Spiced Slow Cooker Whole Chicken (or Instant Pot)
Five minutes hands-on time and basic spices are all you need to make flavorful slow cooker whole chicken, an amazingly easy, moist rotisserie-style chicken, for dinner tonight. Cooking chicken this way can be a game-changer for meal prep, too, since you can make so many meals from one chicken. Includes Instant Pot directions, too.
Chicken is one of our family’s favorite foods – which makes this recipe for a slow cooker whole chicken with a spice rub a mainstay at our house, because it’s both delicious and I can make 3-4 different meals from this one chicken.
For pure convenience, time saving, and cost saving, you really can’t beat a whole chicken cooked in a slow cooker – it is very much like store-bought rotisserie chicken.
It honestly takes about five minutes to prepare and then cooks on it’s own for 4 hours on high or 7 to 8 on low. The spice rub adds delicious flavor as well as gives color to the chicken, which is one thing that you don’t get easily in a crockpot.
You can serve it for dinner that night, make a soup or broth with the bones for another night, and then use the extra meat for one to two more meals (depending how big your family is).
Three-plus meals from one chicken- you have to love that.
TIP: If your goal is to just use the cooked meat (in salads, casseroles, etc.), you don’t have to add the spices in this recipe, just salt and pepper the bird and cook as directed.
But I use the spice rub when slow cooking because it serves two functions: the spices add flavor AND color to the chicken, since browning is the one thing that doesn’t happen as well in slow cookers.
Ingredients & Variations
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe with some alternatives:
- Whole chicken – choose a size that fits in your slow cooker easily.
- Paprika – regular or smoked.
- Dried thyme – or you can use dried, crushed rosemary.
- Dried basil – or try an Italian seasoning mix.
- Garlic powder – or minced fresh garlic.
- Onion powder – granulated is easiest in spice mixes like this.
- Ground black pepper – this is to taste or omit.
- Salt – preferably pure sea salt.
- Cayenne pepper – optional, though this amount adds only a little bit of spice.
- Olive oil – this is also optional if you’d like to mix it with the spices to be spread on the bird with a pastry brush.
- ONLY if cooking in an Instant Pot: broth or water (you do not need additional liquid in a slow cooker).
- Variation 1: Slice or quarter a couple of onions and add them to the bottom of the cooker before adding the chicken- the onions cook in all that great flavor.
- Variation 2: Add sliced (or baby) carrots, mushrooms, and/or potatoes under and around the chicken for a one-pot meal.
How to Make Spiced Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
Detailed quantities and instructions are included in the full recipe box below, but here are a few extra tips to help:
The five minutes of preparation include:
- Mixing the spices together.
- Placing the thawed and skinned chicken in a large slow cooker (I’m using a 6-quart cooker here, if your cooker is smaller make sure to get a smaller bird).
- Sprinkling with seasonings (or mixing with olive oil and rubbing it all over the bird).
Wait, do you have to remove the skin?
Technically, no. But I always skin the chicken because I’m not a fan of how the skin comes out when using a slow cooker (hello rubbery), plus all the yummy spices are right where I want them- on the meat. The bird also comes out looking nicer as a whole.
It’s actually pretty easy to skin a whole chicken!
How to skin a whole chicken easily
- Slice the skin off the back first.
- Use your fingers to pull each side up and off around the thigh and breast, cutting down the middle with kitchen shears, so you’re just working with one side.
- Finally pull the whole side of skin off the end of the drumstick (it’s okay if some skin doesn’t come completely off the end of the drumstick).
- Repeat with the other side and you’re done.
And if that totally grosses you out, you can leave it on and remove the skin as you serve it – it works both ways (but you do miss all the yummy spice flavor…).
I like to add fresh herbs if I have them for extra flavor, but it’s totally optional.
Set the slow cooker to cook, either on HIGH for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or LOW for 7-8 hours (see below for Instant Pot directions).
Bonus #1: cooking a whole chicken is the way to have chicken if you’re going to be gone for most of the day (pieces of chicken can’t be cooked that long without drying out).
Bonus #2: cooking a chicken in a slow cooker is a great way to get chicken meat in the summer months without heating your house up with the oven.
I cook chickens regularly all year, cutting off the meat and freezing it in small portions to use in salads, tacos, and sandwiches.
That’s real food convenience, right?
Wondering how the meat turns out when cooked this way?
You will love the evenly moist breast meat that results with this recipe for slow cooker spiced whole chicken. Seriously, this is SO good – I promise!
