Slow Cooker Coq au Vin: French Comfort Food Made Effortless

Coq au vin has a reputation for being a fussy, all-day affair – chicken braised slowly in red wine until it’s fall-apart tender, with bacon, mushrooms and baby onions adding depth along the way. The truth is, it’s really just a rich, comforting chicken stew underneath all that French sophistication, and the slow cooker makes it easier than ever. A little prep in the morning, then let it quietly do its thing for the day, and you’ll come home to a genuinely impressive dinner with barely any effort. Serve it with a generous pile of creamy mashed potato to soak up every last bit of that sauce.

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin
Serves 4 | Prep: 20 minutes | Cook: 6–7 hours (slow cooker)

Ingredients

4 rashers bacon, chopped
8 chicken drumsticks or thighs (bone-in, skin removed)
2 tablespoons plain flour
400g shallots or pickling onions, peeled and left whole (or 1 large brown onion, diced)
2 carrots, cut into chunky pieces
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
300ml full-bodied red wine
200ml chicken stock
1 fresh bay leaf
A few sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g mushrooms, halved or quartered
Fresh parsley, chopped, to serve

Method

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then toss lightly in the flour, shaking off any excess. Brown the chicken in the bacon fat in batches, a few minutes on each side, until golden all over (it doesn’t need to be cooked through at this stage, just browned). Transfer to the slow cooker.

In the same pan, add the shallots, carrots and celery, and cook for 4–5 minutes until starting to soften and pick up some colour. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.

Stir through the tomato paste, then pour in the red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the base of the pan. Let it bubble for a minute before pouring the whole mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker.

Add the chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme and the reserved crispy bacon. Season with a little more salt and pepper, then stir gently to combine.

Cover and cook on low for 6–7 hours, or on high for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is completely tender and falling off the bone.

About 20 minutes before serving, stir through the mushrooms and leave the lid off if the sauce needs to thicken slightly, or transfer some of the liquid to a saucepan and simmer to reduce if you prefer a thicker sauce.

Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, taste and adjust the seasoning, then scatter with fresh parsley before serving.

Tips

No need for an expensive bottle of wine here – a decent, drinkable red you’d be happy to have a glass of yourself is perfect. The alcohol cooks off over the long, slow simmer, leaving just the rich flavour behind.

Bone-in chicken gives the best flavour and stays beautifully moist over a long cook, but boneless thighs will work too if that’s what you have on hand — just check them a little earlier, as they may cook slightly faster.

This dish freezes well for up to 3 months, making it a great one to batch-cook and have on hand for a busy night.

Serve with creamy mashed potato, or crusty bread if you’d rather keep things simple.