Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken

Name: Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 375 min
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon dried oregano; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 2 Tablespoons butter; 15 ounces chicken broth (or chicken stock); 6 Tablespoons lemon juice; 4 cloves garlic (minced); 1 lemon (zested); 3 Tablespoons diced onion; 1 teaspoon fresh parsley (chopped); 8 ounces cream cheese; 3 cups cooked pasta

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41 Comments

4 from 2 votes

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Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken is so tender and flavorful. Serve it over pasta and top with a creamy lemon sauce made in the crock pot.

Our Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken is unlike anything I have ever made in my crock pot!

It’s fresh, light, and the sauce that you drizzle on top is what makes this dish amazing.

Serve it over pasta and enjoy a delicious slow cooker recipe different than any that you have tried before.

Ingredient Notes

dried oregano
salt and pepper
chicken breasts
butter
chicken broth (or chicken stock)
lemon juice
garlic
lemon
diced onion
fresh parsley
cream cheese
pasta

chicken over pasta topped with creamy lemon sauce and lemon slices

How to make Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken:

In a small bowl, mix together the oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture into chicken.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken in butter for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Place chicken in a slow cooker sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
In the same skillet (don’t rinse it out – everything that is left in that pan will add flavor!), mix the chicken broth, lemon juice, and garlic. Bring the mixture to boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker. Add the lemon zest and diced onion on top of the chicken.
Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Add the parsley to the slow cooker 15 to 30 minutes before the end of the cook time.
About 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve, remove the chicken and place on a serving platter. Add the cream to cheese to the juice in the crock pot and whisk until smooth. Let cook on high heat for 15 minutes so that it can thicken up. If you want to make the sauce thicker, mix together 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon cold water and whisk into sauce.
Serve over cooked pasta.

Storing and Other Tips

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

You can substitute Full Fat Ricotta Cheese for Cream Cheese. The texture will be different but it won’t change the flavor too much.

This chicken also tastes great served over rice or mashed potatoes.

Serving Suggestions

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Questions & Reviews

Liz says:

A lovely recipe. Thank you and and have a great Sunday.
Becky Anderton says:

I made this today and it was delicious. Nice bold flavor for the sauce! The kids gobbled it up.
Ericka Anderson says:

Can you serve with rice instead of pasta?
Cyd says:

Hi Ericka, You can definitely serve this with rice. :)
Ericka says:

Thanks and on a another note, my husband grew up in the same ward that you did. I had no idea until I told his mom about how many recipes I have pinned from your site :)
Kopogo says:

Just wondering how you would go about prepping this for a freezer? Would you brown the chicken then put the sauce and put it in the freezer? Thanks
Cyd says:

Yes, then you would just thaw and cook.
Gary says:

This looks terrific....we love lemon! I am making for a family supper Saturday, and will triple the chicken to 6 pounds. Does your original recipe make a lot of sauce, or should I triple that as well...or double? Thanks in advance, and will report back.
Cyd says:

You will want to triple the entire recipe if you are tripling the amount of chicken. Hope it all goes well for your family supper!! :)
Beth says:

This looks wonderful!! Question my husband doesnt like cream cheese, any suggestions i could use instead? Thanks!!
Cyd says:

Ricotta cheese would work fine too. The texture would be different than if you used cream cheese.
Stephanie says:

Can I cook this on low for 6-8 hours?
Cyd says:

We have found that it is done in about 5-6 hours. If you go longer than that, be sure to check it so it doesn't dry out.
Jaci Johnson says:

Any tips for making this in an Instant Pot? We love this recipe!
Cyd says:

Here is a link to a post we did for converting recipes for instant pots. https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/how-to-convert-recipes-into-instant-pot-recipes/
Brynn says:

A favorite in our house! Whenever I make it for anybody they always ask for the recipe. So good!
Kelly Ambrose says:

I LOVE this recipe but I can never get the sauce to thicken with the corn starch/cold water trick. Is there anything else I can do to get it to thicken up?
Mary Cole says:

I made this tonight, I followed directions to a T, sauce never thickened up even after adding the cornstarch and cold water. My husband says there was to much liquid for it to thicken properly. I used a 14oz can of broth instead of 15oz can. Had the flavor we wanted but sauce never thickened.
Mary Cole says:

