diff --git a/doc/tutorial/Server.lhs b/doc/tutorial/Server.lhs
index 265bd707c..7e4103de7 100644
--- a/doc/tutorial/Server.lhs
+++ b/doc/tutorial/Server.lhs
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ import System.Directory
 import Text.Blaze
 import Text.Blaze.Html.Renderer.Utf8
 import Servant.Types.SourceT (source)
-import qualified Data.Aeson.Parser
 import qualified Text.Blaze.Html
 ```
 
@@ -431,25 +430,11 @@ class Accept ctype => MimeUnrender ctype a where
     mimeUnrender :: Proxy ctype -> ByteString -> Either String a
 ```
 
-We don't have much work to do there either, `Data.Aeson.eitherDecode` is
-precisely what we need. However, it only allows arrays and objects as toplevel
-JSON values and this has proven to get in our way more than help us so we wrote
-our own little function around **aeson** and **attoparsec** that allows any type of
-JSON value at the toplevel of a "JSON document". Here's the definition in case
-you are curious.
-
-``` haskell
-eitherDecodeLenient :: FromJSON a => ByteString -> Either String a
-eitherDecodeLenient input = do
-    v :: Value <- parseOnly (Data.Aeson.Parser.value <* endOfInput) (cs input)
-    parseEither parseJSON v
-```
-
-This function is exactly what we need for our `MimeUnrender` instance.
+As with `MimeRender`, we can use a function already available in `aeson`: `Data.Aeson.eitherDecode`.
 
 ``` haskell ignore
 instance FromJSON a => MimeUnrender JSON a where
-    mimeUnrender _ = eitherDecodeLenient
+    mimeUnrender _ = eitherDecode
 ```
 
 And this is all the code that lets you use `JSON` with `ReqBody`, `Get`,
diff --git a/servant/src/Servant/API/ContentTypes.hs b/servant/src/Servant/API/ContentTypes.hs
index 8cfe2e1f5..390c8be25 100644
--- a/servant/src/Servant/API/ContentTypes.hs
+++ b/servant/src/Servant/API/ContentTypes.hs
@@ -65,7 +65,6 @@ module Servant.API.ContentTypes
     , AllMime(..)
     , AllMimeRender(..)
     , AllMimeUnrender(..)
-    , eitherDecodeLenient
     , canHandleAcceptH
     ) where
 
@@ -75,13 +74,7 @@ import           Control.Monad.Compat
 import           Control.DeepSeq
                  (NFData)
 import           Data.Aeson
-                 (FromJSON (..), ToJSON (..), encode)
-import           Data.Aeson.Parser
-                 (value)
-import           Data.Aeson.Types
-                 (parseEither)
-import           Data.Attoparsec.ByteString.Char8
-                 (endOfInput, parseOnly, skipSpace, (<?>))
+                 (FromJSON (..), ToJSON (..), encode, eitherDecode)
 import           Data.Bifunctor
                  (bimap)
 import qualified Data.ByteString                  as BS
@@ -371,28 +364,9 @@ instance NFData NoContent
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- * MimeUnrender Instances
 
--- | Like 'Data.Aeson.eitherDecode' but allows all JSON values instead of just
--- objects and arrays.
---
--- Will handle trailing whitespace, but not trailing junk. ie.
---
--- >>> eitherDecodeLenient "1 " :: Either String Int
--- Right 1
---
--- >>> eitherDecodeLenient "1 junk" :: Either String Int
--- Left "trailing junk after valid JSON: endOfInput"
-eitherDecodeLenient :: FromJSON a => ByteString -> Either String a
-eitherDecodeLenient input =
-    parseOnly parser (cs input) >>= parseEither parseJSON
-  where
-    parser = skipSpace
-          *> Data.Aeson.Parser.value
-          <* skipSpace
-          <* (endOfInput <?> "trailing junk after valid JSON")
-
 -- | `eitherDecode`
 instance FromJSON a => MimeUnrender JSON a where
-    mimeUnrender _ = eitherDecodeLenient
+    mimeUnrender _ = eitherDecode
 
 -- | @urlDecodeAsForm@
 -- Note that the @mimeUnrender p (mimeRender p x) == Right x@ law only
diff --git a/servant/test/Servant/API/ContentTypesSpec.hs b/servant/test/Servant/API/ContentTypesSpec.hs
index eb6d2a969..9cc5da02e 100644
--- a/servant/test/Servant/API/ContentTypesSpec.hs
+++ b/servant/test/Servant/API/ContentTypesSpec.hs
@@ -219,16 +219,6 @@ spec = describe "Servant.API.ContentTypes" $ do
                 handleCTypeH (Proxy :: Proxy '[JSONorText]) "image/jpeg"
                     "foobar" `shouldBe` (Nothing :: Maybe (Either String Int))
 
-    -- aeson >= 0.9 decodes top-level strings
-    describe "eitherDecodeLenient" $ do
-
-        it "parses top-level strings" $ do
-            let toMaybe = either (const Nothing) Just
-            -- The Left messages differ, so convert to Maybe
-            property $ \x -> toMaybe (eitherDecodeLenient x)
-                `shouldBe` (decode x :: Maybe String)
-
-
 data SomeData = SomeData { record1 :: String, record2 :: Int }
     deriving (Generic, Eq, Show)