Slow cooked chicken simmered in white wine, mustard, and cream, with kale, shallots, and parmesan. I truly love this with mashed potatoes, but baked rice or polenta are a great base too.
A favorite slow cooker recipe that feeds a crowd and works for those busy weeknights most are experiencing this time of year. This is a Half Baked Harvest gem – Tieghan Girard calls this “Slow Cooker French Wine and Mustard Chicken”. https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/slow-cooker-french-wine-and-mustard-chicken/, which fits but I changed the name a touch to reflect the flavors I find make the dish. I absolutely love this, and you will too.
Simple ingredients here, so quality is key. Searing the chicken is important, imparting flavor and texture to the chicken, more than most slow cooked recipes I’ve tried. The Sauce is simply thrown in and stirred, toss the chicken in with a few pats of butter and close the lid.
Slow Cooker French Chicken with Mustard and Kale
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 4-6 split chicken breasts, skin on, deboned roughly 2.5 lbs
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, divided in half
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine I like Pinot Grigio
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, or full fat canned coconut milk
- 3 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp whole grain mustard
- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 bunch tuscan kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
Instructions
- Start by seasoning the chicken liberally with salt and black pepper, and 1 Tbsp of the chopped fresh thyme. Let the chicken rest and come close to room temp while you preheat a 12 inch skillet (cast iron works great here) to medium high heat.
- In the basin of your slow cooker, combine the ingredients for the sauce - white wine, cream or coconut milk, both mustards, shallots, garlic, and the remaining Tbsp of thyme. Stir until you see everything come together.
- When the skillet is hot, add 2 Tbsp of Olive oil, and sear the chicken, skin side down first, for roughly 3 minutes a side, looking for a golden crust. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, as the skin will steam rather than get the desired color. I tend to do this in two batches, and keep the chicken on a plate to the side in between. When done, place all the chicken into the sauce in the slow cooker, keeping the skin up and out of the liquid. Add any remaining juices from the plate too - even if just a tablespoon of drippings, they hold incredible flavor. Throw the butter into the top in a few pieces, cover and cook on high for 2 1/2-3 hours. Cook time will depend on the size of your chicken breasts.
- At the end of the cook time, remove the chicken to a plate, and toss the kale and parmesan into the cooking liquid. Cook on high for another 5-10 minutes until the kale is wilted. Then put the chicken back into the sauce, and serve as you like. I like this dish over baked white rice, mashed potatoes, even polenta. It also holds up on it's own with a side of salad.
Notes
