Easy Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken recipe for juicy chicken breasts in a buttery lemon sauce. You’ll love this simple and delicious dish!
This Slow Cooker version of Lemon Chicken is the perfect start for a weeknight meal. For more easy tasty crockpot chicken, check out my Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken and Honey Pineapple Chicken.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken
This creamy Lemon Chicken bucks the general rule of thumb I live by with slow cooker chicken recipes. I usually don’t add boneless chicken breast to a crockpot because it tends to dry out and isn’t as flavorful as thighs or bone-in chicken pieces. However, with a little sear to lock in the juices and lots of butter to add fat, you get juicy meat that is full of flavor. Plus the amazing sauce is packed with zesty, punchy flavor!
If you’re looking for a main dish that pairs with practically any side, this lemony chicken is perfect! The sauce doubles as a topper for pasta, rice, potatoes, and veggies. You could also slice up the chicken and use it for salads, wraps, and sandwiches. It’s a versatile chicken recipe you’ll be making over and over.
Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: I used boneless skinless chicken breasts because the butter will add the fat that you normally get with bone-in or dark meat.
- Unsalted Butter: The butter adds moisture and a rich flavor, for juicy, moist chicken full of flavor.
- Italian Seasoning: A store-bought blend of Italian seasoning contains herbs like oregano, basil, and thyme. You can make your own combination with what you have on hand too.
- Lemons: Lemon juice adds a bright and zesty freshness that cuts a bit of richness. Lemon and chicken make a perfect pair especially in the buttery sauce!
- Garlic: I’m using fresh garlic. Feel free to adjust the quantity of minced garlic if you’re a garlic lover (or reduce it if you’re not).
- Half and Half: The half and half at the end makes the sauce extra creamy and brings everything all together. You want to wait to add it so it doesn’t break or separate.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used in the end to thicken the sauce and hold it together.
- Chicken Base: I’d highly recommend using this optional ingredient, which is a concentrated stock paste. It adds so much extra savory flavor!
How to Make
Time needed: 5 hours and 10 minutes.
- Season and Sear the Chicken
Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken until both sides are golden.
- Prep Slow Cooker
Place the seared chicken into the slow cooker. Pour lemon juice and zest over the chicken (Don’t actually add the whole lemons in, I only did for the picture). Add garlic and pieces of butter evenly over the top.
- Slow Cook
Cover the Crock pot (slow cooker) and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for less time (2 hours) until the chicken is tender.
- Make and Add Cream Sauce
Whisk half and half, cornstarch, and chicken base until smooth. Pour the cream mixture into the slow cooker, mix gently, and cook on high for another hour until the creamy sauce thickens. Serve when ready.
Recipe Card
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
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Chef’s Note: Chicken Breasts vs. Thighs
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. Don’t worry; I’ve lowered the cooking time to account for the use of breast meat. If you use thighs, I would recommend using boneless skinless thighs so there isn’t too much fat.
Can This Be Made Ahead?
Yes, this meal can be cooked ahead, but it’s best made and served once it’s done cooking. Cooking it longer than 5 hours risks the cream sauce curdling and the chicken will dry out.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
- Store: Allow the chicken and sauce to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheat: Reheat on the stove top over medium low heat. Stir occasionally and avoid boiling so the sauce doesn’t break.
- Freeze: Place cooled chicken and sauce in a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Serving Ideas
- Italian: The lemon and herb seasoning make this a perfect main dish for Italian dishes like pasta and gnocchi. Try it with my easy homemade Potato Gnocchi!
- Starchy Sides: Rice or potatoes also make a great side for this simple chicken dish. Steamed Rice or Mashed Potatoes soak up that delicious creamy sauce.
- Veggies: The simple ease of Roasted Winter Vegetables with beets and butternut squash makes this dish a complete meal. Italian Roasted Vegetables also works great as it has zucchini and broccoli.
Frequent Questions
I wouldn’t let it keep cooking for the full 8 hours because the chicken could dry out. However if you have a slow cooker with a timer and auto-switch to warm, you could use that.
Technically, yes. Although browning adds extra flavor and is highly recommended!
If you want more sauce, feel free to double the sauce ingredients while keeping the amount of chicken the same. This won’t affect the cooking process, but you’ll have more of that delicious creamy lemon sauce to go around!
Adding the half and half at the beginning might cause it to break or curdle during the long cooking process. It’s best to add the cream mixture during the final hour of cooking.
