Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken and Veggies
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This Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken and Veggies is easy to make, healthy, and provides everything you need for dinner in a single pot. Made with simple ingredients and loved by kids and adults alike, this slow cooker lemon garlic chicken will be a new staple in your dinner rotation!
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It always amazes me when I hear people say they “forgot to eat” on a particularly busy day. This concept is completely foreign to me. I have had busy days. I’ve had days where I’ve had to push back a meal or skip it in favor of scarfing a granola bar down in the car. But I honestly can’t remember a single time where I’ve just “forgotten” to eat. When I’m hungry, my body makes it awfully hard to forget. Those loud, angry stomach gurgles aren’t going to wait.
The term “hangry” has enjoyed a lot of success the past few years, at least partially because it’s a feeling so many people identify with. When I’m hungry I often find myself impatient and short tempered.
I can easily snap at my husband or get upset about things that wouldn’t normally bother me. Hangriness isn’t a state that’s good for anyone–me, my family, or anyone unlucky enough to get between me and the sample ladies at Costco.
My Secret Weapon: Slow Cooker Chicken Dinners
The hangries seem to be at their worst around 4:30, that “witching hour” before dinner time when everyone is hungry, tired, and fussy (and no, I’m not just referring to the kids).
That hour could be the most stressful part of the day were it not for my beloved slow cooker. Let me tell you, there is no better feeling than looking at the clock at 4:30 PM and suddenly remembering dinner is ready and waiting for you in the crock pot. Hallelujah.
This lemon garlic crock pot chicken is a family favorite. The chicken is cooked in the slow cooker along with a slew of vegetables, so by the time the pre-dinner whining kicks in, I’ve got a satisfying meal ready to go.
It has a lovely light and lemony herb flavor that’s not too strong for little tastebuds. And for my mom tastebuds? Well, Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken tastes a lot like victory.
How To Make Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken
Making lemon chicken in a crock pot requires only a few minutes of prep time and simple ingredients.
- To start, layer quartered potatoes (I prefer red potatoes or Yukon golds), carrots, and onions in the bottom of a slow cooker and season well with salt, pepper, and sliced garlic cloves.
- Place well-seasoned bone in, skin on chicken thighs on top of the potatoes.
- Pour fresh lemon juice over top, followed by several cloves of sliced garlic.
- Sprinkle the chicken with your favorite fresh or dried herbs and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is very tender.
Tips for Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken
- My favorite cut of chicken to use for this recipe is bone-in, skin on chicken thighs or drumsticks. They are tender, juicy, and nearly fail proof.
- To get that lovely crispy, crackly chicken skin, broil the chicken for a few minutes after it’s done slow cooking.
- Originally, I used a few Tablespoons of olive oil in this recipe, but since then I’ve omitted the oil, and it’s been just fine! The chicken cooks in its own delicious juices.
- This recipe is extremely adaptable. I’ve experimented with a few different combinations of seasonings, so feel free to use what you have on hand. The original recipes uses fresh thyme and rosemary, but I’ve also tried and loved dried parsley, basil, and Italian seasoning.
Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. red potatoes (quartered)
- 1 sweet yellow onion (quartered)
- 1 lb. carrots (sliced into 2-3 inch sticks)
- 6 bone in skin on chicken thighs
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic (pressed)
- 1 lemon (sliced)
- 3 sprigs rosemary (stems removed, chopped)
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Place the potatoes, onions, and carrots in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Stir in two cloves of garlic and half of the fresh herbs.
- Sprinkle the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper then nestle them in with the potatoes and carrots. Squeeze the lemon juice on top then spread the remaining garlic over the chicken. Place the lemon slices over top.
- Cook on high for four hours or on low for 6-8 hours. When the chicken is finished, remove the sliced lemon, squeezing it out over top of the chicken if you want extra lemony flavor.
- Preheat the broiler and place the chicken thighs on a pan under the broiler for 3-4 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately with the vegetables from the slow cooker.
Notes
- This recipe can be easily adapted based on the ingredients you have on hand. Feel free to use chicken drumsticks or breasts instead of thighs and use dried herbs (Italian seasoning, parsley, basil, or dried rosemary/thyme) instead of fresh.
- Note: If substituting a boneless, skinless cut of chicken, drizzle the vegetables with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and the chicken with another Tablespoon of olive oil.
