I’ve made these Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs three times this last week. They are amazing! In the past when I have made chicken thighs either on the barbecue or in the oven, they don’t get as tender as I want them before they start browning. So I created this slow cooker lemon pepper chicken thigh recipe.
I start with making a homemade sauce, the sauce is similar to a homemade salad dressing. I do the mixing of the sauce right in the bottom of my slow cooker. Then I place the chicken thighs into the sauce and swished them around to coat them in sauce. Cook for 4 hours on HIGH in the slow cooker and then placed on a cookie sheet and placed under the broiler in the oven for about 10 minutes or until browned. Perfectly tender and crispy! And the sauce is perfectly tangy to boot.
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (about 1 very large lemon)
- 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 2.5 lbs. chicken thighs (bone-in, skin left on)- just enough thighs to cover the bottom of the slow cooker.
- some lemon slices added on top of chicken if desired (not necessary)
- Add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker and stir. Add the chicken thighs into the sauce one at a time skin down and swish around in the sauce, then flip the thigh skin up, do this with all the thighs. (There will be just enough sauce to coat the chicken)
- Add some lemon slices if desired on top of the chicken.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
- After cooking time is done, preheat the oven to broil (500 degrees).
- Cover a baking sheet with foil. Using tongs remove the chicken thighs from the slow cooker onto the baking sheet.
- Place the chicken into the oven on top rack (My top rack was 3 levels down). Broil the chicken thighs for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
- If you want to use the sauce from the slow cooker (it's fantastic!) Blot the sauce with a paper towel to remove the grease.
- Remove from oven. Serve with desired sides.
Wow! Broiling it gives it such a nice golden color – my mouth is watering! Definitely going to try this. Thank you, Sarah!
This recipe sound so good but can you use chicken other than thighs_meaning white meat?thankyou
Yes, I would cook the breasts for 5 hours if they are really big. I hope this helps.
I have always thought the chicken thighs were the least desirable piece of chicken..But , have you tried the boneless skinless thighs..OMG are they delicious. Everyone that I have told that strickly eats nothing but breast love these.
Yes! I love boneless chicken thighs! Delish!
How long if you cook on low? Will it still come out right? Thx
Mouth. Watering. These look delicious! I am not a fan of chicken breast so I especially love that you used thighs. YUM!
I am a thigh girl for sure when it comes to chicken, and I’m loving how easy this recipe it is! It looks delish, Sarah!!
This is one wonderful method! You have fixed the pale crockpot chicken dilemma!
Great idea to broil the chicken to give it the color and crispiness.
Brilliant idea with broiling them at the end! These look so wonderful!!
Question; could you cook them in the crock pot one day and broil them the next day??
I think that would work fine! May need to heat them up at 350 degree first, then crank it up to broil to crisp the skin.
This looks super simple with lots of flavor, and really crisped up broiling them!
This is such a great method! Wonderful idea. Pinning!
it looks delicious all crispy and browned up!
I love everything about this recipe. I am def a fan of chicken thighs these days.
Love that you broiled the chicken after taking it from the slow cooker, Going to try this soon.
First, very cute site! Love the polka dots! Second. Yum!!! Sloe cooker is always good, but broiling after is the perfect touch. Thanks for sharing. Pinned!
Looks delish! Can you do it without the skins? My chicken thighs have the skins removed.
Yes I don’t see why not. If they are boneless, I would cook for less time.
These look amazing! I just love cooking chicken thighs in my slow cooker. 🙂 Definitely going to be trying this one soon!
These look amazing. I like crispy chicken too so I am definitely going to try this!
I am drooling over this gorgeous chicken! the flavor sounds wonderful and I love how they are both juicy and crispy!
I made this tonight, cooked in slow cooker on high for 5 hours then under the broiler set on high for 10 minutes, absolutely delicious! Strained the left over juice and spooned over brown rice, heaven. No leftovers but requests to make again tomorrow!
That’s too funny Danielle. I had to make it again soon after the first time too! It’s so good!
Can this be done without the crock pot? Can you broil or bake them in the oven?
I haven’t tried that. If anyone has cooked this the entire time in the oven, please let us know 🙂
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/slow-roasted-garlic-and-lemon-chicken-203
This is a similar recipe..slow roasted in the oven. Also delicious!
Hi Sarah the recipe looks& sounds so delicious. …but can you use wings or chicken legs not a big fan chicken thighs, But I love the idea of broiling after can’t wait to try. ..Thanks so much for the recipe
Yes! I think legs or wings would work fine. They won’t need as much time in the slow cooker. 🙂
I sure wish I could get Richard to eat dark meat but he just won’t do it. Those do look delicious and I love how you browned them!
