recipe using the thighs and it came out great.
Dee
Hi! I was wondering how you got the charred look of the meat?? Did it come right out of the crock pot like that? It looks grilled???
Brenda
It truly came out of the crock pot like that.
Gossett
Can't wait to try this recipe! Very simple ingredients and the pics look delicious!
BOB
Has anyone tried using thighs AND legs and Bone-in thighs?, I usually freeze thighs and legs together....hopefully they react like BBQ legs and thighs, the legs are cooked first, then the thighs, i'm estimating 3 hrs for the legs (maybe 2.5) and 4.5 hours for the bone-in thighs Comments? cooking it tomorrow 7/30/2013????
wendi
Do you think I can freeze this after I cook for future lunches?
Brenda
I do think it will work fine to do that yes.
Carrie
I made these a few weeks back and they were a HUGE hit at my house. Have you ever done them in the oven? Wondering, if on a day I didn't get in the crock pot soon enough, how long I'd cook in the oven...
Brenda
Sorry, I've not made it in the oven.
mary
I make something similar in the oven. I marinade the chicken thighs in balsamic , mustard and garlic for about half an hour. add a little s&p. Then i put them on a baking sheet and roast at 425 for 20 minutes. The baking sheet gets very sticky but if you use a nonstick sheet the clean up isn't so bad.
Karen
Just had these for dinner - kids and everyone loved them! I doubled the recipe because I had a 4-5 lb. pkg. of boneless, skinless thighs. Wow are these delicious! And, it still took just under 4 hrs. on high. This is the perfect recipe for chicken thighs. Thanks!
Angie
My husband loved this chicken! It was quite Yummy!
Kimberly AmRhein
I made this tonight....relish and easy. Pulled it apart, put it in some homemade tortillas with a slice of avocado....yummy chicken tacos! Will definitely make this again!
Patty
I made this tonight using chicken breasts. It was fabulous! Thank you for a wonderful and easy recipe.
Brenda
So glad you enjoyed it!
Mia
Have made this twice in the last week. My husband and parents LOVED it! I made it per your recipe except only left it 3.5 hrs on high, and they were wonderful. Goes really well over rice cooked with red bell pepper and halved mini tomatoes 🙂
None of us usually like chicken thighs, but this was amazingly good!
Thanks for posting!