Slow cooker apricot chicken is an easy recipe using chicken thighs and dried apricots for a delicious dinner with big, fresh flavor and an intoxicating aroma - your kitchen will smell amazing!
Anyone else get giddy when your house fills up with the aroma of what you’re cooking and you can almost taste it as you begin to salivate, like a Pavlov reaction?
The first time I made this slow cooker apricot chicken, I had stayed downstairs for several hours after starting it, working on my deadlines, cleaning up the kitchen, etc.
I finally moved upstairs for a workout and shower and when I walked out of my bedroom, I was struck with the savory-sweet smell wafting up to me.
Seriously ahhhhmazing! 🧡
And a half-hour later, when I walked back into the house after collecting the little ones from preschool, M said, “Mommy? What’s THAT? That smells GOOD!”
The whole house was filled with it and it was practically torture waiting until dinner time.
(By the way, if you don't have time for a slow cooker version, check out this easy skillet apricot chicken that's ready in 30 minutes.)
And so I nearly burned my tongue as soon as I heard the slow cooker beep that it was finished. #nopatience
And happily, the taste is as swoon-worthy as the smell.
The depth of flavor from the tangy Dijon mustard, the sweetness of the apricots, a quick hit of acidity from the fresh lemon juice, a shot of earthiness from the thyme and the background of savory from the chicken broth, garlic and onion… it’s a flavor fest for sure!
And those onions, they are melt-in-your-mouth tender and full of the chicken and apricot flavors.
The dried apricots get full and juicy and fall-apart tender as they cook. You’ll find little bits of apricot clinging to the chicken throughout the dish. Divine!
And of course the chicken thighs are the star of the show and they are so juicy and tender and scrumptious.
I think you are going to love this dish!
OK, let's get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes and tips coming up below on how to make crock pot apricot chicken. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken Thighs - I highly recommend using chicken thighs and not substituting with breasts. I normally prefer chicken breasts myself, but the thighs here offer a greater depth of flavor and heartiness that’s needed to balance the light, sweet flavors of the dish. They also retain more flavor in the crockpot than breasts do, in my experience.
- Apricots - We are using DRIED apricots, not fresh. They have a more concentrated flavor and hold up better to slow cooking. You can find them in the grocery store aisle with the raisins and other dried fruits.
- Dijon Mustard - This adds to the tanginess that helps balance the sweetness from the apricots. I don't recommend subbing yellow mustard.
- Chicken Broth - It adds some extra savory flavor, but water would work fine if you don't have any on hand.
- Thyme - I always have dried thyme on hand, so that's readily available for me to use in this recipe. If you happen to have fresh thyme, feel free to use that; you'll need 1 tablespoon.
Tips and Tricks
- Searing the chicken thighs in the pan first really helps seal in the flavor! I know it’s an extra step — and you know I like to take shortcuts and keep things simple — but please don't skip it.
- Any apricots that are sticking out of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker may turn brown/black. They taste fine - not burnt - but you could also simply toss those pieces. There are plenty of apricots here!
- Cooking temp: You can cook this on low or on high in the crock pot. Mine took about 6 hours on low and 3 hours 45 minutes on high, but slow cookers can vary so check your meat with a thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked through.
- Save ALL of the juices! The sauce that gets made in the slow cooker is pure gold. You are going to want to drizzle it all over your plate - and you should!
As for serving this up...
Serving Ideas
I like to serve this apricot chicken over steamed brown rice (white rice is fine, and couscous or quinoa would also be good). You want something that can help soak up those glorious juices.
Then pile the chicken, onions and apricots on top. Drizzle a little of the juices over everything and then serve the rest of the juices at the table.
I poured, poured, poured that yummy sauce all over my plate. It was a good call.
The chicken and rice soak up the sauce and everything really comes together as one dish. 👌
As for a vegetable side, your favorite steamed veggie - like broccoli or asparagus - would be great here. Or you could serve this with a side salad.
