I don’t mind making dinners that take a little more time in the kitchen. But I am still very willing to enjoy the benefits of a healthy meal that takes little time to prepare and that tastes good. One meal that has been a problem for us is Sunday’s lunch. I haven’t always been very good at having a meal plan for Sunday, so Joel and I would often have to stop on the way home from church for a bite to eat. I am trying to remedy that by experimenting with my crockpot.
There is nothing better than coming home hungry to a hot meal, all ready to dish up. I owe my husband the thanks of having the basic idea for this meal. It will be a favorite for a busy day. A nutritionally packed meal, that is perfect for a cold winter day. Simple, warming, and nourishing.
Don’t feel like you have to stay strictly with this recipe. It can easily be adapted to your tastes and what’s on hand in your kitchen.
Crockpot Chicken and Quinoa
1 cup quinoa (soaked overnight in water, than drained and rinsed in a strainer. If you don’t soak your grains still rinse to remove a bitter substance from the grain)
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2-3/4 cup of white wine (amount depending on your taste and wine used)
2 cups of water
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon of salt
4-6 carrots, peeled and cubed
3 celery, sliced
1 onion, minced
2 chicken breasts or thighs
3 Tablespoons of butter (opt, for added richness and flavor)
Throw all the ingredients in your crockpot, cook on high, 4 hours or on low, 8. Shred the chicken when done, and stir into the stew and you are done! How simple is that?
One reason I really like this recipe is because it can be easily adapted. I think that mushrooms would make a great addition to this recipe. You can cut down on the meat used, or add more. If your family has a favorite herb, substitute that. Thyme is my current favorite, so I am using it frequently.
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I love quinoa! Thanks for the recipe.
I use my crockpot for Sunday lunch, too! By the time we get home everyone is so hungry, I get a lot of unhappiness while making lunch. The crockpot has changed that. It allows is to stay in the spirit longer. Thanks for the recipe.
This looks good. I like using my crockpot. I have never tried quinoa. Is it better for you than white rice, or does it just give a different texture and flavor.
Quinoa is a grass, not a grain like rice.
It is high in protein and will not make you sleepy after you eat.
Kirstin,
Quinoa is nutritionally PACKED. Whole grain brown rice also is good for you, but quinoa is much higher in protein, doesn’t raise your blood sugar as much, and has other benefits as well. Do a google search on it and you will find some great articles explaining it more fully.
Kimi, I have been using my crockpot for Sundays the past month or two, and it works so well for me. I love knowing that it is made, and healthy, and less fuss and clean up for me, too.
I’m going to try this stew, although I may use some lamb instead. I think it would also work with millet. I’ll let you know how my experiment goes!
How many do you think this recipe would feed?
Steph,
Well, you know how Joel and I eat (wink). We can, if I serve no sides, eat about half of this recipe, or a little more than half. So 4-6 servings?
We’ve tried this recipe 2 or 3 times now, and we really enjoy it! It’s such a nice change from a more traditional stew, and so easy to throw together on a Saturday night(to refrigerate until the next morning) or on Sunday morning for dinner on Sunday.
I didn’t have wine, so I substituted apple cider vinegar, which worked well. I also didn’t use as much chicken, and added a bit more veggies, including some corn. So yummy and even diet friendly for my cleanse!
Thanks for the recipe Kimi…I made it today, and it was very good. You’re right, there’s alot of variations that can be done with it. I didn’t use the white wine, instead took your suggestion of a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with more stock. I wish I would’ve put the butter in…I added a little on top when it was finished and it really added alot. I also sprinkled in some white pepper, more salt, garlic powder and even a light sprinkle of cayenne. Knowing my husband, I knew he needed that! I was thinking, what would you say about using cream in place of the wine next time?
I think that cream is a lovely idea! Just don’t combine it with the vinegar before you add it to the soup, LOL! You could end up with curdled cream!
I like white pepper a lot too! It’s very nice. I use it a lot.
Thanks for the comment! 🙂
I got sick over the weekend and I’m making this right now, because it tastes just as good and is just as soothing as chicken noodle and a lot easier than making noodles! 🙂 Mmm, I can’t wait until lunch!
Hi,
I’ve just found your blog recently and I’m making this for the first time today (we’re about to eat in 20 minutes and it smells soooo yummy!) I have a question though, is it common for ALL of the quinoa to sprout in the early stages of cooking. I soaked it over night and there were only a few sprouts this morning when I put it all on. Then when I checked it a couple of hours later every bit of the quinoa was sprouted…. I don’t mind, I was just curious!
Thanks for posting such wonderful recipes!
bloggin’ mama,
Thanks for the comment. The quinoa will look sprouted when fully cooked, even when you haven’t soaked it. 🙂 It’s a little funny looking, but really great tasting!
I really loved this. It was soooo yummy. The only thing I didn’t like (was my fault), I put too much apple cider vinegar in to replace the wine and it made it a little too sweet, but it was still so yummy. It made enough to freeze half for another time!! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe and answering my questions about the quinoa.
This is a great idea! I’ve been wanting to use my crockpot more often (especially for Sundays), but most crockpot recipes are so far from healthy it’s not even funny. I’m putting this on our menu plan right away. With all the fantastic reviews, I’m really looking forward to trying this. Thanks for your work on this blog!
