This post is sponsored by Rhodes Bake-N-Serv.

I'm coming at you this week with a fantastic recipe for monkey bread. I absolutely love monkey bread. Each little bit tastes exactly like the center of a cinnamon roll!

And my recipe for monkey bread is so easy — no need for flour or yeast because we're using store bought yeast rolls.

But I did want to see if could improve monkey bread, and make it taste even more delicious! I decided to stuff the inside of the dough with Nutella, or chocolate hazelnut spread.

It was so good! I mean, how could it not be good? It's chocolate, cinnamon, butter, sugar, and cream cheese frosting!

My monkey bread recipe is so oooey, gooey. I hope you have some napkins handy!

What is Monkey Bread?

Traditional Monkey Bread is balls of dough that are rolled in sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. It's baked in the oven in a bundt pan and topped with vanilla or cream cheese frosting. Of course, my monkey bread recipe has a little twist to it because of the Nutella. Yummy!

Once baked, monkey bread is inverted onto a plate or cake stand and is served pull apart style. Everyone tears a little piece off themselves. This is similar to how monkeys eat their food, which is where the name monkey bread comes from.

Monkey Bread Ingredients

This monkey bread recipe is easy to make, and I bet you have most of the ingredients in your pantry or fridge already!

To make money bread you will need the following ingredients: Rhodes Bake N Serve Yeast Dinner Rolls, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chocolate hazelnut spread, unsalted butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk.

To find exact measurements, scroll on down to the recipe card at the bottom.

How to Make Monkey Bread

My monkey bread recipe is super simple and easy to make! There are just a few key steps, and you will absolutely love the end result! Here's how to make monkey bread:

First, thaw out the Rhodes Bake N Serve Yeast Dinner Rolls at room temperature.

I sprayed a baking sheet with non-stick spray and covered the rolls with plastic wrap. Make sure to spray the plastic wrap, too!

Once the dough is thawed out, move on to the next steps.

Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray.

In a bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon — and stir together.

Cut the rolls in thirds.

Toss the dough in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Add the dough and mix as you're cutting the pieces of dough into thirds.

Next, take each piece of dough and flatten it out into a small disc-like shape.

Spoon the chocolate hazelnut spread into the center of each disc.

Squeeze the sides together to form a tight seal.

Place the dough ball into the bundt pan.

Continue placing the monkey bread dough balls in the pan until there is one layer.

Pour some butter on top along with a sprinkle of the sugar mixture. Repeat this process two more times.

Place the monkey bread in the oven and bake for 27 to 30 minutes, or until the monkey bread is golden brown on top.

Next, allow the monkey bread to cool for 10-12 minutes.

The monkey bread needs to rest in the pan, so that will settle and can be flipped onto a serving dish.

Place a plate on top of the bundt pan, and carefully flip both the plate and bundt pan over. Remove the bundt pan, and continue to the let the monkey bread cool before topping with the cream cheese frosting.

While the monkey bread continues to cool, make the cream cheese frosting.

Beat the cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer. Add the the powdered sugar gradually in two batches, being to sure to combine thoroughly. Add vanilla and milk, and stir until the frosting is smooth.

Top the monkey bread with the cream cheese frosting. Serve immediately!

This easy monkey bread recipe is perfect for a fun brunch with your family…I know you will totally love this and they will too!

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Easy Monkey Bread with Nutella

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

• 18 Rhodes Bake N Serve Yeast Dinner Rolls
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 to 4 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

• Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place 18 frozen Rhodes Bake N Serve Yeast Dinner Rolls on the baking sheet. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with the nonstick spray and place over the baking sheet. Defrost the rolls on the counter for 2 hours.
• Spray a bundt pan generously with baking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon to a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix together.
• Cut rolls into three (I used kitchen shears). Toss the cut up dough into the bowl with the sugar mixture. Do this gently to be sure all of the dough is covered in the sugar mixture.
• Take each piece of dough, flatten a little and add a little bit of nutella in the middle (be sure to not flatten the dough too much).  Pinch all sides together to make it a closed dough ball.
• Add each dough ball to the prepared bundt pan being sure to put the pinched side up. Pour a Tablespoon of melted butter on the dough balls. Sprinkle some of the sugar mixture on top of the dough balls and poured butter.
• Repeat creating two more layers of dough balls in the bundt pan, or until you're finished.
• The top layer of dough balls, place them in the pan with the pinched side down. Pour the remaining butter on top and sprinkle some more sugar mixture on top.
• Bake the monkey bread for 27 to 30 minutes, until the monkey bread is golden brown on top. Allow the monkey bread to sit in the pan for 10 to 12 minutes on a cooling rack.
• Place a plate on top of the bundt pan and flip over to put the monkey bread on the plate. Allow the monkey bread to cool at least 20 to 30 minutes before pouring the frosting on top.
• Make the cream cheese frosting by creaming the cream cheese and the butter together in a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer. Add powdered sugar in two batches. Mix thoroughly. Add vanilla extract and milk and mix until smooth.
• Drizzle the frosting on top and serve immediately.

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Rhodes Bake-N-Serv. I only work with brands that I love and always share with you my personal opinions.

The post Easy Monkey Bread with Nutella appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

There are affiliate links in this post. I get commissions for purchases made through these types of links in this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Last week I was in Portland and for a few days the week before that I was in Seattle. Portland was for work. It was really good to see some of my co-workers and even meet a few for the very first time. Since I work from home, I hadn't gotten to meet some members of my team. It was awesome to get to hang out with them and I ate very well and even hung out with an awesome friend.

I was in Seattle before Portland for the BlogHer Food conference. I had a lot of fun eating, meeting new friends and seeing old friends.

While I was in Seattle, I got these panic texts from Curtis, the washer was broken or he actually said “I broke the washer”. He thought he had overloaded it but I kept texting back saying I'm sure it's just old. It was really really old.

Fast forward to last week (or wait rewind), and I get a text message from Curtis with a photograph of some chicken lo mein. He had made a frozen dinner and he said he couldn't wait for me to come home to make dinner again.

It was so sweet and before you go thinking, he should be able to make his own dinner. He should and he would but he is currently beyond stressed out halfway through a year-long online certificate program for GIS (he makes maps for a living). All his idea and his company is covering the costs. He regrets it about every other day because he remembers how much he disliked school. I can go on and on about this.

I felt terrible, I left for a week and a half and he has to deal with the puppy, a broken washer, work and school on top of all of it. I promised I would make this cheese steak sandwich recipe and DoubleTree cookies when I came home.

But not the day I came home though; it was a red eye flight. NO MORE red eyes for me. I just can't hack it. I don't sleep very well on planes due to my sleep apnea…I don't know why I tried it for so long but no more.

What Steak for Cheesesteak

The second day after I came home, I made these cheesesteaks. This is Curtis' perfected recipe. We have been making this for a few years now. We used to make it with sliced roast beef and one day, my former co-worker Kevin, said that Philly cheesesteaks were made with ribeye…that was enough for Curtis to want to give it a try.

And perfection.

If you don't want to leave your house and have amazing ribeye steaks delivered to you. You should check out this deal on Perdue Farms!

Deal alert: check out this Niman Ranch Bundle from Perdue Farms that's 40% off!

They offer free shipping for orders over $159.99 too!

How to Make Philly Cheese Steak

Slice the beef ribeye steaks across the grain in thin slices. Once sliced, rough chop all of the beef several times going in rows and then columns. You want to have small pieces of beef when you're done so your cheese steaks are easy to eat!

In a heated non-stick skillet with 1 tablespoon butter, cook the mushrooms and half of the onions.

All done! Remove mushrooms and onions from the pan and put them on a plate for now.

I wipe the pan out with a paper towel and add 1/2 tablespoon of butter and saute the peppers and onions.

All done! Remove the onions and peppers from the pan and add to the plate with mushrooms & onions or onto a separate plate depending on preference.

Once again, I wipe the pan with a paper towel and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Add half of the ribeye steak and cook just 2-4 minutes.

Cheesesteak Sandwich for Pepper Lovers

Then, add the onions & peppers or if using all of the ingredients – half of the onions/peppers/mushrooms mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then divide in half.

Now the cheesesteak magic happens! Add cheese on top. Curtis likes to mix up Provolone and Muenster cheeses so you'll see them above.