Variations
- Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken: Add some more Italian flavor plus cheesy goodness with ½ cup Parmesan cheese. You want to use finely fresh grated cheese so it melts easily.
- Mediterranean Style: Swap the Italian seasoning for 1 teaspoon of za’atar and add ¼ cup of pitted, sliced kalamata olives into the slow cooker in the last hour. The cooking time remains the same, but the dish will have a more vibrant, Mediterranean flair.
Related Recipes
More Easy Slow Cooker Dinners
Photos used in previous versions of this post.
Hi! I’m making this recipe right now. I haven’t used a crock pot very often. Is it okay that the chicken isn’t totally covered by the lemon juice?
yes!
This is a fantastic slow cooker chicken recipe. If you love lemon, don’t miss this one. Easy to prepare and the sauce is so delicious over mashed potatoes and/or angel hair pasta. The chicken came out tender and not dry. I added extra garlic and cooked mine for 2 hours on low 2 on high. Will definitely be making this one again.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you Jennifer for the 5 stars!
So freaking good! I am not a great cook, this was easy to follow and my entire family liked it!
Thanks for the delicious recipe
Looks delicious! Can I double this, I have a large crock pot?
Sure!
Just made the recipe tonight and it was delish!! I cooked everything but the sauce last night and then made the sauce today a little bit before my company came over. I put the cooked chicken and juices in casserole dish and poured the sauce over the chicken and then baked the dish at 350 degrees for about 30 mins. Worked great! The chicken was still tender. The sauce was not quite as thick as I expected. Maybe I’ll add more cornstarch next time or use heavy cream. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this recipe tonight. I served it over Angel Hair pasta cooked al dente. I used the Better than Bouillon Chicken Base & it’s great.
I also made a side dish of Cannellini beans which my family loves. This meal was absolutely delicious! Everyone loved it. I will make this easy & excellent recipe again! Thanks for sharing this!! ??
THIS…SAUCE…IS…TO…DIE…FOR! I used the optional Better Than Bouillon Chicken base and I recommend you do too! I also used heavy cream instead of half & half because I would rather eat less with better taste than eat more with less richness. I used 2 tablespoons of the leftover sauce in scrambled eggs for breakfast the next day… MmmMmm! Keep this sauce around to reuse over veggies too! Maybe also in salad dressings? There are many uses for leftovers of this deelish sauce! Thanks for this terrific recipe!
Thank you for the rave review! You’re welcome!
Can’t wait to make this!!!
Can I use heavy cream instead of half and half?
Yes! Will be a little richer but super good!
This is one of my favorite recipes!! It’s easy and delicious. Thank you so much for sharing!
How long should I cook if using boneless, skinless chicken thighs?
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 time would be the same. The chicken breast is boneless, skinless for this recipe. Enjoy!
The sauce in this recipe is to die for! A gourmet-tasting dish from a crock pot would you believe! Easy and absolutely DEEELISH! Thanks for the recipe!
Aww, thanks Elizabeth! Appreciate your kind words.
i’ve been trying to find a good lemon pepper chicken recipe for yrs now with no real luck… I have no been able to get the lemon flavoring to come thru with the chicken and lemon pepper chicken is one of my fav. dishes … I really want to try this recipe would it be okay to season the chicken with lemon pepper seasoning, lemon juice and cook the chicken in a lemon pepper marinade in the crockpot instead of doing the bullion cubes or bullion base? please anyone let me know thank you I appreciate it
I’ve never tested your recipe. Try it and let us know how it turns out! Enjoy!
thank you i will def let you know how this comes out be making it this Friday :^) my fingers are crossed lol
this dish was excellent!.. i used a 3lb bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts so i had 7 pieces of chicken total that i seasoned both sides of every piece with ms dash lemon pepper seasoning and then italian seasoning … I then let is soak in a marinade i made up of 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup plus little extra of white wine, 2 tbsp pure lemon juice and pinch of sea salt mixed it all together and poured over the chicken in a glass 13×9 casserole dish for an hour and a half… after 1 1/2 hours I poured 2 cups of chicken broth into my crockpot and added 2 tbsp lemon juice to the broth and then added the chicken n marinade… I cut one lemon and squeezed that on top and then added 6 tbsp of butter… cooked on high and was done in 4 hours… this was the best lemon chicken i’ve had yet and def will make again.. the lemon flavor was perfect! it didn’t overpower a thing but you def knew it was lemon chicken it was just beautiful… I will def make this dish again.. thank you for your recipe and sharing it with everyone.. happy Friday everyone!!!
