Lazy Slow Cooker Greek Chicken

📝Shopping list

To make this easy dinner recipe, you will need these basic grocery store ingredients:

• boneless skinless chicken breasts - or boneless skinless chicken thighs 
• baby potatoes 
• chicken broth
• olive oil
• red onion
• lemons - juice, zest and slices
• garlic
• oregano
• rosemary
• salt
• pepper
• roasted red pepper strips
• kalamata olives
• crumbled feta cheese
• potato starch ​- optional, for thickening

💜Why You Will Love This Recipe

1. Easy and Flavorful:  This recipe requires minimal prep and has tons of flavor. It's perfect for busy weeknights or relaxed weekend meals.
2. One-Pot Wonder:  Just toss everything in the slow cooker and let it do its magic! No need for multiple pots or pans.
3. Customizable:  Feel free to adjust the vegetables to your liking. Zucchini, bell peppers, or cherry tomatoes would all be delicious additions.
4. Approved by picky eaters:  The lemony Greek flavors of this dish are easy to love. I made sure there were no olives on the plate of one and extra feta and roasted peppers on another.  Small accommodations that made everyone happy! 

🔪Instructions

This great recipe involves a few simple steps:

Preparing your slow cooker

Prepare your slow cooker by coating it with a non-stick agent.  Any nonstick cooking spray or oil will work. Olive oil and avocado oil are my go-to coatings. 

 NOTE: some slow cooker inserts come with a nonstick surface.  Use of a non-stick agent is still suggested. However, oil is sometimes recommended rather than spray to protect the longevity of the non-stick surface.  Check your slow cooker's manual if you have any concerns. 

Alternatively, you can choose to use a slow cooker liner.  

👩‍🍳Cooking

• 🍋 Add lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, chicken broth, onion, garlic, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and half of the feta to greased crock pot.
• 🍋Use a silicone whisk to fully combine all ingredients.  Silicone is recommended to avoid scratching crockpot. 
• 🍋Add chicken to sauce.  Turn the chicken pieces a few times to fully coat in the sauce.
• 🍋Top chicken with lemon slices, kalamata olives, and roasted red peppers
• 🍋Add potatoes into slow cooker on top of other ingredients.
• 🍋Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.  Your chicken is ready to serve when it reaches an internal temperature of 165℉
• 🍋Remove chicken from slow cooker and slice or shred.
• 🍋OPTIONAL - use a small bowl to mix together two tablespoons of potato starch with 4 tablespoons cold water.  Stir the combined mixture into the sauce in your slow cooker.  It will thicken quickly while you stir.  
• 🍋Stir cooked chicken back into sauce.  Top with additional feta cheese and serve promptly.

🍽Serving suggestions

1. As is! Just add some to a plate, sprinkle extra feta cheese on top and you have an amazing meal!  For a super easy side, wrap some green beans wrapped in parchment paper or foil.  Place them in your slow cooker right on top of the potatoes for the last 15 - 30 minutes.  This will give you a perfectly steamed veggie to accompany your yummy chicken!
2. Over Grains: Serve your amazing chicken on top of rice, cauliflower rice, couscous, quinoa, or polenta. These grainy bases will soak up all the delicious flavor of the leftover juices.  
3. With Bread:  Spoon chicken into warm pita bread for the perfect Mediterranean pockets of deliciousness.  
4. Alongside: Greek salad, warm roasted veggies, and creamy tzatziki sauce all make a great addition to this dish.

Storing

• Store slow cooker chicken leftovers in an airtight container or zipper-top bag.  They will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator.  
• Frozen leftovers will last 3-4 months in the freezer. 
• For best results, defrost frozen leftovers in the refrigerator prior to gently reheating.   

🔁Substitution ideas

• Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used in place of boneless chicken breasts.  Chicken thighs are great to use if your timing is uncertain. They won't dry out and become rubbery as quickly as overcooked breasts can.  
• Use larger potatoes cut into bite sized pieces in place of baby potatoes
• The recipe calls for potato starch as an optional thickening agent.  Mashed potato flakes or corn starch can both be used as thickening agents as well.  Stir instant potato flakes directly into sauce one tablespoon at a time until desired thickness is achieved.  For cornstarch, make a slurry the same way as described above by mixing with cold water.  Stir slurry into sauce in your slow cooker.  Cornstarch will need to cook for an additional 30 - 60 minutes to fully thicken.  
• Swap jarred minced garlic or garlic powder for garlic cloves if you need to save some time.