Slow cooker lemon thyme chicken is a delicious and easy dinner to throw in your crockpot before you head out to your day! Paleo and Whole30
For being a food blogger, I’m a sucker for finding ways to not really having to cook.
Well, I guess slow cooking IS cooking, but it certainly isn’t anything like our great-grandmothers went through to get an amazing dinner on the table. Those ladies would be hanging out in a hot kitchen for hours and hours, working tirelessly to prepare a healthy nourishing home-cooked meal for their families. Great-grandmas were pretty hardcore amazing ladies. I also bet they all had great skin from all that steam constantly opening up their pores. Hmmm, perhaps I need to slave over a stove more for that reason alone.
But I digress. Back to slow cooking.
I love my slow cooker in a deep and profound way. This is not the first time you guys are hearing this. It’s pretty evident in all my slow cooker recipes. Here is the thing: I don’t have a lot of time to make dinner. I work full-time, have a gnarly commute to and from work in Southern California traffic (if you guys have ever visited/lived in Southern California, I’m confident I have your sympathies), and generally enjoy spending time with my family and holding onto my sanity. However, I refuse to let all those factors impact the quality of a meal I put on the table at night. So, I’ve just adapted….with the help of my trusty slow cooker.
I love any recipe you can make in a slow cooker, but a good main dish that can be made in the crock pot is as good as hitting the lottery. Whole chicken in the slow cooker is easily one of my favorite main dishes to serve on busy nights when my time in the kitchen is especially crunched.
Why a whole chicken? For a couple of reasons.
1) It’s cheaper and you get more bang for your buck. When you buy a boneless chicken breast, you are not only paying for the meat but for the processing of cutting it off of the bones and wrapping it up all nice for you. When you buy a whole chicken, you pay much less per pound since you aren’t paying for the extra labor and you get both dark and light meat. Plus, once you are done getting the meat off of the bones, you can throw your whole chicken carcass back into the slow cooker with some water, onion, and other veggies for homemade bone broth.
2. Slow cookers cook, well, low and slow. A whole chicken won’t dry out as fast as chicken breasts will and the bones will infuse the meat with extra lovely flavor.
The lemon juice in this recipe gives the chicken just a hint of tang (and some added moisture) and the thyme adds some earthy flavors to the dish. Make this lemon thyme chicken during your meal prep for easy, throw-together lunches (it’s amazing on salads) or toss it in the slow cooker before you dash out the door in the morning so that dinner is ready and waiting for you and the family at the end of a busy day.
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds)
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 5 springs of fresh thyme OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 3-5 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
- Remove giblets from the chicken and rinse under cool water. Place in slow cooker.
- Pour lemon juice over whole chicken and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Place garlic cloves and bay leaves in the slow cooker around the chicken.
- Cover slow cooker and cook the chicken on low for 9-10 hours OR high for 4-5 hours.
- Once the chicken is done cooking, the meat should easily come off the bone and you can enjoy it immediately or store in fridge for up to 4 days.
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Is there no water needed to cook the chicken in a crock pot?! (I am knew to cooking meat in the crockpot.)
Thank you!
Elannah
Nope! Not when you do a whole chicken! There is lots of moisture in the chicken and the lemon juice offers all the liquid you need!
The smallest chicken I could find is 8lbs. Is it better to cut it in half or double the recipe?
If you can fit that whole bad boy in your slow cooker, just double the rest of the ingredients and enjoy some seriously tasty chicken for days to come! It’ll freeze great if you aren’t feeding a crowd!
I have boneless, skinless chicken thighs on hand. Could I use this recipe for those?
Can I use skinless chicken breast? I have plenty on hand.
You sure can! I’d probably only cook it for about 4 hours on low or until the chicken easily falls apart.
Enjoy!
I am making it tonight. What is the calories per serving for both white and dark meet?
This came out awesome! So easy and yummy!!
Can I make this in an Instant Pot?
Yes! I often make it that way! Usually 25 minutes on manual high pressure and then natural pressure release.
This is super delicious and easy. I modified the recipe just a tad by rubbing the bird with a tablespoon of ghee. I also added sliced onion to the pot. It’s amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
i never have good luck with my crock pot. Things come out tasting bland or overcooked. I am afraid to try a whole chicken without liquid. do you have any suggestions for me?
Heidi
The slow cooker can be intimidating. But it can also be a great way to get dinners on the table during a busy day.
The onion and the lemon in the recipe provided the chicken with all the moisture it needs (chicken itself has quite a bit of liquid too). You could add a cup of broth or stock to the slow cooker if you are feeling nervous, but not too much or the wonderful flavor of the chicken will all go into the broth instead of staying put in the meat!
Onion? Where’s the onion in the recipe?
Whoops. My mistake. I was thinking of another whole chicken recipe that I have that does have an onion in it.
Your are correct, this recipe does not have onion in the recipe. The 1/4 cup lemon juice + the natural juices of the chicken are enough to keep the meat moist during cooking.
Did you leave the skin on the chicken, and if so, would there still be enough moisture if I took the skin off? Would cooking times need to be adjusted? Thank!
I do leave the skin on. If you remove the skin, I would suggest adding a bit of broth or stock tot he slow cooker to help the chicken to stay moist. But the cooking time should remain about the same.
What do you serve with the lemon chicken for a main meal/dinner?
What did you do with the giblets?
My butcher often takes the giblets out for me. Growing up, I remember giving them to my dog, though!
Hello, did you do anything beforehand such as apply a rub or olive oil to chicken skin to achieve browning? Most slow cooker recipes suggest browning or searing meat before cooking or it won’t brown or look appetizing. Thanks!
I did not, but you certainly could do that! I know some people like to throw a slow cooker under the broiler to crisp up the skin, as well!
Do you place chicken breast side up or down??