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.
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!
Print This Recipe
The Best Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot
Ingredients
- 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
Directions
- 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 (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!
I made this on Thurs and my husband loved it! The skin was crispy! I had it on low for 6-8 hrs. I didn’t use the whole chicken, just drumsticks.
Thank you for this recipe. I can’t cook so this recipe made me feel like a chef!
Can’t wait to try this! My biggest complaint about slow cooker food is that often the recipes aren’t healthful or lowfat. This looks great!
Ummm….BEST CHICKEN EVER!! I was a little worried I was going to end up with dried out chicken after some of the reviews but it was perfect! I didn’t have onion or garlic powder so I ended up using minced onion and sliced garlic cloves and it was amazing. My husband is pretty picky (not that he doesn’t like food – he just loves good food) so when I asked him if it was good, he said, it’s not good. It’s amazing. Thank you for such an amazing and easy recipe!! Still working on becoming fully on the real foods challenge but we are getting there!
I just finished eating this! BEST thing I ever made in my crockpot! Can’t wait for hubby to try it!
Today I am making this recipe for the second time to share with our friends. My husband loved it the first time, so I’m sure it’ll go over well. Thanks for sharing the recipe. My crock pot is my best friend now that I have a toddler and an infant running around. This is a recipe I’m sure to use more than once a month- especially when the birds go on sale!
And the broth is yummy too.
Thanks again.
Having a family of 4, it is quite expensive to eat organically unprocessed foods all the time, especially when one of them is a 12 year old boy who eats more than my 7 year old and I combined. But with recipes like this one, I realize it is easier to buy grass fed meats instead of whatever is on sale at the grocery store because I can save on the other things like organic stock by making it myself. We tried our hand at growing a lot of different vegetables this summer too. It was so great to go to the store each week knowing our produce drawer was full of fresh organic veggies we grew ourselves! We are busily canning and freezing our bounty to get us through the winter months and are already planning our garden for next year. Thank you for your website. It has changed the way I look at food and every time I have a craving for something, I look to your website first to see if you have a recipe for it.
Would you give me some help regarding canning? I’ve never done it before, but we grow vegetables, lots of tomatoes and I’d love to learn how to can!
Lynn
I have never canned before so I cannot help with advice on this one!
Ball sells a canning starter kit with complete instructions and all the tools needed (only 3 jars though in the kit). It’s not really hard from what I can tell with reading about it… just time consuming. But convenience is one thing we willfully give up to eat real food!
I too thought canning was difficult and it’s a piece of cake. Tomatoes are very simple! Last year we canned over 400 jars of vegy’s, jam, and tomatoes. Don’t let it intimidate you. Just be sure to follow the directions to a T so everything is preserved properly. There are a ton of recipes online or you can simply look at Ball recipes. Have fun with it!
Check out pickyourown.org. It is an excellent resource for canning and freezing just about everything you can imagine.
Made this recipe for the first time tonight as it’s my husband’s birthday, and it’s got the whole house smelling delish! thanks
Thank you for the great recipe! Loved it! I am now making muffins for my girls in the morning!
This was my first attempt at cooking a whole chicken, and I can report it was a success! Thanks for the great recipe and the inspiration to feed my family better!
I am trying this for the first time today!! I have never made a whole chicken before let alone in the crockpot. I have only ever made beef and pork in the crockpot. It has only been an hour and a half and it already smells very yummy!! I can’t wait to eat dinner!
Thanks for this recipe! It made wonderful juicy tender chicken. Only change I’ll make for next time is to decrease the thyme since dh and I aren’t huge fans of the herb and as is the thyme was a very prominent, but not overpowering, flavor. I’ve got some stock going in the crock pot now so thanks for that tip too!
2nd week of 100 days of real food challenge – this is my favorite because it’s so simple
love it!
I think i’m going to try this over the weekend! Can’t wait to make up some stock also!!
Thank you so much for doing what you are doing Lisa! I love, love, LOVE this blog
Although all your recipes look fantastic, this was the first recipe I tried and my husband and I loved it! I was scared that it would burn without any liquids in the crock pot with it, but not only was it was SUPER easy and quick, but the chicken turned out perfect (even though I shoved it down into the pot because the bird was a little larger than I expected. lol!). This one amazing recipe has definitely encouraged me to try more of your recipes and start your mini challenges! Thank you again 
The only time I’ve tried to cook a whole chicken in the crockpot, it fell apart. I had a big pile of meat and bones and chicken juice. I swore never to cook a whole chicken that way again, but you’ve gotten such rave reviews that I’ll give it one more go.
YUM!
Hi, do you cook it on high or low? I have a 5lb chicken that I’ll be cooking…do you know how long it will take and on what setting? I’m making it for a family dinner and I don’t want everyone starving and waiting for it to be done b/c I didn’t know which setting to put it on! lol
Thanks for the recipe!
Rachael
You cook it on high and for a bigger chicken I would check it after 5 hours…start it earlier though b/c you can always keep it on warm rather than having people wait around.
Fantastic recipe! I overcooked it, but it’s still totally delicious. Meat fell right off the bone, and it’s going to make some yummy stock. Thanks for posting!
