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One of my favorite bargain friendly meals is to cook a whole chicken in the crock pot and then use that chicken meat for several different meals. You can usually buy a whole chicken for around 3-4 dollars that yields about 7-8 cups of cooked chicken. So easily 2-3 whole meals from one chicken, yippee! Not to mention the delicious chicken broth you can make from the drippings and bones.
Use for any recipe that calls for cooked chicken like Enchiladas De Pollo Y Queso , Chicken Spaghetti , Creamy Spinach Enchiladas, Chicken Corn Chowder, Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Stuffed Corn Tortillas, Pumpkin Enchiladas, shredded chicken tacos, , Thanksgiving Casserole, and Enchiladas verdes. For even more recipes using Sticky Chicken be sure to check out my E-cookbook.
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (finely chopped), 1 onion
Mix all the seasonings: salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, thyme, black pepper, and rosemary.
Pat dry chicken with paper towels and remove giblets.
Rub chicken with spice mixture, place in crock pot, breast down.
Rough chop onion and place on bottom of lightly sprayed crock pot.
Add some onion and spice mixture inside chicken as well.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours
Then remove the chicken from the crockpot using 2 big spatulas.
Remove skin and meat from bones and use in your favorite dishes, salads, soups, casseroles, tacos, or, eat it just plain.
See those glorious drippings? Don’t toss them.
Add 8 cups of water, and the bones and skin back in from the chicken. If you have any leftover carrots, onion, garlic, celery, this would be a great addition too. Cook on low another 8-10 hours.
Then strain out all the bits and bones.
I like to strain 2-3 times to be sure I’ve gotten everything.
Then I freeze the strained broth in 2 cup amounts in freezer bags, stacked flat for easy storage and defrosting.
I also use a tall cup to wrap the bag around then pour in, this is also helpful if the bag has a hole in it, it will catch any liquid.
Enjoy!
Print This RecipeSticky Chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tsp fresh spices (rosemary, oregano, etc)
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 large roasting chicken
1 cup chopped onion
Programmable CrockpotIn a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices.
Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels.
Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin.
Add Onion to bottom of crock and inside chicken
When ready to cook chicken put it in the slow cooker and do not add any liquid.
As the cooking process goes on it will produce its own juices.
Cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours and it will be falling off the bone tender.
Let cool then remove the meat from the bones, and set aside. If you like add about 6 – 8 cups of water and all the skin and bones back into the crockpot to cook for another 8 hours, and then strain all the bones and bits and have some of the best homemade chicken broth.
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I’m going to have to try your recipe!
Does it come out juicy? I cooked a whole chicken in the crockpot a few months ago and it was dry. I wonder if I left it in there too long. Maybe I should do this on a weekend when I’m home.
Anita- I cook mine on low and it is always very juicy and moist, it produces about 3 cups of juice at the bottom on the crock. I do recommend cooking it while your home I like to take some of the dripping and baste the chicken while its cooking, but I have done it both ways and I still think the chicken comes out moist. I know some crock vary temperatures, maybe yours has a higher low temp.
Another question. Should the chicken go in breast side down? I didn’t do that last time. That was the only part that was dry.
Thats what I do, then the breast is swimming in the juices. Still to me white chicken meat always tends to be a little dry, but it tastes great mixed with other recipes, again thats just me, I prefer dark meat.
Yummy! That looks so good! I have been looking for some chicken recipes so this would be PERFECT!
This is GREAT! I can eat on this for days!!! Thanks!
Do you have a suggestion on how to make this sticky chicken with boneless chicken breasts rather than a whole chicken? That’s what I have available in my freezer this week and I really wanted to make your cheesy chicken enchilada recipe on Saturday night. I’d like to use the crockpot so I can just get it set up and then and go about my Saturday activities. I’m open to non crockpot suggestions if you don’t think the crockpot would work.
