Description
A comforting and flavorful slow cooker whole chicken recipe paired with savory stove-top stuffing. Perfect for a hands-off meal, the chicken is slow-cooked to tender perfection with aromatic herbs and vegetables, then served alongside fluffy herb-seasoned stuffing made right in the slow cooker.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegetables
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
Chicken and Seasonings
- 5 lbs. whole chicken
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. dried sage (use oregano if you don’t have sage)
- 1/2 tsp. paprika (for color)
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Stuffing
- 6 oz. box stove-top stuffing (savory herb style recommended, but chicken, turkey, or cornbread style works)
Instructions
- Prepare the Chicken: Clean out the inside of the whole chicken by removing any extra parts or packaging and discard them to ensure the cavity is empty.
- Add Vegetables and Chicken to Slow Cooker: Place the diced carrots, onion, and celery at the bottom of the slow cooker to create a flavorful bed. Then place the whole chicken on top of the vegetables.
- Season and Add Butter: Pour the melted salted butter evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle dried thyme, dried sage, paprika, salt, and pepper over the chicken to infuse it with aromatic seasoning.
- Cook the Chicken: Cover the slow cooker with its lid. Cook the chicken on low heat for 7-8 hours or on high heat for 4-5 hours until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
- Prepare the Stuffing: Once the chicken is done, carefully remove it from the slow cooker and place it onto a serving platter. Cover it with foil to keep warm.
- Adjust Cooking Liquid: Remove some of the excess liquid from the slow cooker, leaving about 1.5 cups of liquid along with the cooked veggies. The extra liquid can be saved for gravy or other recipes.
- Add Stuffing: Add the box of stove-top stuffing mix to the slow cooker containing the veggies and 1.5 cups of reserved liquid. Replace the lid and let the stuffing soak and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Fluff and Serve: After resting, fluff the stuffing with a fork to separate the grains. For presentation, you may place the chicken back on top of the stuffing in the slow cooker or slice the chicken onto a platter and serve the stuffing from the cooker.
Notes
- Measuring out the cooking liquid accurately to match the amount recommended on the stuffing box is crucial for proper stuffing texture.
- You can substitute dried oregano for sage if unavailable.
- The paprika is added to improve the color of the chicken since the slow cooker does not brown the skin.
- Save any extra cooking liquid as a base for gravy or other dishes.
- Use different stove-top stuffing flavors based on preference including herb, chicken, turkey, or cornbread styles.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 1/6th of chicken with stuffing)
- Calories: 550 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 850 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 45 g
- Cholesterol: 135 mg
