One of my favorite ways to prepare chicken is to to slow cook a chicken in the Crock-Pot. If you haven’t roasted a chicken in your Crock-Pot yet… try it!
Not only is slow cooker chicken the easiest and least expensive way I’ve found to prepare it, but you get a couple quarts of chicken broth from it too! It is great on a busy day (every day) and an easy dinner meal.
Ingredients and Tools
- a whole chicken (usually available for a reasonable price for even organic)
- 1 TBSP butter
- favorite herbs and spices (I add 1 tsp garlic granules or powder, 1 tsp sea salt, and about ½ tsp each of basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary)
- Crock-Pot (here’s the one I have)
See below the recipe for instructions on making broth from the bones and a few slow cooker chicken variations
Slow Cook a Whole Chicken Recipe
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 1 chicken
Slow cooker chicken makes dinner time a snap. And bonus -- you can make delicious and nutrient packed broth from the bones!
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 TBSP butter or coconut oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp basil
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp rosemary
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken and make sure innards are removed.
- Put the butter or coconut oil in the bottom of the Crock-Pot and turn it on low.
- Once butter melts, put chicken in Crock-Pot (putting breast-down will make it cook faster).
- Sprinkle with the spices.
- Put the lid on and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until completely cooked.
Notes
Don't throw out the bones! See below for instructions on how to make broth.
Courses Dinner
Cuisine None
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/6 of chicken
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 260 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 15.7 g | 24% | |
Saturated Fat 5.1 g | 26% | |
Cholesterol 93 mg | 31% | |
Sodium 470 mg | 20% | |
Total Carbohydrates 0.6 g | 0% | |
Protein 27.3 g | 55% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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The chicken goes great with roasted brussel sprouts!
How to Make Broth
- Remove the chicken and pull the meat off the bones, but leave all the juices in the Crock-Pot.
- Put the chicken bones back in the Crock-Pot and add 1 small chopped onion, 2 ribs of celery, 1 chopped carrot, and a little more sea salt.
- Add 2-3 quarts of water (depending on what your slow cooker will hold).
- Cook on low overnight.
- Strain bones and vegetables out.
- Use within 3 days or freeze for later use.
Note: This makes a thick broth which can be frozen in ice cube trays for “instant” chicken broth when needed in recipes. Also, view my in-depth broth tutorial here.
Some other ideas for using your whole roasted chicken:
- Put a small colander on top of the chicken when almost done cooking and fill with veggies. It will steam them so you have the whole meal ready to serve.
- For the last few hours, put some medium sized sweet potatoes on top of the chicken and put the lid back on. Both will be ready for dinner.
- After making the broth, remove the bones, add some chicken back in along with a few cups of favorite veggies and you have an easy chicken soup (with tons of nutrients)
How do you cook a chicken? Do you make broth too? What’s your secret? Share below!
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