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Slow cooker lemonade chicken is delicious dump and go crockpot meal. This chicken dinner boasts a tangy sweet and sour sauce made with lemonade concentrate, lemon zest and more. You can cook it on high or low so it’s ready when you get home.
I love the flavours in this slow cooker lemonade chicken dinner. The ingredients cook together slowly to maximize the taste of the dish. Served over rice or with fries or mashed potatoes and green beans, this makes a great meal.
Slow Cooker Lemonade Chicken Ingredients
As well as the chicken and thawed lemonade concentrate, you will need brown sugar, garlic, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, cornstarch, lemon zest, and parsley. You can use coconut sugar or even your favourite artificial sweetener if you prefer. Lemon slices, parsley and lemon zest are great garnishes for this easy slow cooker meal.
Feel free to sub chicken thighs for the boneless skinless chicken breasts if you like. Those are also less likely to dry out if you’re an hour or two late home. It is one of those chicken recipes that is sure to become one of your family favourites.
The lemonade concentrate shouldn’t be hard to find. It’s basically a combination of lemonade and sugar. As well as using it in dishes like this dump and go crockpot meal, you can add water to reconstitute it back into lemonade, since it’s basically already lemonade without the water. And if you love lemonade, try this boozy whipped lemonade cocktail next!
How to Make this Chicken Dinner
Combine lemonade concentrate with the garlic, sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper until well mixed. Marinate the chicken in this mixture for 10 minutes. Heat a cast iron skillet over a high heat then add some oil. Sear the chicken in there for a minute on each side.
Put the seared chicken in the crockpot, then pour the marinade mixture on top. Now you can cook the slow cooker chicken on high or low until done.
Make a cornstarch slurry and whisk this into the sweet and sour sauce liquid. Bring it to a boil in a saucepan, then serve the chicken with the sauce poured on top. Garnish with parsley and lemon zest, and enjoy with your favourite sides.
Why Dump and Go Crockpot Meal Ideas are So Good
If you’re out at work all day, it’s wonderful coming home to a meal which is all ready to enjoy and a kitchen that smells incredible.
A dump and go crockpot meal is exactly what it sounds like. You basically dump the ingredients in a slow cooker, flip the switch and leave it alone for hours. Combine with some broccoli and hot rice for a delicious dinner.
There are a couple more steps involved in this chicken dinner with sweet and sour sauce. You will need to sear the chicken pieces first and then mix a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken the sweet and sour sauce. But this crock pot lemonade chicken is still super-quick and easy to prepare! Easy dinners like this are a great recipe to make for busy days.
You will need a decent slow cooker to make slow cooker lemonade chicken. Once you have one, you will find lots of crockpot recipes to make in there. Dump and go slow cooker recipes like this make life so much easier on busy weeknights.
Slow Cooker Lemonade Chicken FAQs
You can prepare it up to the point of cooking, then refrigerate it for a day or so or freeze it for up to a month. When you want to cook it, simply proceed with the recipe. Leftovers also keep well for several days and you can warm them back up in the microwave or oven.
You need regular apple cider vinegar, not the raw kind (like Bragg’s raw and unfiltered) which is very strong. If you prefer, you can sub rice vinegar instead. I love using apple cider vinegar because it has a slowing down effect on ‘gastric emptying’. This means it slows down the time it takes a meal to leave your stomach, so you will feel full for longer.
The easiest way is to use a meat thermometer. Once the chicken is 165 degrees F in the thickest part, it’s done and your slow cooker lemonade chicken is ready to serve.
Delicious Slow Cooker Lemonade Chicken Recipe
Delicious Slow Cooker Lemonade Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless
- 6 Ounces lemonade concentrate, thawed
- 1 Teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ Cup ketchup
- 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire
- ¼ Cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon black pepper, coarse
- ¼ Teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 2 Tablespoon lemon zest
- parsley, chopped, as garnish
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine lemonade, garlic paste, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Whisk well.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over high heat
- Add chicken to the bowl and let soak for 10 minutes as the skillet preheats.
- Coat the pan with a splash of olive oil to prevent sticking. Sear the chicken on each side for 1 minute.
- Place chicken into the slow cooker and pour marinade over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3 hours.
- Remove chicken from the crock pot and pour liquid into a sauce pan. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and add to the liquid. Whisk and bring to a boil.
- Plate chicken on a platter and pour sauce over the chicken. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped parsley.
Nutrition
This slow cooker lemonade chicken in a tangy sweet and sour sauce couldn’t be easier to prepare. Served with rice or potatoes as well as your favourite green vegetable, this chicken dinner is sure to be a hit with every member of the family! Add Crockpot lemonade chicken to the meal plan this week.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Slow cooker lemonade chicken is a game-changer! Tangy, sweet, and so easy—perfect for busy days!
The beautiful glaze adds the right amount of flavor and richness to the chicken meat. It’s one of my new fave dishes to cook!
I’ll make this again for sure! It was so delicious!!
OMG! Will be making this again!!
Absolutely loved this recipe! It’s earned a permanent spot in our menu.
This is so good. I made it and had it over white rice and also had broccoli with it. It was really flavorful and the chicken was so juicy – recipes like this are why I love my crockpot!
Yum! I love this recipe.