Crock Pot Honey Lemon Chicken Recipe
Aug 14, 2016, Updated Jan 28, 2022
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This easy Crock Pot Honey Lemon Chicken recipe is the answer you’re looking for! Rubbed with lemon-pepper butter and a sweet honey sauce, this is the easiest, most delicious whole chicken prepared in the crock pot.
The day I made this, all I really wanted was a fall-off-the-bone chicken thigh and Coconut Lime Cauliflower Rice on the side.
My wishes are my commands… I made it all happen and I love myself for it.
But HEEEY! Having a great Sunday, yet? Ain’t it glorious? I love these Summer Sundays! BBQs, friends, and wasp-stinging-screaming-kids. UGH… Life is grand. Equal parts delicious, fun, and scary. And if you’re anything like me, you’re like OMG-I’m-just-going-to-eat-cookies-for-dinner every single freaking night until they grow up and I stay 21-years old. Add another 17 to that, but who’s counting?!
Besides, cookies make it all better. AND honey lemon chicken.
But really, are you dying for crock pot dinner ideas right about now? Because I sure am. All I can think about is back-to-school schedules and my anxiety levels start to crawl up super fast. More so because of all the after school EXTRACURRICULAR activities. Keyword: extracurricular. Growing up, I didn’t like that word nor the practice. Like, seriously? ON top of geometry and chemistry and physics, did I REALLY NEED extracurricular activities?! Good Lawwwd.
SO yeah. I have two kids and 4 activities between the two, and I can’t keep up.
And I am pretty sure there’s many of you out there with more kids and 15 activities between all of them, and to that I say, “I’m not worthy!”, Wayne & Garth style. ROCK ON, Super Mom. Super Dad, too!
HOW TO COOK WHOLE CHICKEN IN THE CROCK POT
About our bird here. It was a toss up between my Honey Garlic Chicken OR something new and delicious with more honey + lemon. And, since I rarely make the same thing twice, the latter won. Obvi.
This is good stuff. Really good. I rubbed some lemon pepper butter all underneath the skin and gave honey lemon chicken a little time in the frying pan just to get a bit of that brown on the skin. In the meantime, I whisked some honey and OJ together, stuck a whole lemon in the cavity and tah-dahm! 6 hours later, we had a whole chicken cooked in the crock pot. I LOVES IT! Hope you will, too!
HOW TO COOK WHOLE CHICKEN IN THE INSTANT POT
- To pressure cook a whole chicken, add trivet to the Instant Pot and place chicken on top; set to High Pressure for 25 minutes.
- Allow for natural pressure release and then check to ensure chicken is fully cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
ENJOY!
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Crock Pot Honey Lemon Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 whole chicken
- 4 tablespoons butter,, softened
- 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
- 1 whole lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup lite orange juice
- salt,, to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Rinse chicken and dry thoroughly.
- Clean out the chicken cavity.
- Using the handle of a wooden spoon, carefully insert it underneath the skin, beginning at the neck. Slowly separate the skin from the meat without tearing through the skin. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine butter and lemon pepper; mash and mix with a fork until completely incorporated.
- Rub the prepared butter under the skin, around the entire bird, out to the thighs and legs, and on top of the skin. I find it easier to spoon a large chunk of the butter under the skin; then I use my fingers to spread it around by rubbing the chicken on top.
- Add chicken to the skillet and cook 8 minutes per side.
- Remove from heat.
- Pierce the lemon all over with a fork and place it inside the cleaned out cavity.
- Combine lemon juice, honey and orange juice in a small bowl; whisk well.
- Transfer chicken to the crock pot, pour the prepared honey sauce over it, and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
- Carefully remove the lemon from the cavity and squeeze the juice out all over the chicken.
- Serve.
Notes
1 whole chicken is, on average, about 1200 calories
1 whole chicken with skin removed is, on average, about 750 calories. INSTANT POT WHOLE CHICKEN
- To pressure cook a whole chicken, add trivet to the Instant Pot and place chicken on top; set to High Pressure for 25 minutes.
- Allow for natural pressure release and then check to ensure chicken is fully cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
More Easy Chicken Recipes:
Roast Chicken Stuffed with Garlic and Rosemary Cream Cheese
Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
Honey Lemon Chicken sounds like it was made just for me! Such a great combo!
That is one beautiful crock pot chicken! I love making chicken in the crock pot and I can’t wait to try your version!
WOW Kate! Your pictures always take my breath away! I wish I can have a bite of this meal right now!
This looks GORGEOUS for roasting in a slow cooker! And I totally hear you on difficulty keeping track of activities! Let the summer end already… 😀
I’ve honestly never made a whole chicken in a crock pot, but I’m totally going to do it!
LOVE! I make whole chickens in the slow cooker all the time (beats just making the breasts.) Yours looks so flavourful (I tend to broil my chicken afterwards for colour!)
A-hem! Please excuse me, but before I go on, I think Katerina is a nice looking woman! My wife thinks you are healthy looking. I agree! Anyways, this honey-lemon chicken recipe looks wonderful ! Tomorrow, I am going to purchase several whole chickens and cook them in my new, very large crock pot. I’ll start with the honey-lemon chicken flavored chicken.
I will let you know what happens! Make sure you fine people brown the chickens on medium heat settings only.
Thanks, David and Vicki.
Hi David and Vicki!! Thank you so, so much for the kind words! Hope you have a wonderful week ahead. 🙂
Sounds delicious.
Thanks SO MUCH!! 😀 xoxo
how do you get the color on the chicken? I’ve tried crockpot chicken recipes before and they always turn out so pale. Am I adding too much liquid?
Hi Nicole! Before adding the chicken to the crock pot, try browning it in a skillet for a few minutes on each side, just until it turns to that golden brown. Remove from skillet and then put it in the crock pot. I hope that helps!
My favorite chicken recipes are those that do NOT include the chicken’s bones.
Hi Mona!! I take it you do not like whole roast chicken. 😀 Understandable – not everyone is going to like every recipe that I post. BUT, I have plenty (maybe even too many) chicken recipes for just boneless chicken breasts. You can see them all here: https://diethood.com/?s=chicken%20breast I hope that helps! Thank you and have a wonderful Sunday!