I’ve made this twice now, and we love it! It really does work well for Sunday lunches. The first time, I used white wine and rosemary and added a straggling yellow squash or two and some raw cream. Yum! The second time, I tried 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and thyme, adding green beans, kale, frozen green peas, and some more cream (hubby needs the calories). Excellent! I don’t think I can go wrong with this recipe. Thank you SO much for giving me an easy, healthy base crockpot recipe. Love your blog (it’s on my blogroll)!
I just love this delicious crock pot recipe!!
I can’t say thank you enough! I too have been looking for a Healthy crockpot meal. I love quinoa and this seems lovely to serve to the whole family! I regularly give my son quinoa for his super porridge in the morning. Now the rest of us can enjoy a great meal!
Kimi, I absolutely love your blog and have learned so much about healty eating and whole grains. Your site is used more than most of my cookbooks combined. This is a new venture for myself and my family and this recipe was a huge hit (this is saying alote since they have never heard of Quinoa) Thank you so much.
Kimi, I absolutely love your blog and have learned so much about healty eating and whole grains. Your site is used more than most of my cookbooks combined. This is a new venture for myself and my family and this recipe was a huge hit (this is saying alote since they have never heard of Quinoa) Thank you so much.
Making this for dinner tonight. Yummy!
Kimi, I just found your blog recently and have really enjoyed reading through the wealth of information here! It really resonates with what I have been wanting to do. Anyway, I am making this soup today. I have never soaked a grain before this. I soaked the quinoa for 14 hours in water with 1 Tbsp of whey added, and the quinoa sprouted! I was really surprised that this happened. Will this affect the outcome of this dish? Is that normal for it to sprout?
Hi Johanna!
Welcome to my site. 🙂 I am so glad that you have enjoyed it. 🙂 Quinoa actually always “sprouts” that little tail when soaked or cooked. It’s totally fine. 😉 For it to actually sprout it will actually sprout two tails, according to sproutpeople.com.
So it’s totally normal! 🙂
Kimi
This dish is perfect-simple, healthy, and DELICIOUS! My only change was a sprinkling of white pepper at the end. Along with a slice of homemade bread with raw cheddar, it made a fantastic dinner. Thank you…I have just found your blog and I love it!
This looks great. However, I usually get my chicken whole from a local farm. I cook it in a crockpot and use whatever chicken is left over in dishes. Do you think I could cook this without the chicken until the last hour or so and then add my leftoever chicken then?
This looks great! Have you ever tried adding greens to this? Which ones? Also, does this freeze well?
We love quinoa! I’m making this tomorrow using left over turkey. Thanks for the recipe:)
I know this is an old post but I just discovered the recipe. I made this today in my crockpot and wow, it is incredibly tasty!! My family loved it 🙂 I didn’t have celery so I threw in a diced sweet potato and used all stock instead of 1/2 water.
This will definitely be added to my list of make often meals. Thanks so much for sharing it.
Forgive me if I should know this, but does the chicken need to be cooked before putting it in the crock pot?
nope! Just throw it in raw. 🙂
I also have a question about the chicken. Do you use bone-in breasts (and just take them out at the end of the 4 or 8 hours, then take the meat off the bone and toss it back in)?
Yup! That’s what I do. 🙂
I made this for the first time tonight and it was delicious! I think the wine adds alot of flavor.
PS – I love your blog and plan to try more of your recipes.
Hi Kimi,
I made this wonderful recipes several times last winter and I LOVED it. I have been dreaming of this recipe as Fall has begun and winter is coming. However, this spring I decided to a vegan diet was for me to heal my crohn’s disease. I’ve had great success! I’m wondering if you’ve made this without the chicken or if you could then what would you use in it’s place? Would lentils work or would it throw the flavor off? Tofu doesn’t seem right here. What are your thoughts?
Congratulations on your beautiful baby!
Kim
Sounds great! I would have never thought to use the crockpot for a Sunday lunch. Great idea!
I just made this today for my family. We had never tried quinoa but have wanted to so when I saw a crockpot recipe using it, I gave it a try. Soooooo good! Thank you for the recipe!
omgoodness. your blog=new addiction! i have 3 (oldest is 3) with the baby being 2.5 months. i saw a few comments regarding freezing….does this freeze well? PS….organic quinoa at costco =)
Very delicious. I didn’t have celery but put in some mushrooms. I was thinking next time I may add ginger.
Hi all!
This looks delicious. I may try it tomorrow.
Two questions:
1) What kind of white wine should i be using? The one you drink? (I’ve never cooked with wine, just cooked with a glass of it close by ;-))
2) Can I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts? Has anyone tried?
Thank you 🙂
Cannot wait to try this!! Thanks for posting!
i’m wondering the same thing Sandra Zee did.
I used boneless chicken tenders and omitted the wine. It was excellent! Thanks so much for this recipe.
I made this today – delicious! My husband is not a big quinoa fan but he definitely liked this stew. I made the recipe basically as listed, minus the celery since I didn’t have any, and I used 4 cups of chicken broth (omitting the water). Thanks for sharing this!
I have been making this meal regularly for 4 years–it’s that good! My favorite way to make it is using mushrooms and herbs de provence. Thanks for this great recipe!
I have all the ingredients and am ready to go. Quinoa is soaking. I’m hoping a 3 qt. pot is ok to use as that is all I have. I just paniced!