Slow Cooker Whole Chicken & Gravy! A complete Sunday meal made easy in the crockpot. While it takes only minutes of prep, this tender, juicy crock pot chicken & gravy tastes like you’ve been in the kitchen all day.
This makes the perfect easy weeknight meal served alongside Garlic Ranch Mashed Potatoes and our favorite Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole! Your whole family is going to love this easy slow cooker whole chicken & gravy!
©SpendWithPennies.com
If you’ve never cooked a whole chicken in the slow cooker before, you are going to LOVE this recipe! I wish I could tell you in words how amazing this chicken is! It’s literally minutes of prep for a meal that tastes like you’ve been slaving in the kitchen all day long!
Chicken is my dinner time go-to… we love it grilled, baked and stuffed with cheese or even shredded for tacos but I have to admit, this whole chicken in the crockpot is one of my Sunday supper favorites! It is a perfect family dinner served with mashed potatoes and veggies but it’s also a great way to effortlessly cook a chicken in place of rotisserie chicken!
How to Cook a Whole Chicken a Slow Cooker
A quick homemade rub is added to a chicken which then cooks up tender and juicy in the slow cooker.
I prepare this in a 4QT slow cooker and I add balled up foil to slightly lift the chicken off the bottom of the pan but if you have a little rack that fits in your slow cooker you can certainly use that too! Adding a few onions and some celery to the bottom of the crockpot along with the foil makes the most flavorful and fabulous gravy!
If you like a crispy skin, broil it about 6″ from the broiler for a few minutes before serving.
Most of the time the chicken produces plenty of drippings for gravy but if you want extra, just add in some chicken broth. Mixing together a quick slurry of cornstarch and adding it to the slow cooker while the chicken rests creates a rich flavorful gravy. I sometimes add a can of mushrooms to the gravy (or add fresh mushrooms to the slow cooker before cooking).
You may be wondering if it is safe to cook a whole chicken in your crock pot and the answer is yes, it’s safe as the crockpot is intended to cook meat low and slow. Ensure your lid is on well to keep the heat in. I would definitely NOT recommend using frozen chicken in the slow cooker, if using whole chicken you’ll want to make sure it’s thawed.
As with all slow cookers, cooking times can vary slightly, you’ll want to make sure your chicken reaches 165 degrees in the thigh.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken about 4lbs
- 2 slices onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- cornstarch
- chicken broth optional
Seasoning Mix
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Instructions
- Combine all seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl.
- Brush chicken with olive oil and rub seasoning into chicken.
- Roll up balls of foil and place in the bottom of the slow cooker with 2 thick slices of onion. Place chicken on foil, breast side up so it is slightly lifted off the bottom of the slow cooker. (You can use onion and carrot chunks instead if you prefer).
- Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. (165 degrees)
- Remove chicken and place on a small pan. Broil 3-4 minutes to crisp skin (optional). Rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Gravy
- Remove foil and onion from slow cooker and turn onto high. If required, add broth to create about 2 cups of liquid.
- In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons cornstarch with 4 tablespoons water to create a slurry.
- Whisk about ⅔ of the cornstarch into the drippings/broth and let cook on high. Depending on the amount of liquid you may need to add more of the cornstarch slurry to reach desired consistency. Let cook at least 5 minutes before serving.
- Taste and season with salt & pepper.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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I have a 6 qt and a 3 qt slow cooker. I seem to really have hit and miss results with my crock pot cooking. Do you think a chicken this size would do okay in a 6qt? This looks delicious and I would love to try it!
I do think the chicken would be ok in a 6qt slow cooker.
Going to make this tomorrow. I’m a nurse and this year,Thanksgiving is my holiday to work. So we are going to have a mini Thanksgiving tomorrow. The turkey is for the family feast on Thanksgiving. Pair this with my favorite crockpot stuffing…mmm! Drooling already!
Yummy! This will be perfect! Happy Thanksgiving!
