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Instant Pot Whole “Rotisserie” Chicken

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All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing, tender, juicy Instant Pot whole rotisserie chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it!

All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing tender, juicy Instant Pot whole

All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing tender, juicy Instant Pot whole "rotisserie" chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it! | APinchOfHealthy.com

Preparing and roasting a whole chicken used to seem like domestic goddess territory to me. After some practice (and a few disasters), I was able to master a whole roasted chicken in the oven. I was so proud.

But oh, internet friends! I just found a game-changer: you can totally make this “rotisserie” chicken fake-out in your Instant Pot. It is practically fool-proof. And it is just so much better than the store-bought kind.

I even crisp up the skin first to give it that rotisserie feel. I use the instant pot’s sauté setting to do that, and then I flip it over and add a little chicken stock before cooking it on the manual pressure setting.

Plus, I love that you can control the quality of ingredients that you use to make this. You could go organic, for example. In my experience, pre-made rotisserie chickens are almost never organic.

Not that I am a food snob by any means. I mean, I have definitely bought my share of Costco rotisserie chickens! (See my Costco grocery hauls for that proof!)

But, this! It is perfectly tender and juicy…and ready in about 45 minutes.

All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing tender, juicy Instant Pot whole "rotisserie" chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it! | APinchOfHealthy.com

It fell apart a little when I was plating it up for the pictures. See that sad little chicken wing that fell off?

I know, I know. It sounds too good to be true, right?! Don’t worry, friends. I will show you exactly how to make a whole “rotisserie” chicken in the instant pot!

If you do not have an instant pot, this recipe should still work in a large stovetop pressure cooker.

Update: I have added an additional (optional) step to this recipe. If you do not want your chicken sitting in all the liquids, you can remove the chicken after browning the second side. Then add the liquids and trivet, and return the chicken (breast side up) to the pot.

Our family loved the original recipe, and it certainly was easier just to leave the bird in the pot and pour the chicken stock right in. But this extra step may be worth it to you if you don’t want the underside of your chicken sitting in liquid.

Helpful hint: Don’t throw away the liquid or the bones. Use it to make chicken bone broth.

Tools Used to Make Instant Pot Whole Rotisserie Chicken

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Instant Pot Whole Rotisserie Chicken Recipe

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All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing tender, juicy Instant Pot whole "rotisserie" chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it! | APinchOfHealthy.com
3.77 from 107 votes
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Instant Pot "Rotisserie" Chicken

All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing, tender, juicy Instant Pot whole "rotisserie" chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 288 kcal
Author Marjorie @ APinchOfHealthy.com

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken mine was 4.3 pounds
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 and 3/4 Tablespoons avocado oil (or you can use coconut or canola - something with a high smoke point)
  • 1 yellow onion quartered (optional)
  • 1 lemon halved (optional)
  • 1 cup chicken stock or broth

Instructions

  1. Remove all parts from the chicken cavity; rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.
  2. Optional: place the onion and lemon in the cavity of the chicken.
  3. Combine all of the spices, including salt and pepper, in a small ramekin dish; stir together.
  4. All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing tender, juicy Instant Pot whole "rotisserie" chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it! | APinchOfHealthy.com
  5. Add the oil to the spices, and stir until incorporated.
  6. All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing tender, juicy Instant Pot whole "rotisserie" chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it! | APinchOfHealthy.com
  7. Turn on your Instant Pot to preheat on the sauté setting on "normal."
  8. Rub the oil and spice mixture on the breast side of the chicken.
  9. All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing tender, juicy Instant Pot whole "rotisserie" chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it! | APinchOfHealthy.com
  10. Place the chicken, breast side down, in the preheated Instant Pot.
  11. Carefully rub the other half of the oil and spices mixture on the other side of the chicken.
  12. Allow the breast side to crisp up the chicken skin for a few minutes, about 3 to 4 minutes total.
  13. Carefully flip the chicken over to the other side, and let it crisp up the skin on the other side for about a minute. Flipping it over was a little awkward, but it helps to use a sturdy burger flipper and some tongs.
  14. Optional step: If you do not want your chicken sitting in the liquids, you can remove the chicken after it browns on the second side and place the trivet in the pot. Then place the chicken, breast side up, on the trivet.
  15. Add in the chicken stock.
  16. Place the lid on and lock it, per Instant Pot instructions.

  17. Set to manual high pressure for 25 minutes.

  18. Allow the Instant Pot to depressurize naturally (I.e., do not use the venting lever, but allow the pressure to dissipate slowly. Mine took about 15 minutes)
  19. Remove the lid, and transfer the chicken to a serving plate. Mine was so tender that it was falling apart a little!
  20. Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes prior to serving.
  21. I like to spoon or brush a little of the cooking liquid over the top just prior to serving to make the chicken extra juicy.

Recipe Notes

* 40 minutes includes time for the Instant Pot to naturally depressurize.