Allow the cheese to melt and add to sliced hoagie rolls. More pictures on that below!

Cheesesteak for Mushroom Lovers

Once again, I wipe the pan thoroughly especially the cheese so it doesn't burn. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the 2nd half of the ribeye to the pan. Cook for 2-4 minutes and then add back the onions and mushrooms or the remaining veggies. Divide in half as pictured above.

I prefer provolone only. Add the cheese on top!

Allow the cheese to melt for 1-2 minutes.

Assemble the Cheesesteak Sandwich

And now the fun part, place beef & cheese & veggies onto hoagie rolls.

Doesn't the steak and cheese look amazing? Now I'm craving another one of these.

I love how the cheese gets mixed in completely so every bite has melty, irresistible cheese in it.

And we're ready to roll the cheesesteak sandwiches up.

How to Reheat Cheesesteak

Roll them up tightly in foil. These pictures don't really show you how small we roll them up. The diameter of the cheesesteak ends up being almost half of the diameter of the hoagie roll originally.

Put them into the oven at 250 degrees and allow the meld to happen for about 10-15 minutes. (Don't you just love my blue oven? I had no ideas that ovens could be different colors inside. For the record, I'm using the top oven of my KitchenAid double oven range.) To reheat cheesesteak sandwiches, you'll pop them in the oven for just a little bit longer.

What you end up having is cheesy, greasy goodness. The hoagie is not too soggy but wet enough from the juices from the meat and beat up looking from being tightly rolled. It is perfect. Oh and I had my cheesesteak with a root beer float and some chips. Total perfection.

I like to give Curtis a hard time for what he likes to cook (hot dogs, chili and chili cheese dogs, see the pattern?) – he doesn't cook much and he said the other day, never in a million years did he think I was ever going to blog one of his recipes. I guess I need to do it more often, huh?

Check out the video I made, it shows you how easy this recipe is!

*Just a note: this recipe is based on both of our preferences. I prefer mushrooms and onions on my cheesesteaks and Curtis prefers green peppers and onions. If you want green peppers in all four cheesesteaks – increase the amount of bell peppers to a whole bell pepper. The amount of mushrooms can stay the same or be increased just as well.

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Cheesesteaks

Use two ribeye steaks for this cheesesteak recipe and you can't go wrong.

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 4 hoagie rolls sliced (We love the Publix hoagie rolls!)
• 1/2 green pepper sliced
• 1 large white onion cut in half and sliced thick
• 8 oz mushrooms sliced
• 1.25 to 1.5 pounds beef ribeye steaks sliced thinly across the grain and then chopped roughly again so they are small pieces
• salt & pepper
• 3 1/2 Tablespoons salted butter
• 8 slices of cheese Provolone or Muenster

Instructions

• Prepare 4 sheets of foil and slice the hoagie rolls and set aside. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Heat a non-stick skillet with 1 Tbsp butter on medium high heat. Add mushrooms and half of the onions and cook 5-8 minutes or until mushrooms are browned and onions are cooked down. Remove and place on a plate.
• Wipe the skillet with a paper towel and add 1/2 Tbsp of butter and return to the stove. Cook remaining onions and bell peppers for 5-8 minutes or until peppers start to brown and blister and the onions are cooked down. Add to a separate plate (unless everyone likes peppers/onions/mushrooms then add to the plate with mushrooms & onions).
• Wipe the skillet again with a paper towel and add 1 Tbsp butter and return to stove again. Season half of the steak with salt & pepper and add to the skillet. Reduce to medium heat and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add in peppers & onions or half of the veggie mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes. Divide the meat & veggies in half as pictured above. Add 4 slices of cheese on top and allow the cheese to melt for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the cooked meat & veggies and melted cheese to two hoagie rolls. Inside one sheet of foil, roll the hoagie roll tightly and place inside the oven for 10-15 minutes.
• Repeat the process with the remaining steak & veggies or like I did with the mushrooms and onions – for the last two hoagie rolls. Serve fresh out of the oven with chips or your favorite French fries.

