Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken
Slow cooker roasted chicken will become one of your new favorite meals! It’s easy to prep, set, and cook. No-fuss, no muss! This is a great recipe for those busy days!
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Why You’ll Love This
This slow cooker whole chicken recipe creates a super moist, tender, and juicy whole chicken.
You can prep this chicken in no time flat before you leave for work. Or better yet, prepare it the night before and place the bowl in the fridge. Cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker has just made dinner a breeze!
When you wake up the next morning, remove it from the fridge. I like the insert of the slow cooker to warm to room temperature before placing it in the unit to cook. So I pull it out and place it on the counter to come to room temperature while I’m scrambling around in the fridge for the cream to put in my first cup of coffee.
Some of our other favorite chicken recipes to make are One Pan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables, Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings, Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders, and Chicken Thighs in a Garlic Cream Sauce.
Ingredients Needed
- Whole chicken – 4 to 5 pounds whole chicken.
- Smoked paprika – Or regular paprika. The slow cooker will not brown the skin so this helps with coloring the chicken.
- Seasonings – Steak seasoning, salt, and pepper
Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Video
How To Make Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken
- Mix spices in a small bowl. (I use this steak seasoning)
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub the seasoning mix all over the outside and inside of the chicken. Put the chicken breast side up in the crock.
Carve, serve, and enjoy this crock pot whole chicken!
Couldn’t be easier, right? Crockpot whole chicken is too easy to not make every week!
Tips
- Use whole carrots, celery, or thick sliced potatoes under the chicken instead of aluminum foil balls.
- Be careful when adding salt and pepper to the rub. Not all steak seasonings are made the same, some will have a higher sodium content than others.
- To achieve crispy skin transfer the chicken to a baking dish or sheet pan and broil it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Watch it closely!
- Use that leftover chicken to make chicken salad!
Variations
Switch up the seasonings for this crock pot chicken. Try store-bought Rotisserie Chicken Seasonings such as Badia or McCormick’s.
Don’t have steak seasonings? No worries use 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
FAQs
No. Due to food safety reasons, you should thaw the chicken before cooking in a slow cooker.
Yes! If you want to be extra cautious cook it on high. But the USDA says it’s fine.
No. You don’t need to add water to a whole chicken recipe in a slow cooker. You don’t want to make chicken soup.
This is the result of cooking the chicken too long. As the chicken cooks, the collagen breaks down into gelatin. Don’t add any liquid and cook on high instead of low.
Let the chicken cool completely, place it in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Or freeze the leftover chicken for up to 2 months.
More Delicious Slow Cooker Recipes
Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 lb Whole chicken (insides removed)
- 1 tablespoon Smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons Steak seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper or more to taste
- aluminum foil, or thickly-sliced onions or vegetables
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels.5 lb Whole chicken
- In a small bowl, whisk together the paprika, steak seasoning, salt, pepper until combined. Rub the seasoning mix all over the outside and inside of the chicken.1 tablespoon Smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons Steak seasoning, 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- Roll up a few small balls of aluminum foil place them on the bottom of your slow cooker bowl to serve as a “rack” for the chicken, so that it doesn’t cook in the juices that will accumulate in the bottom of the slow cooker.aluminum foil, or thickly-sliced onions or vegetables
- Place the chicken on top of the aluminum foil (or veggies). Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Carefully remove the chicken from the slow cooker, it could be so tender it will fall apart.
This looks amazing but I’ve never done any slow cooking as gas and electricity is so expensive here that it’s just not economically a good option. I’ll just have to drool over how good it sounds instead.
Wow, that’s just a shame! Thanks for stopping by!
This looks delicious.
Thank you so much, Laina!
Pinned it so I can try. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Merry Monday. We hope you’ll come to the new party. We’re celebrating our anniversary with a big Giveaway.
Thank you, Shirley! Congrats on the anniversary!
I don’t have steak seasoning. What can I use?
I found this copycat recipe https://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Montreal_Steak_Seasoning. I hope this helps! Thank you for coming by!
I’ve never made a whole chicken in the crock pot, great idea, I need to try it soon! Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend?!
How about using potatoes wrapped in foil, then put in the bottom. I did this and used the potatoes to make potato salad, could use them as baked potatoes. Just an idea so as not to turn on the oven
That’s a great idea, Denise! Thank you for coming by!
Dinner tomorrow for sure. Looks scrumptious!!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the chicken!
will be our Sunday Dinner for sure tomorrow. Looks like a sure winner for us. Love chicken!!
Sounds good, but a word of caution. Never rinse a chicken. It doesn’t need it and your chance of contaminating your cooking space and hands is high. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/stop-washing-your-chicken-8C11067715
Thanks for the tip, Judith!
So happy you shared this with us at Weekend Potluck. It got our attention and is being featured this week. =D Please be sure to stop by and share again. Enjoy a wonderful weekend. https://www.thebetterbaker.blogspot.com/2016/04/one-hour-dinner-rolls-weekend-potluck.html
Thank you so much! 🙂 I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
This is life changing. I never thought about using my slow cooker to cook an entire chicken. Yours looks absolutely delicious. The idea of setting the tin foil balls at the bottom of the Crock so that the chicken won’t set in the liquid is brilliant. This is definitely going on my must-do soon list my whole family will love it.
Thank you, Nikki! This is a regular meal on our rotation, we love it!
That looks amazing!!!!! I love the idea of lifting it off the bottom, great idea!
Thanks so much, April!
Looks mouth-watering. Oh how I love these simple recipes. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Weekend Potluck. Please come again soon.
Me, too! Thank you!
That is easy – and your chicken looks so moist and delicious! Thank you for sharing this wonderful way to cook chicken with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Thank you, April! 🙂
Oh, wow!! This looks amazing! My husband rolls his eyes every time he sees the slow cooker come out. I think his eyes may pop out of his head when he sees me pulling this beautiful chicken out of the slow cooker. Thanks so much!!
LOL Thank you, MJ! I love the slow cooker especially during the warmer months.
I have never made roasted chicken in the slow cooker but definitely need to try this soon! It looks like the chicken is cooked to perfection.
It is Ashley! Thanks for coming by!
Wow! This looks impressive..so juicy! I’ve never heard the aluminum foil trick..thanks for sharing at Welcome Home Wednesdays!
Thank you, Crystal!
Wish I’d read this about 1/2 an hour ago. I’ve just put a chicken in the oven to roast for a couple of hours, but I would have loved to try this in the slow cooked instead.
Sally @ Life Loving
#LifeLovingLinkie
I could dig into this chicken. Thank you for linking up to Good Tips Tuesday. You will be featured (again) this week :)!
🙂 Thank you so much, Erin!!
Oh my goodness, does this ever look scrumptious! I love rotisserie chicken too. My kids would go crazy over this!
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).
Wishing you a lovely evening.
xoxo
Thank you so much, Jennifer! 🙂
Mmm! I friggin’ ADORE chicken!
Thank you for coming by, GiGi! 🙂
This looks so delicious & easy! Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you so much, Cathy! 🙂
I’m looking forward to trying this! I love the convenience of buying rotisserie chicken at our local grocery store, but I hate the price tag. This recipe is perfect! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Sammi! I hope you enjoy it!
Slow cooker anything is such a lifesaver. This looks wonderful!
Thank you, Sarah! 🙂
Wow…how easy! I love your tin foil roasting rack! I use celery stalks as a rack sometimes, and it works pretty goo, too, but they do get mushy. I’ll have to try this! Thanks for sharing on Wonderful Wednesday!
Thanks, Martie! 🙂