Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

Cook an entire chicken in your slow cooker and have delicious and moist chicken waiting for you at the end of the day. Choose from Italian, Spanish, Asian, and Ranch seasonings!



Baseball season is in full force over here. But unlike last season with all games on the weekends, now we’ve got weeknight games…making dinner time hard! Do we eat beforehand at 3:30? Or after at 8pm? Or get hotdogs at the ballpark 3x a week? Ugh. All bad options!



I’ve been relying on this slow cooker whole chicken quite a bit. We’ll probably be tired of it in another few weeks, but I’m playing with different seasonings to stretch the interest. If I serve it with vegetables, it goes farther, and usually provides left overs for soups, sandwiches, and enchiladas.

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

This slow cooker whole chicken provides delicious and moist chicken for a great dinner at the end of the day. Set it and forget it! Choose from Italian, Spanish, Asian, and Ranch seasonings!

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 hours

Total Time 10 hours 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 pound whole fryer chicken , insides removed and cleaned
• seasonings of your choice (see below)
• sliced onions or vegetables of your choice , or aluminum foil

ITALIAN

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

SPANISH

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

ASIAN

• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

RANCH

• 2 tablespoons Ranch seasoning
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

• Rinse the chicken and pat very dry with paper towels. Mix the desired seasonings together and season the outside of the chicken generously and the inside cavity.
• Scatter the vegetables (or balls of aluminum foil) in the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker, then place the seasoned chicken on top, so they act as a shelf for the chicken.
• Cook on low for 10 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F and the juices run clear.
• Carefully remove the chicken from the stock that has been rendered; let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes. Cut the chicken into pieces and serve with vegetables. Or if you want shredded chicken, placed on a cutting board and shred with two forks.

Notes

Slow cooking the chicken won’t produce that beloved golden crispy skin, but you can carefully transfer the cooked chicken to a baking sheet or roasting pan and place under the broiler for 5 minutes to achieve that. The broth can be saved in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or frozen for 2 months. Shredded chicken will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: roasted whole chicken