Notes

Notes: If you have leftovers (if that's possible), refrigerate inside a zippered plastic bag inside (don't remove it from the foil). Reheat the cheesesteaks in the foil in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

*Okay another note, I didn't call these Philly cheesesteaks okay? I have never had a cheesesteak in Philly even though I have been to Philly before (as a kid). I have only tasted a cheesesteak made at supposedly authentic shops here in Florida. Hope these are close but I know it's inevitable someone will say, these aren't anything like the original! And there's no way they can be since we don't have access to those amazing Amoroso rolls.

Edited to add: I am able to purchase Amoroso rolls at Aldi and it's the best way to make this cheesesteak recipe!

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Originally shared on June 19, 2012. Was updated in 2019.

The post Cheesesteak Recipe appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

Originally published on May 24, 2013, I updated this post to include step by step photos.

There are affiliate links in this post. I get commissions for purchases made through these types of links in this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Cookies! Okay, sooo I have an obsession with cookies and chocolate chip cookies. Each one I have made, I call them the best ever! Now everyone thinks I'm lying. I guess I have to say I have three favorite recipes. The recipe I'm sharing with you today is now in the top three too.

Have you stayed at a Doubletree Hotel before? They give you these fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and they are heaven. I'm so happy to have found a recipe in my searches, so I can make them at home! And I have to say, these taste even better at home. Once you make them for family and friends, they will ADORE you!

I made these cookies for our food blogger bake sale this year! Huge thanks go out to all of the bloggers who participate this year: Katie’s Cucina (my co-organizer! here's her recap), Kokocooks, Forkful, Live Pretty, Simply Southern Baking and My Sweet Zepol. We raised almost $700 for Share our Strength! And huge thanks go out to the Winter Garden Harvest Festival — they let us combine our bake sale with their festival which was a blast!

There's our great group! What a lovely bunch of ladies!

First things first, pulse the oats in a food processor.

I usually will pulse at least 2 cups worth and store the rest in a jar in the pantry so I have some ready to go the next time I'm making these DoubleTree Hotel chocolate chip cookies again!

I measure out and mix the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together with a rubber spatula.

In another mixing bowl, add both sugars and the butter.

Cream them together, they will look like this.

Squeeze the lemon.

Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and eggs, mix until smooth.

Add the flour mixture in two batches.

And mix together until just combined. (Don't overmix.)

Add the chocolate chips and the chopped walnuts.

Again don't overmix the dough.

And then portion out the dough using a cookie scoop. I used to make them huge (like you see above) but I like my dough to go further and make even more cookies for sharing or for those late night cravings. So I use a medium sized cookie scoop now (1.5 tablespoons).

Portion the dough out because this makes your life easier. The dough has to chill and I hate trying to scoop out portions when the dough is rock solid from the refrigerator or the freezer. Chill the dough for a few hours and then bake to your heart's content!

And about this DoubleTree cookie recipe…please make them! I put a quick video together on how to make them too! Enjoy!

These chocolate chip cookies are to die for…they are my absolute favorite…I measure all cookies up to these ones!

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DoubleTree Cookie Recipe

Having made these cookies a bunch of times, my favorite semisweet chocolate chips for this recipe are Ghirardelli miniature ones.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 28 -30 large cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter two sticks, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips you can use regular-sized chocolate chips instead
• 1 cup chopped walnuts optional

Instructions

• Pulse oats in a food processor until semi-fine or fine.
• In a small mixing bowl, add the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly together with a rubbers spatula or wooden spoon.
• To a medium-sized mixing bowl, add butter, both sugars. Cream together using an electric hand mixer. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and eggs. Mix until you have a smooth mixture. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bottom of the bowl with a spatula at least once.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula, being careful not to overmix. Drop in the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix until both are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough. Again, be careful not to overmix or they will have a cake-like texture.
• Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons or you can use a medium-sized one to make even more cookies), scoop cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet. Freeze or refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2 to 4 hours or overnight even.
• To bake: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cookie dough portions onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. Bake for 13 to 14  minutes or until desired doneness (for smaller cookies, bake for 12 to 13 minutes).
• Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack if storing. Store in a sealed container with a slice of sandwich bread to ensure softness of cookies.

Notes

Tip:  Freezing your cookie dough for later, let's you have fresh baked cookies anytime you want them! Here are some tips on how to freeze cookie dough.