I used potatoes on the bottom of the chicken then I made mash potatoes out of them with a delicious chicken flavor
Great idea! Thank you for sharing!
I just bought a whole chicken yesterday & was thinking I would just roast it the same old way, but WOW this is soooo much better!!! Thanks Holly for the awesome site.
You’re welcome Ariene! Enjoy!
Food looks delicious. Can’t wait to use receipts.
Cooked this chicken tonight. I cooked 4.5 lb. chicken on low. I checked it at 6 hours and the legs were falling off. I removed it from the crockpot and it completely fell apart. The dark and white meat were so dry not even the gravy could help. I won’t be making this again!!! My husband doesn’t complain about anything I serve but he had to agree, this was terrible.
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you Lisa. I’ve made it countless times with great results.
What size was your slow cooker? Did you prop the chicken up off of the bottom?
I had the same problem. Need to cut the cooking time by 2 hrs or more on low setting. I would sugggest using a thermometer: set for 165F.
If you have the time, you could brine your chicken the night before you’re going to put it in the slow cooker. Brining helps not have dried-out meats.
Love the easy recipes you show on Facebook. I am always looking for quick easy recipes. Can’t wait to try this one. I like the suggestions offered here for an alternative to the foil.
Thank you Marie! Enjoy, this always comes out so nice and tender!
I appreciate the simple recipes as I am a widower and love to cook in a crock pot I also like to cook a whole pork butt in my crock pot salt pepper garlic powder cut up onions baby carrots cut up red potatoes cook on low 8-10 hours
Sounds lovely Patrick! Thank you for sharing!
Bill, how.much of each of the following did you use? Salt, pepper, onion powder, onions, baby carrots and red potatoes. I live by myself and this would work for me. Thank you.
This looks delish. How many people will this feed?
1 small chicken will feed 4 people.
food look great.
Do i add any water to the pot or slow cooker when i put the chicken in?
There is no need to add water to the slow cooker. :)
Since I found several recipes roasting a chicken in the slow cooker I’ve been making mine this way. But I never added all these spices as a rub. I’ve just used pepper and paprika. Will try this recipe next.
Omg I didn’t know that you could cook a whole joint of meat in a slow cooker what a great idea but I need to get a bigger slow cooker tho lol
I made this yesterday for my family, it was a huge hit! I used more onions in place of foil and added chicken bouillon to the gravy. It was amazing.
So glad you loved it!
Iv tried cooking whole chicken in my slow cooker but there was so much fat off the skin it made other veggies very greasy
I’ve never thought of cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker! Now I gotta try it, your photos look so good, they convinced me to try it!
Thank you Britt! We love it done up this way!
I love making a roast chicken on Sundays, but have never made one on the slow cooker. I cannot wait to try it
Oh girl – this recipe is being made ASAP!!
I hope you enjoy it Kristen, it’s one of my favorites!
Can you do this with a frozen whole chicken?
I would not recommend a frozen chicken for this recipe because it would remain at an unsafe temperature for too long.
I have put frozen chickens in my crockpot for 20 years, works beautifully, never, ever a problem, on low for about 6-8 hours, depending on your chicken size. Always use organic chickens
Thank you for sharing Toni!
This looks awesome and I love that you did it in a slow cooker!
Thank you! So easy and so tender and juicy!
Instead of foil do what I do. I put stalks of celery on the bottom of the slow cooker and then place the chicken (or roast) on top top of the celery. No burn, adds flavor and good circulation of water anand juices.
Thank you Ron! Great idea, celery or even extra onions!
Thats a wonderful idea with the celery instead of the foil. You could also use little bundles of asparagus or larger sized Brussel sprouts.
The Brussel Sprouts or even potatoes and carrots would be delish. *I have not made this yet, but thanks for the recipe. I will be going shopping for a Chicken and the veggies needed to make this for our Sunday dinner. Dinner will be ready to put on the table, once we are home from Church.
I love the idea of Brussels sprouts too! Thank you for sharing!