Sounds like you know your way around the kitchen! Glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this recipe and followed most of the directions. I used bone-in, skinless, chicken thighs. I added a little less butter in the crockpot. I added two tablespoons of capers with the half-and-half mixture. This is an excellent low carb chicken recipe! I will be definitely make this again!
can i use oat milk vs half and half?
Sure but it will affect the creamy factor in the recipe.
Just made this for Passover & it was a big hit! I had 3+ pounds of chicken breast so I increased the seasoning, just in case (I wasn’t sure how much chicken 5 breasts was). I cooked the chicken in a non-stick wok pan before adding to the crockpot & it worked out great. Modifications: doubled the garlic; used a super large lemon + 1 small lemon for zest; used the super large lemon for juice & added white wine. I started the crockpot on high (as I always do) then went low for about 2.5 hours before adding a mix of whole milk and matzah meal (what I had AND Passover friendly). Sprinkled with fresh parsley. It was moist & delicious, thanks!
We LOVED at this recipe and will be keeping it in our dinner rotation :). We added a lot more garlic and then threw in broccoli during the last 15 mins. Sooo good, thank you!
I am making this dish to share with my son and his wife. Any tips on reheating the creamy lemon chicken dish? Microwave or oven?
I prefer oven; however, if timing is an issue go ahead and use the microwave.
Has anyone tried putting the liquid mix in with the chicken at the beginning? I want to put it all in and leave and come home to it all done.
This was a really good recipe! I did make some modifications, I added about half a cup of white wine to this as I was running low on lemon juice. I added it in with the lemon juice.
2 hours after cooking, I added in cubed zucchini, onions, and a half a jar of Kalamata olives.
Then when I added the half and half, I added several sprigs of fresh Thyme.
10/10 will make this again!
Is there a way to make this in the oven?
How about trying a 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.
Can I use almond milk?
Sure! Almond milk is a one-to-one substitute for traditional cow’s milk, meaning that if a recipe calls for 1C of milk, you can substitute it with the same amount of almond milk. Almond milk does not have a strong almond flavor, which is another reason it makes a good choice for baking.
This was absolutely delicious and so easy! I did reduce the butter total into the slow cooker, by 1 tablespoon and used a cup of coconut milk instead of half-and-half. It was a big hit! Thank you so much.
I really want to add 8 oz of mushrooms to this dish. Would I have to alter anything?
Just pat the mushrooms dry to alleviate extra liquid and let us know how it turns out.
When would you add the mushrooms to the dish? Would think maybe when you add the half and half for the last hour? Thanks!
I’m confused about the mushrooms? I double checked the recipe for mushrooms and I don’t see any. Is it for another recipe perhaps? Let me know and I’m happy to help. Enjoy.
Notes for self since no “comment” option on pin: used instapot on sauté setting to melt butter & sear 4 chicken breasts, only had 1 lemon so supplemented w/1 TBSP bottled lemon juice, made chicken bouillon since didn’t have chicken base & added 1/4c. to 1/2 & 1/2; really good & a keeper, but sauce didn’t thicken at all; next time – buy & use chicken base & double cornstarch
I copy the recipe link and email it to myself. I reply and chain my messages together each time I make a recipe and make a variation. I include the effects of the variation. My chocolate chip recipe chain is 24+ e-mails long and has been going for years!
First I used bone in, skin on chicken thighs.. After browning in the pan I deglazed the pan with white wine and poured that into my slow cooker along with the other ingredients.. had to skim the fat off the top but pretty much followed the rest of the recipe… served with rice and roasted brussels… sooooo good!!!
Followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious! The chicken was cooked perfectly, not dry at all. I will definitely be making this again.
I love this chicken dish, but make it in my Dutch oven because my slow cooker is old and not reliable. I used more spices, more lemon…never enough for me, and mixed chicken broth with my 1/2 and half. Delish!!
The nutrition information seems off. 1 gram of a serving to have 400+ calories seems incorrect. But the dish looks and sounds delicious, will be trying for sure!
I’m so sorry to hear about the calorie count, it’s done automatically in the recipe creator and I don’t control it. I hope you do try and enjoy the dish!