Love the idea of this, but not a fan of dark meat chicken. How would I adjust the cooking time if I used bone-in chicken breast? Thank you.
The cooking time should be about the same with chicken breasts!
Made this yesterday and my husband now thinks I am a genius! He said we can make this for guests, so I knew he loved it 🙂
That is AWESOME. I love feeling like a genius. 🙂
I’m cooking this now…do I need to make any adjustments for boneless skinless thighs?
Those should work just fine!
Hiya :} Nice recipe. Just wondered if anyone else had bitter sauces? The lemon pretty much destroyed everything in the dish, carrots, onions and sauce, yet the chicken was fine. Although it seeped into the skin so that was inedible also. ):
So sorry to hear it didn’t work well for you!When you say the lemon destroyed the vegetables do you mean it was just too strong?
Thanks so much for the amazing recipe. I made this and my husband couldn’t believe it’s home-cooked!
I have 6 quart crock pot. Is this too big for this recipe ?
No that should work great!
Came across this recipe this weekend and just made in the oven — this is excellent! So glad that I came across this site – Thank you so much for sharing this!!
Awesome! So glad you loved it!
If you were to make this with boneless chicken breasts, how many breasts or how much should the breasts weigh? I’ve noticed that some recipes change the wgt. of the chicken breasts when substituting for chicken thighs. Thank you.
I would just use a standard package of 1-1.5 lbs. chicken breasts. I would also probably skip the broiler part at the end of the recipe to avoid drying them out.
I am 33 yr old. Lol first crock pot meal made. Looked so easy and delicicious. Find out this evening. Thanks
Trying it tonight. Can’t wait!
I hope you enjoyed!
I loved this recipe! I love the fact that everything is natural. My sister was just put on a low sodium diet and this was the perfect recipe for her. Everyone absolutely loved it!
I am so glad! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know!
I am making this for dinner tonight. Thank you for the recipe, I however did use russet potatoes. And orange slices cause 8 didn’t want to go to the store. That should be ok right?
Hi there! I apologize for the delayed response. I hope the chicken still turned out great for you!
When the chicken is done in the crock pot and it says to preheat the oven so the chicken is crispy it doesn’t say to what temperature. What should I preheat it to?
I just use the broiler! No need to preheat to a certain temperature.
The directions say broil – so I would use low since the meat is already cooked. Just stick around and watch as the broiler can be tricky at times. I’m going to make this next week and will report back.
This came out outstanding! We followed the recipe to the tee and it was very tasty. I cooked on low for 8 hours and let it sit to cool some for 2 hours. Couple of changes I made/will make next time:
1. We added 1 cup of chicken broth to add moisture.
2. It really needed more salt – I thought I was being heavy handed, but I will add more next time.
3. I didn’t bother with the browning in the oven step and it was still great.
4. I would probably cut the potatoes and carrots by 1/4 of the amount each and add more onion. There seemed to just be too many potatoes and carrots ratio to chicken.
5. I’m thinking either the lemon juice or the lemon slices, but both seemed slightly overpowering.
I stumbled upon this delicious looking recipe earlier today. It’s in the slow cooker right now and smells so good. Can’t wait for dinner tonight! I used skinless boneless chicken thighs, and following the recipe as written.
So you can place the uncooked chicken with the potatoes and carrots, correct? I just ask because I’m not super great with cooking chicken and I just wanted to make sure.
That’s right! You can place the chicken in the slow cooker raw, just make sure it’s not frozen!
I ‘m trying the
Lemon garlic crock
Pot recipe.i bought boneless skinless thighs, is that ok ?
I’m making lemon garlic chicken breasts in a crockpot with chicken rice soup and onions and carrots and mushrooms. I’m also adding frozen peas. Nora b
This recipe is so delicous. We’ve made this a couple times and it gets better everytime. I love the texture you get from the skin on chicken when it’s broiled as a last step.
What adjustments need to be made, if I want to double the recipe?
As long as you can fit it all in the crock pot, you shouldn’t need to make any adjustments other than doubling all the ingredients!
Trying this is the morning was wondering why recipe says 4 cloves of garlic then in making the recipe it only says 2 cloves
Sorry about that! The remaining 2 cloves go on top of the chicken! I’ve updated the recipe.