How To Cook a Whole Chicken in Coconut Milk in the Slow Cooker

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 360 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

By now we hope every home cook knows the pure dinnertime pleasure that is chicken in milk. The original dish, credited most popularly to Jamie Oliver, turns a whole chicken into a succulent, fragrant delight with a rich sauce ideal for sopping up with fresh bread.

Ingredients

1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 (15-ounce) cans coconut milk
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
6 cloves garlic
1 (2-inch) knob fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 fresh Thai red chile
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Rimmed baking sheet
6-quart or larger slow cooker
Tongs
Immersion blender

Instructions

Brown the chicken under the broiler. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the broiler to high. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and season on all sides and inside the cavity with the salt. Broil, breast-side up, until the skin has browned and crisped slightly, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven, carefully flip it, and broil until the underside is also golden-brown, about 6 minutes more.
Make a fragrant coconut broth. Set your slow cooker to low, add the coconut milk and chicken broth, and whisk until smooth. Add the basil, garlic, ginger, and chile, and stir to combine.
Add the chicken to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Place the chicken in the slow cooker breast-side down. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and fragrant, on the LOW setting for 4 to 6 hours.
Remove the chicken and blend the sauce (optional). Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Stir the lime juice into the sauce. You can serve the sauce as is, or blend with an immersion blender right in the slow cooker's crock and add a handful of fresh basil before serving.