Last thing, what to do with any leftovers.
The leftover chicken and apricots and juices, once cooled, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Reheat in a skillet or in the microwave.
Yes! The leftovers freeze great. Let cool, then transfer to a freezer safe container or ziplock bag (be sure to label it!) and freeze for up to 4-5 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator then reheat in a skillet or in the microwave. The extra juices help prevent the chicken from drying out.
This slow cooker apricot chicken is now on regular rotation in our house. And every time I make it, I get so excited when the smell starts permeating the house.
Hope you give this a try and enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Check out all my slow cooker chicken recipes for more easy dinner inspiration!
Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
Slow cooker apricot chicken is an easy recipe using chicken thighs and dried apricots for a delicious dinner with big, fresh flavor and an intoxicating aroma - your kitchen will smell amazing!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup sliced onion
- 1 cup dried apricots, halved if desired
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add to pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, until browned, turning once.
- Combine chicken broth, lemon zest and juice, mustard, garlic and thyme in slow cooker and whisk to combine. (Or you can stir it all together in a small bowl and add to your slow cooker.)
- Add onions, apricots and seared chicken thighs to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Serve chicken thighs and plenty of sauce over brown rice or whole wheat couscous.
Notes
Chicken Thighs - I highly recommend using chicken thighs and not substituting with breasts. I normally prefer chicken breasts myself, but the thighs here offer a greater depth of flavor and heartiness that’s needed to balance the light, sweet flavors of the dish. They also retain more flavor in the crockpot than breasts do, in my experience.
Apricots - We are using DRIED apricots, not fresh. They have a more concentrated flavor and hold up better to slow cooking. You can find them in the grocery store aisle with the raisins and other dried fruits.
Dijon Mustard - This adds to the tanginess that helps balance the sweetness from the apricots. I don't recommend subbing yellow mustard.
Chicken Broth - It adds some extra savory flavor, but water would work fine if you don't have any on hand.
Thyme - You can use 1 teaspoon of dried thyme or substitute 1 Tablespoon of fresh thyme.
Searing the chicken thighs in the pan first really helps seal in the flavor! I know it’s an extra step — and you know I like to take shortcuts and keep things simple — but please don't skip it.
Any apricots that are sticking out of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker may turn brown/black. They taste fine - not burnt - but you could also simply toss those pieces. There are plenty of apricots here!
Cooking temp: You can cook this on low or on high in the crock pot. Mine took about 6 hours on low and 3 hours 45 minutes on high, but slow cookers can vary so check your meat with a thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked through.
Save ALL of the juices! The sauce that gets made in the slow cooker is pure gold. You are going to want to drizzle it all over your plate - and you should!
Serving: You can serve this over steamed brown or white rice or with quinoa or couscous. You want something to help soak up those yummy juices!
Leftovers: Leftovers, once cooled, can be stored in a covered container for up to 4-5 days. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to 4-5 months. Be sure to store the chicken and apricots with plenty of the juices; they help to prevent the chicken from drying out when reheating.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 184mgSodium: 591mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 3gSugar: 14gProtein: 39g
Jules
Hi,
Just thought I would leave a comment here because this is the second time I have looked up this recipe because it was so good the first time.
I made two small changes, I used tinned apricot and less broth so there wasn't too much liquid, and I added ginger. It is SO good. Thanks for awesome recipe.
Kathryn
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Jules! Thanks for sharing! 😊
Michelle
Made this tonight in the instant pot- did 20 manual setting. FANTASTIC! Tx for the recipe!
Michelle
20 minutes!
Kathryn
I'm SO happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂 And so happy to know the instructions for the Instant Pot. Thanks for sharing!
Marissa
What kind of onion do you use? I'd probably to default to yellow/brown, but has anyone tried this with white or red?
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Marisssa! I use a sweet onion, but white or yellow would be fine, too. Hope that helps!
