Whole Chicken and Rice in the Slow Cooker Flavored with Onions and Spices! This Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Dinner is a win! You can’t Go Wrong with this Meal in the Crock Pot!
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The BEST Crock Pot Chicken and Rice!
This Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Dinner is both effective in the summer, and one that will provide great sustenance during the school year. You really can’t go wrong with it. The end result is a juicy whole chicken perfectly seasoned and slow cooked along with cheesy rice. For me this crock pot chicken and rice is a comfort food that my entire family loves and I do too because it’s so easy!
As you know I adore using my crock pot to prepare meals for me. It’s kind of the staple of my life. We also love making Bacon Cheeseburger Crock Pot Tater Tot Casserole, Crock Pot Chili and Crock Pot Hamburger Wild Rice Casserole! Seriously, my kind inhale that last one!
(Look at those juices!)
Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
I am talking about whole chicken and rice in the slow cooker. Yes, rice can be cooked in the slow cooker and it yields great results!
I lived off instant rice growing up and have graduated to standard rice types, but it is nice when a meal utilizes that quick-cooking advantage.
Even in my rice cooker, plain white rice can take around 40 minutes to cook. I knew that with this whole chicken and rice in the slow cooker I would need to revisit my childhood love and throw it into this meal. Nothing wrong with instant rice!
I bet you won’t even notice the difference in the end.
Whole Chicken Recipe
Whole chickens have been a favorite of mine recently to cook in the slow cooker because they are constantly on sale. It doesn’t make sense to buy boneless skinless chicken breasts when you can cook a whole chicken for under $6.
Not only that, but whole chickens give diversity. When I did eat meat, I preferred the breast pieces, but my husband and mother both prefer dark meat.
A whole chicken can really bring a family together, especially if people are diverse in their chicken meat preferences!
With both the humid temperatures and back to school upon us, this whole chicken and rice in the slow cooker really utilizes your time. Basically no prep, and once everything is combined, you are hands-free.
You can easily add more veggies to your rice, but we kept it simple here with onions. 99% of the time, when my chicken is finished in the slow cooker, I will put it under the broiler in the oven. You don’t have to but this gives the chicken a nice, crispy skin (something that does not happen in the slow cooker on its own.)
Tips for Making Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
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- Use Instant Rice. Like I said I have grown up and use long grain rice most of the time, but with this recipe I went back to instant rice. You will need to use this for the correct cooking times. You can use instant brown rice, but that’s as much as you want to change up things!
- Broil at the End. If you want to achieve a crisp chicken skin you will want to remove the whole chicken from the crock pot at the end of the cooking time and pop it under the broiler. The crock pot will not give you a crisp skin. Totally optional.
- Add More Vegetables. I stuck to onions with my rice but you can easy add carrots, peas, celery etc. to beef up your vegetable intake!
How to Make Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
First step is to combine all the sauce and rice ingredients in your slow cooker.
Next you’ll want to place your whole chicken on top of the sauce and rice and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and oregano.
That’s it!!
Throw the cover on your crock pot and turn it to low for 4-5 hours or until chicken reaches 160 degrees F. I highly recommend this crock pot with a temperature probe so you will know exactly when the chicken gets to 160 degrees F.
If you want a crispy skin remove the chicken from the crock pot and place onto a pan. Throw it under the broiler in your oven for a few minutes until the skin is chicken!
Whole Chicken and Rice in the Slow Cooker Flavored with Onions and Spices! This Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Dinner is a win! You can't Go Wrong with this Meal in the Crock Pot!
- 1 whole chicken, any inside parts removed
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 (10 oz each) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 (10 oz) can condensed cream of cheddar soup (or another can of cream of chicken soup)
- 2 c. instant rice
- 1 c. chicken broth
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 medium sized onion, diced
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Combine all the sauce and rice ingredients into a 6-quart slow cooker. Mix until combined. Place whole chicken on top and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, and oregano.
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Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until chicken reaches 160F.
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If desired, move chicken to an over safe pan and broil chicken until skin is nice and crispy.
