When I was doing my regular blog visiting from favorite blogging forum one day, I stumbled across my friend Julie’s recipe for a whole chicken in a crockpot. I would have never thought to try it. It’s a very simple recipe. I made just a few changes from Julie’s, but not much.
Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker Recipe
Ingredients:
Rub Ingredients
- 4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 roasting or fryer chicken (3 1/2 to 4 1/2 lbs)
- 1 cup chopped onion, approx 1 medium to large onion
- 4-5 carrots, scrubbed, no need to peel, chopped in halves or thirds
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1 apple sliced- I added this to the recipe. I put half inside the chicken and the rest on the outside
Directions:
- Combine rub ingredients in a small bowl.
- Remove chicken from packaging and remove neck and pouch with organs. Discard or reserve for later use in another recipe.
- Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
- Rub garlic and rub ingredients all over outside and inside of the chicken. Put garlic, onion, and apples inside the chicken.
- Place onions and carrots inside the slow cooker. Place chicken on top of the vegetables. Cover crockpot and cook chicken on low for 4-8 hours. Cook until the internal temperature of the leg is at 160 degrees F or use a pop-up thermometer.
- Remove chicken and place in a 9×13 glass baking dish. Place baking dish in the oven under the broiler for about 4-5 minutes. (I didn’t do this step because as I tried to pull the chicken out it completely tore in half. Use Julie’s idea to use turkey lifters to take the chicken out. That’s not something I own yet.)
After the chicken cooked I strained the broth to keep on hand to make other things throughout the week. Another great idea she had with the leftover chicken is to make chicken pot pies. I’m not usually a fan of crockpot foods. I keep trying and trying, but it always seems to me that they taste this same. Not this recipe. I really liked it! It’s becoming one of our weekly staples. I plan to make it our Sunday meal so I can put it in before Church and not have to worry about making something at dinner time.
Instead of putting an onion and apple on the inside, you can use a quartered Lemon. That’s what Julie used, but I didn’t have one on hand.
Thanks Paula I’m gonna make this today! Minus the apple (I’m allergic)
i really have to utilize my crockpot more but I always find recipes that ask for cream soup…that makes me gag. This one looks good!
This sounds great! I really do need to use my crockpot more often!
my husband doesn’t eat chicken, at all!!! makes cooking so much more complicated because so many great easy recipes involve chicken.
Oh my, Lisa, your husband is the opposite to mine, mine loves chicken! And this is the second blog I have visited right before lunch so these yummy photos are making me hungry. I love easy recipes too. Thanks for sharing.
tweeted…I can’t believe a whole chicken can be made in a crockpot
Oh yum! Def going ti try this.
a whole chicken who would of thought. I would much rather do it that way thanks
Where was this 2 days ago when I was at the store and they had whole chickens on sale and I had a conversation with myself about how one cooks a whole chicken?
LOL
Looks yummy!
You went to the store?
I use my crockpot pretty often, but I’ve never tried making a whole chicken in it. I might just have to give this a go!
So glad you like it, we make this meal all the time! I love making chicken pot pies with the leftovers.
I do crockpot whole chicken often too! SOOOO nice to come home from work and smell dinner already done!!!
Oh yum! I LOVE slow cooker recipes, I so need to buy another slow cooker!! My son broke mine 🙁 thanks for this recipe!!
I love how you said this one tastes different than most other recipes, and I also like that idea about using the leftovers!
Oh wow. This chicken looks delicious! I love the apples on top of it, I bet that just makes it, too. When I grill, I like to use apple wood. I bet the apples really add a great flavor! Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds like another winner from one of my favorite food bloggers! 🙂
Oh yummy, I love crocpot recipes
Yum! I love using the crock to cook things like this. I cooked a bunch of chicken and made some broth this week too! 🙂
I use my crockpot often, but have not made a whole chicken. I think I might be up for giving it a shot though.