Slow Cooker Lemonade Chicken

Slow cooker lemonade chicken recipe makes tender chicken breasts with a sweet and tangy sauce. Perfect for weeknight dinners and weekly meal plan!

This easy slow cooker meal with chicken breasts cooked in sour sauce with lemonade concentrate, vinegar, brown sugar, and mustard is packed with flavors and lean protein.

My best advice is to sear the chicken breasts before slow cooking them. Chicken breasts tend to become rubbery when cooked longer, so we need to make sure we trap as much moisture inside the meat as possible, and searing does that. Not to worry, it only takes 2 extra minutes of prep time.

Love crock pot dinners? Try my other recipes using chicken, like Slow Cooker Crack Chicken, Slow Cooker Chicken Pasta, and delicious Slow Cooker Hunter’s Chicken, or simple Slow Cooker Chicken Wings. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Perfect flavorful meal for busy weeknights – tested so many times! Serve it with rice or roasted potatoes, and a complete, healthy dinner is ready.
• Family favorite – even picky eaters love it. Make them guess the ingredients, it adds extra fun!
• Healthy, gluten-free, and dairy-free recipe with simple ingredients.
• Budget-friendly dinner.
• Lemonade chicken is an amazing freezer meal, so it is very good for meal prep.

Ingredients Notes

You can find the exact quantities and printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Lemon pepper seasoning for searing chicken breasts quickly before slow cooking. It will make sure we get moist, juicy meat even after a few hours of cooking. You don’t need much, and you shouldn’t dilute it.
• Frozen lemonade concentrate. Thawed lemonade concentrate is the secret ingredient to make delicious sweet and sour chicken! It tenderizes chicken and adds extra flavor! But you may not taste a lot of lemon, in case you’re worried about it. It will be subtle.
• Ketchup
• Apple cider vinegar for tang, and it also helps a lot with making chicken meat extra tender. Acts a bit like a marinade.
• Brown sugar adds depth, a bit of sweetness, and balances sourness. If you want lemonade chicken to be sweeter, use white sugar.
• Dijon mustard or any other type of mustard you like. Can also skip if not a fan.
• Minced garlic or garlic powder
• Salt
• Red pepper flakes for a little kick. Can easily omit.
• Cornstarch slurry: cornstarch and cold water mixed together will help thicken the sauce once the slow cooker lemonade chicken is done.
• Lemon zest and fresh parsley as garnish

Kitchen Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Large skillet
• Slow cooker

How To Make Slow Cooker Lemonade Chicken Breasts

1: Prep The Sauce Mixture

Combine the thawed lemonade, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine.

2: Sear The Chicken Breasts

1. Season the chicken with the lemon pepper seasoning and salt.
2. Brown chicken in a large skillet over medium-high heat on each side, about 1 minute per side, just until browned. No need for olive oil.

3: Load Everything In The Slow Cooker

1. Place the chicken pieces at the bottom of the slow cooker insert, and pour the lemonade sauce over the top. 
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3 hours. The chicken breasts will be golden brown, and the sauce should slightly thicken.

4: Thicken The Sauce

1. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker.
2. Whisk the corn starch and water together in a small bowl. Then whisk that cornstarch mixture into the juices in the cooker. The sauce should thicken.
3. Place the chicken back into the slow cooker on warm until ready to serve.
4. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped parsley.

Serving Suggestions

Serve over cooked rice (Jasmine rice or healthier brown rice), potatoes, noodles, salad, or steamed veggies to keep it low-carb. Green beans work great.

Spoon extra sauce on top of the chicken breasts.

For summer gatherings, this crockpot chicken works really well in wraps and sandwiches, too!

Storage

Keep lemonade chicken leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days.

You can pre-mix the sauce 1 day ahead to speed up the process.

Freezer Meal Instructions

You can freeze uncooked but combined ingredients in a freezer bag up to 3 months.

Freeze cooked lemonade chicken for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight and simply reheat in a microwave or stovetop on low heat. Be careful not to make the chicken breasts dry out.

Substitutions & Variations

• Any type of mustard can be used.
• You can use rice wine vinegar or regular white vinegar in a pinch.
• Add Italian seasonings. Herbs and spices pair surprisingly well with lemonade chicken (remember all the light summer salad dressings with lemon juice and herbs? Same principle!).
• Chicken quarters or boneless skinless chicken thighs can be used; dark meat in thighs is more tender, and they still have a good amount of white meat, too. Things are best cooked on low.
• Swap chicken with pork for a meatier, heartier dinner.
• Use fresh lemon juice in place of concentrated lemonade for a natural lemon flavor or just load lemon wedges directly into the slow cooker!
• Many recipes add Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce to add depth and more savory flavors to the sauce mixture.

If you love this slow cooker dinner recipe, you’re going to love these other slow cooker meals, too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Lemon Dinner Recipes

Lemon Pepper Chicken – Crock Pot

Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken

Lemon Cream Spaghetti

Lemon Pepper Wings – Air Fryer

---

---