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Do you have little time, but still want a nutritious, delicious and easy meal everyone in your family will enjoy? Chicken in a Crockpot only takes minutes to prepare and basically cooks itself.
Every Sunday at our local farmer’s market, I buy a whole chicken from the great folks at Healthy Family Farms (we also get our eggs from them). I like to make a Simple Roast Chicken every Sunday, but several weeks ago the farmer that sells the chickens asked if I had ever tried cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker. I had not. I listened as she told me just how easy it was to prepare, but I was still in disbelief at how simple her description was. No oil? No butter? No broth? Just a few herbs, lemon and salt? Really?! I immediately went home that afternoon and with practically no effort, prepared a chicken that was about as good as any I had ever tasted. My whole family was wide-eyed as we took our first bites — the chicken was moist, tender and juicy and the consistency is almost like pulled pork because the meat literally falls off the bone.
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This recipe is embarrassingly simple and incredibly healthy, but the best part is that it essentially cooks itself. There’s almost no work involved, and I love that I can cook a whole chicken and then keep the meat in the fridge to make Mac, Chicken and Cheese Bites, Chicken, Bean and Cheese Quesadillas or Chicken and Rice Burritos throughout the week!
Not only did Kenya, our friends, my hubby and I fall in love, but guess who ate more then her fair share of chicken? That’s right, baby Chloe. She was like a little chicken eatin’ machine, putting piece after piece into her mouth.
If cooking a whole chicken in the oven has always seemed daunting to you, try this crock pot version. It’s so simple, you’ll have a hard time finding reasons not to. Check out the video if you want to see how we did it!
Chicken in a Crock Pot
Ingredients
- 1 4-pound whole chicken
- 2-3 thyme sprigs
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Stuff the chicken with the thyme and lemon halves and sprinkle the outside with salt.
- Cook on high for 3 hours (increase time to 4 hours for a 5 pound chicken).
- Using a meat thermometer, make sure the chicken is cooked to 160 degrees (the times on different slow cookers may vary).
- Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before cutting it into pieces (this allows the juices to redistribute and the chicken to remain extremely juicy).
- Note: The skin on the chicken won’t be golden because this is more of a steaming method, but the meat will be outrageously moist, tender and juicy.
Love, love, love this super easy way to cook chicken! I wish I had tried this out months ago! Thank you!
Add paprika to the skin to give it that golden brown look!!
Hmmm I have a 6 1/2 quart crock pot and usually cook a 4-pound chicken in it, so I think a 2-pound chicken would fit in yours!
Hi! I have a silly question…what size slow cooker would i need in order to cook a 2lb whole chicken? I have a 4 1/2 qt round slow cooker…would that work?
Crock pot chicken sounds good. Will make it soon.
I can’t wait to try. I use my crockpot all the time. If you use a crockpot bag, clean up is simple and easy.
Wow! This turned out great. I used seasoned salt on the outside of the chicken, and sprinkled half a teaspoon of kosher rock salt on top so it would slowly disolve and marinate the meat as it cooked. It’s amazing how much flavor the ingredients impart.
I used the juices left in the slow cooker to make a tasty gravy.
If you want to make the skin on some of the individual pieces somewhat crispy and a little browned, you can place them under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
This recipe is a keeper.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been so afraid of cooking a whole chicken. But I took the plunge with this recipe and it was so easy! Now I am planning my recipes for the chicken and looking forward to my next whole chicken!
LOL thank you! 🙂
Um, could you guys BE ANY CUTER? Love this!
Go with the bigger crock pot. I am cooking a whole chicken in the crock pot now for two of us and have loaded it up with cubed potatoes and carrots on top of the chicken. They roast up really well and it gives us food for my daughter to take to school and make her friends jealous.
Crock pots come in a wide range of sizes and functions! I absolutely love my All Clad 7 quart! If that’s too big then maybe go with a 5 or 6 quart. Amazon has tons of options!
So I’ m stumped by which crock pot to purchase. Ordinarily I am cooking for 1 adult and two small kids. My 4 qt is too small and now has cracked porcelain. The 7 qt all clad is way too big- any other recs?
[…] a whole chicken or turkey in the oven. But you know me and the crockpot (my BFF). So I used a Weelicious recipe as inspiration and gave it a […]
I love this recipe!
The first time I made it, I used the lemon and the chicken and stock was just too lemony. Now I simply stuff whatever fresh herbs I feel like inside of the chicken and cook it for 4 hrs (seems to be perfect for the average size of chicken available in store).
The meat is so tender, and when I have too much, I freeze it in 1 or 2 cup bags for future use.
You can use dried thyme, but I would use no more than 1/2 teaspoon and just rub it all over the chicken!