A simple low carb recipe for crock pot chicken thighs and drumsticks that requires little prep. The ingredients can be placed in the crock the night before.
Do you cook in the crock pot frequently? I wish I did, but for some reason, I rarely pull my crock pot out of the pantry closet.
I often buy cooked rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for those times when I don’t feel like cooking. However, if I had planned things right, I could have had my own chicken roasting in the crock pot with very little effort.
That’s the thing. I’m not a good planner. I typically cook on a whim without planning out my meals.
On the weekends, I usually think about some things that I’d like to cook during the week and buy the necessary ingredients. That’s basically the extent of my meal planning, nothing more.
Crock pot chicken has always been a favorite of mine because the meat just falls off the bone like it does with rotisserie cooked chicken. I also have a rotisserie oven, but it’s a small one and a larger sized whole chicken just doesn’t fit in it.
Even with the smaller sized chickens that do fit in it, the legs often end up touching the elements and will burn in those areas. I definitely use the crock pot much more than the rotisserie. However, both of these are appliances that I don’t get good use out of.
I really need to use the crock pot more often because it’s a great way to cook in the summer. Since grilling is the best way to cook meat in the summer, I usually only pull out the rotisserie in the winter, and it’s been a couple years since I’ve used it.
This recipe was originally going to be for crock pot teriyaki chicken. I changed it to a plain old crock pot chicken thighs and drumsticks because the flavor was nothing like teriyaki when it was done.
This chicken tasted more like a regular slow cooked chicken. The flavor from the liquid aminos is very mild and somewhat sweet. I’ll try again to make low carb teriyaki chicken in the crock pot, but I’m going to keep this recipe since it did result in a tasty meat that just fell off the bone.
Crock Pot Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup liquid aminos or gluten free soy sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 15 drops SweetLeaf Stevia drops or 2 tablespoons Swerve
- 1/4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses optional
- 6 1/2 pounds chicken cut into pieces
- salt and pepper
Instructions
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Mix together soy aminos, water, ground ginger, garlic powder, sweetener, and molasses (if using) in large 6 quart crock pot.
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Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
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Add chicken pieces to crock pot.
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Turn crock pot on and allow chicken to cook for at least 5-6 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.
Recipe Notes
Makes 12 servings
Christy Lightsey says
Are the calories for the whole recipe or per piece?
Melissa Kaule says
Can you use Truvia packets in lieu of the stevia drops? Thank you!
Lisa says
Any sweetener can be used. You only need a small amount, like one packet.
Sharon says
I thought the chicken was on bone. The recipe said 6 1/2 lbs cut from not pieces. Can it be on bone?
Thanks
Lisa says
It’s standard chicken pieces from a whole chicken with the bone left in.
Melanie says
How do you get the nice DRY skin pictured? Every time I’ve cooked chicken in a crock pot the chicken was swimming in broth even when I didn’t add any liquid to the pot. The chicken tasted boiled. The times I followed a recipe and added liquid, it watered down the seasonings to nothing.
Lisa says
Are you using a larger oval crock pot? I get broth too, but the part of the chicken out of the broth always browns.
Robert e Lee says
Oh my gosh this recipe not only made the entire guest house smell delicious, I cooked it for my nieces and they are picking as can be. They loved it! Even my dogs got a slice of heaven with their meals. I had to laugh at first glance, because I knew I was heading to the health Food store for the amino Acid juice. It actually tastes a bit like a vegetable bouillon. I also bought the Stevia there. What a brilliant idea for seasoning? Anyway, I’m adding this to my crock pot recipes for future meals. Thank you so much. Note: the juice was both terrific and fairly low in calories too!
Lisa says
What a lucky dog!
CharlesMt says
I used 8 chicken thighs also 9 chicken tenders so I could free up space in the freezer and there was still Plenty of sauce!
Linda says
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the quick response! I’m with you on the dark chicken meat, much more flavor and all that healthy fat.
Take care,
Linda
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Linda says
Hi Lisa,
How many drops of SweetLeaf Stevia do you use? BTW-I made your Shake and Bake Chicken and it was super delish! Thanks for sharing your recipes!!
Linda
Lisa says
Hi Linda! I used 24 drops of stevia which is equivalent to about 2 tablespoons sugar. Thanks for following and trying the recipes. So glad you liked the other chicken recipe. We have moved from the skinless white meat to the higher fat skinned dark meat. Higher fat foods work best for me on low carb.