It’s really easy to pick up a rotisserie chicken from Costco or Sam’s Club and enjoy an easy dinner, but making your own whole chicken can be less expensive and healthier, because you’ll know exactly what’s in it. When cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker it turns out just as mouthwatering and tender as a store-bought chicken, if not better. The plus to cooking a whole chicken at once is the fact that you will have chicken leftovers for dinner the next night or even chicken to use in other meals throughout the week. There are so many ways to cook a whole chicken, including Air Fryer Whole Chicken and Instant Pot Whole Chicken, but this one is definitely a favorite of mine. When I have time I love roasting chicken in my oven but when I need to have dinner prepped and cooking before leaving the house my go-to way to cook a whole chicken is in the slow cooker. Trust me when I say you will never want to go back to store-bought rotisserie chicken again once you give this slow cooker whole chicken cooking method a try!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients Needed
Whole Chicken: A 4-5 pound chicken serves 4-6 to people. You can use whatever size you desire as long as it fits in your slow cooker and the lid is still able to close. Before starting be sure you have removed the giblets from the inside of your chicken. Olive Oil: Olive oil gives a great flavor to the chicken and helps the seasonings to stick to the skin. Paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried basil. These herbs and spices make the perfect homemade dry rub for a delicious flavor that soaks into the chicken as it slowly cooks.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to slow cook a whole chicken
Tips and Tricks
Try Butter: Use melted butter instead of olive oil to add more savory flavor to the chicken. Switch Flavors: Other spice rubs work just as well as this homemade one. My favorite is shawarma seasoning, but you may also like a fajita or Italian seasoning rub as well. Thaw it Out: Make sure your chicken is thawed before cooking in a slow cooker, this is very important for safety reasons. Don’t try to cook a frozen whole chicken this way.
What to Serve With Slow Cooker Whole Chicken?
With Your Favorite Sides: Any type of potatoes, rice, or steamed vegetables would be perfect to serve with your chicken. I like to serve instant pot butter potatoes and broccoli, but you could try Sausage Stuffing, Dirty Rice, or Hashbrown Casserole. On a Salad: Cold, shredded or diced slow cooker rotisserie chicken is perfect to add to salads. Try it with a Chicken Caesar salad for the easiest dinner ever.
Recommended Tools
Trivet – A trivet is best used to help the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the slow cooker. If you do not have a trivet you can roll up balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker before placing the chicken in.
Instant read Thermometer – A must have tool to test meat to make sure that it is properly cooked to the correct temperature.
Baking Sheet – Having a nice strong baking sheet that is sturdy enough to hold the whole chicken without bending is really important if you wish to crisp the chicken skin in the oven.
You are going to fall in love with this simple, hands-off method for cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker! Don’t forget to pin it. © Little Sunny Kitchen