Thanks!!:)
This is an awesome recipe. I love making chicken in the crockpot. It’s always so juicy and tender! I wonder if I could do this with a frozen bird…hmmm I’ll have to try it out! Thanks
I’ve linked my Temp My Tummy Tues post to yours for tomorrow. I love your Sticky Chicken!
Thanks!
That sounds really good and CHEAP! Yay! I am a big wimp about putting raw poultry in the crock pot. I just worry that it doesn’t get hot fast enough. I know, I just need to give it a try!
Looks delish!!!!!
Another new on to me. What part of the country do you hail from? It sounds awesome!
Hi SweetPea
I just want to thank you for this recipe for sticky chicken. I make it at least once a month. It is so easy and delicious and I can always get at least 3 meals out of it with the leftover chicken meat and juices. The “stock” that is left over is so flavorful that I love to use it to make “pantry soup”. I start with the stock, add whatever frozen vegetables I have along with leftover chicken and usually some canned beans. So healthy and easy. I also recently used this recipe just to make chicken thighs and legs for father’s day since my dad loves dark meat. It was a HUGE hit.
Anyhow, I love the blog. Keep up all the great recipes. PS – the photos from the new camera look great. =) Happy Wednesday.
-K
I absolutely love this recipe! I make it at least 3 times a month.. It is so easy and so frugal. I also use the “stock” (juices in the bottom of the crock pot) to boost my soups and make AMAZING risotto 🙂
Thank you!
that looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!!
I think I’ll have to try this later in the week. It looks like it would be tender and flavorful.
This is AMAZING. I am a “beginner” at this whole cooking thing, and this is easy, and tastes awesome. Used it to make your Chicken Corn Chowder, which is also AMAZING. Thanks!
Had to click on this one! I cook chicken all the time in the crock! I did tonight too! Bone in skin on breasts, thighs and legs. OMG fall off the bone awesome! I’m gonna try this skinny chicken next week!
Oh, yes- followed you here from Org. junkie- and I make this all the time, too (I just call it spice-rubbed, though). I love how moist and easy it is.
I really like the sound of this. It will be going on my menu plan soon. Come join me for What’s On the Menu Wednesday whenever you can.
I found your link from orgjunkie.org and made this recipe last week. Wow, it was excellent! I had never cooked a whole chicken in my crock pot before and now it may become a regular thing. Not only was this really easy, it tasted amazing. I had run out of garlic powder, so I added a few smashed garlic cloves instead.
Thanks for sharing this great recipe!!
Hi there! Found you through a search engine while I was trying to find out whether to cook a chicken in the crockpot breast side up or down. This recipe looks very interesting! Definitely going to try it sometime and might link it to a post soon!
Michelle
Heartfelt Balance Handmade Life
Hi Michelle, Hope you found your answer, I do breast down so it doesn’t dry out. Please do let me know if you try it, it’s a family favorite here, in fact I had one in the crockpot today!
Hi there! I’m a fairly new cook, always looking for healthy, easy and cheap. This recipe has inspired me to find new ways to fix chicken. My family loves it. Thanks so much!
Jesse- so glad that your family loves the Sticky chicken, hope you will continue cooking and enjoying it.
I always try and have cooked chicken on hand, it’s a great time saver. I usually roast mine in the oven, but your recipe sounds great and the crock pot is so easy!
I just found this recipe through Orgjunkie. I have it pinned and will be putting it on the menu! Looks wonderful!
This is an interesting way to cook a chicken.
We learned from my husband’s granddad to freeze broth in ice cube trays. After frozen, we toss the broth cubes into a freezer bag. It takes about 7 cubes for a cup of broth. One cup is plenty when you’re cooking for two.
The best part? You can toss the broth cubes directly into the chili, soup, etc. without thawing. We also add them to pasta sauce and stir fry.
This recipe looks wonderful! I’d love it if you submitted it to us here at Gooseberry Patch for possible inclusion in a new slow cooker cookbook. Just follow the link for simple directions! Thanks!
http://www1.gooseberrypatch.com/gooseberry/recipe.nsf/f.sharearecipe
I just recently discovered cooking sites. This recipe is awesome. My son,who doesn’t like chicken, said he would eat this all the time. I made hot open faced chicken sandwiches, with gravy using some of the broth. I then proceeded to add 8 cups of water and the remains of the chicken to make a stock. Then I made a chicken vegetable soup with barley. Thanks for such a great recipe. I’ll be using this again.
