Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken
by Chungah
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30 min for a whole rotisserie chicken? YES, please! And the chicken comes out incredibly tender, juicy, moist and packed with so much flavor!
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Why you’ll love this instant pot rotisserie chicken
- Tender, juicy goodness. Making a rotisserie chicken in the Instant Pot® will yield the most tender, juicy, fall apart and flavorful rotisserie chicken. So good, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought rotisserie chicken again!
- Cooks so fast. A rotisserie chicken will generally take about 1 – 1.5 hrs to cook in the oven, but it can finish cooking in the pressure cooker in just 28 minutes!
- Ridiculously easy. This recipe requires minimal prep, pantry staples and zero babysitting, the best kind of set-and-forget dinner. And the natural release of the Instant Pot even gives you time to prep your side dishes!
- Freezer-friendly and versatile. The chicken is perfect to freeze whole, in pieces or shredded, and has so many uses. It’s great on its own with a few roasted veggies or with pastas and soups as a fill-in for the quickest dinners.
Uses for rotisserie chicken
Rotisserie chicken is the ultimate meal-prep hack, repurposing leftovers for so many dishes for a quick and easy budget-friendly weeknight meal!
Tex-mex favorites
Shredded chicken can be used for tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas or even lazy enchiladas
Soups
Leftovers work so well for shortcut creamy chicken noodle soup, white chicken chili, or chicken tortilla soup
Salads
Transform leftovers into everyone’s favorite Chinese Chicken Salad
Wraps and sandwiches
Quickly whip up BBQ chicken sandwiches with your favorite BBQ sauce on toasted buns with coleslaw and pickles
Comfort food
Biscuit pot pie makes for the coziest comfort food dinner using up all the shredded chicken, topped with the flakiest biscuits
How to make instant pot rotisserie chicken
- Mix the dry seasonings. Combine the salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, oregano, onion powder and garlic powder – this will be used to season the chicken.
- Prep the chicken. Remove the giblets, if not done already, and dry the chicken thoroughly. This will prevent steaming and allow the seasoning to adhere while yielding that crisp, flavorful, golden brown crust. Rub the dry seasoning mix on the chicken, seasoning the cavity as well for even seasoning throughout.
- Sear the chicken. Using the saute function of the Instant Pot, sear the chicken until golden brown. This will help lock in all the moisture and build deep flavor through caramelization (and give it that classic rotisserie look!).
- Pressure cook. Add the metal trivet to the Instant Pot (this will ensure even steaming, drain excess fat and avoid the burn notice!) and the stock before returning the chicken to the pot. Pressure cook on high for 28 minutes, naturally releasing for 20-30 minutes.
- Let it rest. Let the chicken rest, allowing the juices to redistribute for maximum juiciness and tenderness.
- Broil. For crispy rotisserie-style skin, broil the chicken until golden brown and desired crispness is achieved, about 3-5 minutes.
- Serve or store. Carve and serve warm, or shred the meat for salads, tacos, soups, casseroles and so much more for time-saving meals throughout the week.
freezing and storage
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Separate the meat from the bones for easy reheating. Bones can be saved for later for homemade stock.
Freezing
Let the chicken cool completely; shred or dice into bite-sized pieces, portioning into 1-2 cup servings in airtight, resealable freezer bags, adding a few tablespoons of cooking liquid to prevent the meat from drying out. Squeeze out any excess air before sealing and lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). Freeze up to 3 months.
Defrosting and reheating
For best results and an even thaw, thaw overnight, adding directly to boiling soups or casseroles. It can also be warmed gently on the stovetop, covered, over medium low heat with a splash of water or stock, until heated through.
what to serve with instant pot rotisserie chicken
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
The metal trivet helps elevate the chicken from the bottom of the Instant Pot, ensuring even cooking and avoiding the dreaded “burn” error.
Place the chicken back in the Instant Pot, cooking for an additional 2 minutes for every 5 degrees below 165°F.
For that crispy rotisserie-feel, broil the chicken for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. If you have the Instant Pot Air Fryer lid, you can also air fry the chicken for a few minutes without broiling.
Yes! But be sure to increase the chicken stock to 1.5 cups.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Yes! Rotisserie chicken is very freezer-friendly and can be frozen whole, in pieces or shredded in plastic freezer bags. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (4-pound) whole roasting chicken
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, oregano, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Remove giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Season chicken and chicken cavity with salt mixture. Stuff cavity with lemon.
- Set 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Add canola oil and chicken, breast side down, and cook until evenly golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Using tongs, flip, and cook for an additional 4 minutes; set aside.
- Place metal trivet into the pot and add chicken stock. Gently place chicken on top of the trivet. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 28 minutes. When finished cooking, naturally release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions, about 20-30 minutes. Let rest 10-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Stuff the cavity. Seasoning and stuffing the cavity with lemon will add moisture from the inside out, allowing the flavors to penetrate even in the thickest parts of the chicken.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your chicken. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Don’t skip the metal trivet. After browning the chicken, place the chicken on top of the metal trivet. This will help ensure that the chicken does not burn and provide better circulation for even cooking throughout.
- Lift the trivet to remove the chicken. The chicken will be very fall-off-the-bone tender (quite literally). Working carefully, lift the trivet to remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and serve.
- Use an instant-read thermometer for the most accurate results. The internal temperature should reach 165°F, inserting through the thickest part of the thigh between the breast and leg but avoiding the bone.