Cooking time may vary slightly if your chicken is much different in size than this one, which was 4.3 pounds. Use a meat thermometer if you are unsure, just to be safe! Internal temperature for chicken should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot "Rotisserie" Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 288 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 29%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 95mg 32%
Sodium 92mg 4%
Potassium 305mg 9%
Total Carbohydrates 4g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 1g
Protein 24g 48%
Vitamin A 6.8%
Vitamin C 15.7%
Calcium 2.3%
Iron 7.6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

See ALL of my Instant Pot recipes here.

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Related posts:

  1. Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
  2. Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (+ Video Tutorial)
  3. Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
  4. Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Comments

  2. I went ahead and tried using the FULL 2 TBs of oil rather than the very specific 1.75. I closed my eyes thinking I’d end up with a greasy mess, but alas! It still turned out wonderfully! Don’t fear the quarter tbls my friends.

    Reply

  6. i don’t have a manual setting on my instant pot. I have a delay start where your manual button is.

    Reply

  8. This was the first recipe I tried in my new instant pot I got for xmas and I can’t believe how perfect it turned out. Thank you!

    Reply

  11. Absolutely delicious recipe! Thank you. followed it exactly and added a few red potatoes and carrots. I will definitely be making this again.

    Reply

  12. I followed your recipe exactly (minus the lemon and onion). I did use some extra seasonings on the skin and about 8 garlic cloves in the broth. I browned it well on both sides and pressure-cooked for exactly the amount of time you suggested. It was amazing good! My husband liked how evenly cooked and moist it was. The pre-browning is a must and serving with a little juice over the top adds flavor.

    Reply

  13. I cook for one with a 3-quart Instant pot. I followed the recipe, and was only able to fit one half of a 3.5 chicken along with veggies. It came out just great, and now I have another serving I can cook tomorrow!
    Those like me cooking for one might substitute a cornish game hen, but the half-chicken will fit.

    Reply

  15. Thank you for walking me through my very first Instant Pot experience! I had a half chicken and adjusted the time to 15 minutes. It worked perfectly!

    Reply

  16. Just wanted to say, THANKS for including the depressurization time in the cook time! The instant pot is great but cook times are so misleading! Great recipe, mine is going now 🙂

    Reply

  17. i’m new to this whole Instant Pot game…any reason not to use the chicken setting versus manual for this dish? I used manual but wondered when to use the “chicken” setting. Thanks!

    Reply

  18. I’ve got this in the pressure cooker now…it sounds delicious. I just wonder why you label those of us who try to eat as organically as possible “food snobs”? I think of it as healthy!

    Reply

    • Hi Susan! I certainly didn’t mean to offend anyone by that comment. 😬 In fact, I often refer to myself as a coffee snob.😉 Nothing’s wrong with eating organic. We do it as much as possible too…although not 100%. I can’t even remember exactly what I said or what the context was. But usually when I mention food snobbery, it make me think of people who judge or condemn other people for their “imperfect” food choices. No judgment here, is what I think I was saying. We like to do our best, but I am really chill about it.😎👍🏻

      Reply

  19. Just want to let you and anyone else reading this know, following your instructions to the T, my chicken came out over cooked. I know this is probably necessary if you are using a typical CAFO chicken, but if you have true pastured healthy chicken you don’t need to cook it to death.

    Reply

  20. I got my instant for Christmas and this was my 3rd time using it. I tried this recipe last night and I’m not sure what I did wrong. My chicken was 4.45 lbs., not that much bigger than yours. I seasoned it, browned it and then cooked for 25 minutes, and let the pressure release for 15 minutes. However, when I took it out, it was definitely not done. I put it back in for another 15 minutes of cooking. It was done then, but my family said it was too plain. 🙁

    Reply

    • Sorry to hear that Melissa! For more flavor, try rubbing some of the spice mixture up under the skin prior to cooking. That helps. And maybe increase the salt a little. I am not sure what happened with the cook time. Was it frozen (even partially?). Lots of people say that frozen has the same cook time, but that has not been my experience. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  22. I made this yesterday and the chicken came out great despite my goofs! I didn’t pay attention when I bought the chicken. It was SIX POUNDS! 😳 I compensated (made it fit!) by cutting out the back and stacking the leg quarters on top of the breast. I added 5 minutes to the cook time, figuring I’d check the meat temps and cook another 5 if required. The legs were falling off the bones & the breast was a perfect 165. I’ll definitely make it again, this time with more browning & a smaller victim! LOL

    Reply

  23. What if I wanted to do all my veggies in the pot too (I don’t like washing dishes and try to cook everything in one pot if I can 🙂 )?

    Reply

  27. This was a truly fantastic meal. Chicken was so tender and the juice was delicious. I cooked it without the trivet. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will make it often. Bones are saved for the broth.

    Reply

  29. Hi Marjorie…thanks for the tutorial…I have a 9 pound chicken that I intend to cook tonight. Using the 5.5 min/lb calculation brings me to about 50 minutes. Does that include the natural pressure release (set manual time for 35 minutes with 15 minutes for natural release)?

    Reply

  30. Yay, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! We had a whole chicken this week for dinner one night, and then I made chicken noodle soup in the IP with the leftovers last night. So good! I am glad you are liking the IP so far.

