I’ve tried a ridiculous amount of crock pot recipes, and this is by far the best (and easiest) way to slow cook a whole chicken until it is falling-off-the bone delicious. And if you have a well-stocked spice cabinet you’ll hardly have to buy anything to make this
dish. Once the chicken is done it is flavorful enough to eat by itself, or you can incorporate it into another dish like pasta, chicken salad, or a casserole. We use a very basic crock pot that can purchased on Amazon for about $25.
Another great trick (that I learned from a friend!) is that after you pick off the good chicken meat you can leave the bones in the crock pot to make some stock. I usually start the chicken stock after dinner by filling it to the top with water, and then adding whatever I have on hand…bay leaf, carrot, celery, onion, parsley and/or thyme. Even if I am missing parsley or celery I still make it anyway, and it always turns out just fine. I keep it on low all night, and then in the morning I strain it into 1 or 2 cup Tupperware containers to store in the freezer. It works great and couldn’t be easier!
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 onion
- 1 large chicken
- Combine the dried spices in a small bowl.
- Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Remove any giblets from the chicken and then rub the spice mixture all over. You can even put some of the spices inside the cavity and under the skin covering the breasts.
- Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, cover it, and turn it on to high. There is no need to add any liquid.
- Cook for 4 – 5 hours on high (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken) or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Don’t forget to make your homemade stock with the leftover bones!
Looks delicious!
May I suggest an even better idea for the chicken stock? I have a recipe that’s more of a perpetual stock that I keep going for a couple of days. It’s a great way to stock your freezer of nourishing stock. (Makes those organic chickens a whole lot more frugal, too.)
http://thankyourbody.com/crock-pot-chicken-broth/
[...] Wednesday–crockpot chicken, mashed potatoes, peas (I will use the chicken bones to make chicken stock [...]
I wish I could search the comments to see what you do with the innards. Is there a post on your site? (Since it wasn’t linked up, I wasn’t sure). Thanks for the help.
Hi Paula. No, there’s not a post on it. Lisa does have a recipe for stock though with the bones. You can find it here…http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/01/24/recipe-overnight-chicken-stock-in-the-crock-pot/. Jill
I added a tiny bit of celery seed. Then (except for the salt) I toasted the dry ingredients in a pan on the stove (took about 45 seconds). The flavor was kickin’ … I also used fresh thyme (not toasted with other ingredients). The chicken was moist and juicy. Thanks for the recipe! It was super-easy and tasted great!
This was delicious! The whole family enjoyed! Working on the stock as I write this! Thanks you!
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[...] then determined the cheapest way to get chicken for the soup was by cooking a whole chicken and making stock from the [...]
The whole chicken in the crockpot followed by homemade stock the next day has changed my life!!!!!
oh my! I’m so happy to have discovered this recipe! No more roasting and poaching for me. I was always under/over cooking the bird. I just tried this crock pot method and it’s absolutely GREAT. Thanks so much for sharing and makng whole bird cooking easy peasy.
This chicken is fabulous and the chicken stock from the leftover carcass even more so. I had no idea how flavorful and delicious chicken stock could be!
[...] Turkey Pot Pie Tuesday: Whole Chicken in Crock Pot, mashed potatoes, broccoli as sides (I will be making stock from the bones when the chicken is [...]
Silly question., but do you use a frozen or thawed chicken? Thanks.
Hi Tina,
All the crockpot instructions I have ever read say that the meat must always be thawed. There may be a few exceptions (such as adding raw frozen shrimp during the last hour or 1/2 hour of cooking), but a large whole piece of meat should never be frozen when you put it in the pot. It would greatly increase cooking time, and you may even risk the ceramic pot getting cracked as it heats up but is in contact w/ ice cold food.
I did go ahead and make this recipe for the 1st time yesterday and it was absolutely delicious. Part 2 of the recipe (the broth) is crocking away now on low as I type.
Hi Tina. A thawed chicken. Jill
[...] recipe was adapted from 100 Days of Real Food and the original recipe can be found here. She has a great tutorial for how to make your own broth with the leftover chicken pieces when [...]
