Slow Cooker Monday: Chicken Adobo

/ Entree, Recipe, Slow Cooker / 37 Comments

When I posted a plea for savory recipes after my kitchen was filled with a few too many desserts, Carolyn from All I Dream About is Food suggested her chicken adobo. It’s one of her favorite chicken recipes, plus it’s easy with fairly minimal effort involved. After reading her post, I thought it sounded like something that could be made in a Crock Pot. This was quickly confirmed by a Google search that found lots and lots of slow cooker adobo recipes.

Adobo is a popular Filipino dish, involving marinating and cooking meat in a mixture that typically includes vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper. There are lots of variations on the recipe all over the Internet but I used Carolyn’s recipe as my inspiration. The chicken came out extremely moist and flavorful, with meat that fell right off the bone. If you have some extra time, you can take the juices from the slow cooker and reduce them on the stove for serving. I served a the meat with rice and a few spoonfuls of the cooking juices straight out of the slow cooker and it was a wonderful dinner on a busy day.    

Recipe:

Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo

  • 1 lb. chicken thighs, skin removed
  • 1 lb. chicken wings, skin removed
  • 1/2 C reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Mix together the soy sauce and vinegar, then pour over chicken. Sprinkle garlic over everything. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours (until meat is cooked through). Serve with rice.

37 Comments on Slow Cooker Monday: Chicken Adobo

  1. Kelly
    May 2, 2011 at 1:28 pm (14 years ago)

    This looks fantastic!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      May 2, 2011 at 7:11 pm (14 years ago)

      @Kelly – thanks!

    • Stephanie
      May 2, 2011 at 7:12 pm (14 years ago)

      @Lindsey – it’s definitely a great meal for a busy day! I love coming home to a finished homemade dinner.

  3. Adora's Box
    May 2, 2011 at 3:09 pm (14 years ago)

    Carolyn seems to have started a chicken adobo craze. Yeyy! As a Filipino, I get excited when non-Filipinos embrace and cook our beloved adobo. Thank you. You did well.

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      May 2, 2011 at 7:13 pm (14 years ago)

      @Adora’s Box – thanks! I’d never made adobo before but I loved it!

    • Stephanie
      May 2, 2011 at 7:14 pm (14 years ago)

      @The Mom Chef – you should definitely try it! It was really flavorful and moist. Plus, cooking in a Crock Pot was great because there’s so little time or effort involved.

    • Stephanie
      May 2, 2011 at 7:15 pm (14 years ago)

      @fooddreamer – thank you for suggesting the recipe! I loved it and will definitely be making it again.

    • Stephanie
      May 2, 2011 at 7:15 pm (14 years ago)

      @Sandra – enjoy!

    • Stephanie
      May 2, 2011 at 7:16 pm (14 years ago)

      @kitchenarian – thanks! You should, it’s such a time saver and meat comes out so moist.

  9. Lisa R
    May 2, 2011 at 10:38 pm (14 years ago)

    Is the particular vinegar important? What could you substitute instead of apple cider vinegar?

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      May 3, 2011 at 7:21 am (14 years ago)

      @LIsa R – you could use white vinegar, or rice vinegar in a pinch (but seasoned rice vinegar will give it a bit of sweetness)

  13. jen
    May 3, 2011 at 6:04 pm (14 years ago)

    If you’d like to have adobo quick on the stove top (2 pot meal, 1 for adobo, 1 for rice):

    For ever 1 pound of meat:
    -2 oz of apple cider vinegar
    -2 cloves garlic-smashed
    -2 bay leaves

    ~One tea bell of pickling spice (or equivalent amount in any apparatus) for the pot.
    ~tomato paste to taste

    Put the ingredients in the bottom of the pot, place meat on top. Fill with water to just above the meat line. Bring to boil and simmer until meat is cooked through. Add tomato paste to pot half way through cooking.

    My single father would cook this for us a few times a month. We’d have rice and salad on the side. His grand parents were from the Philippines. We’d usually use skin-on thighs. Recently made it with boneless thigh fillets, and it tasted just the same.

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      May 3, 2011 at 9:51 pm (14 years ago)

      @Jen – thanks for the recipe!

  14. Serena
    May 4, 2011 at 5:30 pm (14 years ago)

    Apple cider will work really well. A lot of Filipinos add a little sugar to their adobo to cut the saltiness from the soy sauce and added flavor. Pork will also work really well with this recipe.

    Reply
  16. Wheels
    August 23, 2011 at 4:40 pm (13 years ago)

    Can I make this with chicken breasts instead?

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      August 26, 2011 at 7:09 am (13 years ago)

      @Wheels – sure, that would work too.

  17. Amy
    December 21, 2011 at 11:48 pm (13 years ago)

    I made this tonight and was really disappointed. The sauce had so much vinegar in made our mouths pucker!

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      December 22, 2011 at 10:14 am (13 years ago)

      @Amy – I’m sorry to hear that! I didn’t have the same experience at all. I didn’t use the sauce for anything – I just took the meat out of the Crock Pot and served it with rice.

  18. Sara
    January 31, 2012 at 3:38 pm (13 years ago)

    Can you use frozen chicken?

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      January 31, 2012 at 7:32 pm (13 years ago)

      @Sara – I would defrost it first to be sure it has time to cook all the way through (you could always zap it in the microwave if you don’t have much time).

  19. Van Swets
    July 30, 2012 at 11:10 pm (12 years ago)

    I love to consume Apple Cider Vinegar because it taste great and also it has so many health benefits. .;,`,

    Yours trully http://www.healthmedicinelab.com“>

    Reply
  20. Cele
    August 8, 2012 at 3:48 pm (12 years ago)

    I have both thighs and wings with skin on. Would this make any difference? I suppose I could pull skin off of thighs but not wings.

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      August 8, 2012 at 9:20 pm (12 years ago)

      @Cele – I’ve never made chicken with skin on in a slow cooker because the skin won’t get crispy. I’ve heard you’ll just get strips of fat in the dish.

4Pingbacks & Trackbacks on Slow Cooker Monday: Chicken Adobo

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    December 4, 2011 at 10:05 am

    […] Chicken Adobo (from 52 Kitchen Adventures) […]

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  3. 85 Healthy Chicken Crock-Pots | Fitness Bootcamp Singapore - Lose Weight and Fat Loss - Singapore Personal Trainer says:
    August 26, 2014 at 12:49 am

    […] 36. Chicken Adobo The beauty of this one is that the ingredients read like CliffsNotes so even learning how to make it doesn’t take long. It’s basically a shorthand way to make adobo, which can sometimes take a long time when following a traditional recipe. They recommend serving it with rice, which will definitely go with the protein of the chicken. We might also suggest quinoa as a rice alternative, and also to have a vegetable with this for a completely healthy meal. The total time from starting this recipe to walking away from a cooking chicken is estimated at 10 minutes, 15 tops. […]

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