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! You simply can’t go wrong with slow cooker comfort food classics like slow cooker brisket, slow cooker beef bourguignon and a whole chicken. This is an all time favorite recipe in my house, along with my famous baked chicken wings.
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.
This was phenomenal! Can’t believe I’ve never tried this. My whole family loved it. I ran into one problem, and maybe not a problem at all. When I went to lift the chicken out of the slow cooker to broil in the oven, the chicken was so tender, it completely fell apart. Lifting it whole wasn’t even an option. Is there a trick?
I typically just use two large spatulas! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I place long strips of tin foil over the foil ring. They’re long enough to hang outside the lid. Then you can use them as a sling to remove the chicken.
Thank you fior sharing! i am excited abaout making it! Can I substitute the brown sugar for honey?
That should work!
Love your recipes. Can I get on your list for others. I love crock pot cooking & have for years. But due to moving & now w/c bound looking for easier meals.
If my chicken is only 3 lb with it take the same amount of time to cook ? First time cooking with crockpot and can I add the veggies to it all an ounce ?
I’d reduce the cook time by an hour, and it’s fine to add veggies!
Making this soon!
I wonder can you add root veggies (i.e., carrots, small potatoes, yams, celery, etc)?
Looking forward to this experience.
Thx
Yes that is fine! Hope you enjoy!
Thank you, Sara! This was delicious, fall-off-the-bone tender, and so simple to make. I bought two chickens and will cook the second one the same way tomorrow instead of freezing it. I ate almost half of the first one today. Oopsie! It was so tasty!
I have found some of the best slow cooker recipe’s on here….and the rotisserie chicken is the best. Thanks again from John Fothergill, Bridgeville Delaware
This is a great recipe! Had a 5 pound chicken, i put on low for 8 hours, followed the instructions and it came out tender and very tasty. Hubby wants me to do the chicken in the crock pot from now on!
I’m making tonight give review later. That rib looks so good
This is a genius way to cook a whole chicken! First time trying this recipe and the chicken was flavorful and moist. We dispensed with the crisping under the broiler since we don’t eat the skin, but the chicken had a lovely golden color anyway. I’ve never been disappointed with a recipe from this site. Another winner!
Soo good but didn’t understand the foil?
It’s to keep the chicken up off the bottom of the pot!
It’s truly not necessary to keep the chicken off the bottom of the crockpot. I’ve tried it both ways. Both perfect! With the price of aluminum foil off the charts, I don’t bother with it!
I needed to make this for a work day. Wish you had added the time option for cooking on low.
There’s no time for low because that’s a food safety issue unfortunately. It will take too long for the chicken to come to the proper temperature and it could start to spoil.
You can cook it on low but cook on high for one hour and then safety is not an issue.
Hi,
This is the first ever comment/suggestion I have ever posted.
I am not a “Greenie”, just try to eliminate dealing with kitchen “messes”.
Thanks for how to make non soggy cooked chicken.
Try going to a Thrift Store, or wherever, with a paper tracing, find a simple little dish or metal ring that can fit or go under the chicken.
Now I need one!
I use the round rack from my instant pot. It works perfectly
I do, too. Works great!
Must be 5 star because here I am, again, at the recipe! Made it once… making it again. Very nice. Tender, not soggy. Easy to get all the meat off, which made packing servings into small portions and putting into freezer very simple. When I need stir fry or just a bit of protein for a dish I’ve got it. Excellent advice about using canning lids to get your chicken off the bottom of the pot. Thank you!
So… our oven is on the fritz & won’t be repaired til Tuesday. I had already purchased an organic chicken to roast & with the oven out, we tried this. I would have NEVER chosen a crockpot chicken recipe if the oven wasn’t out. But, OMG this is literally the best ‘roast’ chicken EVER! It was moist, delicious, and we can’t say enough good about it. The recipe suggests broiling at the end to crisp the skin. But, since neither Rob or I eat much of that we chose not to do that. That part of the oven works. Definitely making this again….and if you need rotisserie chicken for any recipe I’d definitely recommend this for that as well. Yum!!!!!
I’m wondering if you can stuff the chicken? I use your crock pot method all the time for chicken and it’s delicious every time. I usually only make stuffing for Thanksgiving but, I’m kind of in the mood for it and would like to know whether or not you think stuffing the bird in the crock pot would be all right, if I put a thermometer in the stuffing and monitor it. I just wonder if the stuffing won’t come to temperature by the time the bird does, and the bird will be dry. 🤔 What do you think? Or, should I just roast my stuffing in the oven? Thanks for a tasty recipe!
I’ve never tried this recipe with a stuffed bird. I think most likely it would be fine though!
Should I put water in slow cooker ?
No water is needed for this recipe! The chicken will release liquid as it cooks.
that was perfect
We’ve made this 4 times in the past 2 weeks and it’s a hit! Love the simplicity of the recipe and the flavours are amazing. Even my 2 picky eaters love it! We used sweet potato, carrots and potato in the bottom and they tasted so good as well. This is definitely a recipe that we will continue to use regularly. Thanks for a great easy-to-follow recipe.
Thank you, I will defiantly try it. I have putting breast in the croc pot with Italian dressing and let that cook for eight hours. Cooked on Low
Made this tonight. HUGE hit I’m my house. Will be making it again… and again…. and again! Thank you
The broil on my oven does not work can I throw it in the air fryer for to brown it afterwards? How long do you suggest i do it for if I can?
You could do that if you have a large enough air fryer to fit the chicken, I’d do 450 degrees for 5 minutes.