An update: I make these cookies ALL the time! I find that miniature chocolate chips work even better than regular-sized. And above is how I first freeze the dough right after making the cookie dough. Check out how to freeze cookie dough.

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The post DoubleTree Cookie Recipe appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

This recipe was originally published in February 2011. I just updated the photos and added some recipe notes based on the many comments and questions I have received over the years. This recipe is a family favorite of ours and I hope you'll enjoy it if you try it!

My friend piqued my curiosity when she told me about her co-worker bringing in a slow cooker to work making crockpot whole chicken it for an entire day.

She often brought her crockpot in with some kind of concoction so she could bring dinner over to her friend's house who was going through chemotherapy treatment.

What a great friend, I'm sure her friend appreciated it. My friend told me their office often smelled really good during these days.

(Original photo this recipe was posted with in February 2011)

So when I was on the hunt for a chicken slow cooker recipe, I googled and found this one.

Why I love this recipe for Crockpot Whole Chicken

It's incredibly simple and the chicken goes into the crockpot in minutes. I added my own twist to it and guess what? The chicken is wonderfully moist and it's very simple.

After the chicken is done, you can put it in your broiler to crisp up the skin.

Carving the chicken is so easy because it just wants to fall apart. The breast comes right off the bone and is very easy to cut up. The chicken is really tender and flavorful and much easier than roasting a chicken in the oven.

I use a 3.5 to 4.5 pound chicken and it fits just fine in my slow cooker. I added the carrots and vegetables and the chicken rests nicely on them. Also, I added garlic and lemon.

My favorite roast chicken recipe calls for garlic and lemon inside the chicken so I do the same when I make it in the crockpot.

This makes a wonderfully easy meal you can serve with mashed potatoes or rice and your favorite vegetable alongside the carrots and celery if you wish. And  I make chicken pot pies with the leftover chicken.

Can I roast a chicken in a slow cooker?

Yes, you can totally cook a whole chicken in a crock pot. I use a 4 lb chicken in the crockpot. It's really easy to prep and honestly, I don't even bother roasting chicken in an oven anymore!

After the chicken is done in the slow cooker, I crispy the skin in my oven broiler so it's a slow cooker roast chicken with crispy skin!

If you want to roast a turkey as well, you can try this crockpot turkey recipe. If you still want to roast a chicken in the oven, try this recipe for perfect roast chicken.

How to Cook a Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker

How to Cook a Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot

Using the ingredients listed below for my crockpot whole chicken recipe, you want to rub garlic on the outside of the chicken. Then, put the spices on the outside and inside of the chicken.

Add a cut up lemon inside the cavity of the chicken and then lay the chicken on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker.

Crockpot Whole Chicken Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 to 5 carrots
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 whole lemon
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds whole chicken

How long to cook chicken in a crock pot?

It will take four to eight hours on low to cook a whole chicken in a crock pot. It really depends on the size of your chicken. When I made a 4 pound chicken, it took about 6 hours.

Do I need to add water when making crockpot whole chicken?

There's no need to add water when making my recipe for slow cooker whole chicken because when the chicken is cooking in the crock pot, it creates a broth. Definitely use that broth to flavor the meat and keep it moist for when you save it for leftovers.

Can you cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker from frozen?

No, you shouldn't put a frozen chicken into a crock pot. If you want to use my recipe for crockpot whole chicken, you'll want to fully defrost the chicken first. But you can roast chicken from frozen.

Let me show you the step by step for making crockpot whole chicken

I put the vegetables in the slow cooker first. Then, prep the chicken.

Pat your chicken dry with a clean paper towel. Rub the outside of the chicken with garlic and place the garlic inside.

Fold the wings back below the chicken.

Add the rub to the outside and inside of the chicken. And place the lemon quarters inside.

I try to put the insides of the lemons up against the insides of the chicken, see how the outsides of the lemon quarters are touching?

Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine.

When making this slow cooker whole chicken recipe, place the chicken on top of the vegetables. This creates the best cooking situation for the chicken.

Cooking a whole chicken inside of the slow cooker creates a lot of broth and resting the chicken on top of veggies keeps the chicken from failing apart too much.

I use turkey lifters to remove the chicken from the crockpot carefully.

Place chicken in an oven safe dish or roasting pan & in the broiler for just about 4-5 minutes.

