Keep your Thanksgiving dinner simple this year, and make a whole chicken with tender, flavorful veggies and the works right in the crockpot! This slow cooker Thanksgiving chicken is perfectly tender and moist thanks to the long cooking time and will keep your oven free for all your sides and pies! {Gluten-free}
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Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Chicken with Gravy
If you’ve never made a whole chicken in the crockpot before, you are missing out. It’s incredibly easy and comes out absolutely delicious every single time.
The chicken just cooks away until dinner time, giving you plenty of time (and room) to work on everything else.
This simple crockpot chicken is a game-changer for your holiday dinners. It’s so delicious, you’ll want to follow this easy recipe more than just once a year!
For more holiday recipes, be sure to check out this Slow Cooker Turkey Roast and these Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes!
Elysia’s Recipe Rundown & Why We Love It!
Healthy: This recipe uses simple ingredients, including fresh chicken, lots of vegetables, and your favorite seasonings. There’s no sugar, preservatives, additives, or anything else – just super simple, wholesome ingredients you’ll be proud to feed your family
So easy: There’s a little prep to chop your vegetables and season the chicken, but that’s about it. The rest of the magic will happen while it’s slow cooking. It’s also a great one pot dinner for an easy weeknight meal!
Incredibly convenient: Instead of cooking your chicken and vegetables in separate dishes, they can all go together right in the crockpot. You can even make the gravy in the slow cooker right before serving! This means you’ll have fewer dishes to wash at the end of the night and fewer pots and pans to juggle all day. Win-win!
Ingredient Notes
- Vegetables: Chop a bunch of hearty vegetables like onions, Yukon gold or red potatoes, and carrots. Cook the garlic whole to make roasted garlic. It’s amazing with the other vegetables and will add a rich, savory flavor.
- Whole chicken: Start with a fully thawed or fresh chicken. A standard slow cooker can usually hold a 3-6 pound bird, but double-check your device to make sure your chicken will fit.
- Olive oil: To season this easy slow cooker chicken, you’ll need to make a paste out of the oil and spices.
- Seasonings: Mix garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper together in a small dish to make a spice rub.
- Fresh herbs: Place fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage directly inside the chicken to infuse the meat with extra flavor.
- Fresh Lemon: Cut into quarters and placed in the cavity of the chicken to infuse even more flavor.
- Cornstarch: If you’d like to make gravy at the end, you’ll need to make a little cornstarch slurry to add to the drippings.
- Chicken broth: Thin out the drippings with reduced-sodium chicken stock or bone broth to make your own gravy. This is optional, but highly recommended.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Crockpot Whole Chicken Recipe
- Cut up your onions, potatoes, carrots and garlic and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper to make a spice paste. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with a paper towel and slather the chicken all over with the spice paste.
- Stuff the inside of the cavity with the rosemary, thyme and lemon, and place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast and thigh registers an internal temperature of 165℉.
Step 2: Make the Gravy
- Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter to rest. Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves and add to the platter with the vegetables. Discard the papery husk of the garlic. Pour any juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup, adding enough chicken broth to make 1 cup of liquid. Remove any extra fat from the liquid with a fat separator or use a spoon to spoon off the top layer of fat and pour this into a small saucepan on the stove, bringing it to a boil.
- In a small cup, mix together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cool water or broth until smooth. Pour this into the boiling broth and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring occasionally until gravy is thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Step 3: Broil Chicken for Crispy Skin (Optional)
- If you want your chicken to have a crispy skin, you can gently scrape off extra spices (to keep them from burning) on top of the chicken and brush with a little oil. Place the chicken in a baking dish under the broiler for just a few minutes to crisp and brown the skin. You could also place it into a 450℉ oven for 5-8 minutes.
Step 4: Slice Chicken & Serve!
- Slice chicken and serve with vegetables and gravy.
Scroll to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Expert Tips
- Dry herbs can be substituted for fresh. Use 1 teaspoon rosemary, ¼ teaspoon thyme, ½ teaspoon sage. Bay leaf may also be added if you have it on hand.
- If you prefer, you can just make the slow cooker whole chicken without the veggies and serve it along with mashed potatoes, rice, dumplings, or noodles.