I added a few chicken legs as well as the thighs. I also finely chopped fresh oregano and thyme from my herb garden. It’s in the slow cooker now… House is smelling wonderful. Next time I will mixed the marninate up the night before and put my chicken in a ziplock bag over night. Then throw it in my crockpot and mid-day. Thanks for the recipe!!
can u do these low for 8 hours? Im at work all day and dont want them to sit too long.
I think they would completely fall off the bones if they were cooked that long. I usually do these on my day off 🙂
This looks so yummy. I can’t wait to try this recipy. I bought some chicken this week. So I’m definitly going to try making this. Thanks for this recipy.
I’m going to fix this tomorrow using chicken leg quarters. Will I need to adjust my cooking time? I thinking about browning the quarters on the grill.
If the weight of the quarters are the same, 4 hours should do fine. 🙂
Can you use chicken tenders and cook on low for 8 hours, duringy day at work. Also, would still be delicious if I don’t broil them? My husband likes dinner done when he gets home and he is home many hours before me.
You could, I would add a little chicken broth to add little more liquid, since the skin adds moisture. These will be very tender after 8 hours (they will shred when you take them out).
what can I substitute the slow cooker for? I dont have one and i would like to try this
Hi Bees, I’ve never tried this in the oven. Here is a good recipe for cooking thighs in the oven. 🙂 http://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-baked-chicken-thighs/
Thaaanks dear, i saw the Link, i think your way of making it is much better
I tried this recipe it was delicous. I added chicken broth and it created enough sauce for my pasta.
Great idea with adding the chicken broth! Thanks for the tip!
These were simple and delish. I didn’t have time to broil them (and they were still awesome), but I can see how good that would be, too! Thanks so much. =)
These chicken thighs are amazing!!! I’m making them for the second time today in a week! I love how easy it is to make and the fact that you use a cheaper cut of meat. My wallet thanks you for this recipe
That’s great to hear Annette! I can’t stop making these either. I’m glad you like them.
I bought some thighs that are boneless/skinless. Should I adjust anything in the recipe ? Also, since there is no skin, would they dry out if I broiled them at the end?
Thanks!
You probably don’t need to brown them at the end since there is no skin on them. They also may be done a little earlier than 4 hours. I hope this helps!
My sauce didn’t cover the chicken (I’m using chicken legs instead of thighs), but I’m giving this a shot! Tempted to add some water to cover the chicken…not sure if I should or not. Thoughts?
Chicken thighs with the skin on let out lots of juices, and so do legs. I think it should do fine 🙂
Thanks for the reply…do you think adding water to the crock pot to cover the chicken would drowned out the taste of the lemon?
I think so. It should be fine without adding water unless you are cooking it longer than the recipe says. If you are cooking it longer I would add a splash of water just in case.
I have friends coming over. Can I put a double layer of chicken and sauce, or must it only be a single layer.
I think 2 layers would be fine! Maybe add 1 more hour of cooking time and keep the lid on the entire time.
I found this recipe on Pinterest and threw it together super quick last night (didn’t have oregano, just tossed in parsley!) and it was maybe the best chicken I’ve ever cooked! I was skeptical of the liquid not covering the meat but it worked out just fine. PERFECT. AWESOME RECIPE!!!
I made these as directed except cooked on low and put it in right before I left for work. So it was on low for about 8.5 hours and I was still able to carefully remove them from the crock pot and brown the skin. Decadent! We love lemon pepper and chicken thighs in our home- add a crock pot and what could be better?! This will be a go to recipe for sure.
Excellent and easy recipe to make! Thank you!
this looks amazing, how much time would I add if the thighs are frozen.
I would think 4.5 hours should work fine.
Turned out delicious! Will definitely make again.
I just made them and they are amazing. Thanks for this recipe!! Love it!
Wonderful recipe and my dish turned out amazing. Thank you so much. Wanted to post the pics of my dish but looks like no option for that. Tangy sauce is yummy.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Hello want to try this recipe tomorrow I saw in your pic you cooked yours with aparagus and pasta what did you put on your pasta noodles for flavoring?
Butter 🙂
I rarely leave comments but this recipe was DELICIOUS my husband and I LOVED it … this will definitely become a staple in our home!!
Looks amazing and can’t wait to try tonight! My broiler is broken though and I’m wondering if it would be possible to pan fry them once they’re finished in the slow cooker to brown them? Thanks!
I think that would work fine!