But it's inevitable, the chicken does fall apart a little bit. The meat is so moist and tender and it's honestly, the only way we make a roast chicken these days!

Crockpot Whole Chicken Video

I show you how easy it is to put the slow cooker whole chicken recipe together in this video below.

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Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker Recipe

It's incredibly simple and the whole chicken goes into the crockpot in minutes.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Rub Ingredients for the Chicken

• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Crockpot

• 1 cup chopped onion approx 1 medium to large onion
• 4 to 5 carrots scrubbed, no need to peel, chopped in halves or thirds
• 4 celery stalks cut in thirds
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
• 1 whole lemon quartered
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds whole chicken

Instructions

• Combine rub ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Prep the vegetables and place inside the slow cooker (I use a 7 quart oval one like this one.)
• Remove chicken from packaging and remove neck and pouch with organs. Discard or reserve for later use in another recipe. Pat your chicken dry with clean paper towels.
• Rub garlic all over outside of the chicken. Put garlic inside the chicken. Put the rub all over the outside and inside the chicken. Add quartered lemon to the inside of the chicken.
• Place chicken on top of the vegetables. Cover slow cooker and cook chicken on low for 4-8 hours. (When I used a 4 lb chicken, it took about 6 hours. The time will depend on the size of the chicken and your slow cooker.) Cook until the internal temperature of the leg is at 160 degrees F or use a pop-up thermometer as the original recipe calls for.
• Remove chicken and place in a 9x13 glass or ceramic baking dish. Place baking dish in the oven under the broiler for about 4-5 minutes. Allow chicken to rest after removing it from the broiler for 5-10 minutes.

Notes

Frequently asked questions:

Do I need to add water to the crockpot?
Nope no water needed. This recipe actually makes broth while it's cooking the chicken. You can strain it and use it for a later recipe if you want!

How do I get the skin crispy?
After it's done in the crockpot, see the instructions in the recipe to crisp up the skin in your oven broiler.

Can I cook this recipe skinless?
I have never tried it but I have seen other bloggers post a recipe where they did it. If you want to, definitely try it! I can't guarantee it will turn out the same as with the skin (moist and tender) since I haven't tried it myself.

Can I make this recipe with a frozen chicken?
I wouldn't do this. Be sure to thaw your chicken first and then place it in the your crockpot using the instructions above.

Modified and adapted from food.com.

I have made this recipe so many times now that I can't even count. It seriously is the best recipe for making slow cooker whole chicken! I can't believe it's taken me this long to blog about it. I even make chicken pot pies with the leftovers!

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More Crockpot Whole Chicken Recipes

Lemon Pepper Roast Chicken in a Slow Cooker

Other Slow Cooker Recipes

Crockpot Turkey
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Pulled Pork Sliders 
Slow Cooker Ham
Free Slow Cooker Recipes eBook 
Kale Soup Crock Pot
Crockpot Spinach Dip 

Tools I use to make Crockpot Whole Chicken:

• Crock-Pot 7 Quart Slow Cooker – We use our slow cooker at least a few times a month if not more. It's easy to use and I have had one that doesn't have bells and whistles forever and it works just fine.
• OXO Fat Separator – Super easy and super durable, get rid of the fat from the chicken juices so you can make a sauce or use it as a broth.
• Italian Bakers -I love these baking dishes for this recipe and for making scalloped potatoes!
• Turkey Lifters – I have a similar set I bought years ago that we use every Thanksgiving and every time I make this recipe. The best way to remove the entire chicken out of the slow cooker in one piece. (Amazon | Williams-Sonoma)
• Anchor Hocking glass baking dish – We have a cobalt blue one that we have had forever. It's great for this recipe, potatoes. You can never have too many baking dishes because of holiday baking!
• Carving Knives – We have had a similar set for years now and love it. Love this brand, we have cheese knives from them that are amazing too! (Amazon | Williams-Sonoma)
• Glass Prep Bowls – These were given as a gift to us from my in-laws and I use them EVERY DAY. So convenient for prepping meals and we use them as storage in the refrigerator too!

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post – that means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I make enough for a cup of coffee or two. Thanks!

The post Crockpot Whole Chicken appeared first on The Little Kitchen.