I’m going to try this tonight!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’ve always been intimidated to cook a whole chicken, but this was simple and delicious. I also took your advice and made chicken salad and stock with the leftovers!
Can I use chicken breasts or pieces? don’t have a whole chicken, but wondering if anyone’s tried it this way. Also, should I un-thaw it first if it’s frozen or just stick it in the crock pot?
I would definitely make sure your meat is thawed out completely (otherwise it will cook unevenly) and I think chicken parts should work fine I would just check it after 2 – 3 hours b/c it might not take as long.
The best chicken in a crockpot hands down!! Usually when I cook chicken it is bland. Not this time! The chicken had lots of flavor! Great recipe!
Has anyone tried it without skin? I can’t stand skin, but I know some things aren’t nearly as flavorful if you don’t have it on there. Wondering if I should take it off before or after.
I’ve done it both ways, and with the skin was tastier (I’m a vegetarian, but that was my hubby’s opinion). Plus, it was just really hard to remove the skin without it being cooked already. Cooked skin is pretty easy to get off, so I would just do it that way. Good luck!!
If you don’t like the skin I recommend taking it off after the chicken is cooked (b/c it does help add flavor). My husband doesn’t like the skin either so he just eats around it.
I have a whole free range chicken in my freezer i’ve been wondering what to do with. This looks perfect! can’t wait to try it!!!
I always cook my whole chicken in the crockpot, but I never made stock with the leftover bones. I can’t wait to try it the next time I have chicken. Thanks!
I have two crock pots, small upright and larger horizontal style. Is it better for the chicken to ‘fill up’ the crock pot and stand up or have more space in the crock pot and have the chicken lay down?
I think it’s best to get the chicken in there with as much of the breast down if possible.
I bought a big crock pot a year ago so that I could make a whole chicken instead of buying the rotisserie chicken at the store. I made this last night for my first attempt at a whole chicken. Chicken was so moist and tender it fell apart trying to get it to the plate.
I put this in the crockpot before church this morning- soooo great! The house smelled wonderful and lunch was pretty much ready when we walked in – and it was so easy to get it around this morning!
I do have a question though. I am going to make stock with the bones now — I have not done this before, so should I leave the juice that is in the crockpot now (and the onions)? Also, how much water would you recommend? I know that more water is going to give less taste to the broth; but I have no idea what a good amount would be… Thanks!
Nevermind — I reread it and just filled the crockpot almost to the top
I think I am getting back to you a little late, but you leave everything in to make the stock (plus the items you add like new onion, celery, parsley, etc.) and fill the water to the top. Good luck!
This is exactly what I’ve been trying to figure out! Read several crock pot chicken stock recipes and pretty much every one starts out with “Put the chicken bones/leftovers/pieces into the crockpot and add cold water” They assumed you cooked the chicken some other way and ate the meat and are using the leftover parts. My chicken is sitting in the crockpot right now fully cooked, need to take it out, but was trying to decide what to do with the juices in it. Is that stock? Read on another blog it’s just “pan juices” whatever that means! I’m guessing it’s mostly fat (which sounds kind of gross.) I want to make healthy stock, not full of fat. I plan to scrap the fat off the top when it cools, but still. Maybe I should just take out the chicken, shred the meat and throw everything else back in along with more veggies (carrots) and seasoning? yeah, that’s my plan. Leave it over night and figure the rest out tomorrow!
That’s what I do…just remove the edible chicken and leave everything else (including juices) in the crock pot to make the stock. It is the best stock I’ve ever had!
Hi! Love the website, made this tonight and it was wonderful! i have the stock going right now too. The only adjustment I made was to but in the oven and broil it for 5 minutes which browned and crisped the skin beautifully. Thanks again- my two year old son and my hubby both loved it.
I’d like to try this whole chicken recipe – sounds yummy – but I leave for work at 8 am and don’t get home till 4 pm… Can I cook the bird on LOW for 8 hours instead of high for 4 or 5 hours?
Thanks!
Lisa
I have not tried that myself, but I definitely think it would work!
[...] is yours. *Then, rinse and pat the bird dry. You can then season it according to your recipe (here is a crockpot recipe). Alternatively, you can bake it in an oven bag. I rub butter and seasonings on the outside [...]
[...] with Great Harvest‘s Dakota bread. Andy threw the mixin’s into the crock pot for The Best Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot recipe from 100 days of Real Food’s blog for dinner… we were on a roll! Then Tucker [...]
I’ve NEVER been a big crockpot user, but always held on to the one I have nonetheless. I just made this chicken tonight, and…..OMG! “YUM!” says it all. Like everyone has said, it literally fell off the bone. Had a 4-pound bird, turned it on at 2:00 and it was ready at 6:30 (on HI temp). And, yes, the house smelled amazing when I got home from work. Definitely a “keeper” in my recipe library!
Do you need to cut the whole chicken up first or just place the entire chicken in the crock pot? I have never cooked a whole chicken before so this is a little intimidating. I am attempting this recipe today.
