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Slow Cooker Chicken

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roasted chicken and vegetables paleo primal recipe
Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Poultry Recipes » Slow Cooker Chicken

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

See below the recipe for instructions on making broth from the bones and a few slow cooker chicken variations

roasted chicken and vegetables paleo primal recipe

Slow Cook a Whole Chicken Recipe

Slow cooker chicken makes dinner time a snap. And bonus — you can make delicious and nutrient packed broth from the bones!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes
Calories 260kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

1 chicken

Ingredients

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.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Slow Cook a Whole Chicken Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 /6 of chicken)
Calories 260 Calories from Fat 141
% Daily Value*
Fat 15.7g24%
Saturated Fat 5.1g32%
Cholesterol 93mg31%
Sodium 470mg20%
Carbohydrates 0.6g0%
Protein 27.3g55%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

Don’t throw out the bones! See below for instructions on how to make broth. 

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The chicken goes great with roasted brussel sprouts!

How to Make Broth

  1. Remove the chicken and pull the meat off the bones, but leave all the juices in the Crock-Pot.
  2. 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.
  3. Add 2-3 quarts of water (depending on what your slow cooker will hold).
  4. Cook on low overnight.
  5. Strain bones and vegetables out.
  6. 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!

Slow cook chicken and make broth with this easy and nutrient-dense recipe. Cook the chicken with butter and herbs and then slow-cook the broth.

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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

50 responses to “Slow Cooker Chicken”

  1. Ellen Avatar

    Trying slow cooked chicken for the very first time. After tasting the one my sister in law made, I just had to try it for myself. So many fantastic variations I would love to try and most certainly will eventually. That’s extremely cheap for a chicken, here in Australia you’d be lucky to get a decent sized chook for under $15. Can I add the veggies and water while the chicken is cooking or is that more for the flavour of the broth.
    Thanks in advance 🙂 x

    1. Melody Avatar

      Darlin I get cooked ones for $9 and to buy a whole chicken 2.5 kg I got mine for $6.50 at Coles not reduced to clear or anything that’s the everyday price chickens cheap as here, I’m in Thornton, nsw, Australia
      I love making everything chicken in the slow cooker never dry always so yummy and moist
      Keep the gorgeous recipes coming wellness Mama ????

      Take care Melody

  2. Jeff Avatar

    No water is needed? I’ve always assumed with a crockpot a chicken would need to be submerged, but shows my lack of understanding of proper use of a slow cooker. The main reason I’m making this is for bone soup. It may not sound tasty, but making it for my joints. Leftover chicken is a bonus by-product to be split between myself and my dog.

  3. Melissa Avatar

    I just found this recipe and can’t wait to try it. We have a gas stove and I hate using it in the summer. So any recipe in the crock pot I love. Really looking forward to trying this today. Hope it turns out as good as yours.

  4. Ernest Avatar
    Ernest

    Just found your chicken crock pot recipe online. I’m eager to try it tomorrow.

    1. Rachel Avatar

      I’ve never heard of that before. I’ve been cooking whole chicken in the crock pot for 20 years and never had any problems. I cook beef roasts, deer meat, chicken breasts, all kinds of stuff and everything is fine. I wouldn’t worry about it.

  5. Camilla Ahlfors Avatar
    Camilla Ahlfors

    Wow, I can’t believe you can buy a whole organic chicken for that price!!!! Here in the UK a medium sized organic chicken (1.5kg-ish) cost about £15 which is roughly $24… So in my family roast chicken is a treat!

  6. Sim Avatar

    Should we remove the skin as I heard toxins are stored in fat and skin of the chicken

  7. Greg Avatar

    I forgot to fill my propane tank before it ran dry, so I’m on day 3 of having no heat other than a couple space heaters. I planned on roasting 2 chickens today but cannot use my gas oven, so I wondered if someone had a good recipe for a slow cooker chicken. Yours sounded the best so I tried it. I used herbs I had on hand- thyme, oregano, and rosemary, sprinkled salt and pepper on top, used a little coconut oil on the bottom of pot but ended up adding a half cup of chicken stock since there was some in the fridge. I chopped up some carrots and onions that I had, threw in 2 whole jalapenos, and stuffed the cavity with some onion, thyme and a half of a lemon. Cooked it on low for 8 hours. I decided just to turn it into a soup and it rocks!!! Thanks so much for this great recipe !