- All slow cookers cook differently and yours may take a bit longer to cook. Make sure the lid stays on as much as possible as it takes time to come back up to temperature every time you open the lid. I suggest checking the temperature around the 4 hour mark. The chicken will begin to fall off the bone when it is done.
- If you have a stand for your crockpot, set it in place first then tuck your vegetables in below. Place the chicken on top and cover the slow cooker.
- If you have leftover chicken, it’s also great to use in a chicken pot pie or casserole (like this Chicken Burrito Casserole)!
- If you’re cooking a frozen chicken, make sure it is completely thawed before slow cooking to avoid food-borne illness.
Recipe FAQs
The chicken will release its own juices while it cooks. Adding liquid at the start of the cooking process will produce too much liquid and create more of a soup and poach the chicken.
If you’d prefer to make this recipe in an Instant Pot, you will need to add a cup of stock or liquid to the container and cook on high pressure for approximately 25-30 minutes. Make sure the chicken is fully thawed before cooking. Allow the steam to release naturally for approximately 10-15 minutes, then open. You will likely want to broil the chicken in the oven afterward as the skin will be soft, but everything else should be perfectly cooked.
Storage Guidelines
Just like buying a rotisserie chicken from the store, you’ll want to cool leftovers to room temperature then store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Leftover chicken and gravy can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker Roast Chicken
To complete your Thanksgiving chicken meal, pair this simple recipe with your favorite holiday side dishes like this Cranberry Apple Walnut Stuffing (so much better than dry stuffing mix!), Sweet Potato Casserole without Marshmallows or Kale Beet Salad.
Recipe Variations
- Marinate the chicken: We love marinating chicken and you could easily brine the chicken or marinate it overnight for even more flavor! Try these healthy chicken marinades to make this slow cooker recipe your own.
- Adjust the veggies: Feel free to replace the carrots with parsnips, add some celery, or spotlight your favorite fall veggies.
More Holiday Recipes
- Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken
- Air Fryer Boneless Turkey Breast
- Cranberry Stuffed Turkey Breast
- Leftover Turkey Rice Soup
- Healthy Turkey Gravy
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
- 1 pound Yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
- 4-5 pound whole chicken, giblets removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teapoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- Fresh sage leaves
- Half a lemon, cut in quarters
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (if needed)
Instructions
- Place the onion, potatoes, carrots and garlic in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper to make a spice paste. Pat the outside of the chicken dry and slather the chicken all over with the spice paste.
- Stuff the cavity with the rosemary, thyme and lemon, and place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the internal temperature inserted into the thickest part of the breast and thigh registers 165℉.
- Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter to rest. Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves and add to the platter with the vegetables. Discard the papery husk of the garlic. Pour any juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup, adding enough chicken broth to make 1 cup of liquid. Remove any extra fat from the liquid with a fat separator or use a spoon to spoon off the top layer of fat and pour this into a small saucepan on the stove, bringing it to a boil.
- In a small cup, mix together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cool water or broth until smooth. Pour this into the boiling broth and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring occasionally until gravy is thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- If desired for a crispy skin, you can gently scrape off extra spices (to keep them from burning) on the skin and brush with a little oil. Place the chicken under the broiler for just a few minutes to crisp and brown the skin. You could also place it into a 450℉ oven for 5-8 minutes. Slice chicken and serve with vegetables and gravy.
Notes
- Dry herbs can be substituted for fresh. Use 1 teaspoon rosemary, ¼ teaspoon thyme, ½ teaspoon sage. Bay leaf may also be added if you have it on hand.
- If you prefer, you can just make the slow cooker whole chicken without the veggies and serve it along with mashed potatoes, rice, dumplings, or noodles.
- All slow cookers cook differently and yours may take a bit longer to cook. Make sure the lid stays on as much as possible as it takes time to come back up to temperature every time you open the lid. I suggest checking the temperature around the 4 hour mark. The chicken will begin to fall off the bone when it is done.
- If you have a stand for your crockpot, set it in place first then tuck your vegetables in below. Place the chicken on top and cover the slow cooker.
- If you have leftover chicken, it’s also great to use in a chicken pot pie or casserole!
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