Slow Cooker Harissa Chicken

With big flavours and pretty much zero kitchen time, my slow cooker harissa chicken recipe is the gluten free dinner of dreams.

This easy, budget-friendly dish is packed with tomatoes, chorizo, chickpeas and spicy harissa, all thrown into the slow cooker for ease.

You only need 5 minutes to prep this coeliac-friendly dinner, then let the slow cooker work it’s magic!

Plus using chicken thighs and bulking the meal out with chickpeas makes it go further for less – keeping food costs down.

We absolutely love this recipe in our house – the full recipe card is below but the blog post contains lots of hints and tips.

I’ve also got ideas for substitutions as well as cooking suggestions if you want to use the hob or oven instead.

Ingredients and Substitutions

There’s a printable recipe card below with the full ingredients and method, but here are the main ingredients and ideas for substitutions.

• Chorizo: I use a chorizo ring and slice it up. However you could use some ready diced chorizo instead. If you don’t like chorizo you could use pancetta instead.
• Chicken Thighs: I use skinless, boneless chicken thighs. You could use bone-in chicken thighs, just make sure they’re cooked through. This recipe would work with chicken breast but chicken thighs are a better flavour and texture. They’re also cheaper!
• Chickpeas: A can of chickpeas is a nice and cheap way to bulk out a meal. They also give a lovely texture to this harissa stew. You can omit these if you don’t like chickpeas.
• Chopped Tomatoes: I love using finely chopped tomatoes in this recipe but if you need a cheaper option, any tin of chopped tomatoes will work. Chopped tomatoes are super cheap and I use them in so many of my recipes.
• Vegetable Bouillon: Always double check you’re using a gluten free vegetable bouillon powder. Or you can use a vegetable stock cube or pot instead. You can double check some of the gluten free stock cubes here.
• Whole Roasted Peppers: You can pick up jars of these from most supermarkets. I tend to buy them from Lidl or Aldi. They’re super cheap and so tasty in dishes. You can use fresh red pepper if you like.
• Harissa Paste: Generally harissa paste is gluten free, but double check it is. I pick these up from the spice aisle in most supermarkets.

Which slow cooker do you use?

I use a Crockpot 3.7-litre slow cooker I was gifted from a family member – I think this is the newer model of mine.

I’m addicted to making things in the slow cooker at the moment, including my chickpea and potato curry and my slow cooker pulled pork.

I know a lot of people are worried about the cost of living and looking for cheaper alternative to turning on the gas or electric oven.

The good news is slow cookers are actually pretty efficient to run!

I’ve done a bit of research online and it looks like a slow cooker costs roughly 16p a day to run, compared to 87p a day for an electric cooker.

Is a slow cooker economical?

I know a lot of people are worried about the cost of living and looking for cheaper alternative to turning on the gas or electric oven.

The good news is slow cookers are actually pretty efficient to run!

I’ve done a bit of research online and it looks like a slow cooker costs roughly 16p a day to run, compared to 87p a day for an electric cooker.

It seems slow cookers, microwaves and air fryers are ultimately a cheaper option, which is why I think you’ll love this recipe so much!

What if I don’t have a slow cooker?

No problem! You can either make this recipe on the hob or in the oven.

You’ll need to fry the chorizo in a large, lidded pan before adding the rest of the ingredients to the same pan.

For the hob, then cover with a lid and cook on a low/med simmer for around 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

And if using the oven I’d recommend cooking with a lid on at around 180C (Gas Mark 4) for around an hour.

Ultimately though, this recipe is made for the slow cooker so I’d definitely recommend it as the best and most efficient way to make it!

My Slow Cooker Harissa Chicken Recipe

This easy slow cooker harissa chicken with chorizo is such a good family meal and will feed four people.

You can easily size the recipe up or down, just make sure you ensure it’ll all fit in your slow cooker.

Any leftovers can also be frozen so you can make extras for those days when you’re really busy and need something quick.

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your creations!

And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.

Need more slow cooker recipe inspiration?

Here are some more gluten free slow cooker recipes you can try out once you’ve made this Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry.

• Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chickpea and Potato Curry (Slow Cooker Recipe)
• Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
• Chunky Beef Slow Cooker Chilli

If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram. 

If you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!

Like this Slow Cooker Harissa Chicken recipe?

Make sure you follow me on Pinterest and pin this recipe card below for later!