This easy Mediterranean style chicken recipe with chorizo, olives and tomatoes is a great mid week meal. It makes use of the slow cooker which means you can make this fantastic no fuss family dinner with very little effort.
Why You Should Cook This
- Easy to prepare
- A great one-pot family meal
- Mediterranean diet recipe
- A fantastic low budget dish
I love this slow cooker dish. It’s so simple, delicious and great comfort food. All the ingredients are placed in the slow cooker and there’s no need for any separate browning or frying of ingredients.
It’s an easy Mediterranean style dish that’s packed with flavour and sure to become a family favourite meal.
If you’re interested in following a Mediterranean diet these articles are a useful place to start:
The Best Way to Start the Mediterranean Diet
Easy Mediterranean Diet 7-day Meal Plan
Easy Snack Ideas on a Mediterranean Diet
Variations
There are a number of ways you can switch up this recipe according to your tastes. Here are some ideas to try!
- Experiment with different vegetables. You could try some green beans or carrots.
- Use chickpeas, butter beans, sweet potatoes or new potatoes instead of cannellini beans.
- You could try using a different meat. Pork shoulder would work well.
- If you don’t have the fresh herbs stated in the recipe then you could substitute with 1tsp of dried oregano or mixed dried herbs
Serve With…
This tastes great served with any of the following:
- roast garlic potatoes
- boiled new potatoes
- crusty wholemeal bread
- Brown rice
- Potato wedges
- Mashed potato
- Cous cous
Troubleshooting and Questions
I don’t have a slow cooker. Can I cook this in the oven?
Yes, you can make this in the oven. Add all the ingredients to a large casserole dish with a lid.
Cook it at 180C for 1 to 1.5 hours until the meat is tender.
You will need to add around 200 ml of extra fluid (water, stock or more tomatoes) to stop it from drying out in the oven.
Why don’t you brown the chicken first?
Browning the meat does add a small amount of extra flavour, so if you have the time, go ahead and fry it off for a few minutes each side until golden.
For a midweek meal though I like to keep things as simple and quick as possible and the recipe is still delicious if you skip the browning.
My sauce is too thin, how can I thicken it?
You can thicken the sauce by using cornflour. Mix 1 heaped teaspoon of cornflour with 2 teaspoons of cold water from the tap until smooth. Stir this into the dish and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
The process can be repeated if necessary.
Can you add all the ingredients in one go?
Yes, if you’re going to work or will be out all day you can put all the ingredients in the slow cooker at the same time and leave it to cook.
You may find that the aubergine goes very soft and disappears into the sauce but it will still be delicious.
Is this Mediterranean Chicken recipe good for you?
Yes! This dish contains high quality lean protein from the chicken and beans. You get plenty of vitamins and antioxidants from the vegetables.
It is also low in fat and therefore low in calories.
Leftovers
This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or you can freeze it after it has cooled completely and it will keep for 3 months.
Ingredients
The ingredients are added in two stages to stop the vegetables going too mushy.
First Ingredients:
Chicken – skinless, boneless chicken thighs work very well in this dish. You could also use chicken breast if you like but be careful not to overcook it
Chorizo – it’s best to use cooking chorizo which is usually sold in a thick sausage shape or cut into chunks
Onion – fresh or frozen chopped onion are both fine
Bay Leaf and a sprig of rosemary – these herbs will add a lovely flavour to the dish but you can substitute with any other herbs such as thyme or oregano or mixed dried herbs
Garlic – use fresh crushed garlic cloves or alternatively 1 tsp of garlic powder
Tinned tomatoes
Smoked paprika
Tomato puree
Red wine – this is optional but it does add a lovely depth of flavour
Salt and pepper
Final Ingredients:
Peppers – I like to use either red, orange or yellow peppers for colour and flavour
Cannellini Beans – I use tinned beans for convenience
Pitted Olives – I love the flavour of Kalamata olives but you can use any that you like
Aubergine – no need to salt your aubergines these days
How to Make Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetables
- Fill the slow cooker with stage 1 ingredients – add all the ingredients except the beans, peppers, aubergine and olives into the slow cooker and put on the lid.
- Slow cook on high for 1 hour, or low for 3 hours.
- Add the remaining ingredients – add the beans, peppers, aubergine and olives to the slow cooker and stir to mix.
- Cook for 3 more hours or until the aubergine is very soft. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Here are some other great mid-week family meals to try:
THE BEST EASY PESTO CHICKEN PASTA
An Incredibly Easy Butter Chicken Recipe
THE BEST EASY PESTO CHICKEN PASTA
Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetables
Ingredients
Stage 1 ingredients
- 600 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 75 g chorizo, chopped into small pieces
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 tin tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 150 ml red wine optional
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
Remaining ingredients added later
- 1 red, orange or yellow pepper, cut into rough pieces
- 1 small aubergine, cut into 2cm chunks
- 1 tin cannellini beans, drained
- 20 pitted kalamata olives
Instructions
- Fill the slow cooker with stage 1 ingredients – add all the ingredients except the beans, peppers, aubergine and olives into the slow cooker and put on the lid.
- Turn on the slow cooker – cook either on high for 1 hour, or low for 3 hours.
- Add the remaining ingredients – add the beans, peppers, aubergine and olives to the slow cooker and stir to mix.
- Cook for 3 more hours or until the aubergine is very soft. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Notes
- If you don’t have the fresh herbs stated in the recipe then you could substitute with 1tsp of dried oregano or mixed dried herbs.
- This can be made in the oven. Place all the ingredients into a casserole dish with a lid and cook at 180C for 1.5 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender. You will need to add around 200 to 250ml of extra fluid (water, stock or more tomatoes) to stop it from drying out in the oven.
- Serve with crusty bread, any type of potato, rice or cous cous.
Wow, this was super easy to make and smells amazing! Made ahead to have as a quick mid-week meal. Can’t wait to eat it!! Thanks Liz 😊