There is a beef stew I have been making for decades now that is very heavy on the red wine and thus, very, very delicious. It needs no tweaking, no adjustment, it is perfect just as it is, but it often leaves me thinking… what about a stew with white wine instead? It was high time to try it out. But since beef and white wine aren’t quite the natural pair that beef and red wine are, it was born in this iteration — White Wine Chicken Stew. It’s a hearty stew that’s a little lighter but also so very scrumptious, and it’s made (almost) entirely in the slow cooker.

Now, I love a crockpot meal where all you have to do is toss everything in and put the lid on and walk away, but sometimes it helps take the flavor a little further if you start out on the stovetop. Such is the case here — you want to start by browning your chicken first but you don’t need to worry about cooking it all the way through. It adds a flavor that slow cooking just can’t, but yes, you can skip that step if you’re really pinched for time.

The browned chicken goes into the slow cooker, along with chicken broth, white wine, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, garlic, onion, carrots, and potatoes and then you let your crockpot do the rest of the work while you’re at work or just attending to other life business. (Four hours on high or seven to eight hours on low should do it.)

Heavy cream, a little flour slurry, and some frozen peas hop in at the end to make things a bit thicker, a bit creamier, and a bit sweeter. It’s a delicious stew! We’ve come to love it just as much around my house as we do the beef version… and it’s always good to have options!