Shane Gibbons
Winner, winner, chicken dinner, legit!
I added a cup of sultanas, cup of carrot, cup of celery and a cup of butternut pumpkin to the recipe. Heaven.
Kathryn
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it Shane! Thanks so much for sharing! And I LOVE all those veggies you added to this - yum!
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen
What an interesting combination, it looks like a very satisfying dinner!
Kathryn
Thanks so much - they go really well together!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed
I just love apricots! I also love my slow cooker! It makes meals so much easier.
Kathryn
Yes and yes!! 😊
Anika
Giving this a try today! Hope it is amazing!
Kathryn
I hope you liked it Anika! 😊
Phil
Hi there I’m making this tmr love the look of it
Kathryn
Oh great! I hope you love it!
Phil
Hi there I made the chicken apricot dish so delicious I used fresh apricots instead of dried to enhance the flavours plus I added some cumin and apricot jam I served it over basmati rice This is surely a keeper 😊
Kathryn
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Sounds like some great additions! 😊
Caroline
I work a 10 hour day (from leaving home to arriving home) can I pre-prepare this and set a timer to start? or pre prepare, refrigerate and cook on high for 3-4 hours?
Thank you
Kathryn
Hi Caroline, do you have a warm function on your slow cooker? If so, you could prepare it and start it in the morning and then have it switch to warm when the cook time is done, until you get home. If not, I'd suggest pre-preparing and refrigerating it and then cooking it on high for 3-4 hours. I think it might sit too long with a delayed timer, which might not be safe from a food safety perspective.
Maria
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. It smelled and looked amazing, but unfortunately it was really sour from all the lemon juice. I am going to try to make it again with just half a lemon and see if it improves.
Kathryn
Oh I'm sorry to hear it ended up sour, Maria. Even with a juicy lemon, I've never had an issue with that - it usually just helps balance out the sweetness from the apricots. That's a good idea though to start with just a half of a lemon and see how it goes. You can always add an extra squeeze of lemon juice when serving if you want to add some extra.
https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/
The mix of apricots and chicken tastes delicious, and this recipe is very unusual. Thanks for sharing it!
Veronica
I would love to try this as it sounds delish but I really hate mustard. Do you think it would be ok to use a couple of tsp instead so the mustard taste won’t be too strong?
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Veronica! Yes, I think you could reduce the amount of Dijon mustard in this recipe and/or substitute a few splashes of white wine vinegar as the acidity. I hope that helps and would love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
grits are golden
I have been cooking for a very long time and can almost tell by ingredients whether a recipe will be tasty or not. This sounds good and we will have it tonight. I have two comments: 1) when you post the printable recipe could you just post the ingredients and instructions in small basic type? I had to dig up a 3-ring binder to put these in, takes up more room than I have to spare. I know this sounds picky, but I really like recipe card files, they are convenient, small and organized. 2) When you post a rating it is very miss-leading. There were only 6 posts from people who actually made this recipe, One hated it and one thought it had way too much lemon in it and the other four did some considerable tweaks on it. I always follow the recipe to the "T" the first time I make it then after that I know where to start tweaking.
I really admire your patience, and have enjoyed several of your recipes. And most of them I don't tweak.
Kathryn Doherty
Hi, I hope you enjoyed this apricot chicken! It's one of my favorites. As for the recipe cards, those are auto-generated by the plugin I use to format my recipes. Unfortunately, I cannot alter them. However, you could always copy and paste the text and format it how you like; or write down the recipe on a recipe card if that's easier. Also, I cannot control how other people leave ratings - that's up to the people who visit my site. Sorry if it's misleading though. So happy you're here and have been enjoying the recipes! 😊
grits are golden
I made the recipe. It was good. Lemons, lately, have been small and seedy so I added an extra tablespoon of lemon juice but otherwise followed the recipe.In the future I will add one half to one cup of apricot preserves, 2 lemons and the whole can of chicken broth or a pint jar of homemade broth. We like sauce. Sometimes dried apricots have a slightly bitter aftertaste, almost undetectable. That combined with the lemons of late and maybe getting more pith than zest could have contributed to the woman's dish that was too sour. WE are having Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Chicken tonight.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm all about some extra sauce - love those ideas! And that's a great point - my dried apricots are usually nice and plump and sweet and juicy. Other kinds may add a more sour flavor. Hope you love the honey garlic chicken - I just made that again last week! 😊
Roxy
This was so delicious! My husband must have commented at least three times about how good it was!