I had this same issue tonight, flavor was great but just never got thicker.
Cyd says:

Maybe add a little more cornstarch. See if that helps.
Angie says:

Is there any reason why I can’t just throw all those ingredients in the crockpot from the beginning? Why would the sauce need to come to a boil or pre-cooking the chicken before having it cook in the crockpot for 5 hours? I’m wondering if I can be lazy and toss it all in and still have it work out. Haha
joy says:

I always use goat cheese instead of cream cheese. It's got a similar texture, less fat and some tang.
joy says:

I'm wondering the same thing.
Angie says:

I decided to go ahead and make it this way. I don't have anything to compare it to, but it was great! I just tossed in all the ingredients from the beginning without doing any precooking or anything. I still waited to add the cream cheese until the end. I cooked it 5 hours on low, and it was perfectly cooked. My sister, who followed the original instructions, said the chicken was really overcooked when she made it according to the directions. Also, because I saw other people say their sauce didn't thicken - I put 2 tsp cornstarch/2 tsp water in at the same time as the cream cheese. By the time 15 minutes on high was done, it was a perfect consistency. I also shredded the chicken and returned it to the crockpot to mix together with the sauce. I'll definitely be making it again!
Vicky says:

Can you cook this recipe of creamy lemon chicken without the slow cooker please?
Christine says:

Hi ~ would this turn out well if I use frozen chicken breasts (the thin sliced style)? I assume I would just add a little extra time and check to make sure I don’t overcook? Thank you :)
Alice says:

I put the liquid in a sauce pan and added the corn starch and water. I double the cornstarch and water amounts. Came to a boil and thickened up quickly.
Robyn says:

I just made this today with 4 frozen chicken breasts. Placed the chicken in bottom of slow cooker. Sprinkled with dry spices. Dotted with the butter. Sprinkled onion and garlic in. Poured in 12 oz. chicken broth and the lemon juice, plus 1 Tblsp bullion to make up for the extra liquid from the frozen chicken. Cooked on low 7 hrs. Removed chicken and shredded (but you wouldn’t have to do that.) Stirred in cream cheese and thickened a little with arrowroot + water. Stirred chicken back in. Served over zucchini noodles. (Keeping it keto friendly for our house.) PERFECT! So yummy!
see mary cook says:

Made this last night. Delicious!
Tonia Buhrig says:

Great comments; Great ideas. I followed the recipe & served with mashed potatoes. I thought it was divine. The sauce didn’t get much thicker, but I liked it like that.
Tonia Buhrig says:

Yum!
Cyd says:

That will work great too!!
Cyd says:

You could try to adapt it to oven baking. We only have the recipe for the slow cooker.
Cyd says:

Good to know! Thank you.
Candace says:

OOH! that sounds AMAZING!
Candace says:

I had my doubts about cooking the chicken for so long, before putting it in the crockpot... I was worried that it would be dry. Boy was I wrong! that chicken was just falling apart, when i pulled it out near the end... so juicy, but not mushy like boiled chicken. I picked this recipe to try, because it reminded me of one that my mom used to make with cream of broccoli, noodles, and cream cheese. It's Mother's day, so I did add a cream of broccoli can to the sauce at the end, to make it saucier (and then added more lemon juice to compensate). I tasted it both ways, and it was amazing both as written and with the cream of broccoli. Love your recipes, you all have never disappointed! Thanks for sharing!!!
Cyd says:

Hi Candace. Thanks so much for the sweetest comment! You made our whole week. So glad you loved the slow cooker creamy lemon chicken. Adding the cream of broccoli sounds delicious! Stay safe and thanks so much for stopping by!
Gina says:

This was sooo yummy!! Thank you! I paired it with asparagus and tortellini...I will make this again!
Brittany says:

Loved this! The sauce was runny even with cornstarch, but I just undercooked my pasta a bit and added to the crockpot with the sauce. It cooked for 20ish more minutes and was perfectly thickened. Delicious flavor!
Katie says:

This was VERY lemony.. probably too lemony. An entire lemon’s worth of zest along with the lemon juice is a lot. I would cut to half of both next time. I also added 2x the suggested amount of cornstarch mixture to thicken and it was still runny so I would probably add even more next time.
Janene says:

This is one of our go to favorite recipes! We serve it with rice and a roasted veggie