Slow Cooker Lemon Artichoke Chicken

Slow cooker lemon artichoke chicken is an easy recipe that combines tender chicken, tangy lemon, and savory artichoke hearts. Low-carb, paleo, and Whole30 compatible, this chicken is packed with flavor and healthy. Instructions to make this tasty lemon chicken recipe in the Instant Pot are also included. 

Ingredients For Lemon Chicken & Artichokes

• Chicken Thighs: You can use your preferred cut of thighs whether it be boneless, bone-in, skin-on or skinless. 
• Lemons: This recipe calls for both a fresh sliced lemon and 1/2 cup of lemon juice.
• Artichokes: I like to use 2 15-ounce cans of artichokes that have been drained and rinsed.  Frozen or jarred artichokes also work well in this recipe. I do not recommend using fresh artichokes. 
• Onion: 1 onion, sliced. This is an ingredients that you can omit if you want.  
• Broth: 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• Seasonings: The seasonings in this chicken recipe are very simple: salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic.

How To Make Lemon Artichoke Chicken In The Slow Cooker

Making this lemon artichoke chicken recipe is very easy because the slow cooker is involved!

Slow Cooker

1. Add the sliced onion to the bottom of the slow cooker. Season the chicken lightly with salt & pepper and add on top of the onions. 
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce on top of the chicken in the slow cooker. Top with lemon slices.
3. Cook HIGH 3-4 or LOW 6-8.
4. Add artichokes. Cook an additional 30 minutes.

Instant Pot

1. Turn the Instant Pot to sauté. Once hot, add the oil and chicken and sear, few minutes on each side until browned. Remove chicken from the Instant Pot and set aside. If you are using skinless chicken thighs, skip this step. 
2. Add onions (and more oil if needed) and cook 3-5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
3. In a small bowl, mix together sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce into the pressure cooker and deglaze the bottom by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon.
4. Add chicken back into the Instant Pot. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook 10 minutes. When cooking time has completed, quick release the pressure.
5. Add artichokes. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook 3 minutes. When cook time is up, quick release the pressure.

before

What Chicken To Use

This recipe calls chicken thighs. What you see here in the pictures is exactly 2.85 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are my go-to with slow cooking but I understand that’s not the case for everyone. As with a lot of my recipes, technically you can use your favorite cut of chicken with this recipe whether it be legs, thighs, or even breasts. If you do use white meat like chicken breasts, you will need to make adjustments to the cook time. Lower the cook time by at least an hour for the slow cooker and 2 minutes for the Instant Pot. Also, do not let the chicken sit in the slow cooker on the WARM setting. If you do, it will continue to cook. If you use skinless meat with the Instant Pot, you do not have to sauté the chicken. Add it to the pressure cooker raw.

after with artichokes on top

What Type Of Artichokes To Use

I’ve used every sort of artichoke when making this: fresh, canned, marinated, frozen, etc. They all cook very well except fresh artichokes. Personally I think artichokes from the can or marinated artichokes from the jar (with or without juices) works the best. What you see here in the pictures is 2 15-ounce cans of artichokes. When I use marinated artichokes I like to add the juice in.

The Lemony Sauce

The real star of this slow cooker chicken recipe is the lemony sauce that’s poured on top before cooking. The sauce is a simple and light. The food will not be fully submerged in the sauce when cooking starts. This is normal. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of liquid in the slow cooker once it’s done. I suggest you top the chicken with the sauce before serving.

Broiling The Chicken

If you use skin-on chicken, there’s the optional step to broil the chicken when it’s done cooking to crisp the skin. Transfer the chicken from the slow cooker to a baking pan & place it under the broiler for a few minutes. 

FAQs & Tips

• Place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 
• I used a 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot for this recipe.

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Slow cooker lemon artichoke chicken is an easy recipe that combines tender chicken, tangy lemon, and savory artichoke hearts. Low-carb, paleo, and Whole30 compatible, this chicken is packed with flavor and healthy. Instructions to make this tasty lemon chicken recipe in the Instant Pot are also included.

• Total Time: 3 hours 10 mins
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken thighs, seasoned with salt & pepper
• 30 ounces artichokes
• 1 medium-size onion, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 tbsp oil (for pressure cooker)

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 /2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

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Instructions

Slow Cooker

1. Add the sliced onion to the bottom of the slow cooker. Season the chicken lightly with salt & pepper and add on top of the onions.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce on top of the chicken in the slow cooker. Top with lemon slices.
3. Cook HIGH 3-4 or LOW 6-8.
4. Add artichokes. Cook an additional 30 minutes.

Instant Pot

1. Turn the Instant Pot to sauté. Once hot, add the oil and chicken and sear, few minutes on each side until browned. Remove chicken from the Instant Pot and set aside. If you are using skinless chicken thighs, skip this step.
2. Add onions (and more oil if needed) and cook 3-5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
3. In a small bowl, mix together sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce into the pressure cooker and deglaze the bottom by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon.
4. Add chicken back into the Instant Pot. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook 10 minutes. When cooking time has completed, quick release the pressure.
5. Add artichokes. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook 3 minutes. When cook time is up, quick release the pressure.

• Author: Shannon Epstein
• Prep Time: 10mins
• Cook Time: 3 hours

Nutrition

• Serving Size:
• Calories: 348
• Sugar: 2.5 g
• Fat: 6.4 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
• Carbohydrates: 17 g
• Fiber: 6.6 g
• Protein: 55.3 g
• Cholesterol: 165.5 mg

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