Whole chicken in crock pot with veggies

Tender, juicy, and incredibly simple to prepare, Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and Vegetables is a satisfying one-pot meal made with whole chicken, potatoes, carrots, garlic, and a hit of flavor from a simple (optional) balsamic sauce.

About this Recipe

This slow cooker whole chicken with vegetables?

It’s kind of a big deal.

It’s basically everything you’re looking for in an oven-roasted or rotisserie chicken, only way easier because all you need to do is to rub a chicken with some dried spices and drop it into a slow cooker along with some sturdy, flavorful veggies like carrots and potatoes.

Boom. So easy. So good.

I love that the potatoes and carrots cook right along with the chicken in the crockpot, too, making it an entire dump-and-go slow cooker meal in one pot!

Heads up, if you want an even simpler, no-chopping-required version of this recipe, check out this slow cooker whole chicken recipe, which does not include vegetables.

Tip: This recipe is already an easy one-pot recipe, but if you want to add more veggies, throw together a quick little spinach or romaine salad with an easy salad dressing (I recommend this easy 3-ingredient pesto vinaigrette) and dinner is completely done.

Process & Tips

I love that the chicken and vegetables cook together in this simple and elegant one pot meal, but if you prefer to make the chicken without vegetables, check out this slow cooker whole chicken recipe.

When it comes to placing the chicken in the crock pot, if you want a prettier presentation, place the chicken breast-side up in your slow cooker.

However, for juicer breast meat, place the chicken breast-side down.

You’ll also end up with quite a bit of liquid after cooking, so strain what’s left in the bottom of the slow cooker and use it to drizzle over the chicken in addition to the balsamic sauce, as a base for soups or stews, or to make a simple gravy.

For crispy skin, carefully transfer the chicken to a sheet pan and broil on high for a few minutes.

Serving and Storing Suggestions

Serve the chicken whole, family-style, with the vegetables on the side as picture, or shred the meat with two forks.

Store or freeze leftover shredded chicken for salads later in the week.

A 6-quart slow cooker definitely works best for this recipe, allowing enough room for all the veggies and the entire chicken.

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and Vegetables: Tips & Tricks

This recipe is perfect for the warmer months because you can make an entire chicken dinner without heating up the house.

It’s also just right for cooler months, as nothing is more homey or inviting than a whole chicken and veggies for dinner.

To make this chicken extra special, I added a quick garlic balsamic sauce to flavor during the cooking process and to serve alongside for drizzling or dipping.

If you’re short on time, feel free to skip this step, but if you have a few extra minutes give it a try. It really takes the entire meal over the top.

Recipe Adaptations and Ingredient Substitutions

If you’re short on time or just want a basic option, skip the balsamic sauce and simply use the dried spice mix.

Carefully transfer the chicken to a sheet pan and broil on high for a few minutes if you want the skin to be crispy.

Jump to Recipe

Crock Pot Chicken & Vegetables is a delicious and healthy meal that can feed an entire family. It is one of the most popular meals that requires very little preparation.

Although you can easily buy a roasted chicken from the store, if you check the ingredients, it most often will contain some additives, lots of sodium and maybe even some other questionable ingredients.

If you look at the ingredient list closely you most likely will question whether or not you want to feed something as unhealthy as that to your family. Instead, it is much healthier to make your own roasted chicken. And it is easy when it is cooked in your slow cooker!

Just like my Instant Pot Whole Chicken Recipe, this recipe is so easy to make! With just a few simple, natural ingredients you can have a flavorful, juicy, freshly cooked rotisserie-style chicken that is both healthy and delicious!

When you are trying to eat healthy, chicken is one of the staple foods when it comes to dinner. Add in a few vegetables and you have an easy to cook, healthy and impressive dinner for the family.

Before we start cooking, it is crucial to know the basics of cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker. This will help answer some initial questions before I share the actual recipe.

Can You Cook A Whole Chicken In A Crock Pot?

Yes. However, it is important to note that slow cookers come in all different sizes. Therefore it is important to pick out a chicken that will fit inside your specific crock pot.

I have a Crock Pot 6 quart programmable Crock Pot and a standard, roasting chicken fits inside without difficulty.

