slow cooked, tender chicken makes for a healthy and comforting meal.
Skip the rotisserie section and make this Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Roast at home. Warm paprika, seasonal thyme, and also lots of freshly ground black pepper – have I got your attention yet? This slow cooker recipe is perfect to make for a big family meal on a Sunday night as the main dish. Enjoy eating slowly together and then shred up the chicken for tacos, pasta, great sandwiches, and all of your favorite chicken things for the entire week! One bite, and it will hook you!
You can also check out some of our best slow cooker recipes!
A Leaner Pot Roast
I know we all think of “pot roast” as a beef dish. Actually, the term “pot roast” simply means a piece of meat that is cooked slowly in a covered pot. This Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Roast is not only leaner, it’s also easy to achieve a reliable, moist, and flavorful meat every time you make it.
This beautifully browned chicken was cooked in a Set n’ Forget Slow Cooker. We love this slow cooker because you simply add the chicken, put the probe in the fatty part of the thigh, and set the probe to 165 degrees.
The chicken cooks to the set temperature and switches to warm when done. This deliciously simple slow cooker recipe, with its potatoes and root vegetables, is actually a perfectly balanced complete meal for any day of the week!
Ingredients Needed for Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Roast
This list of simple ingredients includes the basics you can use for this delicious recipe, but you can always add or take away depending on what your family will enjoy.
- Whole chicken
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic cloves (could use garlic powder if in a pinch)
- Fresh thyme
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Kosher or sea salt
- Celery stalks
- Water
- Baby carrots
- Potatoes
Filled with protein and vegetables, this recipe gives you all of the good stuff! Low in sugar but rich in protein and flavor, you will be adding this one to your meal rotation after the first try.
How to Make This Delicious Slow Cooker Dinner
Slow cooking is the perfect way to give your family a delicious dinner and give yourself a break. With the ability to throw everything into the crock pot and let it cook to perfection all day while you’re at work, or doing chores around the house, or even just sitting and reading a book! There is also less clean-up to mess with afterward, especially if you throw in a slow-cooker liner before you begin.
To start, rinse and dry the chicken before rubbing it down with some olive oil. This helps the herbs and spices really stick to the skin, giving the most flavor. Put some of the minced garlic, salt, and pepper into the cavity of the chicken. You want this to be a flavorful chicken from the inside all the way to the outside. Add some water to the slow cooker to prevent the meat from becoming dry. Then, add in some of the celery before you place the chicken into the slow cooker. The celery will work as a barrier to keep the chicken from browning too much on the bottom.
Next, you can place potatoes and carrots around the chicken and top with your fresh herbs and other seasonings. Cook on low heat for about 6 hours. If you need a shorter cooking time, you could probably do it on high for a shorter time, but we really recommend the slow cooking option to make sure it stays nice and moist throughout the process. Either way, make sure the chicken’s internal temperature reaches between 165-170℉ and the surrounding veggies are tender.
If you prefer a little more browning or crispy skin, you can remove the chicken from the slow cooker at the end of the cooking time and place it in a large roasting pan to broil. Just be sure and keep an eye on it, as it won’t take very long.
If you’ve never worked with a whole chicken in a recipe before, check out these tips on how to cut a whole chicken.
Want to Add More Vegetables?
If potatoes and carrots aren’t your favorite additions, you can always try some different options to find the best things that work for you and your family. Cooking is really just a big experiment or game. It doesn’t always have to be done just as written.
Maybe your family really loves green beans, sweet potatoes, small onions, cremini mushrooms, turnips, or other root vegetables. Finding ways to bring as much flavor to the dish as possible will make it more of a hit! This is an easy meal to get your family members involved in. Give them some options of what to add in. Oftentimes, when someone feels more involved in the process, they are more likely to enjoy the final product.
Need to Store Leftovers?
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Roast is a great recipe to have on a weeknight when you don’t have a lot of time, but also will be delicious the next day.
Just store any leftovers you have in an airtight container for up to around 3-5 days. You could warm up as is or shred the chicken before storing it and use it for delicious sandwiches, chicken tacos, or chicken salad.
We would love to hear from you on what you feel is the best way to utilize these yummy leftovers!
More Slow Cooker and One-Pot Dinners
Rotisserie chicken is one of the most versatile protein sources when it comes to creating different dinners. This can be a game changer when it comes to providing healthy meals with as little effort as possible. For more chicken deliciousness, check out these One Pot Chicken Recipes for Any Day of the Week!
While we love this slow cooker chicken pot roast, we also know that sometimes you might want something a little different.
Here are a few of our favorite slow cooker meals that you can make for Sunday dinner and then use up leftovers as the week goes on!
- Mississippi Pot Roast
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Slow Cooker Minestrone
- Slow Cooker Chunky Beef and Potato Stew
- Slow Cooker Paella
- Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Chicken
- Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken
You can also use your slow cooker for dessert with this amazing Slow Cooker Fudge!
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 1 chicken large, roasted
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 2 celery stalks
- 1/4 cup water optional
- 1 cup baby carrots
- 2 potatoes medium, cut into 1-inch cubes
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry chicken. Rub the outside of chicken with olive oil. Combine spices and rub on the outside of the chicken. Place minced garlic in the cavity along with a little more salt and pepper. Add water to the slow cooker, next the celery and the chicken on top, breast side up. The celery prevents the chicken from browning too much on the bottom.
- Add carrots and potatoes around chicken. Cover and cook on low 6 hours or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165-170 degrees and veggies are tender. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness or pierce with a fork, to make sure the juices run clear.
- For extra browning, carefully remove chicken from the slow cooker, place in a large roasting pan and broil until desired color has been reached. Garnish chicken with fresh thyme, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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I love the idea of slower cooker recipes because everyone says you can come home from work and eat. However most recipes, like the one above says to cook from 4-6 hours. I work an 8 hour day with a 25 min. drive to and from work, so I am looking at about 10 hours in the crockpot. Is cooking on low like the recipe recommends above, going to over cook the meal?
Shawn J., I think you would be fine, but we can’t promise it won’t be overcooked. The ideal thing would be to cook on low for 6 hours then it
automatically goes to warm. Of course not all slow cookers have that feature. The 10 hours on low should work, if your slow cooker doesn’t have that feature.
The Chicken Pot Roast won’t be ruined just fall-off-the-bone extremely tender. You should also make sure there’s enough liquid so that it doesn’t dry out, so you would want to add 1 cup more liquid than the recipe calls for, either one cup of chicken broth or water, if cooking for 10 hours on low.
Just an extra tip for the crock pot users. I use a security timer to manage the crock pot while I’m at work. These are the light timers that you can find easily during Christmas time for tree lights. Everything goes in before I leave for work and I set the timer to switch the pot on and off as needed. Might be a little cold when I get home but it works for me.
can you do lamb shanks this way in slow cooker
Yes! Lamb shanks would be a delicious substitute in this recipe. Just keep in mind lamb will change the nutritional information.