I am SO excited about this new recipe. You are going to LOVE these Greek-Style Green Beans and Chicken Thighs!
Why? I’ll tell you why.
Because it’s an ENTIRE meal cooked in your slow cooker. The ULTIMATE one-pot meal (and it’s budget-friendly!).
The Greek-style green beans- flavored with dill, lemon, tomatoes, garlic, and onion- simmer underneath the chicken thighs for hours, and the delicious juices from the chicken slowly seep into the veggies to make them melt-in-your-mouth tender.
And the chicken- oh, the chicken- is fall-off-the-bone tender and juicy.
Have you ever had Greek-style green beans? If not, you’re in for a treat! You can certainly make this recipe sans chicken for your next crowd-pleasing side dish.
Greek green beans are packed full of flavor and super tender because they are cooked for a very long time, similarly to Southern-Style Green Beans. Mixed with fresh diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh dill (or other herbs), lemon juice, and PLENTY of salt and pepper, they are definitely an impressive dish on their own.
I love this recipe because it’s a great way to use your slow cooker for veggies.
Usually, crockpot recipes are very meat-heavy. There are soups… but you can only have so many soups. Green beans are the perfect vegetable to slow cook since they hold up and don’t turn to mush.
A note on the chicken: when you assemble this meal in your slow cooker, you will mix together all ingredients for the green beans and then lay the chicken on top, skin side up, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.
After it’s done cooking, the chicken will be perfectly tender, but the skin won’t be crispy (since the slow cooker is covered, the steam keeps the skin from getting crispy). I am a huge fan of crispy chicken skin, so I for one could NOT let this stand.
I recommend putting the chicken under the broiler on a foil-covered sturdy baking sheet for a few minutes to crisp it up before serving.
And another note on the chicken: I’ve been obsessed with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for a while now, and ESPECIALLY now that I’m doing a Whole30 challenge. Here’s why.
- They are about the cheapest cut of chicken you can buy (which gives you more wiggle room to buy the good, pasture-raised meat).
- They are, in my opinion, the tastiest part of the chicken since they are also the fattiest (dark meat rules!).
- On the Whole30 (or for a Paleo or low-carb diet), they are much more satisfying than leaner cuts of chicken, since you train your body to get energy from fats instead of from carbs.
Over the years, fat has received a bad reputation, but recent research shows that fat is not a health concern so much as refined grains and sugar.
The Whole30 is not designed to be a low-carb diet (and in fact includes high-carb foods like potatoes, fruits, and other starchy vegetables) but ends up being lower carb by nature, since you eliminate grains and legumes.
This means you get most of your energy from fats, and over the 30 day challenge you train your body to respond to fat better.
Therefore, I feel infinitely more satisfied and energized by small changes such as eating skin-on chicken thighs instead of boneless skinless breasts.
If you want to use boneless skinless breasts for this recipe, I would recommend cooking it for a shorter time and checking the doneness of your chicken along the way- the leaner cuts of chicken tend to overcook more easily, especially in the slow cooker.
Before I go, I’ll give you a brief Whole30 update. I’m now on day 23 of the Whole30 challenge. Seven more to go! It’s right around this time that the program explains food boredom can become a problem.
I’ve felt this just a wee bit, especially because I love cooking with whole grains and legumes.
But as I explained in my last post, I’m seeing SO many benefits from the program, that food boredom isn’t as much of an issue for me.
Or maybe it’s because of the fact that I could NEVER get sick of these Greek green beans and chicken thighs!
Recipe below! Enjoy :-)
Slow Cooker Greek-Style Green Beans and Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh green beans trimmed (or frozen)
- 2 large fresh tomatoes diced (or one 15 oz. can)
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
- juice of one lemon
- 1 cup chicken stock/broth or vegetable broth or water
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Mix together the green beans (1 lb.), tomatoes, onion, garlic, dill (1/4 cup), lemon juice, chicken broth (1 cup), and plenty of salt and pepper in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Lay the chicken thighs skin-side-up on top of the green bean mixture.
- Drizzle the tops of the chicken thighs with the olive oil (2 tablespoons) and season with more salt and pepper.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Optional: broil chicken thighs for a few minutes on high to crisp up the skin before serving.
Notes
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Richelle
This recipe has been a staple in our household for years! It is SUPER forgiving and delicious. I’ve made it with fresh green beans, frozen green beans, canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, fresh dill, dried dill – basically every variation of the ingredients possible and it always turns out great. The chicken is so tender it comes right off the bone. I definitely recommend broiling the chicken for a few minutes after it’s done – crispy chicken skin is the best.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I agree – it’s super easy to work with the ingredients you have, with how forgiving it is!