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Only 5 minutes of preparation is needed for this amazing Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken. Spice it up. Set it and forget it. The most juicy chicken you could ever imagine.
The recipe for this Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken was originally published in March 2015. Because of its popularity I updated it with providing additional information.
The cold months are ahead of us and even though I think that slow cooker is a perfect dish to cook with all year round, the fall and winter are the seasons when it is mostly used. If you don’t cook in slow cooker during the summer, it’s time to bring it back to live. You can have this perfect Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken for your next Sunday dinner with no effort whatsoever.
It only takes 5 minutes of your time to prepare it and then the crockpot finishes the job. I’ve made this Slow Cooker Turkey Breast in a slow cooker before, on numerous occasions, and I usually achieve a very crispy skin. As you can see from these photos, the same is true for my chicken. I’ve been asked before, how do I achieve this crispy skin from a crockpot? Do I fire it under the boiler to finish it off? The answer is: no. Maybe it’s my slow cooker, because it always comes out like this. Crispy and delicious!
Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken is very tender. It will fall of the bone. The photos show it all. You’ll never achieve this much moisture in a chicken by roasting it in the oven. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love oven roasted chicken. But, my point is that the chicken made in slow cooker is a totally different meal. The juices will simply pour from this bird. You can also use the juices to baste on top of the chicken if you wish, or even make a gravy out of it. I also make it a point to use brined chicken, so that too may add to the level of moisture and taste of this fabulous chicken. I do most of my grocery shopping in Trader’s Joe and they carry brined organic whole chicken.
The best part of this dish is that you can use as much or as little spice as you wish. You can also add various kinds of spices, depending on your liking. I use
- sweet Hungarian paprika,
- garlic powder,
- onion powder,
- cumin,
- a pinch of cayenne,
- & salt and pepper; but possibilities are endless.
So, get your crockpot ready and try to make this fabulous Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken. Just take 5 minutes of your time, season the bird, place it on top of 4 aluminum foil balls and set it up for couple of hours to cook. Once done, enjoy it. It is the best spent 5 minutes of your time. And you family will be vey happy 🙂
You may want to serve it with:
- Parmesan Spinach Orzo
- Wild Mushroom Risotto with Bacon and Leeks
- Cauliflower Pasta Bake with Brie & Fontina
- Lebanese Mujadara – Rice & Lentils with Crispy Onions
Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (the best is organic and brined)
- 2 tablespoons sweet hungarian paprika
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon less of cayenne pepper
- aluminum foil
Instructions
- Rinse and pat the chicken dry
- Mix all spices in a bowl
- Rub the spice mix all over the chicken, inside and out, and if you can under the skin too
- Create 4 balls from aluminum foil
- Place the chicken on top of the aluminum balls
- Cover and set it up on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. Or until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165 F
- Remove the chicken carefully, carve and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
If you like this recipe you may also like these slow cooker recipes:
I would like to know if you added water at all? It looks great and I am definitely going to try this!
Hi Shantell. No, I haven’t added any water. The chicken will produce a lot of water. That’s why you need to create balls from aluminum foil and place the chicken on top of them. Otherwise your chicken will be cooked in the water instead of getting roasted. Thanks for checking my recipe 🙂
Do you need to defrost the chicken?
Yes, I wouldn’t use frozen chicken.
I’m wondering if you could use potatoes wrapped in foil for the bottom and place the chicken on top of it?!
Hi Shandra, I’m not sure that this can be a good idea. The reason being that the chicken will produce a lot of liquid, so the potatoes can actually be all covered in water. They could get overcooked. If you try and it worked, please let me know. Thanks
Approx. what size chicken did you use – was it a roaster or a small whole chicken?
I usually buy organic chicken and they are smaller than roasters. I guess it depends on a size of your slow cooker. If it fits, it will get cooked. Try the smaller one first 🙂
I cooked my chicken for a full 8 hours on low and it did not come out crispy in the slightest. It was thoroughly cooked temperature wise but the skin was soft. Where did I go wrong?
Maybe it depended on slow cooker. I’m not sure. I never had this issue.
So mine barely fits in the slow cooker and the lid is touching it? You think it will still work? I supposed I could always put it in the oven at the end.
Try it and yes you can always put it in the oven.
hello ! My chicken turned out great !! So nice
to come Home to that delicious smell of chicken and even better because it’s been cooked and ready to eat !
thanks again for the recipe!
note : The word “crackpot ” in the beginning of the paragraph first few sentences needs to be changed to “crockpot “we got such a laugh from that it was the running joke all night long I thank you for that as well 😃
Oh my… you made me laugh so hard. I didn’t even know that I made such a typo 🙂