Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken will become a regular on your weeknight dinner plan. Tender, so juicy, and so easy. Made at home in your slow cooker, you can serve this one as a hearty main course. Or use the meat for countless easy dinner options. So join the fun and learn how to make rotisserie chicken at home.
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Why Do We Love Rotisserie Style Chicken?
I swear I can smell rotisserie chicken cooking from a mile away. Running a morning errand at a store that’s even anywhere near a grocery store and I’m a gonner.
They fire up those rotisserie cookers early in the morning, so that the aromas wafting through the air will magically lure us into the store. And they do!
They’re incredibly flavorful, incredibly addictive, and an incredibly easy dinner option.
And of course Costco is the king of rotisserie chicken. Big meaty beautiful chickens for $4.99. You simply have to grab one every time you’re in Costco. I recently read an article that Costco looses money on those chickens. I don’t doubt that a bit, but they’re in the back of the store and I always grab a couple of impulse items on the way to the checkout, so I’m sure their financial situation remains profitable. 🙂
But what if you arrived home to that same tempting aroma, wafting from your very own kitchen. And you didn’t even have to go through self checkout on your way home. Or purchase a rotisserie machine.
So let’s talk about how to make crockpot rotisserie chicken.
About This Recipe and Why It Works
I read about this crockpot rotisserie chicken recipe on Saturday and it was in my crockpot on Monday. It’s delicious! And isn’t it always a treat to come home from work to a house smelling like savory comfort.
The spices in this recipe are an incredible combination. And it’s almost as easy as grabbing a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. And of course tastier.
After seasoning, the chicken is placed in the crockpot on a bed of sliced onions. The onions not only flavor, but act as a barrier to keep the chicken slightly elevated.
Once cooked, I suggest that you take a bite of onion before serving. They’re so good they’ll end up as a side dish for this slow cooker chicken.
This chicken will be a frequent visitor to our dinner table.
Ingredients You’ll Need = Lots of Spices
- 3-5 pound fryer chicken. Fryers or broilers are smaller chickens than roasting chickens. Roasters have a thicker layer of fat which helps baste the bird as it roasts. You can use either if your crockpot is large enough. The roaster will take longer to cook.
- 2 large white, yellow or sweet onion. Sliced into rings.
- 1 large lemon, quartered.
- Spices: Starting from top, left to right in the photo. Paprika, Old Bay Seasoning, black pepper, chili seasoning, thyme, rosemary, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder.
About whole chickens. Some chickens are injected with a water solution for “plumping” reasons. If you have purchased one of these chickens you will find it swimming in liquid once it’s cooked. Purchase a high quality chicken (recommended) for this recipe. You’ll find whole chickens at Whole Foods or reputable quality butcher shops that are natural without injected liquids. The end result will be a chicken cooking in natural juices.
Step by Step Instructions – It’s Easy
- Step 1: Combine all of the spices except for the Old Bay, Paprika and salt. Using a whisk or fork stir to combine.
- Step 2: Using your hands, carefully separate the skin from the meat and push as much of the spice mix under the skin. This is easy to do on the breast, and around the legs. Just get as much as you can in as many places as you can.
- Step 3: Place the quartered lemons and onion slices on the bottom of the crock pot.
- Step 4: Place the seasoned chicken breast side down so it’s resting on the lemons and onions. The onions and lemons will keep the chicken slightly elevated so it won’t get soggy and will also flavor the chicken. Sprinkle the paprika, salt and Old Bay Seasoning over the chicken. These final steps will help the chicken get a crispy skin. Cook 5 hours on ‘high’ setting. Or until a meat thermometer inserted into the area between the thigh and breast reaches 165 degrees.
No. It’s very important to follow the cooking times for this recipe. It may be tempting to prepare this recipe in the morning and let it cook all day on low while you’re at work. Don’t try it, you’ll come home to chicken that has fallen off the bone in a mushy, mealy stringy mess. Using the high heat setting for a shorter period of time will properly cook a whole chicken and keep it at a safe temperature.
Absolutely not. Unless you want to risk salmonella poisoning. Only used thawed chicken for any roasted chicken in the crockpot recipe. Why? Frozen chicken will not likely reach the temperature of 165 within the “safe window” of time in a crockpot. Its just too risky.
Leftovers, What to Do With Rotisserie Chicken
One of the best things about a rotisserie chicken is that you’re bound to have leftovers that an be used to make many easy meals. Here are some ideas.
- Add to greens for a main course Chicken Salad
- Make Chicken Soup
- Easy Chicken Tacos
- Make a Southwestern Chicken Sandwich
- How about Three Cheese Chicken Lasagna
- Tortilla Chicken Pizza Appetizer
Pro Tip: Don’t throw away the bones. If you’re going to pull the meat off the bones to serve, return the carcass to the slow cooker along with any vegetables you have in the refrigerator. A couple of carrots, a couple stalks of celery, parsley, etc. Cover with water and toss in a bay leaf, a splash of apple cider vinegar and some peppercorns. Cook on low for 12 hours and even better for 24 hours. Strain the liquid and you’ve got yourself some very tasty chicken bone broth. It will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator or freeze in individual containers up to 6 months.
Rotisserie Chicken in the Crockpot
I hope you give this crockpot rotisserie chicken recipe a try. It’s really a great little recipe to have in your data base.
More Irresistible Chicken Recipes
And if you’re looking to beef up your chicken recipe database, don’t miss my Chicken Category. You’ll find a ton of recipes to cluck over and the most favorite chicken recipe on my site, Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan.
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. And write a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback.
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Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- Crockpot
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Whole Fryer Chicken giblets removed, 3 – 5 pound chicken
- 2 medium onions peeled and sliced into rings
- 1 whole Lemon quartered (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Chili powder
- Seasoning to sprinkle over chicken after it’s placed the crockpot:
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
Instructions
- Combine all spices (garlic powder through chili powder) spices in small bowl. With your hands, loosen skin on chicken and distribute mixture evenly between meat and skin. Place lemon quarters in cavity of bird.
- Place onion in bottom of slow cooker. Add water or stock. Top with chicken — breast side down — so that (chicken) is not coming in direct contact with the bottom of the cooker.
- Sprinkle the paprika, salt and Old Bay over Chicken.
- Cook 4-5 hours on ‘high’ setting.
- With sides, this serves a family of five. (Strain and freeze the resulting stock, and make sure you treat yourself to the onions!)
Notes
Nutrition
Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken …It’s What’s for Dinner.
This recipe for Rotisserie crockpot chicken was first published July of 2013 and republished February of 2022 with step by step instructions.
What is the first ingredient ” 1 lbs – Broiler/Fryer Chicken 3-4″ ?
Does that mean buy a one pound chicken to serve 3-4?
Thank you. Love your recipes and comments.
Hi Glen. Thank you so much for your note. I’ve updated the recipe to answer your questions. Appreciate the “heads-up”
I was skeptical about the slow cooker process producing the flavor of a rotisserie chicken, but this hit the spot. Tender and loads of flavor! Oh! And easy
Thank you so much for your message and the positive remarks. So glad you liked the recipe. I make it often.