Apricot chicken. It's one of those meals that people like me who grew up in the eighties had regularly and it was a "busy mum meal" i.e. buy a whole heap of packets of things and whack it in the microwave. But I don't work like that.
This slow cooker apricot chicken is different. If you're used to the one your Mum used to cook, this won't have the exact same flavour, but it's healthier, has better ingredients and basically tastes amazing.
What makes it so yummy?
The ingredients!
- by using no packets, this is ensuring the flavours are fresh and clean
- the herbs and spices add flavour
- slow cooking intensifies the flavours
Using your slow cooker all year round
Now apricot chicken is apparently a winter food, but I don't agree, somethings that you can make in the slow cooker are perfect at any time of year and the fruitier, the better if you're trying to slip this into summer eating habits. The benefit of using the slow cooker in summer- no oven heating up the entire house!
This is a "quick" slow cooker meal
The flavours of this slow cooker apricot chicken are delicious and it is perfect for weeknights or week days when you are home, but want to get dinner over and done with earlier...at lunch time! Because it's using chicken breast, this would dry out with longer cooking. If you wanted to put it on in the morning for dinner, just swap the chicken breast for the same weight of chicken thighs.
Making it healthier
Now I'm going to answer a question that many of you are thinking but too scared to ask...why would I bother with this version when the french onion soup version I make is just fine?
Well, this has whole food ingredients and nothing nasty, so you can be assured that you are making the best effort to feed your family good food. Plus to be entirely honest, it doesn't take that much longer! This slow cooker apricot chicken will give you one family meal for tonight and one to freeze, so in my books, that's super-efficient.
Slow cooker tips
- In this recipe I do some of the cooking with the lid off! That's awesome for helping to thicken up a sauce.
- Another way to thicken up a sauce is to pop a tea towel under the lid whilst cooking.
- Cornflour is also working to thicken up your sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 425 ml can apricot nectar
- 1 tin water i.e. 425ml
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsps cornflour
- 350 grams dried apricots chopped
- 1 kg chicken breast if you want to cook for 8 hours or more swap for the same amount of thighs, chopped into 2cm cubes
- 1 large brown onion diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried ginger
- 1 cup frozen peas
Method
- In a jug combine the apricot nectar, water, honey and cornflour together and whisk until smooth. Add the dried, chopped apricots.
- Chop the chicken breast into chunks.
- Put the chicken breast into the slow cooker bowl with all the spices and the onion, massage the spices through the chicken to make sure it is well coated.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker bowl. Put the lid on and cook for 4 hours on low.
- After 4 hours, remove the lid, add the frozen peas and keep the lid off to thicken the sauce for one more hour.
More slow cooker meals
- Moroccan Lamb with slow cooker or pressure cooker method
- Slow cooker sticky chicky wings
- Slow cooker mexican chicken thighs
Serve it with
- rice start it cooking in the rice cooker when you put the peas in
- pasta- why not?
- mashed potatoes, and it's particularly good with mixed sweet potato and potato
- couscous
Freezing
This recipe freezes really well. I place it in containers in the fridge before moving it to the freezer when cold. This helps to alleviate the stress on the freezer that happens if you put warm food in
Not your Mum's slow cooker apricot chicken
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken breast if you want to cook for 8 hours or more swap for the same amount of thighs
- 1 large brown onion diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1 425 ml can apricot nectar
- 1 tin water i.e. 425ml
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tbsps cornflour
- 350 grams dried apricots chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Chop the chicken breast into chunks.
- Put the chicken breast into the slow cooker bowl with all the spices and the onion, massage the spices through the chicken to make sure it is well coated.
- In a jug combine the apricot nectar, water, honey and cornflour together and whisk until smooth. Add the dried, chopped apricots
- Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker bowl. Put the lid on and cook for 4 hours on low.
- After 4 hours, remove the lid, add the frozen peas and keep the lid off to thicken the sauce for one more hour.
- Serve with rice and veggies.
Chenée Lewis says
This recipe sounds delicious and I LOVE that it is so easy to make in the slow cooker!
veenaazmanov says
This recipe is surely on my weekend list. Love your recipe and I love the Apricot combination. Looks super delicious and a must try recipe too.
Rachna says
This looks really delicious. My husband is a chicken lover so I am trying it out this weekend.
Marie-Charlotte Chatelain says
I feel making this recipe in the slow cooker is a GENIUS idea! Love the sweetness of the apricots. Will make
Kylie says
Anything that makes dinner for me is a winner around here!
Beth says
Yum! This looks so interesting, but delicious! I can't wait to give this a try! My husband is going to love it!
TRACEY WOOD says
What is 1tin water?
Kylie says
So, you use the 425ml tin and fill it with water!
Terryn Huggard says
Am I putting my slow cooker on high or low? Thanks!
Kylie says
Low! High is used for things that cook in a much quicker timeframe.
Sandy says
I thought this was delicious! Really enjoyed it. Super easy. My 18 month old picked a few bits of apricot and spat out the chicken 😩 but that’s the norm for any food these days. Will still definitely make it again.
Kylie says
Lol I remember when my kids were 18 months- the "foreign object stage" is what I called it! They spat out anything that wasn't exactly what they wanted!
Melissa says
Hi Kylie,
I've tried your recipe today, but left out the honey. Even though I haven't added any honey, the recipe seems a little too sweet.... not sure what I've done wrong. I'm hoping to resurrect the dish before dinner! Thanks in advance!
Kylie says
Hi Melissa,
Apricot chicken by definition is a sweet dish, I don't now if you've had the "mum style" one, but this is similar in sweetness. If the sweetness is really too much, a dash of worcestershire might counter it for you, but rest assured, it's meant to taste sweet!
Belinda says
All sounded great. I’m a capable cook and this was easy to follow. It was like chicken floating in tasteless sauce with some peas. However my dog enjoyed the mass amount left.
Kylie says
Thanks for your feedback. This is the first negative feedback for this recipe in over 8000 hits. I'm sorry it didn't turn out for you.
laughingkidslearn says
I'm SO excited, I think I have all (or most) of the ingredients I need to make this for our dinner tomorrow. Thanks Kylie. Love it.
Anna Meadows says
I always loved apricot chicken as a kid!! Thanks for the reminder - looks like a great recipe!
lisamummymadeit says
I love a slow cooked dinner. It makes my house smell so much better (than wet dog and nappies!!)
Kylie says
What wet dog and nappies aren't appealing house aromas? Since when? 😉 I love my slow cooker, even in summer!
Danya Banya says
Oh I haven't had apricot chicken in decades! Thanks for inspiring me to try it again!
Kylie says
Yes please try it again! You'll love this better-for-you version!
Penny says
This looks delish. I don't even make the dodgy apricot chicken, so does that mean I'm really missing out. I really must try this!
Kylie says
You should try it Penny, there is nothing difficult about it!