Greek Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Published October 17, 2017. Updated March 7, 2019

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A new easy weekday recipe! This Greek Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes has such a delicious bright flavor and it’s oh so tender. A perfect meal for busy weekdays!

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Healthy Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

It’s recipes like this that remind me I should be using my slow cooker a lot more often. You get that fall-off-the-bone tender chicken and well softened potatoes that have cooked for 7 hours and soaked up alllll that flavor. Plus, it allows time for all those flavors to blend and marry together.

I also love the way those fattier thighs melt into the broth and create such a delicious sort of pan sauce.

Recipes like this Greek chicken and potatoes are always great in my book, not only because they are easy and ready when you get home from wherever, but they’re also the kinds of recipes that the whole family loves.

Husband approved, kid approved and grandma approved (my mom lives with us and she was loving this dinner too, and she doesn’t normally care for chicken thighs).

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes Ingredients

I love how simple the ingredients for this slow cooker chicken and potatoes recipe are. For this recipe, you’ll need:

  • Yellow Potatoes
  • Yellow onion
  • Garlic
  • Dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
  • Salt and pepper
  • Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Olive oil
  • Chicken broth
  • Fresh lemon juice and zest
  • Fresh parsley

close up shot of Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

How to Make Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

  • Place potatoes and onions in an even layer in cooker.
  • Pour in chicken broth. Sprinkle with half the garlic, half the oregano, half the basil and half the rosemary then season with salt and pepper.
  • Working in two batches, dab skin side of half the chicken thighs dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper, then sear until golden brown.
  • Transfer chicken to slow cooker over potato layer. Repeat with remaining thighs.
  • Slowly and evenly pour lemon juice over chicken thighs, then sprinkle in remaining half the garlic, oregano, rosemary and basil over chicken.
  • Sprinkle 1 tsp lemon zest over chicken.
  • Cover and cook on low heat 5 1/2 – 7 hours.
  • Serve warm and sprinkle with fresh parsley and remaining lemon zest.

grabbing Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes with a pair of tongs

Can  I Use Chicken Breasts Instead of Thighs?

Lately I haven’t been a big fan of chicken breasts in the slow cooker because they can tend to dry out and the texture just gets weird, unless they only cook for about 4 1/2 – 5 hours.

But, if I were to try boneless skinless chicken breasts here, I’d skip the browning because that would pretty much cook them to begin with. Then I’d add in some olive oil into the slow cooker since you don’t get the fat from the thighs and skin.

And as mentioned, I’d reduce that cooking time — I’m thinking 5 hours max (but as always just test with an instant read thermometer to 165 degrees in center of thickest portion).

If you do try chicken breasts please do let me know how they turned out. I love to get feedback and reviews!

Can I Cook This on High for a Shorter Amount of Time?

Technically, yes. But I recommend cooking it on low for the longer amount of time. This makes the chicken super tender!

Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

  • Note that the lemon slices were only added at the end for looks, I don’t recommend cooking them with the potatoes and chicken because that white pith of the lemon adds a bitter flavor.
  • I don’t recommend skipping the step of browning the chicken skin first. It adds a layer of flavor that would definitely be missed.
  • Reserve some of the lemon zest for sprinkling over the Greek chicken and potatoes as you’re serving it.

Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes on a plate with asparagus

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Slow Cooker Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes
4.22 from 23 votes

Greek Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

An easy and hearty slow cooker lemon chicken and potato recipe! So tender and full of bright flavors. Perfect for busy weekdays. For one more veggie add in some fresh asparagus near the last 20 - 30 minutes of cooking.
Servings: 5
Prep20 minutes
Cook7 hours
Ready in: 7 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place potatoes and onions in an even layer in a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth. Sprinkle with half the garlic, half the oregano, half the basil and half the rosemary then season with salt and pepper. 
  • Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, dab skin side of half the chicken thighs dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper then sear in pot, skin side down, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to slow cooker over potato layer. Repeat with remaining thighs.
  • Slowly and evenly pour lemon juice over chicken thighs, then sprinkle in remaining half the garlic, oregano, rosemary and basil over chicken. Sprinkle 1 tsp lemon zest over chicken (reserve remaining 1 tsp in a container in refrigerator until ready to serve). 
  • Cover and cook on low heat 5 1/2 - 7 hours. Serve warm spooning some of the slow cooker juices over each serving, sprinkle with fresh parsley and remaining 1 tsp lemon zest. 

Notes

  • Note that the lemon slices were only added at the end for looks, I don't recommend cooking them with the potatoes and chicken because that white pith of the lemon adds a bitter flavor.
  • Recipe source: Cooking Classy

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66 Comments

  • Bernadette

    Hi Jaclyn. This recipe sounds amazing!
    I was wondering…Can you use this recipe for a 5# whole chicken? If so, what adjustments do you suggest?
    Thanks :)

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      That should work as well but if you want that browned flavor you’d need to cut into portions. If you cooked whole I’d add the potatoes halfway and cook on low about 8 hours.

  • Sophia

    This tastes so lovely, the potatoes are faultless and remind me of dinners out in Parga Greece.
    Only one thing I have found to improve it is I place the chicken in the oven on a high heat for just long enough to crisp up the chicken skin. Delicious.

  • Ange

    One of my favourites for the slow cooker.
    I usually do it with bone-in thighs, skin well rendered and crispy in my cast iron skillet. Today I used maryland fillets, skin rendered and crispy, then deglazed the pan with the stock to collect all that tasty flavour.
    I just toss all the herbs, a bit extra juice and stock in with the potatoes and 2 medium onions and lay the chicken on top to preserve the crispy skin.
    So delicious, we love it.
    Thank you!!!

  • Jennifer

    I usually prefer to make a recipe as-is the first time before commenting but since I consider my 2.5 adjustments to be minor I’m posting anyhow!

    A few other reviewers mentioned “lack of flavor” so I was a bit more liberal in salting the potatoes and chicken. I also tripled the garlic, just in case.

    Unrelated, I used red potatoes because I feel like they hold up a little better in slow-cooking.

    I think this is a satisfying and tasty dish!

    Next time I’ll temp the thighs at 5 hours (I used the low setting) but otherwise I don’t think I’d change anything else. It’s not the most hands-off slow-cooker recipe but since I’m a chicken skin aficionado it was worth the extra time to render the fat and I personally would not skip that step.

  • Marc

    Wow, this was bland. How can so many strong flavours go into a dish and produce something so utterly plain. Shame

  • rachael

    I made this recipe tonight using chicken breast. I did not brown the chicken first as instructed. I added 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter to the recipe. I cooked on low and set the time for 5 hours, I kept a close eye and at about 3.5 hours I made a judgement call to check the temp., chicken was done! I took out the chicken and set aside to keep warm, but the potatoes were not done! I turned the slow cooker to high but unfortunately the potatoes still were not done after another 30 minutes on high so I left them to cook and threw together some quick sides. Now the chicken thankfully was not over cooked BUT it really wasn’t as flavorful as I expected even though it smelled and looked wonderful. If anyone is planning on using breast I would either add them in after potatoes and everything else has all ready cooked a bit or use your thermometer option on your slow cooker so you don’t over cook the chicken. That being said I wouldn’t make this again I prefer it (the chicken) in the oven just due to the amount of flavor in the final product but that is my personal preference.