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
Hi there. Can I cook the chicken in the oven instead of crockpot?
Could I do this in the oven? Thanks 🙂
Making tomorrow, so excited! Where do use salt in the recipe? I saw it on ingredient list.
Thanks!
Sherry Lattuca
Hi Sherry! You should salt the entire chicken before you start to cook it in the skillet. I put the salt in as an optional ingredient because there’s a lot of flavors here and for some people the salt might not be necessary. I hope this helps. 🙂
Can you cook potatoes and onions with the chicken in the crock pot?
Hi Carol! Yep, absolutely. I do it all the time. Just arrange potatoes and veggies on the bottom and place the chicken on top. I hope that helps! Happy Holidays!
Do I have to brown it before hand? I am wanting to take this to work for a potluck.
Hi Shannon! You could, but no, you don’t need to brown it – just place it in the crock pot and let it do it’s thing. 🙂
I’m planning on making this tomorrow. But stuck on what kind of sides would pair nicely. Any suggestions?
Asparagus
I have made quite a few excellent chicken recipes-and this one topped all of them! Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe!!
What is the poundage on the roast chicken?
Hi Debra! About 4, or 4.5 pounds.
I made this tonight. My first time making a whole chicken in the crock pot and it was great. So much easier than roasting and stressing about whether it’s not cooked through or over cooked and dry. However I found that though the skin got nice and crispy initially from pan frying it, the steam in the slow cooker caused it to become soggy and soft again. Any thoughts on this? I love the ease of the crock pot but am missing that crispy skin. Thanks!
This is exactly the kind of dinner I need right now, and it looks delicious!