Slow Cooker Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs - Eat Mediterranean Food
These juicy Slow Cooker Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs is a recipe perfect for making a quick weeknight dinner with minimal fuss.
This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The chicken has been quietly simmering away for hours in a savory lemon sauce with rosemary, making it the perfect dish for a midweek dinner. Adding carrots and potatoes makes it a one-pot meal the whole family will love.
A slow cooker can be a godsend for anyone who likes to cook but doesn’t always have the time. With a slow cooker, you can brown the chicken thighs, place everything into the pot, and turn it on to cook for several hours. It leaves you free to do other things while your meal is cooking. And when it’s done, you’ll have a delicious and healthy meal that will please your family and friends.
It’s full of flavor.
It is a super easy recipe you can put together in minutes.
It is budget-friendly, which is excellent for families.
You can have it in the slow cooker all day while you are away at work and come home to a delicious hot dinner.
- Chicken – I used bone-in chicken thighs with their skin
- Chicken broth, preferably organic
- Garlic
- White Onion
- Carrots
- Fingerling Potatoes
- Lemons
- Fresh Rosemary
- Fresh Parsley
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
Season chicken thighs with salt and black pepper and transfer four of them to the skillet.
Brown the chicken for approximately 2-3 minutes per side and transfer it to a plate.
Repeat the process with the remaining olive oil and chicken thighs.
Once browned, transfer the remaining chicken thighs to the platter with the first batch.
Deglaze the skillet by adding the chicken broth and gently scraping the bottom with a spatula to incorporate the flavorful brown bits into the liquid.
Remove from heat and reserve the deglazing liquid. Set aside.
Add garlic, onion, carrots, and potatoes to a 6-quart, or larger, slow cooker crock and arrange the browned chicken thighs on top.
Spread 2/3 of the lemon slices over the chicken and pour the chicken broth from the skillet on top.
Sprinkle with the crushed rosemary leaves and season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
When cook time is complete, discard lemon slices and serve immediately with chopped fresh parsley. Cut the remaining (uncooked) lemon slices into four wedges and use them to garnish the chicken.
According to most slow cooker recipes, you can just place the chicken thighs into the cooker. Still, I prefer to brown the chicken in a skillet, deglaze it, and then transfer it to the slow cooker. This adds color to the chicken and gives the dish a depth and complexity of flavor.
One of the great things about using a crock pot is that it makes everything so tender. Of course, you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. But since the chicken breasts tend to be drier, I recommend adding 1/4 cup of chicken broth to keep them juicy and flavorful.
If you do not have fresh rosemary at hand, you can use dried rosemary for this recipe. Remember to use only 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary (the conversion for fresh herbs to dried is 3:1). Also, fresh rosemary will deliver more flavor.
All slow cookers vary slightly. Your crock pot cooking time may vary somewhat from mine. If you know your slow cooker cooks lower/slower, you may want to increase the cooking time to 3.5 hours on low or 7 hours on high. In general, the cooking times for chicken thighs are as follows:
- Low 6 – 8 hours
- Medium 4 – 6 hours
- High 3 – 4 hours
If you prefer the sauce to be creamier, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter and the sauce to a small pot. In a cup, stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water, add it to the sauce, and simmer until thickened.
Store any leftovers in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- One-skillet Chicken and Spinach Orzotto
- One-Skillet Lemon Chicken with Summer Squash
- Chicken Provençal with Tomatoes and Olives
- Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs and Vegetables
Hungry for more? Browse all my Mediterranean Recipes.
Join my FREE e-mail list to receive all the latest and greatest recipes and cooking tips.
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to rate it and review it below! Also, don’t forget to follow Eat Mediterranean Food on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Join the Eat Mediterranean Food Community FREE Facebook Group to share your cooking creations and make new like-minded friends online.
Have a question about this recipe? First, check the comments section to see if your question has already been answered. Use ctrl+f or ⌘+f on your computer or the “find on page” function on your phone browser to search existing comments! If you do not find the answer in the existing comments, please write your question in the comments area, and I will answer it.
Please share this post with family and friends. Your shares are how Eat Mediterranean Food Blog grows, and I am sincerely grateful whenever you share something.
In this post, some links are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting my website.
Slow Cooker Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs - Eat Mediterranean Food
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3-5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/2 medium white onion chopped
- 3 large carrots cut into chunks
- 1 lb fingerling potatoes cut into chucks
- 1 large lemon sliced
- 3 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves crushed
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper tp taste
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and black pepper and transfer four of them to the skillet.
- Brown the chicken for approximately 2-3 minutes per side and transfer it to a plate.
- Repeat the process with the remaining olive oil and chicken thighs.
- Once browned, transfer the remaining chicken thighs to the platter with the first batch.
- Deglaze the skillet by adding the chicken broth and gently scraping the bottom with a spatula to incorporate the flavorful brown bits into the liquid.
- Remove from heat and reserve the deglazing liquid. Set aside.
- Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and potatoes to a 6-quart, or larger, slow cooker crock and arrange the browned chicken thighs on top.
- Sprinkle with the crushed rosemary leaves and season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
- Spread 2/3 of the lemon slices over the chicken and pour the chicken broth from the skillet on top.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- When cook time is complete, discard lemon slices and serve immediately with chopped fresh parsley. Cut the remaining (uncooked) lemon slices into four wedges and use them to garnish the chicken.
Tips
- Store any leftovers in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- According to most slow cooker recipes, you can just place the chicken thighs into the cooker. Still, I prefer to brown the chicken in a skillet, deglaze it, and then transfer it to the slow cooker. This adds color to the chicken and gives the dish a depth and complexity of flavor.
- One of the great things about using a crock pot is that it makes everything so tender. Of course, you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. But since the chicken breasts tend to be drier, I recommend adding 1/4 cup of chicken broth to keep them juicy and flavorful.
- If you do not have fresh rosemary at hand, you can use dried rosemary for this recipe. Remember to use only 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary (the conversion for fresh herbs to dried is 3:1). Also, fresh rosemary will deliver more flavor.
- All slow cookers vary slightly. Your crock pot cooking time may vary somewhat from mine. If you know your slow cooker cooks lower/slower, you may want to increase the cooking time to 3.5 hours on low or 7 hours on high. In general, the cooking times for chicken thighs are as follows:
- Low 6 – 8 hours
- Medium 4 – 6 hours
- High 3 – 4 hours
- If you prefer the sauce to be creamier, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter and the sauce to a small pot. In a cup, stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water, add it to the sauce, and simmer until thickened.
Comments
Share your thoughts, or ask a question!
It sounds delicious but what if you don’t have a slow cooker?