Up until last Saturday, I was a chicken in the crock pot virgin 😉 Yup that’s right, I had never cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot, and even more so I had never cooked a whole chicken! Don’t get me wrong, I love chicken, and eat it a lot, but I always just cook up chicken breast.. Well recently the whole chickens went on sale at my local grocery store… so I put all my fears behind me and stuck one of those babies (ok chickens) in my cart! Boy am I glad I did… Let me tell you this could not of been any easier and certainly could not of tasted any better! Even though there is not much to it and probably a thousand recipes online already for crock pot chicken I thought I just have to add this to my blog, so my followers can see how simple it is 🙂
- 1 whole chicken, about 5lbs (I bough the one with the neck and giblets removed)
- ½ Tbsp cajun
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried sage
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Dash of salt & pepper
- Plug in your crock pot, I found cooking on high worked well but you can cook on low too.
- Place 4 foil balls on the bottom of your crock pot, this will prevent the chicken from cooking in its own juices.
- Mix all your seasonings in a bowl.
- Rinse your thawed chicken under cold water.
- Sprinkle your seasonings all over the chicken, getting everywhere you can cover. You can change up your seasonings to please, there really is no right from wrong when it comes to seasoning it. Also you can make it more of a rub style by adding a bit of water to your mix.
- Place chicken in crock pot so it is resting on the foil balls, cook on high for 4-4.5 hours or low 7-8 hours. Chicken should reach a minimum temperature of 175F (you can check with a meat thermometer) Remove chicken, slice and serve.
- SP Freestyle- 0SP is skin removed
- Smart points- 1sp for 3oz
- Points plus is 1pp per oz
40 Comments
Did you remove the skin before seasoning and cooking??
Nope, just put it in as is 🙂
I’d tried this but didn’t do the foil balls and it was wet and mushy. Thanks for the tip!
Yeah, I saw the trick on Pinterest.. Glad I did 🙂 Hope it turns out for you.
I bought my first chicken in 52 years and made this recipe. Excellent chicken and very moist. I too was a crockpot virgin but my life has been turned around….THANKS TO YOU! I look forward to making this many times to come. Love your blog and how it makes my life so much easier and healthier.
PS the foil balls is an excellent tip!
Awesome!! Can’t believe we both waited so long to break that virginity lol 😉 It cooked so nice and I know I see many more whole chickens in my future.. So glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for your kind words Christy
I know that you cook the chicken with the skin on but to get the points to be that low, don’t you have to remove the skin before eating? If that’s the case, I would suggest loosening the skin and putting some seasoning under the skin so that it flavors through all of the meat – just a thought.
Good suggestion.. Most of the meat is skin free, only the pieces cut from the top have the skin on, so I guess it comes down to what pieces you eat 🙂
I made this last night and I have to say it was amazing……I never thought of the foil balls but it worked…Another win!!
Yay, glad you enjoyed it Missy.. The foil balls work great 🙂
Im trying this recipe for the first time as we speak. I want to add this as a recipe in my recipe builder on weight watchers app but I’m not sure how because I add in a 5 lb chicken and it comes out to 129 smart points (for the whole chicken) but that’s including the bones and everything. Any suggestions on how to get this more accurate so I can track it?
Hi, hmmm not too sure, sorry I never use the recipe builder, I use myfitnesspal to build my recipes.. Maybe guess what the weight would be with just the chicken (no bones etc..)
Just weight it after you deboned only the portion you r about to eat
My WW leader says skin is OK……
🙂 I think it depends on you and what works best for you, I personally don’t add points if I eat some of the skin 😉
Made this yesterday and it was delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I made this yesterday and it was delicious! I am going to use the leftovers for a quesadilla. Thanks!
Yes, perfect for quesadillas, enjoy! 🙂
I wanted to try this recipe but I was wondering if you need to add additional liquid to make this in a crock pot….. thanks , Maria
This recipe is for a crock pot, no added liquids were needed
Trying this today????
Hope you love it 🙂
I made this tonight, and am not sure how to calculate the WW SP. I added the ingredients into the recipe builder and accounted for 3oz of chicken breast with the skin on and spices, and got 3SP.
Hi there, I guess if all of the 3oz you took has skin on it then you would go with what the App says but chances are you probably only had a little skin, I just go with what the App says for 3oz cooked chicken breast , but do what your comfortable with
I always rub the seasonings all over the chicken and then bag it and put in fridge for 8 hours before putting into crock pot. I believe it adds to the flavor and moistness of the chicken. I also put it under the broiler for 10 minutes to brown it up before serving. Yum
Sounds awesome, I will have to try it out, thanks for the tip 🙂
How much would you suggest reducing the time for a smaller chicken? I have a 3lb chicken. Thanks!
I am not too sure, I would just check on it and see, maybe do the math on how long it is in per lb?
I was wondering if you could just use chicken breasts and follow same
procedure? Perhaps 4 good size, boneless with skin on? We are not
dark meat eaters.
Thanks so much! Loving your recipes!
Dixie
Sure you could, you would get a shredded type chicken 🙂
Looking forward to this recipe! I use crock pots a lot! I’m plan to throw some veggies around the chicken for a one pot meal.
This was fabulous! So easy and so delicious; the whole family loved it. Your website is awesome; thank you for all the WW-friendly recipes!
You are very welcome Jackie 🙂 so glad you loved the chicken 🙂
I wonder if you could foil wrap potatoes instead of the foil balls under the chicken? Going to give this a try! The recipe looks wonderful
Don’t see why not, great idea 🙂 Let me know if they bake up ok
When I cook meets in the crockpot, I usually line the bottom with thickly sliced sweet onions, so that the meat doesn’t stick to the bottom, and it’s added seasoning, and the onions are AMAZING after for serving and presentation 🙂
Yum, I love onion, thanks for the tip Crystal 🙂
Oh I know this is gonna be delicious! Just one thing though – if you put “chicken thigh – skinless w bone” into the app you get some serious points. I think the only zero point chicken is breast meat. Right? But I love dark meat so much I make room for the points anyway!!! 😋
Yes I think dark meat has points, that said, remember it is your journey, if you find you are not over eating it and can still lose while counting it as a zero food as well then go for it 🙂