Description
An easy way to cook whole chicken in the crock pot! Lots of fresh herbs and butter make a tender and delicious chicken with very little hands on prep time.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 large white onion
- 1 whole chicken (with or without skin), 3-5 pounds, thawed if frozen
- 6 tablespoons softened butter
- 2–3 tablespoons mixed fresh minced herbs such as parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic, about 3 cloves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Trim both ends from the onion and remove the outer layer. Slice the onion into 4 thick slices like you would to make onion rings. Set the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker close together in the center. (You are making a little “onion platform” for the chicken to sit on.)
- Prepare the chicken by tying the legs together with cotton twine.
- In a small bowl, mix together the butter, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper until well combined.
- Coat the chicken all over with the butter and herb mixture.
- Place the chicken on top of the onion in your slow cooker – avoid letting the chicken touch the sides of the slow cooker if you can.
- Place the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F.
- Turn off the slow cooker, and remove the lid. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before removing it from the slow cooker.
- Place the whole chicken on a serving platter or cut in into pieces before serving. Serve right away while still hot.
Notes
- Slow and low is the way to go with this recipe. I found when I cooked the chicken on high, the butter and herbs melted off the outside too quickly and didn’t have enough time to make an impact on the flavor of the meat.
- There are so many combinations of herbs that you can use. Rosemary, sage, parsley, and/or thyme are great places to start.
- The juice that makes it to the bottom of the slow cooker is very flavorful! I recommend making gravy out of it to serve with the chicken. Gravy instructions are included in the body of this post.
- An instant-read thermometer takes all the guess work out of when the chicken is cooked. I highly recommend getting one if you haven’t already (this one is only about $10 and it works great).
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Crock Pot
- Cuisine: American