Add a delicious twist to your chicken tonight with this Slow Cooker Jamaican Jerk Chicken. It’s spicy, flavorful, and super easy to make. It has heat and tanginess with the versatility of being served over rice with a side of black beans.
If you get on a chicken thigh kick, you’ll love my Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs and Slow Cooker Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs recipes.
Why You’ll Love Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken
Slow cooker chicken recipes are always good to keep on hand, especially ones like this. The jerk seasoning is made from scratch using spice cabinet essentials you most likely already have on hand. The only ingredients you may need to pick up from the grocery store are the bone in, skin on chicken thighs, fresh jalapenos, green onions, and limes.
And just in case you’re wondering, making the marinade is easy, using a food processor. Also, you can choose a longer cooking time if you have a busy day or a shorter cooking time if you need to put dinner on the table fairly quickly. You’ll also like how this chicken can be paired with any things or turned into a whole new dish once cooked.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: Grab a 6-pack of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe. Using this cut not only creates tender meat but also juicy and flavorful. We also use chicken thighs in our Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs recipe.
- Salt & Pepper: These two will be used to season the chicken just before searing both sides and adding them into the crock pot.
- Homemade Jerk Seasoning: Green onion, yellow onion, garlic, ginger, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.
- Vegetable Oil: Used for searing the chicken.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Step Two – Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken thighs for 3-4 minutes on one side.
Step Three – Turn the chicken thighs over to the other side to brown. Be careful not to fully cook the chicken, as it will continue cooking in the slow cooker.
Step Four – Transfer the browned chicken thighs to the slow cooker.
Step Five – In a food processor, combine the green onion, yellow onion, garlic, ginger, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.
Step Six – Process until smooth and well combined.
Step Seven – Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs in the slow cooker, making sure to coat them evenly.
Step Eight – Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
Step Nine – Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the slow cooker and transfer to a serving dish. Pour the juices from the slow cooker over the chicken thighs. Garnish, if preferred, and enjoy!
How to Serve
- Serve the Jamaican jerk chicken thighs with rice, lime wedges, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, and garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro. Consider serving with traditional Jamaican sides like plantains, black beans, rice or coleslaw.
- You can also serve with mango salsa, cauliflower rice, and topped with green onions.
- Turn this into jerk chicken tacos by easily pulling the meat off the bones and placing it in tortillas or as a taco salad topping.
Recipe FAQs
Adjust the spiciness of the dish by adding more or less jalapeno pepper, depending on your preference. You can also substitute the jalapeno for serrano peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, or habanero peppers, depending on your preference for spiciness.
For a deeper flavor, marinate the chicken thighs in the sauce for 1-2 hours before cooking.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the microwave or oven before serving.
Although this recipe calls for chicken thighs, you can use chicken breasts or chicken legs.
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Slow Cooker Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Ingredients:
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 green onion whole
- ½ yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 jalapeno pepper Deseeded
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 tsp. ground thyme
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp. ground allspice
Instructions:
- Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken thighs for 3-4 minutes per side to render out the fat and brown the skin. Be careful not to fully cook the chicken, as it will continue cooking in the slow cooker.
- Transfer the browned chicken thighs to the slow cooker.
- In a food processor, combine the green onion, yellow onion, garlic, ginger, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Process until smooth and well combined.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs in the slow cooker, making sure to coat them evenly.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the slow cooker and transfer to a serving dish. Pour the juices from the slow cooker over the chicken thighs.
- Serve the Jamaican jerk chicken thighs with rice, lime wedges, and garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro.
How to Video:
Sarah’s Notes:
- Adjust the spiciness of the dish by adding more or less jalapeno pepper, depending on your preference. You can also substitute the jalapeno for serrano peppers, bonnet peppers, or habanero peppers, depending on your preference for spiciness.
- For a deeper flavor, marinate the chicken thighs in the sauce for 1-2 hours before cooking.
- Serve with traditional Jamaican sides like plantains, black beans, rice or coleslaw.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat gently in the microwave or oven before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Flip says
I’ve done this recipe twice, with a couple of alterations:
– chilli flakes to increase the heat
-7 hours rather than 6
It’s great!
Elaine says
I have some bottled Jamaican jerk sauce, both Walkerswood and Grace, that I want to use up. Seems that it would be easy to just cook the chicken in one of those and call it a day?
Sarah Olson says
Yes, you may want to season the chicken a little first.
Anonymous says
There are great jerk sauces and marinades I use..great stuff
Ray says
It was ok but if the all spice has cinnamon in it why would you add more.
Symon says
The lagar, is it an ingredient or is it for the cook?
Corinne Graehame says
Great recipe. I’m in the UK and I love Jerk Chicken and this recipe was perfect. I think I’m gonna cook it every week now. Lol
LikkleMiss says
Hi. I am Jamaican and like all Jamaicans, I love my food loaded with flavour. Thanks for the compliment on a Jamaican favourite. However, I think you should change the recipe name to state that it is “Jamaican-inspired”, not Jamaican. There are many critical inputs to the recipe that are missing – especially the grill or what we Jamaicans call a jerk pan.
Miss P says
Well said…as a Jamaican also, I whole heartedly agree.
Jamaicangal says
As a Jamaican too, I 100 percent agree this is not Jamaican jerk.
lindadu4@sbcglobal.net says
Perfect–and yet so easy. Thank you
Mark says
Wonderful..
I make this at least 2 times a month .
e salder says
This recipe was the worst. I followed instructions to the letter. I wasted good chicken
Victoria says
This was the worst recipe I have ever made it used a bottle of lime juice and it was all I could taste!! Absolute waste of a day waiting. I am not sure if your measurements are right when converting to metric but 121g of lime juice is a lot
Sarah Olson says
Bottled lime or lemon juice shouldn’t be used in recipes. It tastes like chemicals.
Anonymous says
She specifically put DONT USE BOTTLED USE FRESH. That’s one you trying to short cut because it was great
Laura says
I tried this recipe as is and I am very disappointed. The sauce was too tangy.
Sandra Brown says
Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Anonymous says
made this with chicken breasts over cauliflower rice and tasty
Anonymous says
We don’t like thighs can I use breast
Sarah Olson says
How did it turn out?