When you take the time to cook a meal, you want to know that you’re in good hands. You go to the market, buy the ingredients, chop, prep, cook, and clean up. Recipes need to work. To wow. To do the job of feeding your family. Good hands. That’s what I’m putting you in with this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Marbella.
It’s not mine, it’s adapted from my friend Jane McKay. I’ve been in good hands every time I’ve made one her her recipes. She’s a veritable aficionado in all things Crock Pot, the best slow cooker cook I know.
A Crock Pot Chicken Marbella
The roots of this Chicken Marbella recipe are from the Silver Palate Cookbook, a 1980s classic that was a runaway best seller. The dish is a sweet, savory, tangy combination of chicken thighs, prunes and olives. After several hours of cooking low and slow, the chicken is fork tender and infused with fabulous flavor.
A Simpler (and Healthier) Chicken
I made a few changes to both the original and Jane’s version of Chicken Marbella by skipping the step of marinating it overnight. I feel as though the slow pace of the crock pot allows the chicken to get plenty flavorful without a do-ahead marinade. I also cut way back on the brown sugar. The original recipe calls for one cup, whereas my version is 3 tablespoons, plenty sweet to my tastebuds.
Recipe Variations and Serving Suggestion
I’d say this recipe is pretty darn perfect as is, but there are certainly ways to build on the dish, such as:
- Add a hit of heat by stirring a teaspoon or two of Calabrian chiles into the pot or adding several dashes of cayenne pepper.
- Add a few handfuls of chopped chard or kale to the slow cooker about an hour before the chicken is done.
- Serve Chicken Marbella with a favorite whole grain, such as farro, or over Israeli couscous or polenta.
- If you have leftovers, shred the chicken and spoon with the sauce over egg noodles.
If you like Slow Cooker Chicken Marbella, you might like these other chicken recipes:
Instant Pot Balsamic Chicken and Vegetables
Pounded Grilled Chicken with Tomato, Avocado and Olives
Slow Cooker Chicken Marbella
Chicken Marbella is tasty on its own, but is excellent over farro, rice pilaf, couscous, or paparadelle noodles. It's also terrific the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup pitted prunes
- 1/2 cup pitted, flavorful green olives
- 1/4 cup capers, plus 1 tablespoon of the brine
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
-
Into your slow cooker, stir together the olive oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers w/brine, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and wine. Nestle the chicken pieces into the pot. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 4 hours on high and 7 hours on low. If possible, turn the chicken pieces over halfway through and spoon some of the juices over everything. Transfer to a shallow bowl and scatter the parsley over the top.
Adapted from the Chicken Marbella recipe in the Silver Palate Cookbook
Comments
05.27.2014 at2:40 AM #
JMH
I thought you would like to see this informative poster……….
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05.27.2014 at2:40 AM #
Katie Morford
Thanks for sharing that…it is interesting to see who is supporting and who is fighting GMO labeling.
05.27.2014 at4:48 AM #
Jane McKay
Katie your Chicken Marbella looks delicious! Meg and I are very happy to be part of this collaboration.
05.27.2014 at4:48 AM #
Katie Morford
Correction…your Chicken Marbella! Just my photo 🙂
05.27.2014 at7:42 AM #
sammy oliver
Thank you all! I love my slow cooker so useful for busy moms who want to eat real meals at home! I look forward to more yummy recipes.
05.27.2014 at7:42 AM #
Katie Morford
Thanks Sammy! It is pretty nice to come home to a pot of food all ready to eat after a long day.
05.27.2014 at7:49 AM #
Jen
Thank you so much! This dish is my husband’s favorite. I can’t wait to try it in a crock pot. I worked at a winery in New Zealand, and the restaurant chefs would always make this as a staff meal when we worked at wine festivals. Great to feed a crowd!
05.27.2014 at7:49 AM #
Katie Morford
It is a great one for a crowd….and perfect with a glass of New Zealand wine!
02.10.2015 at9:22 PM #
Kristen
This was beyond delicious and I cannot wait to make this effortless dish for guests. I’m only sorry I didn’t double the recipe. A keeper!
02.10.2015 at9:22 PM #
Katie Morford
Success! Glad you are finding some recipes for you new slow cooker!
06.16.2017 at7:26 AM #
Linda Feldman
what happens if I combined all ingredients and marinated overnight? do i just add a bit more brown sugar when I bake?
06.16.2017 at7:26 AM #
Katie Morford
I’ve always left out the sugar and wine until just before cooking, so I can’t say for sure. I’d probably increase the liquid a bit…but really there’s only way to find out 🙂
02.22.2019 at9:46 AM #
Marie Smith
Hi, this looks great! Could I double the recipe? I have read 6 hour cooking time somewhere….would this be too much? Thanks for your contribution.
Marie
02.22.2019 at9:46 AM #
Katie Morford
Hi Marie, As long as your slow cooker is big enough, this should be fine to double. It’s 6 hours on low, but the nice thing about the slow cooker is you can keep an eye on it and stop the cooking when it is nice and tender.
12.28.2019 at6:36 PM #
Brittany
I made this for dinner tonight in the regular oven and WOW was it ever good!!!! We cooked it for 2 hours at 320F and added some celery and carrot to make it into a “stew”. Thank you so much, this was everything I was hoping for when I searched for a chicken dish to make during winter 🙂
12.28.2019 at6:36 PM #
Katie Morford
Love the idea of adding veggies to this. Glad you liked it!
02.19.2020 at6:10 PM #
Joyce
I just finished putting the marinade together with all the other ingredients, along with the chicken.
I can either start on low, in my slow cooker, at 8:00 am. , or put it on high at 11:30, am. Either way, I will report back.
02.20.2020 at9:26 AM #
Joyce
Linda Feldman, I once made this the regular (Oven) way, and mistakenly added the brown sugar and wine for the marinade. It was fine. I think I threw a little more wine in, because….wine. First time making in the slow cooker, but I expect it would still be okay if you wanted to add the wine and brown sugar to the marinade.
03.18.2020 at8:14 PM #
Meghan Bice
Have you tried honey instead of brown sugar?
03.18.2020 at8:14 PM #
Katie Morford
No, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Honey is a bit sweeter tablespoon per tablespoon than sugar, so maybe cut back to 1/4 cup and see how that tastes.
12.24.2020 at12:44 PM #
Kendall
Do you cut up the olives or the prunes?
12.24.2020 at12:44 PM #
Katie Morford
No, you can just leave them whole.
12.29.2020 at3:09 PM #
Tery
Can you use chicken breasts for this recipe?
12.29.2020 at3:09 PM #
Katie Morford
You can, but the chicken may be a little dry.
02.11.2021 at9:02 PM #
Nicki V
This is delicious and so easy. The Silver Palate recipe for Chicken Marbella has always been my favourite and then I saw this recipe was adapted from it! Well that makes perfect sense. This recipe is a keeper.
02.11.2021 at9:02 PM #
Katie Morford
So glad to hear it. I love the original, too!
03.18.2023 at8:30 AM #
Steve
Where does the brown sugar and wine go? I don’t see that in the steps to make this
03.18.2023 at8:30 AM #
Katie Morford
Nice catch! Just fixed it. Thank you for the heads up.
11.12.2023 at7:09 AM #
Ali
Going the crock por route, can i used frozen chicken breasts and proceed to cook as instructed on low?
11.12.2023 at7:09 AM #
Katie Morford
Yes, you just may need to tack on a bit of cooking time to make sure the chicken is nice and tende.r