    Reply

  33. Ok I tried a couple of these whole chicken recipes and this is by far the best one. It was delicious and moisty inside. I’ve tried different ones where they also incorporate liquid but for some reason this was better. I didn’t have lemon or onion but I did stuff it with a lot of garlic and wow it is good. Saved this page for Saturday and future uses

    Reply

  34. I’m late to the Instant Pot game, but I made this tonight, and everyone loved it! Thanks for posting!

    Reply

  35. I’m a relatively new instant pot owner, and tried to set it for manual 25 minutes, but could only do 20 minutes… not increments of 5. Any thoughts?

    Reply

  37. Thanks for that feedback Curtis! You may have already done this…One way to speed up would be to leave it on sauté all the way up until the time it is to put it on pressure. OR use warmed (microwaved) water or broth to put in the bottom of the pot. Heated liquid will come to pressure a little quicker. Hope this helps!

    Reply

  38. I have never made a correct whole chicken ever. Either it isn’t good enough or I over cook it. This was PERFECT! I didn’t get the crispy skin, but no one eats it anyways.

    Reply

    • Yaaaay! 👏🏻 So happy to hear that Rebecca! The skin won’t get truly crispy in a pressure cooker, since it is a wet environment. But browning the skin does help, and it locks in all those juices. I am so glad you liked it! And thanks for taking the time to leave that feedback. 💖

      Reply

  39. Trying my brand new insta pot with this recipe right now. Never owned any kind of pressure cooker in my life.. Not nervous.. nope. 😀

    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  40. Please stop with the background music. Although lovely and lilting, your creamy voice is drowned out and is difficult for me to pick out certain words. Thank you for you wonderful effort. I enjoy your work!

    Reply

  42. My whole family liked this a lot. The only thing I could say is, if you have any chicken skin sticking to the bottom of the pot, you might get the “OVERHEAT” signal if trying to pressure cook immediately after crisping. Also, you end up with a lot more liquid than just the cup of broth – I guess chickens are juicy. Anyway, thanks for providing a really good flavor, as chicken is sometimes bland. The onion, lemon, and spice rub really helped a lot.

    Reply

    • Yep! Very true, you don’t want a scorch error. And yes, the chicken is juicy and gives off more juice when it cooks. You can always put the chicken up on a trivet, which would keep it out of the juice as much. Glad y’all enjoyed it!

      Reply

  43. Excellent recipe…I used the leftover liquid to make a yummy gravy. I also added a sprinkle of crushed rosemary on the chicken at the beginning…one of my favorite herbs.

    Reply

  45. Thanks for the recipe! The dark meat turned out to be fall-apart deliciousness while the white meat got pretty dry and not as tender. I will play with this a little and see what I can do.

    Reply

  46. I am sure you are finished with it now since I am just now seeing this comment. Sorry! But yes, it would need more time. You could try letting it sit in the hot pot on keep warm. Sometimes if the pot is still hot resting will let the temp rise a little. If not, I would put it back in for 1 minute, and let it NPR for 5 minutes.

    Reply

    • I pour it out and measure 2 liquid cups back into the pot, then stir in 2 dry cups of white/jasmine rice (well-rinsed), and cook on Manual/HP 3 minutes, NPR 10 minutes, then QR. I don’t skim off the fat, so the rice is a bit oily, but so delicious alongside the chicken, which has rested, covered in foil, while the rice cooks. Any liquid left over after measuring for rice gets added to the broth fixings.

      Reply

        • 6 mins +2 for quick release of pressure, however, the chicken may be a little tougher or drier from what I read from other remarks. I haven’t tried your recipe, but will soon. Sounds delicious.

          Reply

  51. When you say “Set the manual pressure cooker setting to 25 minutes,” do you mean to set it to high pressure? medium? low? Some combination? Thanks for clarifying.

    Reply

      • Thanks for the response, Marjorie! I’m new to pressure cooking, so I want to make sure I’ve got all the details right before embarking on a new recipe. And I’ll be trying this one soon, for sure. Thanks again.

        Reply

          • I’m researching and it appears an additional 15 may do the trick! I just snatched a rather large whole chicken out of the freezer an hour ago hoping for it to be ready by 6:30pm EST. I think I’ll let it thaw until then and add ten minutes. Yay trusty meat thermometer!

          • well, funny story… because it was frozen and I neglected to calculate the whole giblets issue… I cooked it on high for 50 minutes, then fished the giblets in paper out, lol. It was very tender and well flavored. I immediately made bone broth with the juices and bones and then chicken salad and buffalo chicken pizza with the remains.

        • It’s not good to PC with frozen items. Let them defrost first. That way you can be absolutely sure of the item being thoroughly cooked. I just did this chicken and it was amazing!! Thanks for the recipe. Took the chicken out of the freezer the night before so no guesswork. It was delicious! Definitely gonna do this again!

          Reply

          • “It’s not good to PC with frozen items.”

            That is completely untrue and you can pressure cook meat straight out of the freezer, generally without having to even add extra time. It just takes longer to pressurize when frozen.

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