This easy slow cooker ratatouille with chicken is a healthy and hearty dish that you can put together in minutes. It’s like a easy chicken stew that would be great for healthy weeknight dinner. Server over rice or eat it as is for a fairly low carb and low calorie dinner. Each serving has just 7.3g net carbs and 131 calories.
You might also like this slow cooker creamy chicken and spinach recipe!
I love ratatouille because of it’s tasty combination of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and zucchini. However I normally consider it a side dish.
Today I wanted to make it a bit more substantial for a main dish instead, so I added some chicken thighs and cooked the whole dish in a slow cooker.
This slow cooker ratatouille with chicken stew was so easy and tasty with all the fresh ingredients. It is full of tender chicken thighs and healthy, colorful veggies all stewed in tomatoes and spices.
Everyone likes slow cooker meals for busy days and this chicken vegetable stew is easy, hearty and even low calorie! You can eat it over rice or if you want to keep it low carb, you can eat it as is.
What Is Ratatouille?
Most people know about the movie Ratatouille involving a rat that is a culinary genius but not everyone has had this delicous dish. Ratatouille is a French stewed vegetable dish. It has been made many different ways but it usually includes tomato, onions, zucchini, peppers and eggplant.
I used those same basic ingredients but added some chicken thighs to make this slow cooker recipe more of a dinner than a side dish. It came out more like a chicken stew and was perfect for an easy dinner.
Recipe ingredients I used.
All you need to make this recipe is boneless, skinless chicken thighs, yellow onions, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, dried thyme, onion powder and Better than Bouillon base.
How to make slow cooker ratatouille with chicken.
Step 1: To a crockpot or slow cooker add half of the diced tomatoes and onions, then add the raw chicken thighs on top.
Step 2: Add the chopped vegetables on top of the chicken. Mix the spices with the other half of the diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Spoon that tomato sauce over the chicken thighs.
Step 3: Cover and cook for about 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low until the chicken is tender. Cooking time may vary depending on your crockpot.
Step 4: Take two forks and shred the chicken. You can usually do this in the crock but if not scoop them out into a large mixing bowl, shred them and set back into the slow cooker. Mix well and let sit for about 5 minutes to let the chicken absorb some of the liquid. Taste and season with salt and pepper if it needs more.
Store leftover in an airtight container. (Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.)
And that is all there is to it. If you have too much liquid at the end, you can take off the lid and let it cook for 10 more minutes.
Serve over rice, pasta or eat as is for a low carb option. You can also use some fresh basil or parsley as a garnish or top with parmesan cheese.
Recipe notes and tips.
- I used chicken thighs but you could also use breasts if you wish.
- I also used boneless, skinless chicken so I could shred it at the end. If you want you can keep the chicken as is and serve it separately from the ratatouille.
- Better than Bouillon gives this an added flavor boost. You can substitute chicken bouillon if you don’t have BTB.
- At the end I shred the chicken a little bit and mix well. If it’s still too watery for your liking, you can take the lid off the slow cooker and turn up the heat for 10 minutes.
- You can eat this dish as is or serve it over rice or pasta. I like to grated Parmesan cheese over top sometimes.
- If you want a little heat to the dish, you can add some hot pepper flakes before cooking or just on your own serving.
More easy slow cooker chicken recipes to try.
I have a lot of low carb recipes that I make in my slow cooker. Some of my favorite ones are this low carb bbq chicken and this very versatile salsa chicken recipe.
I also love making a whole roasted chicken in the slow cooker and then using the bones to make homemade broth. It’s very economical and really tasty broth.
I hope you like this easy dinner recipe. It’s a good way to eat more fresh vegetables. The nutritional information for 1 serving is:
131 cals / 8g fat / 10g carbs / 2.7g fiber /18g protein = 7.3g net carbs
PLEASE NOTE: I have updated this recipe to make it a bit lower in carbs and it ended up a bit more tasty! The changes I made were to use less onions and tomatoes and add tomato paste, bouillon and a little more spice.
Slow Cooker Chicken Ratatouille Recipe
This slow cooker chicken ratatouille stew is a healthy and hearty dish that you can make in minutes. Server over rice or eat as is for a healthy and low calorie dinner!
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
- ¼ cup onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups sweet pepper, chopped
- 2 cups eggplant, chopped
- 2 cups zucchini, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 ¾ cup tomatoes, diced (1 can)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon chicken base
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Pour oil into the slow cooker and then add onions and ½ of the tomatoes.
- Next put in your vegetables and nestle the chicken thighs on top. I like to chop my veggies into equal bite size pieces.
- Add your garlic, spices, Better than Bouillon, tomatoe paste and tomatoes together and mix well.
- Pour the tomatoe mixture over the chicken and place the lid on top.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6 hours. (times may vary depending on your slow cooker)
- When done, shred the chicken a bit with two forks. Let it sit for a few minutes to absorb the liquid.