You just plop it into the crock pot whole…no cutting necessary. But do make sure the neck/giblets are removed from the cavity inside the chicken.
So good! I had a bigger bird and got it in late so we didn’t eat it for dinner tonight (though I did sample a few tasty bites). I just finished putting the chicken in the fridge and adding stuff to make the stock. Can’t wait to have a yummy chicken sandwich (using your homemade bread recipe) for lunch tomorrow!
I was wondering if you take the chicken out of the pot when it is done or do you leave it in until everyone has eaten for the night?
Yes, you can take it out as soon as it is done. Just make sure if any bones come out with it that you put those back in to make the stock.
I had to admit, I was a bit skeptical about just placing the whole chicken (minus the neck and giblets) into a crock pot and just letting it go. But it did turn out wonderful! The only downside was the absence of crispy skin.
Instead of letting the chicken thaw, I placed it in completely frozen and while it took a bit longer to cook still turned out great.
Once the bird was cooked I placed it on a wire rack on a baking sheet to let it drain. Then, as suggested, added a few carrots and celery, the giblets and neck and the bones of the chicken back in the crock pot to make stock.
I imagine that you could also drain off a bit of the leftover juices and thicken it to make a tasty gravy. Only gotcha’ that I would recommend looking out for is to make sure that your chicken fits your crock pot. LOL!
Do you use the giblet/neck to make your stock? Or do you just throw those parts away?
If you have those parts …yes, you can use them in the stock.
I made your chicken in the crock pot tonight. I just want to say that my two little ones (2 and 3.5 years old) ate multiple helpings of the chicken, and they do not usually touch meat!! I made whole wheat couscous, steamed fresh green beans, and whole grain corn bread from scratch in my cast iron skillet to go with it. Everyone cleaned their plates tonight. Thanks for giving me another recipe that my family loves. Oh, and this was my first time ever cooking a whole chicken!!
Now I have our leftover bones in the crock pot to make stock, and then tomorrow I’m going to attempt your chicken noodle soup recipe. Thanks again! 
So glad to hear that!! Sounds like it was avery good dinner and you were one busy bee putting it all together. Thanks for all the comments (and facebook posts)!
Not to sound silly, but what can I do with the stock?? I know you said you freeze it, but what are somethings that I can do with it? Thanks in advance…..(I’m learning!!)
Not silly at all! I find that a lot of soup recipes call for stock (or the recipe might say chicken broth…same thing). I also use it in risotto as well. I just posted a few soup recipes over the last few weeks so check those out for ideas!
So glad I found this recipe, I’ll be making it tonight. Based on the reviews, it sounds like it’s a winner. Thank you
PS- I read the comment above asking for tips on use for the stock. I’d love to hear what you use it for as well.
I just answered that comment, and I use it mainly for soups (I just posted 3 or 4 soup recipes over the last few weeks if you want ideas) and I use it for risotto as well. Good luck!
I was wondering if you could use leg quarters with this recipe? If you did would you need to add a liquid?
I think that would be fine…no liquid necessary.
[...] This is really great paired with beef stew or roasted chicken! [...]
So, I just finished this in the crockpot (smells delicious) and want to make stock. I see what to do when the chicken cools, but.. how long do you cook when you put the water in? Or do you? Do you just use the leftovers, bones and all, pour water over and call it stock? I am so confused? Sorry..new to this…
After making the chicken I take out the edible meat and leave absolutely everything else in the crock pot. I then add water, celery/onion/carrots, herbs and then fill it to the top with water. I leave it on low all night and after straining out the veggies/herbs in the morning you end up with stock!
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I am looking at making this chicken tomorrow. I work full time and it is really nice to come home to a meal that is home cooked rather than restaurant cooked. I would like to include fresh vegetables in the same crockpot; i.e. red potatoes, carrots, green beans. Do you have any suggestions on how this can be done without the veggies becoming mush?
I don’t know if it would work for you (since you may be at work), but adding the veggies towards the end would be best!
I have this recipe in my crockpot right now. I am using leg quarters instead of a whole chicken. My hubby & son are very particular about their chicken. I usually love anything from my crock pot!
This is how I always make my stock but I would suggest adding 2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar. It gets more of the good stuff out of the bones
and also when allowed to cook slowly overnight the bones become so soft that they are safe to feed to cats or dogs. They LOVE THEM!!
well out if all the other ways to make chicken in a crock pot im going with this one i am cooking this tonight cant wait to try it. Iam not a good cook so this reciept seems pretty easy for me . Thanks
Unbelievably good! I find about only 1 out of 20 crockpot recipes are any good. This blew them all out of the water. Made for the 2nd time tonight. First time i made it I treated the onions as thought they were just there to add flavour during cooking and keep the chicken from sticking, so I didn’t serve them on our plates. When my hubby went for seconds he couldn’t believe I hadn’t served them. So this time I served them up and omigoodness they are as good as the chicken! Next time i’ll double the onion just to have extras!
I used thighs and drumsticks both times. Sooo good, tender, juice, falling off bone good. And the flavour. Ooooh. I can’t wait to make this for company. Thank you for the best slow cooker recipe EVER