🍑🍗 Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken is a sweet and savory glazed chicken recipe that your whole family will love! Tender, juicy chicken that’s packed with rich flavor from apricot jam, soy sauce, garlic, and more. Perfect for busy weeknights because your slow cooker does most of the work! Oven-baking instructions also provided.
Easy Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken Recipe
- Sweet, tangy, and irresistibly savory, this apricot chicken dish is a perfect blend of flavor and ease, letting your slow cooker do most of the work which is great for busy weeknights.
- Tender bone-in chicken thighs cook low and slow in a sweet and savory apricot glaze made with apricot jam, soy sauce, and a hint of garlic.
- I used bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on that I brown in a skillet before adding them to my slow cooker for maximum flavor.
- This is a flexible chicken dinner recipe so if you’d like to use another jam such as orange marmalade or peach preserves, or if you’d like to use boneless chicken thighs or breasts, that’s fine.
- In the recipe card below I also share how to make this as a braised oven-baked chicken recipe which cuts down the cooking time from many hours to 45 minutes.
Ingredients in Apricot Slow Cooker Chicken
- Chicken – For maximum flavor, I used skin-on bone-in chicken thighs. You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts making sure to cook until the chicken – no matter what cut of protein – until it reaches 165F internally.
- Apricot jam or apricot preserves (or peach jam), chicken broth, cornstarch, soy sauce (regular or reduced sodium soy sauce), apple cider vinegar, and optional hot sauce or red pepper flakes create the cooking liquid that the chicken simmers in. The cornstarch helps the apricot jam thicken up to create a lovely apricot glaze.
- Fresh herbs for garnishing such as parsley, cilantro, or basil are optional; or try green onions.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Apricot Chicken in a Slow Cooker
- Brown and Sear: I wouldn’t suggest this unless I think it makes a difference (but it does!) so blot the chicken with paper towel, and to a large skillet add oil, season the chicken with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and brown the chicken with the skin side down over medium-high heat, flip, and brown the second side.
- Add Cooking Liquids: To your 6-quart or 7-quart slow cooker, add all remaining ingredients (other than garnishes), stir to combine.
- Transfer and Cook: Add the seared chicken, spoon the sauce over the top, cover with the lid, and slow cook on low for about 5 hours or on high for about 2-3 hours total time.
- Garnish and Serve: Optionally garnish and serve this slow cooker chicken recipe, making sure to take advantage of all the apricot glaze and sauce in your slow cooker. It’s lovely spooned over mashed potatoes or rice!
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
what to serve with Crock pot Apricot Chicken
A bowl of rice, broccoli, carrots, green beans, or your fave fiber filled veggie side dish will be great alongside the chicken.
Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
🍑🍗 A sweet and savory glazed chicken recipe that your whole family will love featuring tender, juicy chicken that's packed with rich flavor from apricot jam, soy sauce, garlic, and more. Perfect for busy weeknights because your slow cooker does most of the work! Oven-baking instructions are provided below as well.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 chicken thighs, (blotted with a paper towel; I used bone-in, skin-on; you can sub with boneless thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder, or to taste
- ¾ cup apricot jam, (apricot preserves, peach jam or preserves, orange marmalade, or another favorite not-overly-sweet jam or preserves may be substituted)
- ⅓ cup chicken broth, (I use regular, if using reduced sodium you may want to add a bit more salt)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, (reduced sodium or regular, depending on preference for saltiness)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional and more or less to taste as desired (Cholula, Valentina, Sambal Olek, etc.)
- Fresh herbs, finely minced; optional for garnishing (parsley, basil, cilantro, green onions, etc.)
Instructions
- Brown and Sear: To a large skillet, add the oil, season the blotted chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, add it with the skin side down, and sear over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes, or until the skin is beginning to brown. Flip the chicken over and cook the second side for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and set the skillet aside momentarily.
- Cooking Liquids/Sauce: Spray the ceramic insert of your slow cooker with cooking spray if desired for easier cleanup. Add the apricot jam, chicken broth, cornstach (it helps create a glaze or tighter sauce during the cooking process so do not omit), soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, and stir to combine with a wooden spoon.
- Add Chicken: Transfer the chicken from the skillet and all the cooking juices into the slow cooker with the skin side up, spoon some of the cooking liquids or sauce over the top, and place the lid on top.
- Slow Cook: Cook for about 2-3 hours on HIGH, or about 4-6 hours on LOW. Cooking Tips – Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165F when measured with a thermometer. Do not guess; measure. Because all slow cookers vary in their heat output, kitchen temperatures vary, the size of the pieces of chicken vary, etc. cooking times will vary and are provided as an estimate only.
- Rest, Garnish, Serve: Rest the chicken for 5-10 minutes, optionally garnish with fresh herbs, and serve it making sure to utilize all the apricot glaze and sauce in your slow cooker with the chicken or spoon it over rice, potatoes, or veggies.
Notes
Baking Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Season and brown the chicken in a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven (you’ll need something with a lid) as instructed in Step 1 above.
- Momentarily remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside.
- Add all the contents of the cooking liquids/sauce and stir to combine as instructed in Step 2 above.
- Add the chicken back into the skillet, spoon some of the sauce over it, and cover with the lid.
- Braise (bake) for 45 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through to 165F. Rest, garnish, and serve.
Storage: Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat gently as desired.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 352cal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 721mg, Potassium: 284mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 154IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Such an easy, outstanding recipe with eye appeal, as well. I used orange marmalade as that is what I had on hand.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Angela, and I’m so happy to hear this was outstanding for you and that orange marmalade worked just fine!
I’ve been making this for awhile now–I used your orange crockpot chicken recipe, but only had apricot preserves available, so I subbed that in. It’s delicious!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Kris, and great to hear from you! Blast from the past :)
I’m glad to hear that you’ve been making this with your apricot preserves and that it’s delicious!
If you do not use skin on thighs do you still have to pan sear first? Gloria
Either way – if you sear it, it locks in more juices but if you don’t want to be bothered, then you can skip that step.