How Long Does It Take To Cook?

Making a roasted chicken in a crock pot usually takes around 4 to 5 hours if you are cooking the chicken on high heat. If you are cooking your chicken on a lower heat setting, it takes approximately 8 hours to fully cook.

However, I always check the internal temperature with an Instant Read Digital Food Thermometer before serving. This way I can guarantee that the chicken has cooked to the correct temperature that is safe for eating.

Cooking an entire chicken in a crock pot is pretty simple. With the right ingredients, you can make seasoned chicken and vegetables that is great to serve for a classic family dinner. And of course, if there are any leftovers, you can use the cooked chicken for easy recipes throughout the week!

Crock Pot Whole Chicken & Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

Potatoes, Onions, and Carrots

The most popular vegetables to cook with a whole chicken are potatoes, onions and carrots. However, instead of placing the vegetables alongside the chicken, place them at the bottom of your crock pot.

Then the chicken will be set on top of the veggies. This will help prevent your chicken from getting too soggy from sitting directly in the run off juices that will gather at the bottom of the slow cooker.

However, be sure to chop the vegetables into even size, 1-inch pieces for even cooking. And if you are trying to watch your carbohydrate intake, substitute diced turnips in place of the potatoes. I can tell you first hand that you won’t even taste the difference!

Chicken

Before you purchase a whole chicken, you must consider and take note of the size of your slow cooker. As mentioned above, you will need a whole chicken that fits completely inside your crock pot and can be covered with the lid.

As long as you have a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker, and want to be purchase a whole chicken without worry, pick out one that weighs about 4 pounds. This size is usually safe for any full size slow cooker.

And just a quick note about the chicken itself. Be sure that before you go to cook the chicken that it is completely thawed if it was purchased frozen.

This will take a little planning, so be sure to give it a day or two to thaw in the refrigerator.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Because the chicken will be cooked on a low heat, use extra virgin olive oil on the outside surface to help the other seasonings adhere to the skin.

However, if you were going to be roasting the chicken in the oven at a higher heat, then use standard olive oil as it has a higher smoke point.

Seasonings

To flavor the chicken, you would also need to make a dry rub that consists of a mixture of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, pepper, and salt.

This will add a ton of flavor to not only the chicken, but the seasoning flavor will also flavor the vegetables placed below the chicken during the cooking process.

Lemon and Fresh Rosemary

The lemon and fresh herbs will be placed in the cavity of the chicken. This helps the chicken absorb additional flavors as it cooks.

If you are not a fan of rosemary, you can use fresh thyme sprigs in place of the rosemary.

Chicken Broth

Although the chicken will release natural juices as it cooks, a little extra liquid in the bottom of the crock pot will help prevent the vegetables from sticking to the bottom surface.

I prefer to use chicken broth, however you also could use water or vegetable broth instead.

Butter and Flour (Optional)

What’s a roasted chicken without gravy? If you are considering making gravy for your roasted chicken, use the juices from the cooked chicken and whisk in butter and flour over a heat source.

However be sure to use unsalted butter so that you can adjust the salt content once you serve the gravy.

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

• The first thing you need to do is to place the potatoes, onions, and carrots at the bottom of the slow cooker. Make sure to chop these 3 ingredients into 1-inch pieces and arrange them in a single layer if possible. 

• In a small bowl, place 2 teaspoons of paprika, 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir until the dry rub is evenly incorporated. Set aside while you prepare the chicken.

• Be sure to remove any bag of innards inside the cavity of the chicken and drain out any liquid that may be present inside this area. Pat the whole internal and exterior surface of the chicken dry using paper towels. Rub the entire chicken with 1-2 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil, including the cavity.

• Now sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken and lightly pat the mixed seasonings on the skin. Be sure to also rub some of the spices under the skin of the chicken’s breast. 

• Cut the lemon in half, and gather 4 to 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme. Place these ingredients in the cavity of the chicken. 

• Now place the whole chicken on top of the vegetables inside the crock pot, make sure the breast side is up. Pour 1/2 cup of chicken broth or water down the side of the slow cooker.

Cook Time

• Cover the chicken and cook it on the high setting for about 4 to 5 hours or for 8 hours on the low setting.

