Rustic Tomato Chicken Stew

In the mood for something hearty and satisfying? Try this Rustic Tomato Chicken Stew! It is the perfect dish to fill your body and ease your soul. Loaded with healthy, natural ingredients, there is a lot to enjoy in this recipe. There are some of the usual players, like onions, carrots, and celery. But then you add basil, extra virgin olive oil, and no fewer than 5 cloves of garlic, and it really elevates this stew to the next level. You’re going to love the lean, moist, fall-apart tender chicken (more on that below). But this stew has a nice crunch too, from homemade croutons that round out this meal.

Getting juicy, fall-apart tender chicken is surprisingly easy in this Rustic Tomato Chicken Stew recipe; you just need to slow-cook it. Depending on how much time you have, and whether you have a crockpot, there are a couple ways to go. Cooking with a slow cooker will take six to eight hours, while cooking on the stove will take about two hours. So whatever your schedule, there’s an easy, simple way for you to prepare this recipe perfectly, every time.

Scroll down to see how you can make this Rustic Tomato Chicken Stew!

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Chicken grill pack (2 split breasts, 4 drumsticks) or 1 whole chicken
• 6 stalks Celery
• 1 Onion, large
• 1 cup Carrots
• 1 cup Potatoes
• 5 cloves Garlic
• 1 (28oz) can Tomatoes, crushed
• 4 cups Water
• 1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup Basil, extra for topping
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Red pepper flakes (optional)

Croutons

• 16-20oz Bread, Ciabatta or Pain de Campagne
• 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/3 cup Basil

Instructions

First, prepare the vegetables. Peel the carrots and onions. Then cut the carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Next, place the chicken and cut vegetables into a slow-cooker or a large pot.

To the chicken and vegetables, also add garlic cloves, crushed tomatoes, 4 cups of water, extra virgin olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper.

If cooking with a slow cooker, place the lid on and turn the slow cooker on. Cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

If cooking on the stove, turn the heat on high and cook for 15 minutes until the stew begins to boil. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 1-1/2 hours.

While the stew is cooking, make the croutons. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and lay them out on a sheet pan. Drizzle 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil over the cubes and sprinkle them with salt. Also add chopped basil. Massage the olive oil into the bread. Toast the bread for 15 minutes in a 350°F oven. The croutons should be crispy when finished baking.

When done, the chicken will be fall-apart tender. You can gently stir the stew to separate the chicken meat from the bones and pull it apart into smaller pieces. The Rustic Tomato Chicken Stew is ready to be enjoyed! Serve hot in a bowl, topped with croutons and extra basil. Doesn’t that look hearty and satisfying?

If you like this Rustic Tomato Chicken Stew, you might also like Slow-cooker Beef and Barley Stew with Kale.

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Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Rustic Tomato Chicken Stew

Chicken stew with vegetables and homemade croutons

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, comfort food, dairy-free, soup

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Chicken grill pack (2 split breats, 4 drumsticks) or 1 whole chicken
• 6 stalks Celery
• 1 Onion large
• 1 cup Carrots
• 1 cup Potatoes
• 5 cloves Garlic
• 1 (28oz) can Tomatoes crushed
• 4 cups Water
• ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
• ⅓ cup Basil extra for topping
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Red pepper flakes optional

Croutons

• 16-20 oz Bread Ciabatta or Pain de Campagne
• ½ cup Extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ⅓ cup Basil

Instructions

• Peel the carrots and onions. Cut the carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
• Place the chicken, carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes into a slow-cooker or large pot.
• Also add garlic cloves, crushed tomatoes, 4 cups of water, extra virgin olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper.
• If cooking with a slow cooker: place the lid on and turn the slow cooker on. Cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

  If cooking on the stove: turn the heat on high and cook for 15 minutes until the stew begins to boil. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1½ hours.
• While the chicken stew is cooking, make the croutons. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. Lay them out on a sheet pan. Drizzle 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil over the cubes and sprinkle them with salt. Also add chopped basil. Massage the olive oil into the bread. Toast the bread for 15 minutes in a 350°F oven.
• When the chicken is fall-apart tender, gently stir the stew to separate the chicken meat from the bones and pull it apart into smaller pieces. Serve the stew hot in a bowl, topped with croutons and extra basil.

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