Slow Cooker Roaster Chicken practically cooks itself! Make this for dinner and have one fantastic meal!
This post was written several years ago but I continuously love to make this chicken recipe again and again!
Yesterday was just "one of those" mornings. You probably have had one and know what I am talking about.
This was the kind of morning where there is traffic on the one mile drive to middle school, my high school daughter's bus didn't come and five minutes before I had to leave for work, I realized that I had no clean black dress socks.
So I drove both my kids to school and snuck a pair of my twelve year old son's Nike Elite socks out of his drawer. Who would know? Does it matter that I work in a dress boutique and a few women might stare at my ankles throughout the day?
Okay, so things were slowly moving along and all of a sudden my gas light goes on. Now I am even later for work then I thought. Lucky for me I did one smart thing yesterday morning. Dinner was already being taken care of because I had this slow cooker roaster chicken all set.
Why cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker?
Before any of the commotion began, I managed to get a beautiful roaster chicken in my slow cooker. A few weeks ago, I happened to see that The Little Kitchen made a whole chicken in the slow cooker and I have been wanting to try one too.
I tend to roast chicken in parts for faster cooking. But I thought that if I tried this method, a whole chicken would be cooked by the time I was home from work. My seasonings were different than Julie's and I used a much larger chicken but the method worked great.
Cooking a roaster chicken in the slow cooker is awesome! My family loved it. I used a great big chicken that was over 7 pounds so we could have leftovers.
What can you make with leftover Slow Cooker Roaster Chicken?
I really adore leftover chicken! It makes my week so much easier knowing I can whip up a quick dinner.
Now I can make Buffalo Chicken Flatbread with Bacon or The Best Chicken Noodle Soup this week and my family will be extremely happy. I also tend to use the leftover slow cooker roaster chicken in this Rainbow Greek Chicken Salad. No need to grill chicken breasts as I will use some leftover shredded chicken.
Basically, the leftovers are perfect for soup, sandwiches or salads! There is also leftover stock that you can use. It's perfect to make all kinds of soups where you need chicken broth.
The chicken was so moist and flavorful. It tended to fall apart a little so instead of pulling it out of the slow cooker whole, I sliced the chicken up and then crisped the skin under the broiler for a few minutes.
My kids end up taking the skin off anyway, so next time I probably won't even need to turn the oven on.
What sides go with this chicken?
This slow cooker roaster chicken pairs well with Mini Parmesan Truffle Hasselback Potatoes or Cuban Cauliflower Rice and Beans. If you need an even easier- to- make side dish, a Cranberry, Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad would also work well.
Well lucky for me, the day was made a lot better in the evening. I came home to a house smelling like roasted chicken. The bad morning was just a distant memory.
Whole Roaster Chicken In The Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 large roasting chicken 5 to 7 lbs
- 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 medium onions peels and cut into 1 inch pieces
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the salt, chili powder, and parsley.
- Remove giblets and insides of chicken. Rinse and dry with paper towels. Rub seasonings all over the chicken pushing some under the skin.
- Put the cut up carrots and onions on the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the chicken (breast side up on top) of the vegetables and tuck wings and legs in.
- Cook chicken for 6 to 8 hours on high. Remove when the internal temperature of the cooked chicken is 165 degrees.
- Slice chicken and put under a broiler oven for a few minutes if you would like the skin crispy.
Nutrition
I love that you wore your son's socks! Coming home to this delicious chicken would have made my day.
This was some excellent chicken!
That first whiff of roasting chicken when you come in the front door after a long day is PRICELESS!
And second to that is: dinner is done.
Whoa! Who knew you could stuff a whole bird in there!! Very cool!
I'm new to your site (popping over from Aggie's). I love Crock-Pot cooking ! It looks like this method yields a perfect result. Must save and try!
I have said it before and I going to keep repeating it-----My slow cooker is my dear dear
friend. Sooooooo much you can do with a chicken fixed this way. You can flat out
eat it as a main dish. Or you can bone it out and have lovely flavored chicken meat
for so many other dishes. And then there is the broth-----------OMG think of the soup!!!!
This has been on my list to try ever since I saw it on Julie's blog - love the chili powder in yours!
There's nothing better (or worse) than smelling a chicken in the crock-pot all day. By the time it's done you need a bib for all the drool! Wonderful recipe!!
I've been struggling to incorporate more crock-pot dishes into my menu because most of what I have is soups and stews.
I want to try to make this recipe. I see some water on the crock pot. Is it from the chicken juices or you have to add some water?
Hi Lillian. It is from the chicken juices. The chicken, carrots & onions will create it's own juice when it is cooked.
I would love to try this recipe. What size slow cooker do I need?
This sounds wonderful, am trying it today. One question. You don't add water or chicken broth to bottom of crockpot?
No need to Tracy. As the chicken cooks, it will create a bit of juice.
Im making this right now. I have a 7.4 pounder in a 5 qt slow cooker which was a bit snug for the first hour but has since settled in nicely into the slow cooker. I'm expecting being closer to the 8 hour time frame.
I borrowed my hubbys black socks the morning after our big move just to run snd get the car. Next thing I know I'm in the ER in a nice white gown. Lesson learned, Mom. The chicken melts in your mouth.
Do you know if you can do this with just boneless chicken breasts? I got everything ready for the roaster and discovered I put the d... thing in freezer so that will another day ? This sounds just delightful can not wait to try it . thank you for posting.
You can do it with chicken breasts however I would not do it this way. The timing would be different as boneless breasts cook much quicker.
I'm looking forward to doing this very soon. I've been thinking about it and one of the things I love about doing a whole chicken is making soup or other recipes with the leftovers!