How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Crockpot

Cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot means a 4 to 5 lb bird rubbed with spices, set on a bed of onion, carrot and celery with no added liquid, and cooked on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 7 until the breast reads 165°F (74°C) and the thigh reads 175°F (79°C).

The no-liquid part is the whole method.

Most versions pour in a cup of broth and boil the bottom half of the bird, while a chicken raised above its own drippings cooks in steam, pulls apart like rotisserie chicken and leaves 2 cups of concentrated juices for gravy.

Two honest limits before you start: the skin stays pale and soft in the slow cooker no matter what you do, so it needs a few minutes under the broiler for color, and even then it will never be crackly like an oven roast.

From cooker to table it is about 4 1/2 hours on high, including the broiler and the rest.

Why You’ll Love It

• A whole chicken costs less per pound than any pack of parts
• No added liquid, so the drippings are strong enough for gravy without reducing
• 10 minutes of prep, then nothing until the thermometer says it is done
• Meat for dinner plus 2 to 3 cups of leftover chicken for the week
• The carcass makes stock in the same cooker overnight
• Gluten-free and dairy-free as written

Ingredients

For the Chicken

1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 lb, giblets removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 lemon, halved (optional)

3 cloves garlic, smashed (optional)

For the Bed

1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges

2 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces

For the Gravy

Drippings from the cooker (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

Low-sodium chicken broth, as needed to make 2 cups

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons cold water

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Steps

1. Pull the giblets and neck out of the cavity, then pat the chicken dry inside and out with paper towels, because wet skin will not take color under the broiler later.

2. Spread the onion, carrot and celery over the bottom of a 7-quart oval slow cooker in one layer, which lifts the bird about an inch above where the juices will collect.

3. If you have no vegetables, roll 4 balls of aluminum foil about the size of a tennis ball and set them in the bottom instead.

4. Rub the olive oil over the whole bird, then mix the salt, both paprikas, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and pepper and rub it over the skin, under the breast skin where you can lift it, and inside the cavity.

5. Put the lemon halves and smashed garlic in the cavity, tuck the wing tips under the body, and tie the legs together with kitchen twine so the bird holds its shape when you lift it out.

6. Set the chicken breast side up on the vegetables and do not add any water or broth.

7. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 7 hours, and do not lift the lid before the 3 1/2 hour mark on high or 5 1/2 on low, since every peek drops the temperature and adds 20 minutes.

8. Check with an instant-read thermometer in two places: the thickest part of the breast should read at least 165°F and the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone, at least 175°F.

9. Go by the thermometer and not the clock, because a 5 lb bird can take an hour longer than a 4 lb one.

10. Heat the broiler to high with the rack 6 to 8 inches below the element, and line a half sheet pan with foil.

11. Slide two wide metal spatulas under the chicken, one at each end, and lift it onto the pan in one motion, since the meat is soft enough that the legs can separate if you grab it by them.

12. Broil 4 to 5 minutes until the skin is golden brown in patches and watch it the whole time, because the paprika rub scorches fast.

13. Rest the chicken 10 minutes on the pan while you make the gravy.

14. Lift the vegetables out of the cooker with a slotted spoon, then pour the drippings through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan and spoon the fat off the top.

15. Add broth if needed to bring the liquid to 2 cups, bring it to a boil over medium-high, whisk the cornstarch and cold water together, stir the slurry in and boil 2 minutes until the gravy coats a spoon.

16. Taste the gravy before salting, because the rub already seasoned the drippings heavily.

17. Carve the chicken into breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings, or pull the meat off the bones in pieces, which is often easier with meat this soft.

Helpful Tips & Substitutions

Never cook a frozen whole chicken this way, because the center sits between 40 and 140°F (4 and 60°C) for far too long before it comes up to temperature, and that range is where bacteria multiply.

A 6-quart oval cooker fits a 4 lb bird with room to spare and a 5 lb bird with the lid just closing, so anything over 5 lb needs a 7- or 8-quart oval.

The breast will read higher than 165°F by the time the thigh reaches 175°F, and that is unavoidable here, which is one reason the dark meat is the better part of a slow cooker chicken.

Rub the bird the night before and leave it uncovered on a plate in the fridge, which dries the skin and gives the broiler a head start.

If you skip the broiler, pull the skin off before serving rather than eating it soft, and the meat underneath is exactly the same.

For stock, put the carcass and the cooked bed vegetables back in the empty cooker after dinner, cover with water, and run it on low for 10 to 12 hours overnight, then strain.

Serving Ideas

Carve it at the table like a roast and pass the gravy, since the broiler gives it enough color to look the part.

For a Sunday or holiday plate, serve it with herbed slow cooker stuffing cooked in a second pot and mashed potatoes from the 10 crockpot potato sides for weeknight dinners.

Leftover meat stands in for rotisserie chicken anywhere a recipe calls for it, including the crockpot chicken and dumplings with rotisserie chicken.

For the rest of the week, the 11 crockpot shredded chicken dinners for the week gives you places to use the 3 to 4 cups of pulled meat you will have.

Make-Ahead & Storage

Pull all the meat off the bones within an hour of carving, because a whole carcass takes too long to cool in the fridge and the meat near the bone dries out.

Cooked chicken keeps 4 days in the fridge in a sealed container, with a few spoonfuls of gravy or drippings over it to keep it moist.

Gravy keeps 4 days separately and sets firm when cold, so reheat it in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of broth, whisking.

Freeze the meat in 2-cup portions in zip bags for up to 3 months, pressed flat so it thaws in an hour in cold water.

Never leave the chicken in the cooker on the warm setting overnight, since that setting holds around 165°F (74°C) at best and dries the meat to strings by morning.

The thermometer is the only tool that matters here, so buy one if you do not own one and check both the breast and the thigh.

The gravy from no-liquid drippings is strong enough to carry the leftover meat all week, which is as good a reason to make this as the chicken itself.