- If you want to get rid of some of the excess liquid you can turnn it up to high and keep the lid off for about 10 minutes.
- Serve over rice or eat as is.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 131Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Brittney
Can I use chicken broth if I don’t have better than bouillon? If so, how much?
Denise
Hi Brittney,
The Better than Bouillon is just to give it more flavor. If you have regular chicken bouillon (the little cubes or powder) use that or just eliminate it all together. The broth would make it too watery. Hope you like it!
Ashtan
Can I put everything in the crockpot the night before and start it in the morning with ease?
Denise
Hi Ashton, I have never done that but I don’t see why not. Hope you like it!
Christina
I used fire roasted tomatoes. It was delicious! Great recipe!
Denise
So glad you liked it Christina!
Renae
Should I still leave it in the crock pot for for 8 hours if my chicken is pre-cooked?
Denise
Hi Renae, no I would just add it about 1/2 hour before it’s done. Also since you will just have vegetables to cook in the slow cooker it will probably take much less time. I’m guessing it will just take 3 hours on low. Hope that helps!
Vera
How should I cook it using a Dutch oven, please? I do not own a slow cooker. Thank you!
Denise
Hi Vera,
I have never tried this in a dutch oven but I would suggest that you brown the chicken then take it out and set aside.
Then add a little olive oil and brown the vegetables a bit – you don’t need to cook the vegetables nor the chicken through – just brown both.
Next place both the chicken and vegetables back in the pan. Mix the tomato paste, tomatoes, garlic, bouillon and spices together and pour over the chicken and vegetables.
Cover and cook for about 30 minutes?? Not sure about the timing but you want the chicken to be cooked through and to be able to shred it and for the vegetables to be tender.
Take out the chicken, shred it and place back into the pan and mix together. Hope that helps!
Isabel Rommel
Great Stuff, thanks for sharing this recipe … 🙂
Michael
Hi! If I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, how many lbs of breasts should I use?
Thank you!
Denise
Hi Michael, I used roughly 1 1/2 pounds of chicken thighs. You don’t have to be exact but that is what I used. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!
Heather
Is the diced tomatoes canned or do you dice fresh tomatoes?
Denise
Hi Heather, I used a canned tomatoes but fresh would work as well. Hope you like it!
Heather
I loved it! I used fire roasted canned tomatoes and it was absolutely delicious!! I was thinking next time adding mushrooms in the last few minutes of cooking.
Denise
Hi Heather, so glad you liked it. I need to make this again and I’ll try the mushrooms too!
Alba
Is it possible to cool it at high or it has to be at low? I wany to make it for tonight but I don’t think I’ll have time!
Denise
Hi Alba, I think you could cook it at high. Good luck!
Macey
Would you recommend doing this in a pressure cooker? And if so for how long? Thanks!
Denise
Hi Macey I guess you could be I would be afraid it would turn to mush. If you want to try it, I’m guess about 8 minutes. That’s what I did for these Instant Pot chicken cubes. https://mylifecookbook.com/instant-pot-chicken-cubes-low-carb-meal-prep/
Good luck … sorry I’m not much help.
Jill
How much is a serving? I cup?
Denise
Hi Jill, I am not sure but I would say a cup is a good estimate. I usually take the recipe as a whole and estimate how many it could feed rather than measure by volume or weight. Hope that helps and that you like it.
Karly
Perfection. Especially during the cold Midwest winter, this is exactly what I want to warm me up. I can’t wait to make a big batch of this stuff and eat on it for days!
Denise
It does make a lot! Enjoy!
Caroline
I love ratatouille and this sounds a great variation. Your video shows how easy it is too!
Denise
Thanks Caroline, it was really easy.
Monica
Like you I adore the flavors of ratatouille and adding chicken to it is genius! I’ve tried adding white beans to make it more substantial but I’ve never thought to add chicken. Brava Bella!!!!!
Denise
Hi Monica, I love the idea of white beans! I’m going to try that next time.
Liz
What a marvelous recipe! I’m a huge ratatouille fan, too—and I just won’t mention there’s eggplant in the recipe when I feed it to Bill. Maybe he won’t notice???
Denise
My husband doesn’t like eggplant either! What is wrong with these guys! 😉
The Ninja Baker
Absolutely gorgeous Denise! Definitely a keeper recipe for my slow cooker =) P.s. Did you ever see the Disney movie?
Denise
Yes I have and my son asked me if I was making rats. 😉
Christie
That looks amazing! I love all those colors and flavors.
Denise
Thank Christie! It’s very simple (like most of my recipes) but I really liked it!
Cindy @CindysRecipesAndWritings
I can always use more slow cooker recipes! I bet this chicken gets so tender!
Denise
Yes it’s more like shredded chicken.