This slow cooker 4-ingredient Hooverville sweet potato chicken is the kind of thrifty, stick-to-your-ribs meal that would’ve fit right in on my grandparents’ farm table during the lean years. You simply nestle raw chicken quarters into the crock, tuck sliced sweet potatoes all around them, and add just two pantry ingredients for seasoning. It’s the sort of filling, no-fuss dish I like to build a week of meals around—one long, slow cook that quietly perfumes the house and leaves you with tender chicken, soft sweet potatoes, and plenty of good memories in the making.
Serve the chicken quarters alongside the sweet potatoes with a spoonful of the savory juices from the bottom of the slow cooker. A simple side of buttered green beans, peas, or a tossed salad rounds out the plate nicely. Warm dinner rolls or a slice of crusty bread are handy for soaking up every last bit of broth. If you like, you can shred leftover chicken and chopped sweet potatoes over rice or tucked into tortillas for easy next-day meals.
Slow Cooker Hooverville Sweet Potato ChickenServings: 4
Ingredients
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters (about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds total)
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 packet (about 1 ounce) dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
Directions
Lay your slow cooker crock on a steady surface, like a kitchen counter. Pour the chicken broth or water into the bottom of the crock.
Place the raw chicken leg quarters in a single layer in the slow cooker, skin side up if possible.
In a small bowl, sprinkle the dry onion soup mix and break up any clumps with your fingers. Sprinkle the soup mix evenly over the chicken quarters, letting some fall into the liquid below.
Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes all around and in between the chicken quarters, tucking the slices down along the sides so they surround the chicken. It’s fine if a few slices rest on top of the chicken, but most should be around the pieces so they can soak up the juices.
Cover the slow cooker with the lid. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the chicken is very tender and reaches at least 165°F and the sweet potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork.
Taste the juices and adjust the seasoning at the end, adding a pinch of salt or pepper if needed. Serve each person a chicken quarter with a generous scoop of sweet potatoes and a spoonful of the cooking juices over the top.
Variations & Tips
For a little more color, you can quickly brown the chicken quarters in a hot skillet before placing them in the slow cooker, though the recipe works just fine without that extra step. If you prefer a slightly sweeter flavor, drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey over the sweet potatoes before cooking, keeping in mind this will change the classic, simple taste. To stretch the meal, tuck a few thick-cut onion slices under the chicken or add a couple of peeled, chunked white potatoes along with the sweet potatoes (this will make the dish a bit more like the old farmhouse suppers my mother made). Those watching salt can choose a low-sodium onion soup mix and use water instead of broth. Leftovers keep well: shred the remaining chicken and chopped sweet potatoes together and use them for sandwiches, hash with fried eggs, or stirred into broth for a quick, comforting soup.
