Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew (with Instant Pot + Vegetarian Options)
Packed with protein and veggies, this hearty Instant Pot + Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew is easy to throw together and makes the perfect one-pot meal.

Hello Real Food Whole Life community!
How are you?
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?
Things have been a little crazy behind the scenes here as of late.
There’s production of Feel Good Effect podcast; booking guests, prepping for interviews, conducting interviews, post-production, and sharing the show.
There’s my lovely little family, and proud kindergartner who deserves my attention after a long day of school.
There’s my day job.
And I’m currently smack dab in the middle of a 200 hour yoga teacher training.
It’s an all-at-once terrifying and exhilarating experience and I can’t wait to share more of what I’ve learned with you here in the future.

So with everything that’s going on I’ve had less time to test and shoot recipes.
This Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew recipe in particular gave me a heck of a time during testing, but after multiple failed attempts, I’m pretty excited to share this final version.
This one-pot meal is packed with protein and veggies, plus it’s grain-free, paleo and Whole30 compliant.
I also added a vegetarian option to the recipe, so there are plenty of options.
Oh, and I tested a version in the Instant-Pot!
I can’t promise all recipes will go this route, but it was an interesting challenge playing around with it for this one at any rate.
Sending you all love and good vibes in the fall season ahead.
Now, let’s make some hearty Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew!


RECIPE & FAMILY-FRIENDLY ADAPTATIONS
1 | Throw in some dark, leafy greens at the end of cook time to boost the fiber and green power. Think baby spinach, kale, or chard.
2 | Deconstruct the soup and serve all the parts separately. Some diced chicken, cooked veggies, and broth on the side for sipping makes soup more palatable for resistant eaters.
3 | For a vegetarian option, swap 2 (15-oz) cans drained and rinsed chickpeas for the chicken and vegetable stock for chicken stock.
This Recipe Is . . .
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreePaleoWhole30
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Instant Pot + Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew (with Vegetarian Option)
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs*
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped yellow or red waxy potato
- 1 15-oz can diced fire-roasted tomato
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, dried herb mix
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 32- oz chicken stock, or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Just before serving:
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder, can substitute cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
To serve:
- Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, potato, tomato, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, stock, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high until the chicken and veggies are cooked through, about 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low (times vary depending on slow cooker).
- Mix together the water, arrowroot powder, and balsamic until smooth. Pour mixture into the slow cooker, stirring to combine. Cover and cook on high an additional 5 minutes until the stew begins to thicken.
- Remove the chicken and shred or dice. Add back to the slow cooker, stir, and taste, adding additional salt if desired. Serve warm with a generous drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground pepper.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Cook the carrots, celery and onion for 5 minutes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil using the saute function on your Instant Pot, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.
- Add the tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and granulated garlic, cooking for one additional minute, stirring occasionally minute.
- Turn off the sautee function. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the water, cornstarch and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar) to the Instant Pot, stirring to combine.
- Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, then do a natural pressure release.
- Remove the chicken, shred or dice, and add back to the pot.
- Mix together the water, arrowroot powder, and balsamic until smooth. Pour mixture into the pot, stirring to combine. Serve warm with a generous drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Stovetop instructions:
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Follow the Instant Pot instructions 1-4, above.
- Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are tender.
- Follow the Instant Pot instructions 6-7 above, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition disclaimerThis post contains affiliate links
This stew is so delicious!! I didn’t have enough chicken so I did half chicken and half chicken sausage. I also added quite a bit of spinach at the end of cooking. This will definitely be on rotation all winter at our house!
Lori, love that you made this one your own. Great to hear you and your crew will continue to enjoy!
I almost skipped the last step because it tasted so good already but I’m so glad I went ahead and add the mixture at the end. So delicious!
Oh good, glad you god that last step in. Happy you enjoyed this one! 🙂
This is so delicious! The balsamic at the end is perfection!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed this one Shaylea! Thanks so much for leaving a review. 🙂
Any ideas how you would adjust the directions for using frozen chicken in an instapot? Thanks in advance!
Melissa, I haven’t experimented much with frozen chicken yet, but I think you just need to add about 5-10 minutes to the total cooking time. Just make sure the chicken is in a single layer and not frozen to each other for best results.
What about if you use frozen chicken in the slow cooker? Do you think that would work?
Lindsey, for safety reasons, frozen chicken isn’t recommended for the slow cooker, so I’d defrost the chicken first!
One of my favorites! Simple & delicious.
Heather, yay, so glad you’re enjoying this one!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Lots of flavor! Family approved, too. My veggies were slightly undercooked at 4 hrs on high so I’ll cook a little longer next time.
Stephanie, so glad you enjoyed and thanks for the note on cook time. Every slow cooker is slightly different when it comes to heat, so good to know this one took a bit of extra time on yours!
I so appreciate how easy you make it to print your recipes! Thanks for being so reader-friendly! I hope to make this chicken wing recipe for my kids /grandkids during some of our fall get gatherings. Love your site and all the great recipes. and please visit us: https://www.beckandbulow.com
i’m doing whole 30 and added some more potatoes to make it heartier. this was a fantastic recipe and super clean and easy!! thank you!
Great idea to add more potatoes! So glad you enjoyed this one. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
It smells delicious in the house! Can’t wait to taste it!
Can we freeze it and save it for later?
Thanks!
Alyssa, absolutely, this recipe freezes beautifully!
LOVED this. I only had rotisserie chicken so I used that and just added it towards the end. Came out delicious. I will definitely be making this again.
Courtney, yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed this one. Love that you added rotisserie chicken at the and – such a great tip that I’m sure will help others as well. Thanks so much for leaving a review!