Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken
A few months ago, one of my oldest and best friends offered to take a day off of work to help me navigate the aisles of Babies ‘R Us prior to registering for my baby shower. She has three little girls, so her advice was a huge help, especially for someone who had never stepped inside of a baby store before and had absolutely, positively no idea what 99% of the items were used for, and if they were actually necessary.
After our crash course in baby paraphernalia, we went out to lunch to catch up on life and she mentioned that she had just made a whole chicken in her slow cooker and that it was absolutely amazing. My mind was officially blown. I’ve roasted a few chickens in the oven, but they’re always hit or miss for me, so I was totally intrigued by the idea and asked her to send me the recipe. I ended up trying out a handful of recipes before I found the one that my husband and I loved the most, and it comes out perfectly every single time!
This takes very little prep time; you can get the chicken into the slow cooker in less than a half hour, and it’s totally hands-off from that point forward. The result is a totally juicy chicken that literally falls apart as soon as you touch it. The meat slides right off the bone (I’ve lost the drumsticks each time I’ve made it!) and is perfect for keeping on hand for quick and easy meals. Some nights I’ll make a batch of mashed potatoes to serve alongside the chicken, then we use leftovers for sandwiches and salads. You could also use the leftover meat for things like soup, quesadillas, burritos… even freeze it!
I’ve loved stocking up on slow cooker recipes over the last few months; I don’t think I’ll ever need the oven again for making a whole chicken! Thank goodness for old friends and great recipes :)
One year ago: The Basics of Weighing Ingredients
Two years ago: Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Five years ago: Cannoli
Seven years ago: Quintuple Chocolate Brownies
Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine
- ¼ cup (58.75 ml) chicken broth
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 4.5 to 5 pound (2 to 2.25 kg) whole chicken, neck and giblets removed
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onions, garlic and tomato paste, and cook until the onions are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the wine and broth, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps; transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Add the thyme sprigs and bay leave to the slow cooker. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place, breast-side-down, in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until the chicken is tender and registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 4 to 6 hours.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. Let the liquid in the slow cooker settle for 5 minutes, then skim the fat off of the surface using a large spoon. Strain the liquid, discarding the solids, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Carve the chicken and serve with the sauce.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Is there anything that you can reuse the leftover stick for? Soup? An awful lot of liquid leftover. Very yummy chicjo!
Crockpots are not really known here in Germany, but after seeing so many yummy recipes and remembering the crockpot from my childhood in the US, I asked for one for Christmas. It was imported from some other European Country, and I finally got to make my very first slow cook roasted chicken – i.e. your recipe. It was FABULOUS!! This recipe is so simple and delicious that my German girlfriend was immediately inspired to buy her own slow cooker. She also loved your Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Granola Bars that we had for dessert, and then arduously studied the way I refilled the pot to make chicken stock with the leftover bones, veggies and herbs. I think we can safely say that you are helping me to revolutionize the way Germans eat and the way they think about American cuisine. Thanks for your contribution to bridging the cultural gap! ;-)
On an even happier note, I am assuming you have had your little boy by now and wish you and your family the absolute best! So exciting!
I am a slow cooker LOVER too!! Got mine in November and there has not a week gone by that I havent used it. At first I was a little worried to leave the house with my slow cooker cooking my dinner.. but it has never failed me!!! I have been craving a good chicken soup just like they serve it at asian restaurants .. can’t wait to put this tender meat into my soup bowl :)
I am always keeping an eye out for great, easy slow cooker recipes. This one sounds like it fits the bill…putting it on the menu for this week. Thanks!
Do I chop the garlic cloves or leave them whole?
Hi Cheryl, You leave them whole.
I made this today and it was very good. I have to admit that I like a crispy brown skin on chicken but this recipe is great for a low fat meal. The skin came off so easily. My family enjoyed it very much! Thanks!
I love cooking all of the chicken I need at the beginning of the week. It ends up being just enough for a couple dinners and a couple lunches for two people. I actually do everything in the crockpot (none of the sauteing in a pan first) and it turns out perfect! Love pulling it out of the crockpot and half of the meat is still in there because it is literally fall of the bone tender. (Makes for less than attractive photos though, oh well.) :)
I’m so excited to try this recipe. So delicious! So inspirational!
Thanks for your share!
http://www.trangscorner.com
I made this today and have some comments. I did not find it to be a roasted chicken, but rather a stewed chicken. It did indeed fall off the bone. I believe I overcooked it because I was waiting for the skin to take on color like in the photo, but the back, which was facing me did not. I cooked it for 7 hours, was probably done in 6 but I didn’t test the meat until I was frustrated that it seemed to be taking so long to cook. The underneath (breast skin) did take on some color. I added a cut up carrot, yam and baby carrots the last hour to make it a one pot dish and they were tasty. Like all stewed chickens, the flavor was bland even with the skimmed juices, which were flavorful, so I served with an apple onion spread from Harry, and David that I like. On the plus side, this was easy and didn’t make a mess of the oven as roasting chickens do. However, as a reader mentioned, I like crisp, browned skin and the flavor it imparts. However, I do think this is the best stewed chicken I’ve ever made. I know it will be terrific in chicken salad, burritos, sandwiches, etc. during the week, all of which I love. I live alone and this will last a long time.
I’m going to try it again with nothing but lemons in the cavity and prop it on balls of crumpled foil to keep it from soaking in the fat as it cooks. I’m glad I tried it though as it is a great chicken to use as a base for other things. Btw, my fave rotisserie chicken is from Costco. I just don’t think about what they inject it with to make it taste so good.
