The Magical Slow Cooker » Recipes » Chicken » Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo
by Sarah Olson on | Updated 102 Comments
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This Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo is a perfect dish to add variety to your weekly dinner menu. The sauce has soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and tangy vinegar and goes perfect over rice with steamed vegetables.
If you love tender chicken, then this recipe is for you! Thighs turn out perfect in the slow cooker, just like my ranch chicken and lemon pepper chicken.
The first time I encountered a chicken adobo recipe was on a viral youtube video that popped into my feed. Of course, I had to try out chicken adobo on my site and share how good it is with all my readers. (Note that I use a few more ingredients than she does in her video).
Some will say making chicken adobo in the crockpot isn’t authentic; that’s fine, don’t make it then. If you want the EASIEST way to make chicken adobo, then try my recipe; you won’t be disappointed.
What is chicken adobo?
- Chicken Adobo is a Philippine dish; the sauce for this recipe is heavy in vinegar and soy sauce. The taste is savory, with a touch of sweetness. There are also hints of garlic and ginger.
- Chinese traders introduced soy sauce to replace the traditional salt in this dish. – Wiki
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken thighs – Bone-in chicken thighs work the best for Filipino chicken adobo! They get very tender in the crockpot. You can use bone-in chicken breasts, though you will want to cook for the full 7 hours.
- Soy sauce – I use low sodium soy sauce, though regular works just fine in this recipe if that is all you have.
- White vinegar – Add a tang to this recipe. If you are out of white vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar.
- White onion – One whole diced white onion adds so much flavor to the dish.
- Chicken broth – Helps keep the entire dish moist and evens out some of the vinegar taste.
- Seasonings – Sliced fresh ginger root, garlic cloves, bay leaves, and peppercorns
- Green onion – Be sure to grab a bunch of green onions. Slice and top your chicken and rice with the green onion for added texture and flavor.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – First add oil to a hot pan and brown the chicken, no need to cook through. Add the chicken thighs to the crockpot.
Step Two – Next add the onion, ginger, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns.
Step Three – Pour over the chicken broth, vinegar, and soy sauce. The chicken marinates in the sauce as it slow cooks. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours. Serve and enjoy!
What to serve with chicken adobo?
- Steamed white rice, jasmine rice, or fried rice goes well with the vinegar and soy sauce flavors.
- Steamed green veggies such as asparagus, bok choy, sugar snap peas, green beans, or broccoli
- Cauliflower rice for if you’re watching your carbs. This chicken adobo is very low in carbs!
- Top your chicken adobo Filipino recipe with green onions. Also, great with a touch of sriracha if you want spicy chicken.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use a different cut of chicken?
Yes, pretty much any cut of chicken works though bone-in dark meat will have better results. Drumsticks, bone-in chicken breast, boneless skinless thighs, or breasts can be used in this recipe. You can even use a combination of thighs and drumsticks.
Can I add bok choy to this recipe?
Yes, add 3-4 cups of sliced bok choy during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time. Make a great compliment to this along with rice.
Can I make this into shredded chicken?
If you desire shredded chicken, remove the chicken onto a plate. Remove and discard the skin.
Shred the chicken off the bone and add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker with the sauce. This shredded chicken is excellent over rice.
How do I cook a whole chicken adobo?
Place your whole (thawed) chicken in the slow cooker. Pour over the chicken broth, soy sauce, and vinegar. Place as much of the onion, peppercorns, garlic, and ginger on top of the chicken (It’s ok if some fall down into the sauce). Cook for 8 hours or low or until your chicken is no longer pink inside and is fork-tender.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo Recipe
4.25 from 24 votes
Chicken adobo made in the slow cooker, has tender chicken thighs in a flavorful broth.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours hours
Total Time: 6 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 5
Calories: 399kcal
Author: Sarah Olson
Ingredients:
- 5 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce regular soy sauce will work fine as well
- 1/4 cup white vinegar (can use apple cider vinegar)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves left whole
- 3 small slices of peeled fresh ginger root (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
- 2 bay leaves
- 10-15 black peppercorns (or 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper)
- 1 bunch green onion sliced – for serving
US Customary – Metric
Instructions:
Set a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add enough of the oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Brown the chicken on both sides. Add the chicken to the slow cooker.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, chicken broth and onion. Pour this mixture over the chicken. Or you can add everything to the slow cooker without dirtying a bowl, this works fine too.
Add the garlic cloves, ginger slices, bay leaves and peppercorns on top of the chicken.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH 4 hours for without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Remove bay leaves, and garlic cloves if desired.
Serve chicken drizzled with plenty of the sauce out of the slow cooker and enjoy! Top with sliced green onion for flavor and texture.
How to Video:
Sarah’s Notes:
Can I use a different cut of chicken?
Yes, though bone-in dark meat works best for this recipe you can use pretty much any cut of chicken. Try to stick with around 2 pounds so there is plenty of sauce to flavor the chicken.
- Drumsticks
- Bone-in chicken breast
- Boneless skinless thighs or breasts
Can I make this into shredded chicken?
- If you desire shredded chicken, remove the chicken on a plate. Remove and discard the skin.
- Shred the chicken off the bone and add back into the slow cooker with the sauce.
- This shredded chicken is great over rice.
What goes good with chicken adobo?
- Steamed white rice
- Steamed green veggies such as asparagus, bok choy, sugar snap peas or broccoli
- Cauliflower rice for if you’re watching your carbs. This chicken adobo is very low in carbs!
Can I add bok choy into the slow cooker with the chicken?
Yes! Add 3-4 cups of sliced bok choy during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 710mg | Potassium: 428mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1.4mg
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
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More slow cooker chicken recipes:
- Slow Cooker Hot Chicken
- Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken
- Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken
- Slow Cooker Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Slow Cooker Leek Chicken
- Slow Cooker Full Chicken Dinner
