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.
Potentially stupid question: is this a raw chicken or frozen? Thank you!
Raw and should be thawed!
This recipe is amazing. Chicken is juicy and tender. Thank you for sharing.
My chicken is just under 2 pounds… how long and on what heat would you cook for?
I would cook for 2 hours on high!
Hi there!
I have an 8.5 pound chicken. How long should I cook for? I am on lockdown and my crock pot is a little smaller than I thought, the chicken fits but it does not lay flat, will this work? I can’t go to the store to get anything else.
I’d cook for 5-6 hours, it’s ok if it doesn’t lay flat!
This is a wonderful recipe! I have made crock pot whole chickens for years but hadn’t made one with this great spice rub and never kept the juices, didn’t like the taste. I was so happy to find the juices from this recipe are not only usable but incredibly delicious. After refrigerating the liquid and skimming off the fat, there’s a GREAT liquid to add to gravies. Just 3-4 tablespoons added to a can of condensed cream of chicken soup makes all the difference. I froze the liquid in several small amounts to make different gravies.
Thank you so much for the recipe!!
(The only changes I made to the rub were to have both salt and pepper.)
I meant halve, not have.
My chicken is 4.25 would you cook it on high for 3 1/2 hours or would you let it go for 4 hrs
I’d go for 4 hours!
My chicken is 2.78kg will 4 hours be enough on high?
I’d add another hour!
This was so easy to put together & moist. The best part was the delicious sauce/broth that developed in the crockpot after the chicken done. What a great surprise!
Can I make this with a frozen chicken? Or would I need to pull the chicken out of the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator days in advance?
It’s designed to be made with a thawed chicken for food safety purposes!
What could I substitute for the brown sugar? We wouldn’t care for sweetness in our main course.
Also, husband is on low sodium diet, so if I
reduce salt to say 1/2 t. , how can I still ensure
good result? Thanks !!! 🙂
You can omit the brown sugar. You’d definitely want to add other seasonings as that amount of salt will not be enough to season a whole chicken!
Delicious flavor with the rub. Instead of the foil ring, I placed cut carrots, celery, potatoes and an onion cut in wedges below the chicken It was great with the vegs, and I served pickled beets on the side to add some zing. Thanks!
I skipped the foil as well, and just put the veggies under the chicken also. After browning in the oven everything came out delicious. Thanks!
p.s. I also stuffed a lemon into the cavity, and added fresh rosemary sprigs and a little white wine to the crockpot.
This is a first for me to leave a comment, but I have to say the chicken turned out PERFECT!!! The only thing I did different (based on comments) was bar boil the potatoes and carrots for five minutes. Other than that followed the directions and was very pleased. Will revisit this recipe.
Thanks
Jeff
Came out great taste great.
Hello I’m the recipe you say to use a ring of foil in the slow cooker but in the video I don’t see one, is it completely necessary?
The ring of foil is in the video! This acts as a rack to keep the chicken from stewing in the liquid it releases, but if you want to try to omit the foil it should be ok.
How long would you cook a 7.5lb chicken?
I’d add another 90 minutes to the cook time!
Used different spices. A little water. Turned out great! Thanks for a healthy alternative to store cooked chicken.
I’m making this tomorrow. I’m in Australia and have a 1.45 kg chicken. Do you think 3 hours is enough time to cook on high?
It should be fine, you can leave it in for 4 hours if you’re concerned!
This sounds delicious! Curious if it will turn out the same if I do it on low 7-8 hours?
For food safety purposes it’s best to cook this recipe on high so that the chicken comes to the correct temperature in the proper amount of time.
Thank you for the great recipe!
I have made this several times and it has turned out perfectly each time 🙂
Did not have smoked paprika on hand the first 3 times making this recipe and after making it WITH the smoked paprika, realized I preferred it using regular paprika :o)
Very good and easy. I had never cook chicken like this. Definitely will make again. I messed up and put the wrong side of chicken up but still tasty and tender.
Are you supposed to add any water to the crock pot?
No you don’t add water.
Can I cook the bird in the slow cooker and finish under the broiler but use your brine and butter seasoning from the oven roast chicken recipe?
Yep that will work!