Our recipe for a slow cooker whole chicken is guaranteed to make succulent and tasty chicken with minimal fuss. Dress it up with all the trimmings for your Sunday lunch, or serve with a simple salad for an easy mid-week dinner.
We know, you’re probably thinking the same as us. Can we really call this a slow cooker roast chicken if it’s cooked in the slow cooker and not roasted in the oven?
Truthfully no, but if you’ve read any of our other posts you’ll realise we’re not shy about claiming the Brits are the undisputed world masters of roast dinners. And because we specialise in slow cooking, we’ll extend that to the crockpot too by using it to cook a whole chicken.
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Ingredients
The ingredients list for this recipe is pretty simple, and the steps are short so it’s an easy recipe to put together!
How To Make It
Start by chopping the vegetables and arranging them in the bottom of the pot to form a rack for the chicken to sit on. This will ensure even cooking by making sure that the chicken isn’t touching the bottom of the slow cooker, and that the base of the chicken is also infused with lots of flavour.
Mix together the herbs and spices for the rub, and smother over the chicken with a little oil. Rubbing spices directly onto the chicken will ensure that every mouthful is packed with loads of flavour!
Add the chicken to the slow cooker pot, then pour the stock down the side of the slow cooker, taking care not to wash off the spice mix from the top of the chicken. The liquid should reach the top of the wing of the chicken.
Then turn on the slow cooker, and wait!
Once cooked transfer the whole chicken to a pan, and grill for about five minutes to create a delicious and crispy skin. Let’s be honest, soggy chicken skin is not enjoyable to eat or attractive to look at!
Rest under foil for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Pro Tips
Whether you’re cooking your chicken in the oven or the slow cooker, the key to cooking it well (and avoiding dry tasteless meat!) is in the preparation.
Preparation for this recipe means three things:
- Seasoning. Chicken to a chef is like a blank canvas to an artist – you need to do a bit of work to add some depth of flavour. This recipe has all the ingredients for creating a simple rub which infuses a delicious flavour over the chicken.
- Liquid. Always a talking point when slow cooking. Many recipes tell you to cook big chunks of meat (like a whole chicken) with minimal liquid. We have actually experienced better results by adding a little stock to the pot. The steam generated really adds to that juicy and tender texture when it’s cooked – which is half the point of slow cooking! Ensure that the liquid reaches the top of the chicken wing for extra moist meat.
- Cooking time. We have a number of different slow cookers and there are variances in how hot they cook. Take the listed cooking time as a guide and adjusting accordingly. Use a meat thermometer for the most accurate cooking.
Get all of these aspects right and you are on to a winner!
FAQs
The average size of a whole chicken tends to be around 1.6 kg which will feed 4 people. Our recipe caters for this size chicken, but if you are going bigger or smaller simply adjust the recipe cooking time and liquid levels accordingly.
We use our large 6.5L oval slow cooker for cooking a 1.6kg roast chicken, it fits comfortably on the rack of vegetables in the base of the pot. Saying that, any cooker will work providing you can fit the chicken into it.
Long disputed, but from testing we can confirm that having the breast facing upwards (and out of the slow cooker) yields the best results.
How do I test the chicken is cooked?
The usual methods to check that your slow cooker chicken is cooked through are:
- If the juices run clear from both the leg and breast.
- The breast meat is white, the leg and wing meat is a white/grey colour when cooked.
- Or, the most accurate way is to use a meat thermometer – a great investment if you regularly cook joints of meat. Insert the probe into the section between the leg and the breast, ensuring you’re not touching bone. The temperature should be 75C (165F) when the chicken is cooked through.
More Brilliant Slow Cooker Roast Dinners
If you liked this recipe take a look at some of our other slow cooked joints of meat:
What To Serve It With
If you’re after a traditional roast chicken dinner then it’s all the usual vegetables are the perfect accompaniment. Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, swede, sprouts if Christmas is approaching!
No roast dinner is complete without some sort of potatoes; either roasted or dauphinoise. Also, traditionalists say that Yorkshire puddings should only be servied with beef, but, well…they’re wrong. Yorkshire puddings absolutely are required too!
As an alternative, if you want to turn it into an American style feast then serve with slow cooker mac and cheese and chunky chips!
Can I keep leftovers?
Absolutely! Strip the chicken of the meat and use it for a tasty sandwich or risotto.
You can even put the carcass back into the slow cooker and make some flavourful slow cooker chicken stock for future soups and sauces.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) chicken
- 1 litre (4.5 cups) chicken stock
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large onion
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
Seasoning
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the carrots into large batons and halve the onion. Cut one half into large slices, then arrange the sliced onion and carrot batons on the bottom of the slow cooker to form a rack for the chicken. Stuff the other half of the onion and a clove of garlic into the cavity of the bird.
- In a separate bowl combine all of the ingredients for the rub with the oil, then smear all over the chicken. Place the chicken in the slow cooker on top of the vegetables and press the remaining two cloves of garlic in between the breast and the legs.
- Pour the chicken stock into the slow cooker, taking care not to wash the rub off of the chicken. Use enough stock to just cover the chicken wings (see the picture for reference).
- Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. The chicken is cooked when the juices run clear, and the leg pulls away easily from the body. We recommend using a meat thermometer, see the recipe notes for more info.
- Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a roasting tray and grill (broil) under a high heat for approximately 5 minutes until the skin turns golden brown. Serve immediately!
Notes
How much stock to use?
The volume of stock will vary according to the size of the chicken and slow cooker model used. We used 1L (4.5 cups) of stock in a 6.5L slow cooker, with a 1.6kg (3.5lb) chicken. The liquid should come up to the wings of the chicken.How long will it take to cook?
For best results use a meat thermometer (see the equipment list for a recommendation). Insert the thermometer in between the breast and thigh, ensuring you don’t touch the bone. When the chicken is cooked the internal temperature will reach 75°C (165°F) and the juices will run clear. Once you remove the chicken from the slow cooker this may continue to increase a little – this is fine!As a guide, if your slow cooker has a metal pot then the cooking times will likely be closer to two hours. Slow cookers with ceramic pots take longer to heat, and therefore cooking will take longer.
Mommy
Saturday 17th of February 2024
What’s the cider vinegar for? It appears in the ingredients Image and then doesn’t get another mention after that.
Angela
Sunday 8th of October 2023
I used a 2kg chicken and cooked it for 3 hrs on high. I also put celery, half stock half white wine in the slow cooker and made the liquid into a gravy by reducing it down and adding flour to help it thicken. The chicken was lovely and succulent, and the gravy was ruddy marvelous!
Dave
Sunday 8th of October 2023
Thanks Angela, really pleased you enjoyed it!
Rhea
Wednesday 27th of September 2023
Making this today for the boys. I don't see where the cider vinegar (shown in the photo) measurement is. I'm not adding it just in case this is only a stock photo. Looking forward to dinner tonight!
Moll
Saturday 25th of March 2023
Looks good, could I just check: The initial photo includes cider vinegar, but that isn't included in the ingredients list or recipe. is it part of the recipe?
Matthew Hunt
Sunday 19th of February 2023
Hi Guys. Fabulous recipe as always, I used an extra large chicken and adjusted the cooking time to 4hrs, the juiciest chicken I've ever had. Instead of using chicken stock I used the juices from the Lamb kebab i cooked last week and the flavour is outstanding.
Many Many thanks Matt ????