  8. Coley Avatar

    I am cooking my first chicken in the crock pot right now and my kitchen smells so wonderful!! I cant wait to make my first batch of bone broth tonight!! Thank yo so much for sharing this!!

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I haven’t tried honestly but I think there are recipes online for how to do it.

    2. Terrie Avatar

      I cook chicken in the pressure pot often. It’s my favorite way, even if it is a lot of work. I do cut up the chicken first, though (and remove the skin except for the wings). I cook the chicken, de-bone it, and make chicken vegetable soup. Then I put it in freezer-safe, pint Ball wide mouth canning jars for healthy meals later. I’m single so this is a good way to have healthy food in the freezer for times I don’t want to really cook, which is a lot. I especially enjoy these if I get the flu or something and need some home made chicken soup.

      I also make a home made soup with ground beef, but I don’t usually use the pressure cooker for that. I use the crock pot for that. I brown the meat in the skillet before making the soup in the crock pot. I try to always have a few of those in the freezer, too.

  9. Meg Avatar

    Hello! Great post.
    I’m new to slow cooking and I had a question about this- can you put a frozen chicken in there? Or should I thaw the chicken first and then slow cook?
    Thanks!
    meg

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      You could use a whole chicken, just will take a couple hours longer, and you’d definitely need it on the lowest setting…

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      You actually don’t need it but can if you aren’t comfortable using the crock pot with dry heat.

      1. Melissa Avatar

        If I were to add water how much should I add? Should it be just enough to cover the bottom of the crock pot or more?

        1. Wellness Mama Avatar

          It’s really up to you. You’ll just have a more dilute stock. You could start with just enough to cover the bottom, and add more if you wish. Let us know how it turns out!

  10. Nichol Avatar

    Can I do two chickens (I have 6 kids) on one large pot, or should I use two crock pots?

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      If you have it, I’d use two, but you might be able to fit both in a really big pot…

  11. Desiree Lees Avatar
    Desiree Lees

    I am addicted to bone broth! I save all my bones, skin and meat scraps and veggie scraps (mostly onion,carrot and celery) in the freezer and when I have a crockpot full I throw it all together and let it cook on low for a day or so (depends on how big the bones are) This is really economical, since it’s all stuff that would have ended up in the trash anyway, not to mention it saves us (body  and wallet!) from buying “chicken flavored soy water.”

  12. Ester Avatar

    Thanks for the tip.  I have tried cooking the chicken in the crock pot but breast side up.  It looked very white and not as pretty as the one in your photo.  Is that because yours is breast side down?  I am currently making chicken stock in the crock pot as I am writing this in the usual fashion.  But I do follow the Nourishing Traditions recipe also of adding 1/2 cup of vinegar and letting that sit for an hour to help extract as much calcium from the bones.
    thanks for sharing.  I love your recipes.  I am going on a grain free trial.  It has been day 3 and amazingly, I have had a burst of energy today.  I sure hope it continues.
    Ester

    1. Laima Avatar

      when the chicken is done pop it under the grill for 10mins each side. I do this to mine and it looks like the one in the photo!

  13. Cathy Avatar

    I do it much the way you do, except in Nourishing Traditions fashion I add a splash of vinegar (to help leach calcium out of the bones) and cook the stock for at least 2 days.

    1. Kathy Avatar

      Cathy I am trying to do the same receipe as you are talking about I could not afford the book Nourishing Traditions and was wondering if you could help me on how to make this broth. I have been sick for 34 years and I have read to heal my leaky gut I need to have lots of chicken soup and chicken stock. My name is also Kathy. God bless and thanks again.

  14. Cici Avatar

    As much as I have used my crock pot, I have never cooked a whole chicken in it. You give me a reason to try it now. Great pictures and I really like your extra bits of advice that you throw in for free too.

  15. Uni Avatar

    Thank you SO MUCH for this! I will probably be trying all the variations that you suggested!

  16. Lisa Elizabeth Cook Avatar
    Lisa Elizabeth Cook

    This is perfect timing! I just bought ten whole chickens for my freezer from a local farmer, and I kept one out to fix this week. I can’t wait to have some slow-cooked chicken for dinner!

4.34 from 9 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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