• The chicken is cooked when a digital thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F. Turn off the heat, or allow it to go to the Keep Warm setting. Place the chicken, breast side up, on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire cooking rack.

• Broil the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes until the skin begins to turn golden brown. Be sure to watch the chicken carefully so that it does not turn too dark. Re move the chicken from the oven and cover the pan with foil. Let the roasted chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

• Use a slotted spoon to scoop the vegetables into a serving dish. This will allow you to use the juices in the crock pot to make the gravy.

• While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Do this by placing a saucepan over medium heat. Place and melt 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Then slowly pour the juices from the crockpot into the pan and whisk it constantly while it’s cooking for about 5 minutes. After it has thickened, add salt and pepper and serve this gravy along with your crock pot chicken and vegetables.

Enjoy! Mary

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Crock Pot Chicken & Vegetables

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How to make a whole chicken and vegetables in a slow cooker. An easy, healthy meal that the entire family will enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 4 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 12 baby carrots

Dry Rub Ingredients

• 2 tsp. paprkia
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt

Chicken Ingredients

• 2 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 whole lemon
• 4-6 rosemary sprigs, or thyme sprigs
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water

Gravy Ingredients

• 2 TBSP. unsalted butter
• 2 TBSP. flour

Instructions

1. Scrub the potatoes clean and cut each potato into 1 inch sections (6-8 pieces). Then cut the onion into 1 inch sections. Cut the baby carrots in half, on an angle. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl mix together the dry rub ingredients. Set aside.
3. Remove the the contents from the cavity of the chicken and rinse the chicken under cold water. Using paper towels, pat the entire chicken, inside and out dry. Rub the oil over the entire chicken and also inside the cavity. Sprinkle the dry rub ingredients all over the skin and also inside the cavity. If you have any extra dry rub, rub it between the skin and breast of the chicken as well. Set aside.
4. Cut the lemon in half and insert one half inside the cavity of the chicken. Add rosemary and thyme sprigs to the cavity.
5. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of the vegetables in the crock pot. Carefully pour 1/2 cup chicken broth down the side of the crock pot, being sure not to pour it directly over the chicken. Cut the remaining half of the lemon in slices, and place them on top of the chicken
6. Cover and cook on HIGH power for 4-5 hours or on LOW for 8 hours or until a digital thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F (74°C).
7. OPTIONAL STEP: If you want to brown the skin of the chicken, carefully place the chicken, skin side up, on a wire cooking rack placed inside a rimmed baking sheet or pan. Broil until the skin turns golden brown, approximately 4-5 minutes.
8. Gravy Instructions: Remove the vegetables from the slow cooker and set aside. Then in a small saucepan melt the butter over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour the liquid from the slow cooker into the pan and whisk. Continue to cook until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Recipe provided by Make Your Meals

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 195Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 316mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g

Nutritional Information is to be used as a general guideline only . Nutritional calculations will vary from the types and brands of the products used.

Is it OK to put raw chicken in crock pot with vegetables?

As crazy as it might seem, you can cook raw chicken with vegetables. By ensuring the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F, you can be certain that your vegetables are safe to eat. How long can you leave a slow cooker on low? You can leave a slow cooker on low for 8-12 hours.

Can you cook chicken and veggies in the same pot?

The perfect combination of vegetables and well-seasoned chicken bakes up crispy and tender all on one pan. It only takes 15 minutes to get everything ready for the oven, then you can sit back and relax while your roasted chicken with vegetables bakes up golden brown and steaming hot. Ahhhh! Doesn't that sound nice?

Do you put vegetables in a slow cooker at the same time as meat?

The USDA notes that vegetables take longer to cook in a crock-pot than meat does, so they suggest adding your veggies to the pot first. This is useful if you're worried about about dense vegetables like potatoes or carrots not coming out as tender as the meat in your recipe.

Do you need liquid in a crock pot for chicken?

Do You Need to Add Liquid? As long as the breast pieces are in a single layer, in contact with the slow cooker, then no, it's not necessary to add any chicken broth or chicken stock. If you're doing multiple layers, you will need to add liquid to cover the meat, but I don't recommend this.