By: Jill Mills Posted: Jul 18, 2025

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With tender chicken thighs seasoned and spiced perfectly with jerk seasonings and a splash of lime, Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken is huge on flavor! It’s a quick, easy, and budget-friendly recipe that everyone loves. Serve with rice and beans for a complete meal with minimal effort.

Jerk chicken is a popular Caribbean recipe featuring chicken seasoned with a bunch of warm spices. This slow cooker version is an easy spin on the classic recipe, utilizing jerk seasoning and letting the slow cooker do all of the work. The end result is ridiculously flavorful, tender, and juicy chicken with hardly any effort. I recommend serving this over rice to soak up all the yummy sauce.

Prefer the air fryer? Try my air fryer jerk chicken recipe instead!

Why I Love This Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken

Perfectly seasoned. The thighs are generously coated with jerk seasoning before cooking but that’s not the only source of flavor in this recipe. Onions and jalapenos are placed in the slow cooker, along with a mixture of pineapple juice, ketchup, and soy sauce for the sauce. Brown sugar adds a hint of sweetness.
Minimal prep. The only hands-on step to this recipe is quickly browning the thighs. From there, everything gets added to the crock pot. Set it, forget it, and come back 4-6 hours to dinner ready to enjoy.
Tender, juicy chicken. Slow cooking the thighs keeps them nice and tender while the brown sugar pineapple sauce helps infuse them with flavorful. Each bite is perfectly tender and juicy!

Overhead view of ingredients needed to make slow cooker jerk chicken

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s an overview of all the ingredients needed to make slow cooker jerk chicken. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.

Onion – Sliced onion offers a base layer of flavor to the chicken.
Jalapeno – Jalapeno adds a bit of heat to the chicken. Keep in mind that if you want it less spicy, to use less jalapeno (and remove the seeds), though jerk chicken in general is a bit spicy.
Chicken thighs – Any cut of chicken works for this recipe. I like bone-in thighs because they’re tender, juicy, and cheap. Boneless, skinless thighs also work really well.
Jerk seasoning – To keep things quick and easy, I used jerk seasoning for this chicken. Each brand varies slightly but it’s usually comprised of warm spices like cinnamon, allspice, and cloves plus pepper.
Aromatics – Garlic and scallions add more earthy flavor to the chicken.
Brown sugar – Brown sugar helps to balance the spices in the recipe.
Pineapple juice – Adds liquid for cooking plus a bit of tropical Caribbean flavor.
Soy sauce – Adds savory umami flavor.
Ketchup – For a bit of extra sweetness.

How To Make Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken

This recipe requires just a few minutes of hands-on prep and then the slw cooker does the rest.

Chicken thighs in a bowl with jerk seasoning

Overhead view of a slow cooker with jerk chicken

Brown the chicken. Season the chicken generously with the jerk seasoning. Cook the thighs skin-side down in a skillet over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes, until the skin is just browned.
Assemble. Add the sliced onions and jalapenos to the slow cooker. Place the chicken skin side up on top. Whisk together the garlic, brown sugar, pineapple juice, soy sauce, and ketchup. Pour over the chicken. Top with scallions.
Cook. Cover and cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

Close up of slow cooker jerk chicken topped with lime wedges and jalapeno slices

Tips for Success

Here are a few tips for making jerk chicken in the slow cooker.

Adjust the spice. Jerk chicken isn’t necessarily hot spicy but it is very well spiced and seasoned with a bit of heat. For even more kick, add some red pepper flakes with jerk seasoning.
Brown the thighs. If using skin-on chicken, I highly recommend taking the extra 5 minutes to brown the skin over medium high heat. This adds so much flavor and crisps up the skin for better texture when it’s done cooking. If using skinless chicken, this step can be skipped.
Any chicken works. You can use any cut of chicken you like. I prefer skin on bone in but this recipe will also work with boneless skinless. Keep in mind that chicken breast may not be as tender and juicy as the thighs.
Check the temperature. To ensure the chicken is done, use an internal thermometer to check the temperature. Chicken is safe to eat when it’s 165F.

A plate of slow cooker jerk chicken with rice and beans

Serving Suggestions

For a quick and easy meal, I like to serve slow cooker jerk chicken over white rice (or cilantro lime cauliflower rice) with a side of beans. Black beans or kidney beans and rice are the traditional accompaniment, depending on what region the jerk chicken is made in. Plantains are another great side option. Be sure to spoon extra sauce over the top of the rice. It’s so good!

I also like to offer some lime wedges on the side to squeeze over the chicken just before eating. It adds a nice pop of citrus flavor and lightens the dish a bit!

How To Store & Reheat Leftovers