A super easy Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken recipe full of lemon flavor and tons of delicious garlic. No need for sides as the potatoes and veggies are cooked right in the crockpot with the bone-in chicken thighs.
Tried and loved by HUNDREDS of people. This recipe went mega-viral on social media and the feedback has been incredible.
There are days in the week where you have to have dinner ready within 15-20 minutes from the moment you enter the front door.
Of course, you can always make a fried egg and eat it with some bread but after a while, that can get pretty boring. Doesn’t a delicious Lemon Chicken sound so much better?
This is where our slow-cooker comes into the game. What an amazing tool this is!
This Crockpot Lemon Chicken recipe can be made in as little as 3 hours and up to 8 hours. Which makes it perfect for many different schedules. If you prefer rice over potatoes you may want to check out my Crockpot Chicken and Rice recipe instead.
Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken Thighs
I know I will get this question so I’m going to address it right away: “Can I use Chicken Breasts?”
Well of course you “CAN”. The question though is if you should and for this specific Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken recipe (and many others for that matter) I do not recommend it.
Here is why: Chicken breasts that are steamed or cooked for too long become incredibly dry. The only way to get around this is completely submerging them in sauce and making sure not to cook too long.
Bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs are much more forgiving. There is almost no way to overcook them. So I highly, highly recommend using those for this Crockpot Lemon Chicken.
You won’t regret it. I promise.
To address the fear of a soggy, leathery skin: yes, it will be soggy and leathery but you have two options once the chicken thighs are cooked through. Either remove and discard the skin. It will be super easy to remove at this point.
OR, place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. The skin will crisp up super nicely and taste absolutely fantastic.
If you are concerned about the fat rendered into the lemon sauce due to the skin you can always pass the sauce through a fat separator. I love those things. They are perfect for ANY sauce.
Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken And Potatoes
What you will probably love most about this recipe is that the sides are cooked right in the crockpot with the chicken.
Potatoes don’t need to be submerged in any liquid to cook through. You can place them all to one side or layer on top of the chicken.
The best potatoes to use are baby potatoes. They hold their shape the best. No need to peel them either because the skin is very soft and stays stuck on the potato halves as opposed to fall off and float around in the sauce.
If you want them crispy you can place them next to the chicken thighs on a baking sheet and also broil for 3-5 minutes. 3 minutes if you preheated the oven, 5 minutes if you didn’t.
I also like to add my veggies right into the pot, but at the end. Not for the whole cooking process. You risk vegetables becoming mush if you cook them for so long. The only vegetables that can withstand long cooking times are root vegetables.
You can use carrots or celery instead of asparagus if you prefer to cook everything in the crockpot from the beginning and be able to eat within 5 minutes of walking in through the front door.
I prefer fast cooking veggies that stay crispy though for some freshness and crunch in the meal.
Thin green asparagus cooks within 15-20 minutes max with the crockpot set on high. So it’s perfect as side for this Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken.
Slow-Cooker Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 6-8 chicken thighs - bone in, skin on
- 1-1.5 lbs baby potatoes
- 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- sea salt
- pepper
- bunch thin green asparagus
Instructions
- Peel and slice red onion and add to the bottom of the slow cooker in one layer.
- Add chicken thighs on top in one layer.
- Wash and half baby potatoes and add to slow-cooker.
- In a small bowl mix zest of 1 lemon, juice of that same lemon, olive oil, honey, thyme, sea salt, pepper and finely chopped garlic and then pour over ingredients in slow cooker.
- Put lid on and secure, then set to high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours (depending on your schedule. 3 hours on high being the minimum and 4 the maximum and 6 hours being the minimum and 8 hours the maximum when set on low).
- 15-20 minutes before the time is over, set slow cooker to high and add asparagus on top and put lid back on. The thicker the asparagus, the longer it will take.
- optional but recommended: 5 minutes before the time is over, remove the chicken thighs, place on a baking sheet and put under the broiler on high for 3-5 minutes or until the skin is golden.
- Enjoy!
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Tracy says
Loved this! I didn’t have thighs so I just used boneless chicken breasts and it was still so good! The garlic also just made the house smell so yummy.
Tiffany says
Cooked this tonight and we really enjoyed it. I accidentally got thighs without skin so added a cup of chicken stock to avoid drying it out which deepened the flavour. Also chose to do 6 thighs, 500g spuds and left on low for 6.5 hrs. Will definitely make again – thanks!
Bruce says
Very disappointing! Kept waiting for a delicious aroma to fill the kitchen like most other crock pot meals. Just a really meh meal.