I meant I added yam, carrot and cut up potato.
I cook whole chickens (oven roast with French herbs, crockpot, rotisserie chickens (cook 2–no more trouble) or beer can chicken on the Weber grill all the time.
My best tips for crockpot chicken: layer more veg (carrots,celery, onions,more herbs) in bottom of crockpot, put chicken in BREAST SIDE DOWN, and remove chicken as soon as desired temp is reached. Cool broth and chicken separately. After removing chicken from bones, place cooking broth, bones, more veg in crockpot overnight on low. Cool again, frweeze in one quart packages. (Frugal hint: every time you chop veg, save onion skins, ends of celery and carrots in a freezer bag and toss in crockpot.)
One chicken provides at least two nice chicken dinners and at least two quarts of chicken stock for soup/stews. Our favs are chicken tortilla soup and chicken and stars soup. Incredibly budget friendly and worth the effort.:
This looks lovely, but my family might disown me if I did a roast chicken without stuffing. Would this work just the same with a stuffed chicken?
Do NOT cook a stuffed chicken whether roasted or in a crockpot. Do serve alongside stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and the typical “turkey dinner.” That’s usually our first dinner from the chicken. (Health concerns: by the time stuffing is up to temp, chicken is overcooked. Just cook separately.)
Hi Sara, I never stuff my poultry (I prefer stuffing baked separately), so I couldn’t say how it would turn out.
This looks incredible! I don’t own a crock pot but now I wish I did!
I am hoping my chicken comes out as tasty as everyone says it should. I am a little Leary about the onions though. How big were the onions people used? We are not onion fans and two medium to small onions is a whack more than I ever use. And it seemed like too much. (Is it?) and I added more chicken stock because there were no juices when I cooked all the onion. Crossing my fingers it turns out.
Can I just use chicken broth instead of the wine? Did the breast come out dry? Thanks for sharing!
Hi Lu, Yes, you could use broth instead of wine. The breast was not dry at all – very moist!
I tried roasting a chicken in the crock pot, but I actually didn’t like the way that it all fell apart in the pot – as usual with the crock pot cooking, you end up with meat and bones floating in a soup of grease.
Nothing beats the rotisserie chickens at the grocery store (or I’ve heard Costco have them). The ones at my grocery store are $5 – cheaper than it it to buy a chicken, and they are soooo good.
Second choice would be to roast it in the oven – a 5lb bird takes under 2 hours, and you can throw in some potatoes with it. It’s a lot less time than the crock pot.
Meat falling apart and off of the bone is my FAVORITE part of using a slow cooker! There really should not be much grease – I’ve never had that issue with this recipe.
If you take aluminum foil, make 3 balls and put it in the bottom of the slow cooker you can roast the chicken without it sitting in the grease and liquid
I love crockpot recipes. Don’t have this one, so am excited to try it out! Thanks!!
I love this idea, and got to love how easy clean up is with the crockpot. This will be on next week’s meal planning. Thank you so much for sharing, it’s great to have brilliant friends isn’t it.
OH MY GOSH! I can’t wait to try this.
Don’t you love what a crock pot can do!!?
I have re-discovered it and I think I do at least
half of my cooking that way!
Can’t wait to try this – loving having roasted chicken on hand for quick meals. Thanks BEB!
Looks delicious! I often buy roasted chickens to shred and keep the meat on hand. I have a question about using wine. I don’t drink alcohol at all but I’m okay cooking with wine. Since I have limited experience with alcohol, any chance you could actually list what wine you use or at least some options?
Thanks!
Debbie – Years ago I took a cooking class and was told to use dry vermouth as a substitute for white wine. It is a nice option because vermouth can be stored long term, unlike a bottle of opened white wine.
Hi Debbie, I usually use whatever might be open in the fridge, I’m not terribly particular. However, if nothing is open I will lean toward a dry white wine, such as chardonnay.
This past December I had actually looked to see if you had a recipe for this! I cannot wait to try it!
I’ve been doing crock pot whole chicken for years and I too was surprised at how easy it is. I take the easy a step further and just put the chicken in with a lemon and onion in the cavity and nothing else. Cook it on low for 10 hours and you’re lucky to be able to pull it out without it shredding itself. Sounds crazy with no liquid but it works. The chicken provides its own liquid and you’ll see just how much once its done.
Also, you can take this a step furthur and put the carcass back in with a roughly chopped carrot, celery stock and onion and maybe some whole peppercorns. Cover with water and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Strain and de-fat and you have the easiest chicken stock ever!
Thanks for this Brian. I was worried about the 4-6 hour cook time on the other recipe since I can’t be home in time to finish it off. Also love the idea of making stock afterward!
Did you see the pesto version in that same cookbook? Amazing and makes a nice sauce to go over pasta.
Would you be able to post that version. I just purchased a slow cooker and can’t wait for it to be delivered.
I am so intrigued with this. I just cannot imagine a chicken coming out good from a crock pot. I think it is my notion of crispy skin. I am 32 weeks pregnant though so convenience totally wins. I will be trying this recipe out soon.
I have to have the crispy skin as well but, you said it, CONVENIENCE!! So I found a compromise. If you are VERY SUPER careful taking the chicken out of the crock pot, you can put it in a baking dish and brush the skin with a little butter or oil and pop it in the oven at 475 for about 10 minutes. VOILA! Crispy skin!!
This is such beautiful bird and cooked to perfection
Wow! This chicken looks absolutely delicious, tender, moist… everything we want in a chicken and Yes thank goodness for friends and delicious recipes! Thank you BEB ;)