3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Buttery Roast Chicken

A whole chicken, a few tablespoons of butter and a spoonful of seasoning: that's all you need for this 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Buttery Roast Chicken. Ten minutes of prep in the morning gives you tender, juicy chicken that pulls off the bone, plus a pot of buttery juices to spoon over everything.

Slow cooking is gentle and moist, so it's wonderful for the meat, but the skin stays soft rather than crisp. If you love golden, crackly skin, there's an optional five-minute broiler finish below.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Three ingredients. Chicken, butter and a seasoning blend. No chopping and no extra liquid.
• About 10 minutes of prep. Mix the butter, rub it on and let the slow cooker take over.
• Tender, juicy meat. Low, steady heat keeps the chicken moist.
• Built-in sauce. The chicken cooks in its own buttery juices.
• Easy leftovers. Extra meat works in sandwiches, soups, salads and casseroles all week.

The Three Ingredients

Whole chicken (4 to 5 pounds). This size fits a 6-quart oval slow cooker and feeds about six. It must be fully thawed, with the giblets and neck removed from the cavity. Check both ends of the bird, since the bag of giblets is sometimes tucked into the neck cavity.

Unsalted butter. Four tablespoons, softened at room temperature so it mashes easily and spreads under the skin. Unsalted butter keeps the salt under your control, because the salt comes from the seasoning blend.

Poultry seasoning blend that contains salt. This is the most important label to read. Some products called "poultry seasoning" are salt-free mixes of herbs such as sage and thyme. Used alone, they leave the chicken bland. For this recipe, choose a poultry seasoning or poultry rub that lists salt among its ingredients.

• How much: 1½ tablespoons is right for a 4- to 5-pound chicken with a typical salted blend.
• If salt is listed first on the label, the blend is saltier. Start with 1 tablespoon.
• If your blend is salt-free, it isn't the right product for this three-ingredient version. Choose a salted blend instead.

Equipment and Choosing the Right Chicken

• Slow cooker: a 6-quart or larger oval slow cooker. An oval shape fits a whole bird far better than a round one.
• Instant-read thermometer: the only reliable way to know the chicken is done.
• Two large spatulas or sturdy tongs for lifting the cooked chicken.
• For the optional broiler finish: an oven-safe roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet.

Will it fit? Before you season the chicken, set it in the empty slow cooker insert and put the lid on. The lid must close tightly without pressing on the bird, with a little space around it. USDA advises checking your slow cooker's instruction booklet for the sizes of food it can handle. If your chicken doesn't fit comfortably, use a larger slow cooker or roast it in the oven instead.

Thaw it completely. USDA advises against cooking frozen meat or poultry in a slow cooker, because it can spend too long at temperatures where bacteria multiply. Thaw the chicken in the refrigerator; a 4- to 5-pound bird usually needs at least one full day.

How to Make Slow Cooker Buttery Roast Chicken

The full recipe card is at the top of this page. Here is the method in short:

1. Dry the chicken. Pat it dry inside and out so the butter sticks.
2. Make the seasoned butter. Mash the butter and seasoning together.
3. Butter it up. Spread some under the breast skin and rub the rest all over the outside and a little inside.
4. Into the pot. Set it breast side up in the slow cooker. Don't add water or broth; the chicken releases plenty of juice.
5. Cook. HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
6. Check, lift and rest. Confirm 165°F in three spots, move it to a board, and rest 15 minutes before carving.

Recipe Notes

• Times at a glance: 10 minutes of prep, 4 to 5 hours on HIGH (or 6 to 7 hours on LOW) and 15 minutes of resting. The total of about 5 hours 25 minutes in the recipe card is based on the HIGH setting.
• Optional broiler finish: adds about 5 minutes and is not included in the total time.
• Yield: about 6 servings from a 4- to 5-pound chicken.
• Salt: all of the salt comes from the seasoning blend, so use one that contains salt.

How to Check Doneness and Rest the Chicken

Cooking times are only estimates. Slow cookers vary by brand and age, and every chicken is a little different. USDA recommends cooking whole chicken to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F, measured with a food thermometer in three places:

• the thickest part of the breast
• the innermost part of the thigh
• the innermost part of the wing

Keep the probe from touching bone, which can give a false reading. Every spot should read at least 165°F. Don't rely on the color of the meat or on clear juices: USDA notes that color is not a reliable sign of safety.

If any spot is under 165°F, cover the slow cooker and keep cooking, checking again every 20 to 30 minutes.

Rest for 15 minutes. Once the chicken is out of the slow cooker, let it rest uncovered before carving. The juices settle back into the meat, and it's easier to slice.

Optional: Golden Skin Under the Broiler

The slow cooker gives you tender meat, but soft, pale skin. This optional step adds about 5 minutes and browns the skin:

1. Move the oven rack so the top of the chicken will sit about 6 inches below the broiler, and heat the broiler.
2. Carefully transfer the cooked chicken to an oven-safe roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet and pat the skin dry.
3. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely, until the skin is golden. Butter browns quickly, so don't walk away.
4. Rest for 15 minutes, then carve.

About the photos: the golden chicken at the top of this page and the carved chicken show this optional broiler finish. Straight from the slow cooker, the skin looks like the chicken in the cooking photo: soft and pale gold.

Do not put the slow cooker's ceramic insert under the broiler, unless your manufacturer's instructions specifically say it is broiler-safe. Many inserts and glass lids are not made for that kind of direct heat. Always use a separate oven-safe pan.

What to Serve With It

These sides are separate from the three-ingredient recipe:

• Mashed potatoes to soak up the juices, like these creamy mashed potatoes
• Roasted potatoes, such as bacon and onion roasted potatoes
• Glazed carrots, like these Amish-style slow cooker honey glazed carrots
• Green beans, a green salad, rice or dinner rolls
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or a squeeze of lemon over the carved chicken

For more slow cooker chicken dinners, try Juicy Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing or Crockpot Chicken and Gravy. Leftover chicken also works in place of rotisserie chicken in this Rotisserie Chicken Stuffing Casserole.

Storage, Reheating and Freezing

Refrigerator. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking (1 hour if the room is above 90°F). Pull the meat off the bones first so it cools quickly, and store it in shallow, airtight containers. Use within 3 to 4 days.

Reheating. Reheat leftovers to 165°F. Add a spoonful of the reserved juices and warm covered in the microwave, or in a covered dish in a 350°F oven until heated through. Don't reheat leftovers in the slow cooker, which heats food too slowly.

Freezing. Freeze the meat, off the bone, in freezer bags or airtight containers for up to 3 months for best quality. Freeze the strained juices separately. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.