I want to make this right now. Do you set the crockpot on LOW or on HIGH for the number of hours in your recipe?
Hi Karen. Per the recipe, it is cooked on HIGH. Jill
Thanks, Jill. I figured it out from reading an old post after I’d already posted my question. I made this recipe yesterday w/ a whole Coleman organic chicken from Costco and have the broth simmering on low now. Your recipe is wonderful! I’ll be making it again soon. Thanks for sharing!
good job
Hi, I would like to try this recipe but I don’t want to use a whole chicken since it will just be me, my husband and 21 month old son. Can I use just drumsticks about 1.75lbs? And should I only cook it on high maybe for about two hours? Thanks in advance.
I just wanted to add my 2 cents to your question. I think you should go ahead and make a whole chicken. It’s probably cheaper than getting a pack of just legs. Also, whatever leftover you have can be used in another receipe. I’m making this for the first time today and I don’t expect many leftovers judging from the comments. And the fact that I have three sons. Good luck with the chicken!
Hi Lorelle. You could try just using the drumsticks. And, yes, I would definitely reduce the cooking time. Jill
I’ve tried this recipe three of four times now. Each time the chicken has been delicious. I just wanted to drop you a line and say thank you.
I am doing a 3 lb chicken but want to do it during the day while I am at work (8hrs) My crock pot has a warm setting that it goes to once done. Would 6 hrs on low do it and then let it switch to warm – I’m sure it takes a little bit to cool down anyway? Or should I do 8 on low? I did this recipe before but I was home so could watch it…..Thanks!
Hi Ellen. I’m not sure if 6 hours would be enough on low. I think it would be fine to let it switch to warm…mine usually does that when I make it. Jill
Can I put vegetables in the slow cooker around the chicken?
I am curious too. I want to do potatoes and carrots with the onion.
Hi people,I made this last night with potatoes & carrots. I added 6 whole baby carrots on top of the onions, put the whole chicken in and placed 7 baby potatoes around the sides. 5 hrs later I dished it up, everyone loved it.Still using mums Monier CrockPot from the seventies. Thanks Mum
Hi Ashley. You could probably add in some of the carrots and potatoes. Jill
Hi Christine. I think it would be fine, I just wouldn’t put anything that cooks very quickly. Jill
I’ve made this three times (stock too) and love it. I usually make it on the weekend so I can be be home to cook on high for 4 hours but my chicken was defrosted and I needed to cook it so I did it on low (10 hours). It came out exactly the same and just as delicious! So all us working folks don’t have to skip this one during the week
I also buy my whole chicken already cut up because I don’t like doing that but I think comes out perfectly. Definitely one of my favorite recipes!
Unfortunately a few parts were a little dry, but overall this came out really well (only my second time cooking in a crockpot, so maybe I did something wrong?).
Hi Rebecca. Perhaps you can reduce the cooking time next time? Mine always cooks evenly, so, could it be your crockpot (not sure if maybe it’s an older one)? Glad you still enjoyed it. Jill
I probably left it in too long. Either way the flavors were excellent, so this is definitely on my do-again list!
What recommendations do you have for how to use the stock? I just put the chicken in the crockpot! Can’t wait to try it.
Hi Diane. You can use the stock for a number of things. I sometimes cook my brown rice in stock instead of water. You could even use it to make this brown rice risotto…http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/12/23/recipe-brown-rice-risotto/. You can make any number of soups with it (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/10/03/recipe-butternut-squash-soup/, http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/10/05/recipe-homemade-chicken-noodle-soup/ and http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/09/28/recipe-easy-split-pea-soup/). Pretty much any recipe that calls for chicken stock/broth, you can use this homemade recipe. Hope you enjoy it. Jill
I have made this recipe 3 times since I discovered it recently. It’s fantastic. Will be attempting it with boneless breasts next week because I’m going to take it to work for a pot luck. Hope it’s just as good!
[...] http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/02/25/recipe-the-best-whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/ [...]
[...] fettuccine with chicken and alfredo sauce. I cooked the chicken in our crock pot over night using this recipe. I set aside the bones and half the meat for another night (keep reading). I used this [...]