Can you cook it for less hours on HIGH and it still come out juicy?
You can test it out with your crockpot, some cook hotter and some cooler.
Thanks for the great chicken recipe. I never seem to have much luck with chicken in the Crock Pot – it always comes out dry and overcooked. I’m not sure what I do wrong but some people have suggested my Crock Pot might cook at a higher setting than the recipe calls for. I have a 6 qt Rival Crock Pot/Slow Cooker so I was wondering if you can suggest what size chicken I should use in order to avoid the dried out issue? Thanks!
Great question MaryPat, I don’t personally have this problem as my chicken always releases tons of juices as it cooks, I suggest for your large crockpot maybe a 4-5 lb chicken. Also cook it on low for 8-10 hrs and if you think it will get too hot, maybe add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the crock. Hope you try this recipe, it produces some of the best moist chicken I’ve ever eaten.
I found your recipe at http://amysfinerthings.com. She talks it up! Harris Teeter has chickens on sale, but I’ve always been, well, chicken to do a whole bird before. But I think I’ll try this–it sounds so good and with so many people loving it I can’t wait to try it! I’m definitely putting it on the menu this week.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
I know your feeling about doing a whole chicken, I was the same way, but this really is so simple and so tasty. Hope you enjoy it!
This was so delicious! Made it today and the whole family enjoyed it.
I just wanted to let you know, I have been culling old roos and sticking them in the crockpot. A friend gave me this link the other day and it worked out great. Old birds have to be slow cooked with lots of moisture so I added a cup of broth at the bottom, thru in a few cloves of garlic and I got almost 3 lb of shredded meat for enchiladas.. thanks so much!
Good way to use some old roos, I’ve done this with my culls too, delicious! Thanks for writing glad you enjoyed it.
Hi, I have a rooster my husband is going to process tomorrow so I came across this recipe; do I need to brine the chicken before sticking it in the crockpot, do you think?
Thanks!
I have never used brine on the roosters we have used before, but depending on the size (if it is smaller) you may want to add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the crock. Hope you enjoy!
@Sweet Pea, Thank you for the reply! We just got done eating the chicken and whoa! It was amazing. We did do the salt brine overnight, covered completely, then followed your recipe. I think the only thing we will do differently next time is to cut out the salt from the spice rub; the salt brine does enough. Thank you so much for this recipe; I’m sharing it with my fellow chicken owners 🙂
This sounds so delicious, I make something similar in the oven, but I love the idea of using the crockpot!! I have a chicken that is about 3.7 lbs, do you think its too small for the crockpot? or would it be fine if I just cooked it for the 8 hours or so? Loving your site!!
I think you could easily cook it on low, but maybe just 6 hours instead or keep an eye on it since it’s a little smaller. Hope you enjoy it’s a family favorite of ours.
@Sweet Pea, Thank you for the reply! I will be trying it this week along with the homemade chicken broth! I have never been successful at broth, so I’m hoping this one will do the trick!!
Jenna! I don’t even know if you still look at blog comments. Just wanted you to know that I STILL come here for the sticky chicken recipe! 🙂 You’d think I would have it memorized by now! Ha!
Hi,
I am cooking the sticky chicken recipe in crock pot. I am cooking it on low, do you know how many hours it takes for the juices from the chicken to appear? I put my chicken at 6:45 PM. I have not seen juices yet.
P.S will you please get back to me ASAP, this the first time I have cooked this. I want to be great!
jazziejalopez@yahoo.com
Hi Jazzie, per the driections it takes 8 hours on low, you might want to set to high if you are wanting to eat the chicken tonight, on high you can cook 4 hours. Best of luck I hope you enjoy the recipe. 🙂