I had to borrow some apricots out of a bag of trail mix, and a few almonds accidentally found their way into the slow cooker. Why a nice surprise! Next time I will intentionally add a half a cup of almonds. Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Kathryn Doherty
Yay, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Love the sound of the almonds too - yum! 😊
Irene
Do you have any tips for converting this into a pressure cooker recipe? It looks delicious!
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Irene! I haven't made this in the Instant Pot, but I do think that would work. I'd saute the onion and sear the chicken thighs on the Saute mode first, then add everything else to the pot. There should be enough liquid with the cup of broth. Then you can seal it and cook on high pressure for 7 minutes to get the chicken cooked through. (That's based on my Instant Pot lemon chicken: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/instant-pot-lemon-chicken/) I'd love to hear if you try it!
Lorrie
This is the most delicious meal to ever come out of a crock pot!!! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Kathryn Doherty
Oh I'm so happy to hear you loved it Lorrie! Thank you for sharing! 😊
Jack
Made exactly as directed, flavor profile is unpleasant. Do not recommend.
Richard
Is it ok to freeze this dish after cooking?
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Richard, yes, you can freeze the leftovers! Once the chicken has cooled down, transfer it along with some of the onions, apricots and sauce to a freezer-safe container or bag. Label and date it and freeze for up to 4-6 months. Hope that helps!
Holly Hooper
This is a great list! The thing I started making from scratch was chocolate syrup. Best chocolate milk ever!
Mark
This recipe sounds incredible. And the picture of the chicken and rice is making me hungry right now. I realize the recipe is for the slow cooker. But I'm wondering if, aside from the time to cook, whether there would be any changes needed to bake it in the oven.
The reason I'm asking-my slow cooker (Crock Pot brand)-cooks so hot. I just made a different apricot chicken recipe last night. The recipe said 3 to 4 hours on high. I stopped mine at around 3 hours 10 minutes. It was almost overly done. I'm thinking 2 hours and 45 minutes might have worked. With that in mind, the slow cooker doesn't really save me a lot. If I try something on low-it still gets done long before I get home from work. And cooking on high for such a short time period, is not much different from mixing the ingredients and putting in a baking dish in the oven. Plus with baking in the oven, I probably wouldn't need to brown the thighs first as the high oven heat usually caramelizes the skin anyway.
Kathryn Doherty
Hey Mark! Sorry to hear your slow cooker runs so hot... that would definitely affect your meals! I know some can cook chicken in 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high, so you might try that at some point. I have not tried to adapt this recipe for an oven. However, I think I would still sear the chicken on the stove, using an oven-proof skillet, and maybe add the onions to saute as well so they get cooking. Then add the apricots and and broth mixture and simmer to finish it stove-top or transfer to the oven to finish cooking until the chicken is cooked through. You likely won't need as much broth either; would definitely require a little fiddling. Let me know if you try it!
Allan
Sadly I followed the recipe perfectly and found it insanely sweet. 1 cup of apricots is far too much. I had to throw most of it away as it was like eating dessert. If I were to make it again it'd easily halve the amount of dried apricots and probably go a bit easier on the dijon too.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm sorry to hear yours turned out that way; I know that's disappointing. Mine is definitely not oversweet and most people don't seem to have that problem. Maybe it was the type of dried apricots? The Dijon and the broth and thyme should help balance that out. Anyway, sorry to hear it didn't go well for you.