Slow-Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken
Updated August 24, 2026
Joel Goldberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
- Total Time
- 4 hours 10 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 4 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
8 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
1 shallot, minced
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and pepper
½ cup sour cream
Homemade or store-bought croutons, for topping
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
56 grams carbs; 234 milligrams cholesterol; 679 calories; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 26 grams fat; 12 grams fiber; 1178 milligrams sodium; 57 grams protein; 3 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Combine the chicken, beans, butter, garlic, parsley, shallot, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons salt and several generous grinds of pepper in a 6- to 8-quart slow-cooker. Cook on low until the chicken is tender and the flavors have mellowed, about 4 hours.
- Step 2
Break the chicken into large pieces using two forks. Stir in the sour cream.
- Step 3
Serve the stew topped with croutons and more parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
@Joan I haven’t made this yet but have made several recipes in a Dutch oven instead of a slow cooker. This is how I would approach it. First brown the thighs in the butter it will add richness - then deglaze with liquids and add the rest of the ingredients. Oven at 325 - plan for 2 hours but check after 1 hr.
@Semmelwürfel, try stirring a bag of baby spinach through before adding the sour cream, it was a great addition for texture, flavor and adding some healthy greens.
My kind of recipe. Take a few ingredients. Include butter. Cook for a while. Do other stuff. Come back. Eat. :^)
I made this as written, and it turned out great. I ate it with an oven-baked, crusty baguette for dipping instead of croutons. I'm sure browning the thighs beforehand would make it even better. We had enough for two dinner servings, and both had it for lunch the next day as well.
I added chicken broth to the mix in order to get that stew consistency but unfortunately just became overly salty (my fault).
I followed the suggestion to cook on a stove, using split chicken breasts instead of boneless. I browned the chicken, then added shallots and garlic. After a minute. I added the rest of the ingredients (minus sour cream) along with some chicken broth (1 cup) and cooked until the chicken was tender. I deboned the chicken (easy, since it was tender). Using bone-in breasts kept the chicken moist. The stew tasted even better after the second day. Skipped the croutons and served w/ some good bread.