4 HOUR JUICY Slow Cooker Meal for a 6 Pound Whole Chicken! This easy recipe makes the entire meal in the crock pot, including potatoes and other vegetables! You’ll love how simple it is to cook a HEALTHY Rotisserie Chicken meal! This is one of my favorite Crockpot dinners!
Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Recipe
I’ve been really big on Slow Cooker recipes lately. Just last week I shared with you my Slow Cooker Bread, and this week I’m sharing the main course to go with it – a whole chicken! This chicken is juicy, full of flavor and is so easy to make!Can you cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker?
Yes, you absolutely can and it’s so easy. It’s one of those put it in the crockpot and forget about it meals. This recipe makes a 5-7 pound whole chicken in the slow cooker in about 4 hours on high. Alternatively you could set it to 7 hours on low.
How to Make a Juicy Chicken
The key to making a juicy chicken in the slow cooker is that you want to give it some liquid to become moist, but you don’t want it to sit in the liquid. The solution is that you cut up a bunch of vegetables so the chicken has a “bed” to be placed on, keeping it above the liquid for the majority of cooking time.
For the liquid I used chicken broth, to keep the flavor in the right pallet. You could however play around with it! Do you want a citrus zest? Add some orange juice. Apple juice will add some sweetness. Just remember your veggies are cooking in it as well.
What that also does is provide you a full meal, so you have your whole chicken and vegetables! I cut up potatoes, celery, carrots and onions to place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
It’s good to use thick, dense veggies so that they don’t get too soft and mushy sitting in the crockpot for hours. Thinking about a low-carb option? Use cauliflower instead of potatoes.
This Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe is going to give you a very tasty chicken but you need to help it out with some seasoning! Rub 1 teaspoon paprika and 1 tablespoon chicken poultry seasoning all over the chicken, top and bottom.
This seasoning includes sea salt, garlic, pepper, and spices and herbs. So there is no need to add any extra salt or pepper. This one-shot seasoning has everything you need for great flavor!
Cooking Vegetables in Slow Cooker
Place your chopped up vegetables in the slow cooker first. Try to place denser veggies, like carrots or potatoes, on the very bottom, where it will be the hottest and sitting in the liquid. They will better tolerate the longer cooking time without becoming mushy. and then place your seasoned whole chicken on top.
How long does it take to a cook a chicken in a slow cooker?
Close the lid and cook the chicken on high for 4 hours. Now sit back and relax while your kitchen starts to smell amazing! This is one of the many bonuses to owning a slow cooker! Alternatively you could set it to 7 hours on low if you want it to cook longer – sometimes this is easier for work days!
At the end of the cooking time use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
After the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the slow cooker and cut it up. This should be fairly easy as it will be very tender. This cooking method allows the chicken to stay nice and juicy too.
What’s your favorite, light or dark meat? Thankfully Matthew loves white meat and I love dark meat so there’s no kitchen table fights over the drumstick!
And remember those vegetables we cut up? They’re delicious too! The veggies catch all the run-off juices, sit in the added liquid, and even take some of the seasoning you applied to the chicken. This means they are tender and full of flavor.
The potatoes are perfectly cooked, that you can slide your fork right into!
Serve them as a side dish and you have an easy chicken meal for your family.
I hope you enjoy this 4 HOUR Juicy Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe!
If you try this Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe, please leave a comment or share it on Instagram with tag #brooklynfarmgirl – I’m always looking for photos to feature and share!
More Chicken Recipes
Looking for more chicken recipes? Here’s some of my family’s favorites:
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Schnitzel
Cast Iron Chicken with Mint Chutney
Chicken Dumpling Soup
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4 HOUR Juicy Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
PrintIngredients
- 4 cups vegetables potatoes, carrots, celery, onions
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 6 pound whole chicken giblets removed
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon chicken poultry rub
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- This recipe calls for 4 cups of vegetables. It's up to you how you want to divide it up. I like to do 2 cups of potatoes and 2 cups of carrots, celery and onions. For the potatoes, peel and quarter. Fo the carrots, peel and chop up. For the celery and onions, chop. Place the vegetables in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Pour chicken broth on top of the vegetables.
- Rinse your whole chicken under cold water. Make sure you take the giblets out of the cavity. Pat your chicken dry with paper towels. Rub paprika, poultry rub and salt and pepper to taste all over the chicken - top and bottom.
- Place chicken on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker. Close lid.
- Cook on high for 4 HOURS or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
George says
Made this yesterday, and added red pepper flakes for some heat. We really liked it served with mashed potatoes.
Pamela says
I love that you added some red pepper flakes! Thanks for commenting and letting me know you liked the recipe!
Erin says
If I wanted to put this on low bc I won’t be home. How long would I cook it? I know it’s 4hrs on high but curious how long on low?
Pamela says
Hey Erin, you could cook it for 7 hours on low.
Rebecca says
Just curious what everyone does with leftovers. Would chicken prepared this way do well in salads?
Pamela says
Hey Rebecca, you can definitely use it in salads! I also love making shredded chicken noodle soup with it! (PS. You can freeze it too!).
Shea says
Has anyone used a large round crock pot ? Wondering if chicken is to big and I will need an oval crock pot.. ? thank you.
Pamela says
Hey Shea, how many quarts is your crock pot?
Sandy says
Do you have suggestions for non starch veggies? I am definitely going to try but eating low carb. Thank u
Pamela says
You could use cabbage, brussels sprouts, celery, or turnips – all would be good with this!
Rachel says
Does the chicken need to be thawed?
Pamela says
Hey Rachel, yes, the chicken should be thawed before putting it in the slow cooker.
Merrill says
I’ve recently bought a slow cooker and today, I am initiating it by making your whole chicken recipe. It sounds interesting and easy. I am looking forward to the finished product. Thanks for sharing your recipe. If it comes out as pretty as yours, I’ll snap a photo.
Kristen says
I’ve made something similar but seasoned the chicken with basil, and for liquid I use white wine! 🙂
Christine Guinn says
I am making this meal today, sooo looking forward to it. It was so easy to put together in just 15 minutes.
Chas Greener says
Looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing on To Grandma’s House We Go!
Maureen says
I love the recipe will become one of my hits. What type of slow cooker is best. Can I use an electric one?
Pamela says
Hey Maureen, here’s the slow cooker I have: https://amzn.to/2KVpm2e. I’ve been using this for years and love it! I also love the size of it!
Cindy says
I was wondering if the skin on the chicken is crispy?
Pamela says
Hey Cindy, if you want it to be crispy, please see Gwendolyn’s comment above. Enjoy this recipe!