All you need is about 45 minutes to have this amazing, tender, juicy Instant Pot whole rotisserie chicken. Your whole family will LOVE it!
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.
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.
FAQ’s About Instant Pot Whole Rotisserie Chicken
Can I use a frozen whole chicken?
Several people in my audience have had success using frozen chicken. When I have tested this myself, I have had mixed results. So for best results, I recommend using fully thawed chicken.
Can I add vegetables or rice to the pot to cook with the chicken?
I would not recommend rice, since the cook times don’t match up. Your rice would most likely get very mushy. One vegetable that I have had luck with are small/medium red potatoes. The trick is to fit them around the chicken. They will get really soft, but they are still good. Larger/ thick carrots may work okay too. Everything else I have tried gets too mushy.
Can I make this without stuffing the cavity with lemon and onion?
Yes, I do this all the time. It is still really tasty.😋👌🏻
Do I need more liquid if I am making this in an 8 quart model?
Yes, I would recommend the minimum liquid requirement for this model, which is 1.5 cups of liquid.
Why don’t you use the “poultry” button for this recipe?
I use manual high pressure for most of my Instant Pot recipes. Honestly, I have tried the other buttons and have not noticed much of a difference. 🤷🏼♀️
More Instant Pot Recipes You May Enjoy
- Instant Pot “baked” sweet potatoes
- Instant Pot classic beef chili
- Instant Pot red beans and rice
- Instant Pot chicken breasts
- Instant Pot chicken thighs
- Instant Pot pasta e fagioli soup
- Instant Pot hard boiled eggs
- Instant Pot spaghetti (one pot)
- Instant Pot chicken recipes
- Instant Pot oatmeal (pot in pot method)
👉🏻👉🏻See ALL of my Instant Pot recipes here.👈🏻👈🏻
Tools Used to Make Instant Pot Whole Rotisserie Chicken
Note: These are Amazon affiliate links.
- Instant pot electric pressure cooker
- Measuring spoons
- Small bowl or ramekin for mixing spices & oil
- Tongs and burger flipper for flipping over the chicken
- Meat thermometer to check internal temperature
Instant Pot Whole Rotisserie Chicken Recipe
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Instant Pot "Rotisserie" Chicken
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
- Remove all parts from the chicken cavity; rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Optional: place the onion and lemon in the cavity of the chicken.
- Combine all of the spices, including salt and pepper, in a small ramekin dish; stir together.
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- Add the oil to the spices, and stir until incorporated.
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- Turn on your Instant Pot to preheat on the sauté setting on "normal."
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Rub half of the oil and spice mixture on the breast side of the chicken.
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- Place the chicken, breast side down, in the preheated Instant Pot.
- Carefully rub the other half of the oil and spices mixture on the other side of the chicken.
- Allow the breast side to crisp up the chicken skin for a few minutes, about 3 to 4 minutes total.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add in the chicken stock.
- Place the lid on and lock it, per Instant Pot instructions.
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Set to manual high pressure for 25 minutes.
- 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)
- Remove the lid, and transfer the chicken to a serving plate. Mine was so tender that it was falling apart a little!
- Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes prior to serving.
- 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.
See ALL of my Instant Pot recipes here.
Janie says
Getting ready to try this but I only want the meat to add to a casserole. Do I need to saute the skin?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
You can probably do it without sautéing, if you plan to remove the skin. Since sautéing cooks it a little, just make sure it cooks all the way.👌🏻
Cathy says
How long for a 6lb chicken?
Lisa says
Making this now. House smells amazing. Chicken is for another recipe. But I keep the left over liquid and put in the carcass, veggies, and soup spices. Cover with water, and 2 hours later. I have an amazing chicken stock.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Lisa! We do the same thing with our bones. Glad you enjoyed it!
Sue T says
So good! Making it for the 2nd time today…with little round potatoes added in-_house smells amazing LOL Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you are enjoying it!
Jennifer says
How did the potatoes turn out? I’m wondering if they got all mushy.
Terry Jordan says
Thank y’all for all the comments. I too will be making this very soon. I can’t wait. I love me some good rottiserri chicken. Any suggestions before I do this.
elizabeth boyd says
I dont have a trivet anymore. Can I cook it without? I will also be cooking from frozen.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
You can, yes. It’ll just be sitting in the juices a little.
Linda says
You can pick up replacement trivets pretty much anywhere that sells instant pot accessories. There’s even a really cool silicone one that has long handles.
Kay Moreland says
Loved this recipe! Only comment would be that in the instructions, it doesn’t say to only use one half of the spice/oil mixture to spread on the chicken breast side – so when we slathered the breast side with the mixture, we didn’t have any left for the other side. (I should have read the whole recipe through before starting). We just made more, and it was wonderful – so we are going to double the mixture in the future! We did add 3-inch chunks of very fat carrots and they came out fine.
ashley says
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS recipe! My kids busted into the kitchen from the amazing smell through the house. I did put it on the trivet and I think that’s a good way to go. This will be my once a week staple instead of getting the rotisserie chicken from the grocery store!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Ashley! I am so glad that y’all enjoyed it.💖
Nicole Clark says
I thought this was pretty good, especially for the amount of energy put into making it. I would probably not use the lemon next time (personal preference) .this was my first instant pot meal. One thing I noticed is that the start to finish time actually takes longer, because you have to account for the time the instant pot takes getting itself to the pressurize state before it starts the cook time. I would definitely make again, this was easy breezy and the chicken was super moist.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad you enjoyed it, Nicole!
Courtney says
Can i (and how do I) cook rice or veggies in the pot with the chicken?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
The only ones I have done successfully with this recipe are some red potatoes. Mostly because they can stand up to the extra long cook time. Most veggies would get mushy.
Jordan says
So this was delicious! but i followed your instructions to the letter and mine just fell apart lol. I didn’t set mine on the trivet, maybe I need to next time!! I just pulled all the meat off and i used it for chicken sandwiches and im going to use the wonderful broth and left over meat for chicken noodle tomorrow. but why did mine fall completely apart?! LOL!! I even crisped the skin up, and i made sure my chicken was very close in weight to yours. Any advice? 🙂 thanks for the recipe tho! if nothing else, this is the best to get chicken meat & some seriously delicious broth!
Sue Smith says
The skin did not crisp up. What went w
Rong?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Sue! The chicken cooks in steam when it pressure cooks, so it won’t be truly crispy. It reminds me of the store-bought rotisserie chickens that are packaged in those plastic containers, which also sit in their own steam. To get that truly crispy skin, you can opt to finish off in the oven for a few minutes. We never do this since we like it as is.
Chris says
Can you rub the seasoning under the skin instead since I will not be eating the skin?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yes! I love doing this, and it gives the chicken great flavor.