Slow Cooker Lemon Pesto Chicken

I adore pesto. It makes everything it touches turn delicious. Eggs, chicken, pizza, veggies, salads, burgers, steak. It’s all good.
Making your own is very easy, and the possibilities are endless: basil, mint, arugula, spinach, kale. Walnut, pinenut, cashew…the list goes on. I plan to do an all about pesto blog post when The Pesto Queen comes to visit (you know who you are!).

This is a super easy, quick recipe. Because its going in the slow cooker I say you should only use chicken thighs. They stay moist and are full of flavor.

Slow cooker Lemon Pesto Chicken
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup grape tomatoes
3 handfuls baby spinach (very precise, I know)
1 bell pepper, cut into large pieces
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp pesto (store bought or home made)
Juice of 1 large lemon

Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder

Clean and trim chicken thighs. Get rid of the icky bits. Then rinse and pat dry.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or stove friendly slow cooker insert.

Once nice and hot, add chicken thighs and lightly sprinkle side facing up with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Then quickly flip and repeat.

Brown thighs on both sides and add chopped garlic and cook another minute.

Remove from heat.

Add tomatoes, lemon juice, pesto, bell pepper, and spinach to slow cooker and add chicken.

Cook on low 3-4 hours.

In our house, this recipe serves 3. Feel free to double.

We serve ours with cauliflower rice or mashed root veggie (sweet potato or parsnip usually). They both absorb the sauce really well. Enjoy!