This slow cooker whole chicken is a rotisserie style seasoned chicken made with the help of the crock pot. It’s a super easy dinner option and the leftover chicken can be used in countless other dishes!
I love rotisserie chicken, but it can be pricey and is often filled with sodium and sometimes even preservatives and other questionable ingredients. This slow cooker roasted chicken has just a few minutes of prep time, you can set it in the morning and come home to have dinner waiting for you!
For the longest time, every time I went to Costco I’d pick up one of their rotisserie chickens for a cheap and easy meal. Then one day I read the ingredient list, and there are some additives in those chickens that I’d rather not feed my family. This slow cooker whole chicken is SO easy to make, and you can have a fresh cooked rotisserie style chicken any time you want with more natural ingredients!
Can you cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker?
Yes you can! The first step is to choose your chicken, I like to use organic whenever possible. You want to make sure that your chicken will fit inside your crock pot, I use my larger oval crock pot for this task which is big enough to accommodate almost any sized chicken. If you’re using a smaller round slow cooker, opt for a smaller bird.
The chicken gets coated in a simple spice blend, then placed in the slow cooker atop a ring of foil. The foil acts as a rack to keep the chicken from steaming in its own juices as it cooks.
Is it safe to cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker?
It is safe to cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker, but it’s typically recommended that you cook the chicken on high heat for at least one hour for food safety purposes. This recipe calls for cooking the chicken on high heat for the entire cook time.
How long will it take to cook a chicken in a slow cooker?
It typically takes 3-4 hours to cook a chicken on high heat in the slow cooker, and 8 hours to cook on low heat. As mentioned above, if you plan to cook your chicken on the lower heat setting, be sure to let it cook at high for one hour before you switch to low to make sure the chicken is at the correct temperature for food safety purposes.
At the end of your cook time, you’ll have a juicy and flavorful bird!
At this point, your slow cooker chicken is just missing one thing: that golden brown skin normally associated with rotisserie chicken. I transfer my chicken to a baking pan and broil it for about 5 minutes to get that beautiful golden brown skin that everybody loves.
When I cook a 5 pound chicken for my family, we typically end up with plenty of leftovers which I use to create dinner for the next night.
Once you try this slow cooker whole chicken, you’ll never want to go back to store bought rotisserie chicken again!
Ideas for your leftover chicken
- Chicken Taco Soup
- Chicken Ranch Tacos
- Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip
- Chicken Taquitos
Slow cooker whole chicken video
Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 lb whole chicken neck and giblets removed
- cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika.
- Coat a large slow cooker with cooking spray. Roll a piece heavy duty aluminum foil into a ring shape to fit into the slow cooker as a rack.
- Place the chicken on top of the foil ring. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers at 165 degrees or higher.
- Transfer the chicken to a sheet pan or baking dish and broil in the oven for 4-5 minutes or until chicken skin is brown and crispy. Serve.
Notes
- Nutritional facts assume calorie and fat counts for skin. If you're looking to cut calories, remove the skin before eating.
Fantastic recipe. Didn’t even need to broil. I added a lemon (quartered) inside the chicken. Will make this again.
I cooked on high for four hours in a Cuisinart slow cooker and a thermometer inserted into the chicken was only 150F. Could be all slow cookers are not created equal. Ended up finishing in the oven for 30 minutes at 425F to get it to a good temperature. Strange.
Can I cook this on low using a longer cooking time (8-9 hrs)?
You need to cook it on high for at least one hour to ensure that the chicken comes to the proper temperature in the right amount of time for food safety.
Can I do a frozen chicken? Procrastinated and want to make this tomorrow!
I recommend thawing the chicken otherwise I’d be concerned that it wouldn’t come up to the proper temperature in time and cause a food safety hazard.
If I set it before I leave for work, it will cook for 9 hours before I make it home. Will it get dried out cooking it that long on low with an hour at high?
I think that would be too long to cook, I’ve never cooked it more than 5-6 hours.
Is there no requirement of any kind of liquid in the bottom of the crockpot? Seems very odd to me.
No liquid, the chicken will release liquid as it cooks.
I have an All Clad Dutch Oven (Cast Iron) Slow Cooker with ability to indicate my own cooking temperature on Low Slow Cook, High Slow Cook, Braise or Simmer. It also has divots at the bottom in round circles (so, I was wondering if I could forgo the foil circle). Do you know how I could use your recipe with this particular slow cooker? I am not able to find directions for cook time, temperature, etc. I appreciate any help you can offer.
I am not familiar with this particular appliance but I looked it up and it seems like you’d use it just like any other slow cooker, so you’d do high slow cook.
Love this! Have made it a number of times, with spices on hand and it’s always great! Easy peasy and with the low price of whole chickens….devine!
First time trying this. Making the chicken right now. It’s under the broiler. The bird fell apart removing it from the cooker! Very tender. I did not add any liquid and used the foil at the bottom, but the cooker was filled with liquid from the chicken. I guess that doesn’t matter. Will be doing this great recipe again. Thanks.
This was delicious and my first attempt at a whole chicken that wasn’t already cooked by the store. My kids said it’s the best chicken they’ve ever had! I am going to do it again this week for meal prep.
Great recipe! Thank you!! I, like others, noticed the not so great ingredients in the deli chickens so I thought to myself, there has got to be a way to do this myself! Thank you for a very straightforward, consistent, and delicious recipe!
I don’t think I have ever commented about your recipe but here I am to say it’s easy, foolproof and delish. Always come back here for a refresher, have made it many times. Thank you.
Thanks for this recipe!
I just put in in the Crock Pot.
Breast up, I hope?
I didn’t see that it was stated.
Thanks again!
Yes breast up!
Thanks! It came out perfect!
Made this recipe…..everyone loved it. The chicken was moist a d fell off the bone. Just the way we like it. The flavors were nice. I’ve been requested to make it again tomorrow…. so I would very much recommend this recipe.
Hi I really want to try this but I was wondering if it can be cooked on low instead? Thanks 😊
The recipe is written for high heat because the chicken will not come to a safe temperature fast enough on low heat. You could try cooking it on high for an hour and then switching it to low.
Plan on trying this tomorrow so looking for tips! Do you pay the chicken dry before placing in crock pot and seasoning? Coat it with olive oil? Or just as is and then season it?
Also does the brown sugar make it sweet? Very excited to try this recipe for my family tomorrow!
I use a dry chicken, the brown sugar doesn’t really add sweetness it just counter balances the savory flavors of the spices!
Made it repeatedly now and loving it!
I love this recipe! It’s so easy and easily altered. I was wondering if you’ve ever tried it with an instant pot with the pressure cook mode?
Here is my instant pot whole chicken recipe! https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/instant-pot-whole-chicken/
Thinking about veggies in bottom to support chick vs foil rack ?
That’s fine, a lot of people use potatoes or thick sliced carrots or onion.
Going to make this today. Can the chicken be stuffed with dressing?
You may need to increase the cooking time as stuffing the chicken will slow down the cooking process!