How to make slow cooker coq au vin

Emma Blecker

Contributing Writer

This classic French dish of chicken and red wine is one of those dishes that can often come off as overly complicated and too fancy to be practical. On the contrary, this longstanding 'king' of chicken dinners is really as simple as it gets, especially when opting to make it in your slow cooker. Simply pour everything into your slow cooker, before you set it and forget it!

The flavors of a classic 'Coq au Vin' (which translates to chicken with wine), consist of sweet onions, carrots, bacon, mushroom, and red wine, which is cooked down around tender chicken thighs until all of the flavors meld to perfection. Enjoy this stunning dish with a side of creamy mashed potatoes and never look back!

Cooktop Cove

Slow cooker coq au vin

3-4

10 minutes

5 hours

5 hours, 10 minutes

6 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on

2 cups flour

2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3" pieces

3 cups white button mushrooms, sliced

5 shallots, peeled and sliced (you can use 1 white onions instead)

2 carrots, chopped

1 rib of celery, sliced

8 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped

1 bottle red wine

1 cup (225ml) chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1/2 bunch fresh thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Season chicken with salt and pepper then coat in flour (tap off any excess) and place into a 6-quart slow cooker.

Add in potatoes, mushrooms, shallots (or onion), carrots, celery, bacon and bay leaf to the slow cooker. Pour the red wine and chicken stock over the dry ingredients and place the fresh thyme on top. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or until the chicken is tender and juicy, stirring halfway through.

Serve with a side of fluffy white rice or creamy mashed potatoes.

Pro tip: You can strain and reduce the sauce if you want something thicker with more depth of flavor.

Note: All slow cookers are a little bit different in temperature and calibration. This recipe was tested in Cooktop Cove's Test Kitchen using this slow cooker, which is available for purchase here.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which help support our website.