This slow cooker creamy lemon dill chicken recipe is an easy recipe that’s packed with flavor. Using simple ingredients, this low-carb, paleo, and Whole30 compatible crockpot chicken dish can be served any night of the week. Instructions to make this in the Instant Pot are also included.
Ingredients For Lemon Dill Chicken
- Chicken (any cut)
- Lemon Juice
- Chicken Broth
- Heavy Cream or Coconut Milk
- Dried or Fresh Dill
- Seasonings: salt, onion powder, pepper
- Butter or Ghee (optional)
- Lemon (optional for garnish)
How To Make Creamy Lemon Dill Chicken
- Add chicken to the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, mix together the broth, lemon juice, garlic, dried dill, salt, onion powder, and pepper. Pour the mixture over chicken. Top with the butter/ghee.
- Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.
- Remove the chicken & set aside. Stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk and the thickening agent (if using).
- Return the chicken back to the pressure cooker until ready to serve.
- Top with the cream sauce, fresh dill, and lemon slices before serving.
- If you are using skin-on chicken: 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, skip this step.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, garlic, dried dill, salt, onion powder, and pepper to the pressure cooker. If you used skin-on chicken, deglaze the bottom by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon.
- Add the chicken into the Instant Pot. Top with the butter/ghee.
- Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook 12 minutes. When cooking time has completed, quick release the pressure.
- Remove the chicken & set aside. Turn the sauté. Stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk and the thickening agent (if using). Cook a few minutes, stirring frequently.
- Return the chicken back to the pressure cooker until ready to serve.
- Top with the cream sauce, fresh dill, and lemon slices before serving.
Healthy Chicken Recipe
This lemon dill chicken recipe can be made as healthy as you want it to be. For example, make this paleo and Whole30 compliant by using coconut milk and ghee. Remove fat & calories by using chicken breasts in place of the chicken thighs. Make this more keto-friendly by using heavy cream and butter. I encourage you to tailor this recipe to your liking!
What Cut Of Chicken To Use
As with a lot of my recipes, I encourage you to use your preferred cut of chicken. Dark meat works better in the slow cooker because it’s less likely to dry out. I always use chicken thighs when I make this recipe. Having said that, it doesn’t matter what cut of chicken you use whether is be skin-on, skinless, bone-in, boneless, thighs or breasts. If you choose to use chicken breasts, lower the cooking time by an hour or more in the slow cooker and 2-3 minutes in the Instant Pot. This is so the chicken doesn’t overcook.
When I use the Instant Pot and skinless chicken, I do not sear the meat first. I add it in to the appliance raw, as-is. I only sauté chicken in the Instant Pot if it has skin.
Thickening The Cream Sauce
It’s time to make the cream sauce when there is 30 minutes left in the cooking time. Remove the chicken and stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk. I also add a slurry as a thickening agent. Cornstarch mixed with water is one option but personally my favorite is arrowroot flour. I mix 1 tablespoon with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the slow cooker (or Instant Pot) with the cream.
How To Serve Lemon Dill Chicken
Creamy lemon chicken can be served many different ways. Personally I like to eat this over mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes with a small salad. Other suggestions include: with rice (cauliflower rice or regular white or brown rice), side of potatoes or sweet potatoes, with couscous, quinoa, or zoodles. How you serve this will depend on your current dietary needs & restrictions.
FAQs & Tips
- 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 or Instant Pot to a baking pan. Place it under the broiler for a 3-5 minutes or until the skin is crisp to your liking.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Use full-fat coconut milk in place of the heavy cream for this to be paleo and Whole30 compatible.
- I use a 3.5 quart slow cooker or 6-quart Instant Pot to make this recipe.
Chicken Recipes
- Salsa Verde Chicken
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Potatoes
- Chicken Fajitas
- Lemon Artichoke Chicken
- Tomato-Garlic Chicken & Herbs
- Spicy Salsa Chicken
Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Dill Chicken
This slow cooker creamy lemon dill chicken recipe is an easy recipe that’s packed with flavor. Using simple ingredients, this low-carb, paleo, and Whole30 compatible crockpot chicken dish can be served any night of the week. Instructions to make this in the Instant Pot are also included.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken, seasoned with salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (approximately juice of 2 large lemons)
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon dried dill or 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil (optional for Instant Pot only)
- 2 tablespoons butter or ghee (optional)
- 1 tablespoon water + 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour to thicken (optional)
Instructions
- Add chicken to the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, mix together the broth, lemon juice, garlic, dried dill, salt, onion powder, and pepper. Pour the mixture over chicken. Top with the butter/ghee.
- Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.
- Remove the chicken & set aside. Stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk and the thickening agent (if using).
- Return the chicken back to the pressure cooker until ready to serve.
- Top with the cream sauce, fresh dill, and lemon slices before serving.
- If you are using skin-on chicken: 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, skip this step.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, garlic, dried dill, salt, onion powder, and pepper to the pressure cooker. If you used skin-on chicken, deglaze the bottom by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon.
- Add the chicken into the Instant Pot. Top with the butter/ghee.
- Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook 12 minutes. When cooking time has completed, quick release the pressure.
- Remove the chicken & set aside. Turn the sauté. Stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk and the thickening agent (if using). Cook a few minutes, stirring frequently.
- Return the chicken back to the pressure cooker until ready to serve.
- Top with the cream sauce, fresh dill, and lemon slices before serving.
Notes
- 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 or Instant Pot to a baking pan. Place it under the broiler for a 3-5 minutes or until the skin is crisp to your liking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 85
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 371.2 mg
- Fat: 2.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Cholesterol: 57.9 mg
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21 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Dill Chicken”
I cannot say enough good things about this recipe. I got Lyme many years ago and ever since so much food just doesn’t agree with my stomach at all. This settled so nicely with the light, yet powerful dill flavor and this recipe DELIVERED! I ate it with brown rice and also quinoa and broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus all week in different combinations. This is plate licking good!
I was looking for a recipe with chicken thighs with dill as I have a lot and want to use it up. I did make some minor changes. I only used about 1/4 cup of lemon juice – this is a matter of taste. I don’t like lemon overpowering a sauce – this had a hint of lemon which was perfect for us. I also used heavy cream, but only about 1/4-1/3 cup as well. You don’t need that much if you’re going to thicken the sauce, which I did with water and cornstarch. I added additional salt and pepper at the end and the sauce was a perfect flavor and consistency. I did take the advice of broiling the chicken after so that the skin crisped (I did this while working on finishing the sauce) and then put back in the slow cooker after for about 1/2 hour – absolutely fabulous! My husband said to put this recipe in heavy rotation! Thanks for this great recipe.
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This chicken is lovely. When you broil, do you leave the lemon slices on top or remove them and replace once browned?
I take them off before broiling them. I tried leaving them on and they burned:-) So, I take them off and put them back on afterwards.
How long do you broil the chicken after it’s done in the slow cooker?
I’d say about 3-5 minutes. Mine took 4 minutes to get a nice golden color on the skin.
This recipe was delicious!!! And so easy to make! I will put this in rotation for sure!
Love this recipe. The advice to broil the chicken after it comes out of the crock pot is a game changer. Will definitely make again.
OK- I am new to the instant pot world. Can I put frozen chicken in there? Can’t wait to try this!
In general, one of the perks of the IP is that you can cook chicken from frozen. While I have not used frozen chicken in this particular recipe, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I suggest adding 8 minutes to the cook time.
This is one of my 4 y/I’d favorite dinners! She loves it with rice, potatoes, or pasta! It goes well with everything and it’s so good! I like using my instant pot but the slow cooker is nice if I want dinner ready after work during the week.
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I’ve made this recipe in both a slow cooker and in a Dutch oven. I think it tasted better in the Dutchie – for the last 20 minutes, I took the top off so that the lemon slices and chicken were browned.
Only used chicken thighs – I think they have great flavor and the bones add to the strength of the broth.
By accident once, I added some frozen tater tots in with the liquid. The tots broke down and thickened the sauce. Now I do that often.
I love the Dutch oven method idea! How long and at what temp did you find cooked the chicken through without drying? (what cut of meat?)
In summer I will rarely fire up the oven, but this chilly time of year, I love to use it!
This looks great! I love lemons. Is this going to be on the whole 30 page too?
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I love lemon chicken- so zesty!