My slow cooker comes with a probe so I set the appliance to cook the chicken to 160F.
Danielle | The Creative Bite says
Wow, this looks like a spectacularly easy and delicious meal the whole family would love!
Staci says
Chicken never fully cooked! Followed instructions but whole top of bird was raw. Transferred to oven and finished there. What went wrong??
Kacey Joanette says
I am really sorry to hear that, Staci! Did the chicken weigh more than 4 lbs? I cook whole chickens in the slow cooker all the time so I honestly don’t know what happened 🙁
Jenny says
Can you use brown rice that is not instant in this recipe or do you think it would not cook? We try to stay away from white instant rice, although it is yummy!
Kacey Joanette says
Sorry, Jenny, I just saw this comment! I have heard of people using regular rice in the slow cooker with no issues (my husband cannot eat white rice either so we stick to brown.) My only concern would be cook time. There are some slow cooker rice recipes online that may be able to help (sorry I was not able to answer your question.)
Christine says
Did u try this? I dont buy instant rice i only have non-instant white rice
Julie Evink says
Yes I might add a little more liquid and you might have to cook it a little longer!
Peterson says
What do you do with the marjoram?
Kacey Joanette says
Hi there,
The recipe does not call for marjoram 🙂
Jeanne says
If using a 6lb chicken, do you think its a good idea to marinate the chicken overnight with the spices and put it in the slow cooker for around 4 hours, drain the juices & for the last 4 hours do as the recipe says?
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
Hey, Jeanne. I’ve never cooked this recipe with a larger chicken, but your idea sounds like it should work! If the chicken cooks faster than expected, you could take it out and allow the rice to finish cooking on its own while the meat rests.
Lindsey says
I cooked this on high for 4 hours, and added regular white rice in after two hours.
Amy says
Has anyone tried this when they’re gone all day? I’m away working during the day so would need to leave the chicken on low for at least 9 hours….I wonder if I could try putting the chicken in frozen? Any ideas?
LeSann Corrie Oglethorpe says
I cooked this for our Sunday dinner…I used 2 cups raw brown rice. I used the chicken soup and broth but the 3rd soup I used Cream of Mushroom and added some sliced fresh mushrooms. I probably tripled or it may have been even more of the seasoning on the chicken. I added some water, about 2/3 of a soup can, because I was using raw brown rice and I was afraid that it wouldn’t have enough moisture to get it done. That was not a good decision. It would have been fine without the water and with only 2 cans of soup. The chicken cooked perfect..even with the added seasoning it was mildly flavored. The rice was bland and could have used some more oregano or even basil would have been good.. It cooked longer than it needed so the rice was overcooked and mushy. There was too much gravy/sauce.
Shannon Labelle says
There is no way you use instant rice for 4 hours in a crock pot,should of went with my instincts there did not turn out at all!
H Diaz says
I used 2 cups uncooked brown rice, 1 can cheddar cheese soup, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 8 oz crimini mushrooms (large & quartered), 1 pound carrot chunks, 2-3 stalks celery (chopped to preferred size), 1/2 chopped onion and some leftover cilantro I had on hand mixed in with rice. NO BROTH. Slow cooker on low just over 5 hrs produced enough liquid to my liking. Although I was worried it would not be enough or too much. Delicious! Will do this again. Thank you for the inspiration.
Julie Evink says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Jeanne-Rita says
Can I put the chicken in frozen and if so what adjustments do I have to make? Does the Nutrition Facts say this is over 1400 calories per serving?
Julie Evink says
I would not recommend putting it in frozen because the chicken would not come up to a safe temperature quick enough to prevent bacteria from possibly being present and causing a food borne illness 🙁
Debbie says
Should I spray the interior of the slow cooker?
Julie Evink says
Doesn’t hurt!
Angie says
Hi,
Whenever I cook a whole chicken in my crockpot it leaves a ton of liquid. I’m not sure about putting rice at the bottom? I’m not sure if I’m missing something or the recipe calls for a different appliance.
Julie Evink says
Nope it should work! That’s how we tested the recipe. The rice will soak some of that up as it cooks.