Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken

5 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes

Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken with butter, garlic and lemon coating tender chicken breasts in a creamy sauce. Even great as a pasta topping!

Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken with butter, garlic and lemon coating tender chicken breasts in a creamy sauce. Even great as a pasta topping! Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken

Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken bucks the general rule of thumb I live by with slow cooker chicken recipes. I almost NEVER add chicken breast to a slow cooker. My Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken is one of the only exceptions on the site along with Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken.

This recipe uses chicken breast meat but it would be completely amazing and delicious with chicken thighs. The reason I avoided chicken thighs in this dish was I didn’t want all the extra fat to render because the sauce would’ve been too greasy.

The easiest, creamiest, slow cooker lemon chicken.

I also wanted to note that even though you see the lemon wedges in the slow cooker before pic, you only use the zest and the juice in the recipe. I just loved how pretty it looked.

Don’t worry, I’ve lowered the cook time to account for the use of breast meat. And if you want to make this Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken instead, add in ½ cup shaved Parmesan cheese. Note: shaved Parmesan cheese is different than shredded or grated.

Some ways to use this Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken in other recipes:

  • Cut it up and add cooked pasta to the slow cooker to make a creamy lemon pasta.
  • Chop the chicken and add to the top of a baked potato with some of the sauce spooned over it.
  • If you have leftovers you can use the chicken in salads, it is full of flavor.

We've made this dish three times in the last week, we LOVE this Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken.

Looking for more slow cooker chicken recipes?

Tools used in the making of this Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken recipe:
Cast Iron Skillet: If you don’t have a slow cooker with a stovetop friendly insert, this is my most used pan in my kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.
Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.
Pig Tail Flipper: I use this to flip the chicken breasts easily. I use this tool EVERY time I cook something that requires flipping, it is amazing.
Chicken Base: I almost never buy boxes of broth because I keep the beef, chicken and vegetable version of this Better Than Bouillon.

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Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken

Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken with butter, garlic and lemon coating tender chicken breasts in a creamy sauce. Even great as a pasta topping!
Yield 5 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 5 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 lemons juiced and zested
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon chicken base optional, but delicious!

Instructions

  • In a large cast iron skillet add 1 tablespoon of butter to melt on medium high heat.
  • Add the kosher salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning to the chicken and add it to the pan.
  • Cook on each side for 4-6 minutes.
  • Add the chicken to your slow cooker.
  • Cover with lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and the rest of the butter in pieces (I added the lemons in the before picture just for reference. Don't cook the lemons in the slow cooker).
  • Cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.
  • In a large measuring cup add the half and half, cornstarch and chicken base and whisk well.
  • Add the liquid, mix, and cook an additional hour on high.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 50g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 198mg | Sodium: 756mg | Potassium: 958mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 660IU | Vitamin C: 26.4mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 1.2mg
Keyword: Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken
Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken with butter, garlic and lemon coating tender chicken breasts in a creamy sauce. Even great as a pasta topping!
Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken with butter, garlic and lemon coating tender chicken breasts in a creamy sauce. Even great as a pasta topping!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Can you use lemon juice and zest? If so, would you know how much? Thank you! It looks amazing and I plan on making it tomorrow:

    1. You only use the zest and the juice in the recipe. I just loved how pretty it looked.

  2. I made this last night and it was delicious, my picky eater loved it. I added chopped asparagus when I added the half & half mix and served it with shell pasta. The shells held the sauce perfectly, it was the only pasta I had in the house lol. Definitely added to the monthly meal list. I might try adding some capers next time also.

  3. Omg.. so yummy. I added in half cut white potatoes for the cooking duration, and threw some green beans in at the end.
    It turned out as one of the best dishes I’ve ever cooked hehe.. thank you!

    1. Chicken Base: I almost never buy boxes of broth because I keep the beef, chicken and vegetable version of this Better Than Bouillon.

    1. serving_size 1 calories 465 carbohydrates 8 protein 50 fat 25 saturated_fat 13 cholesterol 198 sodium 756 potassium 958 fiber 1 sugar 1 vitamin_a 660 vitamin_c 26.4 calcium 86 iron 1.2

  4. I made this yesterday and it was delicious!!! What changes do I need to make (if any) if I want to make it with salmon instead of chicken?

  5. Very tasty. I browned my chicken the night before to save that step. I would double the sauce amount next time.

      1. I think this might be my new favorite crockpot meal! And I have made a ton of different meals! Omg it’s so delicious!!

  6. I am making this now with chicken thighs, added chicken broth with the cream. I will be adding peas for some added color served over angel hair pasta. The house smells delicious hoping it taste as good as it smells?

  7. This was so easy and so delicious! I did double the fresh lemon juice, as we love the lemony flavor. And I also used it to quickly deglaze the pan I used to sear the chicken breasts, get all those yummy chicken bits. The sauce was still plenty creamy for us. We served with homemade mashed potatoes and artichokes. So easy and super tasty! Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  8. Thank you! Love this! I am addicted to lemon. I added sumac to the rub and capers to the sauce! Perfect crock pot chicken recipe!

    1. Me too Liz! Love Lemon! Thanks so much for the 5 star rating and if you try other Slow Cooker recipes on the site, please let me know what you think! We have sooo many Slow Cooker recipes because they are such a time saver!!

  9. Can this recipe be made in an insta pot? I love it in the slow cooker but my son doesn’t have one- just wondering about cooking time and when to add the sauce!

    1. Some Insta Pots have a crockpot setting. If your son’s does not, he can google a similar recipe of “slow cooker chicken breasts in creamy sauce” (choose one with good star ratings) and go by their cooking instructions.

    2. Tatiana, I know this has been a while but as for the Instant Pot, I am using my instant pot today to make this on the slow cooker mode. You can sauté and do it all in the pot itself. I love the versatility of the instant pot! I use it both ways for slow cook and for pressure cooking. It’s great to be able to use the pressure cooker part but it has the option of the slow cooker and works great! Just let it vent the whole cook time. You can adjust your settings for low or high- look up how for the pot you have. My low is called “normal”- mine is a bit older. It may be a little different on a newer one. Add the sauce as you would to a slow cooker. It may seal slightly but not much if you keep it vented and you can take the lid right off.