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. 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 :-)
