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This Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken is covered in a creamy sauce made with plenty of lemon, butter and garlic! Serve the sauce over pasta or rice for an easy, delicious dinner!
This post is sponsored by Challenge Butter, but all opinions are my own.
Since having our twins almost a year ago, life has been busy! My mom was visiting this past weekend and looked at me at one point and said, “Do you realize that you never stop moving? You’re always in motion.” And it’s true. If I’m not working, I’m chasing after two little boys who are moving like crazy these days. It’s busy and fun!
So in order to make dinner happen at night amongst all the crazy, the slow cooker has become my best friend. I’ve been making lots of tasty dinners and playing around with recipes and I’m excited to share some of them with you starting with this Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken! Lemon is one our favorite flavors around here and the boys love anything covered in a tasty sauce, so this chicken has become quite popular in our house.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN
To get started making the chicken, you’ll want to get your slow cooker set up. I’m a fan of using a slow cooker liner to make clean up easier, but that definitely isn’t required. Next, you’ll want to add your chicken to the cooker and make the sauce that the chicken will cook in.
It’s important when cooking in a slow cooker to have enough liquid to cook the chicken in to keep it moist. You definitely don’t want it to dry out, so I like to have enough liquid that it comes up at least about half way up the sides of the chicken. My slow cooker is a 6 quart, so even if you have a smaller one, this should be plenty to keep the chicken tender.
You’ll start by combining some chicken broth, half and half and lemon juice. The lemon juice adds lots of flavor, the half and half lends creaminess and the chicken broth brings it own flavor, as well as some additional liquid.
For additional flavor, we add garlic, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano and paprika. You know I love to have plenty of flavor, and this recipe doesn’t lack in that department! The final thing you’ll add is the melted butter – more “liquid” and definitely more flavor! It’s best to melt the butter before getting started, let it cool a bit and then add it at the end. It helps it incorporate better that way, since some of the other ingredients are cooler and you don’t want the butter to seize up if it’s still really warm when added.
THE BEST LEMON BUTTER SAUCE
And speaking of butter, I used my favorite in this lemon butter sauce – Challenge Butter! It’s such a creamy butter made from the freshest milk and goes from farm to fridge in just two days. Plus, there aren’t any growth hormones, nor do they use any artificial preservatives, fillers or dyes. These things are more important to me than ever these days, since I always have the boys in mind when cooking.
Pour that delicious lemon butter sauce over the chicken and let it cook on high for 3 hours. At that point, remove about 1 cup of the lemon butter sauce and add some cornstarch to it. Pour the mixture back into the slow cooker and stir it around a bit, then let it cook for another hour.
When it’s done, you end up with the most creamy lemon butter chicken! The sauce thickens up beautifully and goes so nicely with the chicken. It makes a wonderful sauce not only on the chicken, but also to drizzle over rice, pasta, mashed potatoes or whatever you decide to serve your chicken with. We absolutely love it and make it all the time! So fresh and tasty and such an easy way to put together a great meal!
TIPS FOR THE BEST CREAMY LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN
– Pay attention to the amount of liquid in the slow cooker. I use a 6 quart cooker and have the liquid about half way up the sides of the chicken. If use you a smaller cooker and the liquid covers the chicken more than that, that’s fine, but you don’t want it to be less.
– Be sure not to overcook the chicken. You can cook this chicken on high for 4 hours or low for 8, but I do think that the chicken is a little more moist when cooked on high for 4 hours. It’s also best to not leave the chicken sitting for took longer after it’s cooked. The heat can continue to cook the chicken as it sits.
– The cornstarch really thickens up the sauce so that it’s nice and creamy. You can always adjust it to your liking, if you prefer it a little more or less thick. Keep in mind that the sauce continues to thicken as it cools.
– Serve the creamy lemon butter chicken sauce over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes for a great meal!
– Use leftovers for chopping up and adding to salads!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
You might also like:
Lemon Rosemary Chicken and Rice
Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice
Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken is an ultra flavorful comfort-food entree that’s easy to make in your slow cooker! Tender chicken breasts are cooked in a buttery lemon garlic sauce for a family dinner that will go down in history.
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp unsalted Challenge Butter
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/8 tsp paprika
- 4 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
1. Add the butter to a microwave safe bowl and heat until melted. Set aside.
2. Place the chicken breasts into a 6 quart slow cooker.
3. In a large bowl or measuring cup, combine the chicken broth, half and half and lemon juice, then add the garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and paprika. If it curdles a little bit, that’s fine.
4. Add the melted, cooled butter to the lemon mixture and stir to combine.
5. Pour the lemon butter mixture over the chicken, then cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 7 hours. Slow cookers can vary a little so adjust cooking time as needed.
6. Remove about 1 cup of the lemon butter mixture from the slow cooker and whisk in the corn starch. Add it back into the slow cooker and stir to combine.
7. Place the top back on the slow cooker and cook for another hour, then serve.
Notes
I used my favorite butter in this sauce – Challenge Butter! It’s such a creamy butter made from the freshest milk, and it goes from farm to fridge in just two days. Plus, there aren’t any growth hormones, nor do they use any artificial preservatives, fillers or dyes. These things are more important to me than ever these days, since I always have the boys in mind when cooking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 546
- Sugar: 2.4 g
- Sodium: 806.5 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.6 g
- Protein: 63 g
- Cholesterol: 245.8 mg
Love this recipe as is! But my daughter can’t have dairy so for her I drop the butter & also substitute coconut cream for 1/2 & 1/2. Doubled the sauce recipe to put on the veggies and rice or noodles. Either way we love it.
I’m so glad you enjoy it and make it work you!
Say hello to my new favorite recipe. It came out fantastic, and I’ve been loving this for dinner each night this week. I will definitely keep it in my regular rotation – thanks so much!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
“If it curdles a little, that’s fine.” No it’s actually not. Curdled dairy affects both texture and flavor. There’s no reason for it to happen.
Simply microwave your butter for 20-30 secs and mix with your broth. Heat your lemon in the microwave for 20 seconds (which provides more juice AND brings it closer to the temperature of your butter/broth) then squeeze. Create a slurry by adding your cornstarch to your lemon juice (which stabilizes the acidity). Slowly mix the slurry into your butter mixture. It should be totally stable.
I am not a real fan of chicken breasts because I think they are kind of dry for the most part. I made this for my husband and I. I did double the sauce and, let me tell you, the chicken just fell apart! It was the most moist and tender chicken breast I have EVER had! We BOTH loved it. Will be making this for company anytime! (And us too!)
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Could you use a bunch of chicken tenders instead of whole breasts? How would that affect the cooking time?
You could. I’m not sure exactly about the cooking time, but it would certainly be less. You could probably cut the time in half.
I would like to try this recipe, but for eight people. Should I simply double the recipe? Also, can this be made with chicken thighs?
Yes, you can just double it. And chicken thighs should be fine.