Very tasty fish oozing with flavor after I defrosted the chicken soaked them in milk
To tenderize and floured them as well Paired the dish with rice though didn’t need it good vegetable side would be healthier and better Trying not to rely on rice so much Never heard of soup base so that was new for me Love adding and finding out about new ingredients Will make this dish again
Five stars!! I made this for Christmas dinner in my instant dinner. Followed the recipe exactly and served with green bean casserole and Parmesan crusted potatoes. Everyone loved it and went for seconds…
Followed recipe. At 4hrs on low chicken breasts were over-cooked, and there was still 1 hr left for thickening step. Would suggest checking at 2.5 or 3 hr mark to avoid overcooking. Sauce had nice flavor.
Agreed! I follow another lady’s crockpot recipes and she has 6 hours for chicken and I always tell people when I share the recipes you only need 3-4 on low for chicken. ?????
I put the half in half in the pan after searing off the chicken. Added some cornstarch and garlic and made a sauce. It was delicious
Smells delicious! Can’t wait to try it. My sauce came out a little liquidy though. Any tips to thicken the sauce quickly?
Use flour instead of cornstarch! It created more of a gravy like texture, but was great.
I found thinner sauce works great for chicken thighs, thicker sauce for breasts.
Delicious just delicious easy and tasty thank you
We enjoyed this dish tremendously! My husband loves lemon so I was searching for the perfect slow cooker recipe… Happy to say my search is over; Thank you Sabrina!
This was SO good.I did add a half tsp of chicken Better than Bouillon as suggested. There was only one lemon in my bin, but one seems to be fine. Made some rice and covered it with the wonderful creamy sauce. Chicken was moist and cooked perfectly.
It’s a keeper.
Some butter that was on its way to the crockpot may have found itself in the drippings from browning the chicken while on its journey.
This has been in our meal rotation since stumbling on this recipe over a year ago. I’ve even made it for guests when I want something that’s restaurant quality. I pair it with some lemon herb rice and a veggie of some sort. Don’t skip the Better Than Bouillon-the sauce really is THAT good.
Has anyone used chicken thighs instead of breasts? Any tweaking to make it work?
If I don’t have half and half… Will heavy whipping cream work as a substitute? Thank you in advance! This sounds so yummy!!!
So yummy & full of flavor! My husband who says he doesn’t like lemon chicken devoured it. My picky 6 year old even asked for more. Such a tasty recipe!!
May 2022
This was very good. The cream sauce was very lemony. When I make it again I will reduce the lemon juice slightly and substitute vegetable stock for some of the liquid. I served it with Pappardelle ribbon pasta and a simple salad. Prefect easy and delicious meal.
I don’t write review a lot, but this one definitely earned one. This was delicious and so easy to make. I will definitely be making it again.
Hi..planning to make today just a quick question. Has anyone tried adding capers? If yes how much would you recommend?
I recently made this chicken for the first time and also wondered about adding capers next time making it more of a Chicken Piccata dish. I’ll be interested to see if anyone has tried it.
I add capers to mine! ??I sprinkle them on top when served since not all my kids like capers. Love this recipe and added it to my rotation.
I am making this today. Can I add capers? If so, when would the be appropriate time to add them?
Thank you
This was amazing! Chicken was so juicy and full of flavor.
Easy peasy and delicious, thank you for this recipe! I made it 100% as directed, including the butter & half n half, but to cut calories I did not serve with rice or pasta, instead I just served a side of crisp-cooked broccoli w garlic and it was delish. Will definitely make again.
This turned out amazing! This is THE most perfect lemony chicken recipe! Will definitely be making this one again!
This recipe sounds delicious. Is there something nondairy I could substitute for the half and half? Would oat milk be weird? I have a nut allergy, so almond creamer is not and option.
Thanks for your help,
Susan
Hmmm, I haven’t tried with oat milk, it may change the flavor a bit but I don’t think it will hurt to try!
I would try some full fat coconut milk that comes in the cans!
did you try the oat milk? curious if it was good?
Just finished eating this, it’s delicious, thank you! I followed the directions except I doubled the garlic, and at the end of the crockpot cook time I removed the chicken to a plate to directly mix in the “Better Than Bouillon,” added a little pasta water and subbed heavy whipping cream for the half- and-half (that’s what I had). When it was good and mixed I returned the chicken, lightly mixed, then turned the crockpot off and served over pasta. It was wonderful!
This worked out perfectly for our Saturday afternoon schedule to come home to an almost ready meal. I served it with some rice and asparagus.
Making this tonight! I’m just curious about the nutrition facts..It says 1 g of this dish is 465 calories?
I tweaked it a little, so I guess I used this recipe as inspiration. Delicious!