How to Make Spiced Whole Chicken in an Instant Pot
Did you forget to put the chicken in the slow cooker and have an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker? No worries – here are the directions to use your pressure cooker to cook a whole chicken:
- Follow the directions to prep the chicken (I still don’t like the non-crisp skin in an IP, so I remove it as well).
- Place a trivet and a cup of chicken stock or water in the bottom of the removable liner. I’ve never noticed a difference with stock vs. water, so I always use water to save my stock – it’s up to you.
- Lay your prepared 4-5 pound chicken on the trivet, breast up, and sprinkle with the spice mix, rubbing it all over the sides. As with the slow cooker, if you want to use oil either before or as a spice rub, it’s your choice.
- Secure the lid of the pressure cooker, set the vent to “seal” and cook on Manual setting for 25 minutes for a 4 pound chicken or 35 minutes for a 5 pound chicken.
- When done, allow to release naturally for 15 minutes and then do a quick release as necessary.
- Check with an instant-read thermometer in the thigh to see if it’s reached 165 degrees. If not, reseal and cook another 5 minutes, doing a quick release at the end this time.
More FAQs
Yes, if cooked too long the chicken can turn dry – or even mushy. It’s best to stick with the times listed in your recipe.
While you can do either, it’s best to cook on low, as chicken cooks quicker than other meats. Cooking on low helps better ensure a moist breast meat.
No, you don’t add water when cooking the whole chicken in the slow cooker. To make a broth, you use the bones after cooking and removing as much of the meat as possible like I detail in this recipe for slow cooker chicken broth. It’s just another great benefit of buying and cooking whole chickens!
Speaking of broth – look how lovely the broth is that you can make from the bones?
BIG TIP for broth: Serve slices of chicken for dinner, saving the bones, remove as much of the meat from the remaining bones you can (bagging it in up portions to freeze), and simply leave all the bones in the slow cooker – no need to wash in between! Add water to cover and vegetable scraps (you don’t want to leave them out – read here why) and set the cooker to cook on LOW all night long and you will wake up to a golden brown broth all ready for soup or to freeze! Easy peasy.
Best Comments
“I love this recipe and have made it numerous times. My husband and I don’t eat the skin and have always felt cheated pulling off the skin with the glorious seasoning. What a no-brainer to skin it first and thank you for the easy directions to do so. I worried it would be dry without the skin but it was nice & moist and deliciously seasoned!” -Pam
“I made this chicken today and it was wonderful.” -Janelle
“My husband and I thought that was the best crockpot chicken we’ve ever had, very moist and tender, and so flavorful.” -Shirlee
Ready for tried-and-true family-friendly recipes to use up all that delicious chicken? Check out more than 18 recipes for rotisserie chicken here!
Recipes That Use Cooked Chicken
- Easy and Delicious Chicken Caesar Wraps
- Chicken-Spinach Frittata with Feta & Tomatoes
- Spicy Chicken Noodle Salad
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Spiced Slow Cooker Whole Chicken (OR Instant Pot)
Equipment
- 4 to 6 quart slow cooker OR Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 pound whole chicken, depending on size of your cooker
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
Only If using an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot):
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
Instructions
- Remove all the giblets from the chicken and skin it, if desired (if leaving the skin on, pat it dry). Either way do remove as much visible fat as possible.
- If Using a Slow Cooker: Place in a large 5-6 quart slow cooker, breast side up.
- If Using an Instant Pot: Place a trivet and a cup of chicken stock or water in the bottom of the removable liner and lay your prepared 4-5 pound chicken on the trivet, breast up.
- Mix all the seasonings and sprinkle all over the chicken, rubbing down the sides. Optionally, you can mix the spices with a tablespoon of olive oil and use a pastry brush to spread it all over the bird.
- Slow Cooker: Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-1/2 to 4 hours, or on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, until juices run clear and an instant read thermometer inserted in the thigh reaches 165 degrees.
- Instant Pot: Secure the lid of the pressure cooker, set the vent to "seal" and cook on Manual setting for 25 minutes for a 4 pound chicken or 35 minutes for a 5 pound chicken. When done, allow to release naturally for 15 minutes and then do a quick release as necessary. Check with an instant-read thermometer in the thigh to see if it's reached 165 degrees. If not, reseal and cook another 5 minutes, doing a quick release at the end this time.
- Cut into pieces for immediate serving. Use any extra meat for another meal.
Notes
- Slice a couple of onions and spread them on the bottom of the cooker before adding the chicken- the onions cook in all that great flavor.
- Add sliced (or baby) carrots, mushrooms, and/or potatoes under and around the chicken.
Nutrition
Note: this recipe was originally published in 2011 and has been updated in 2016 and 2023.
