Slow Cooker Chicken and Quinoa
Serve with some yummy homemade sourdough bread or sprouted toast! Spring, winter, summer, or fall, it doesnt make a difference at all it is always good! Make it once, eat on it all week long!
Serve with some yummy homemade sourdough bread or sprouted toast! Spring, winter, summer, or fall, it doesnt make a difference at all it is always good! Make it once, eat on it all week long!
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup quinoa (soaked overnight in water, drained and rinsed. if you don�t soa
- 3/4 cup white wine (dry makes all the difference � the alcohol is cooked out of it.
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 4 carrots, cubed (peeled if you do not buy organic)
- 3 celery, sliced
- 2 chicken (uncooked) breasts (i recommend bone in for a juicier chicken, b
- 3 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil
- Carbohydrate 146.63640101107 g
- Cholesterol 2254 mg
- Fat 466.374491414141 g
- Fiber 16.0233838383838 g
- Protein 591.016702828309 g
- Saturated Fat 131.140930808081 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (3750g)
- Sodium 2136.48646464833 mg
- Sugar 130.613017172686 g
- Trans Fat 39.5220121212121 g
- Calories 7332 calories
Step-by-step
- Throw everything in the crock pot.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours (high for 4).
- Remove chicken, shred and mix back into stew.
Soaking quinoa overnight removes saponins, bitter compounds coating the outer hull, while initiating enzymatic breakdown that softens the seed before it enters the slow cooker. Quinoa cooked directly in extended moist heat without prior rinsing often turns gummy or dissolves entirely into the surrounding broth. Dry white wine introduces necessary acidity, balancing the richness of the butter and chicken fat while contributing volatile flavor compounds that survive the long cooking process. Bone-in chicken breasts provide higher collagen content than skinless, boneless alternatives, melting into gelatin over seven to eight hours on low heat to naturally thicken the simmering liquid.
Overcooking quinoa remains the primary pitfall when utilizing a slow cooker for grain-based dishes. Grains exposed to sustained heat exceeding 190 degrees Fahrenheit for longer than eight hours rupture completely, releasing internal starches that create a dense paste. Removing the chicken promptly at the seven-hour mark prevents the meat from drying out while allowing the intact grains to absorb remaining moisture without becoming waterlogged. Shredding the meat across the grain fibers guarantees tenderness before reincorporating it into the pot.
Substituting water with equal parts low-sodium vegetable stock increases overall depth without raising the sodium levels past the prescribed one teaspoon of sea salt. Butter functions better than coconut oil in this application because dairy solids brown slightly at lower thresholds, yielding a rounded mouthfeel that plant-based oils cannot replicate.