- Natural release is key. Once the chicken is finished cooking, naturally release for 20-30 minutes, giving ample time for the chicken to rest. Quick release of pressure can cause the chicken to dry out.
- Broil for crispy skin. As an optional step, broil the chicken on a sheet pan until crispy (and for that rotisserie-feel!), about 3-5 minutes, watching carefully so that the skin does not burn.
- Let your chicken rest. Let your chicken rest for at least 5-10 minutes prior to serving, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness.
- Save the chicken bones. Store the leftover chicken bones, skin and wing tips in an airtight, resealable freezer bag to repurpose for homemade stock.
Did you make this recipe?
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I love that the chicken stays so juicy! I found that it was super easy to turn the chicken and take it out to put the trivet in wearing the rubber gloves I use for washing dishes. No problem at all! (I wash my hands with the gloves on to get the yuck off.) I don’t eat the skin so took the advice of another reviewer and added some pats of butter and herb mix under the skin.
Such an uncomplicated recipe with great results.
I made this tonight and my husband said “this is the best roasted chicken he has ever had”. It was so moist and fell right off the bone.
My go-to recipe! After the 8th or 9th time using this recipe I got the brainstorm to triple the seasoning mixture, use a 1/3 and store the rest in a glass spice shaker jar for later use. Saves even more time than this already time-saving recipe takes.
Brilliant! I’m using this!
The value of the instant pot is that the chicken stays moist – unlike many actual rotisserie chiecksn (from the store). We have a rotisserie but that is a REAL pain to use.
Also, it just tastes better with one’s own seasoning. We end up eating all of our chicken (whereas with the one from the store, the dogs get snacks off of it for a few days – it’s tasteless on the second day).
THIS chicken (prepared almost exactly as here – sometimes I vary the seasonings and use garlic in the broth).
Has anyone made this with just chicken breast and thighs instead of a whole chicken? Instructions??
I guess I’m still trying to figure out the allure of the Instant Pot. It seems that when you factor in the time needed to brown both sides (4-5 minutes didn’t do the job), then wait to build up steam, then time to cook and release its steam naturally, there is little time savings. The estimated total time from start to finish is an hour and a half. Unless I’m missing something, I don’t see the time savings.
If I had a 4 lb. chicken, I would probably spatchock it and cook it on my grill. This would take about an hour or so. The skin would be crisp and the meat would be juicy from roasting/grilling.
My wife picked up an oven stuffer chicken, it was about 7 lbs. There was no time to cook it in the oven, so I decided to try this recipe. Due to its size, I increased the cook time to 45 minutes. The chicken barely fit into my pot.
I used a wood spatula inserted into the cavity to pull the bird from the pot, but the legs and thighs just stayed in the pot. I let it cool down a bit, but it was still not firm enough for slicing. My wife thought the meat was dried out; maybe I should have let it cool down a bit more before slicing. Bonus points for the seasoning, it was spot on and I would absolutely use it again when grilling.
We have a ton leftover, so I think we will make fajita’s tonight. Maybe make some black beans in the instant pot.
My allure for the instant pot is that I have three little kids and it’s minimal effort to make the chicken, just set it up & sear it, shut the lid and see ya! ✌ I have made this a lot of times and really like the recipe!
I agree with you on that Jimbo. I don’t fully see how an instant pot saves time for most recipes I have done, however, my appeal is not having to turn the oven on! I live in an apartment, so that helps a lot!
While the Instant Pot doesn’t always save much time in terms of the overall time it takes to cook something (although that depends what you’re making, for instance bone broth is cut from an overnight simmer to 2 hours), what it does save is “hands on” time. You just set it and forget it, and you can get on with other things without having to monitor it at all. So it frees up time and mental space for other things.
There are also some other benefits, for instance if you cook something like dried beans under pressure they actually become more nutritious and easier to digest, as the cooking process neutralises more of the antinutrients and indigestible substances (e.g. lectins, phytates & complex sugars).
As for your issue with your chicken falling apart and being too dry, I suspect your problem may have been your change to the timing – when cooking a larger item in the Instant Pot you don’t always need to increase the time (or only need to increase it a little bit) as it takes longer for the pot to come to pressure and depressurise, which increases the overall time anyway.
The allure for me is saved effort. With chronic health conditions, I often have to weigh how hungry I am against the effort making food will take. If it wasn’t for my instant pot, I’d often just starve, or eat fast food which only adds to my issues.
I’m shocked how easy this was and the flavours were amazing. !
Love this recipe – flavor and so juicy.
Is first part (sauté) made with lid or open pot?
Open pot. You set it to “saute” on high, and wait for the display to show “hot”, then place the chicken in and sear the skin (You may need to, like, squish it down to expose more of the skin to the hot insert and crisp it up). Hope this helps!
How do you get the skin to not stick when browsing the chicken? Can I use Pam spray?
I believe that 2 Tbsp of oil as recommended in the recipe will be less likely to stick than a thin layer of Pam spray coating.
LOVE this recipe! This is 3rd time and it is delicious !
Also, rather than try to use tools/tongs to lift out the chicken I lifted it out by gripping one end of the cavity. This was much easier. Cheers~
This chicken is extra special – juicy, tasty, perfect! It is super easy to make. In fact, the hardest parts were turning the chicken over in the Instant Pot during the saute phase and pulling it out to place it on the trivet. The cooking part was a snap and very fast, too!
this was yummy, although the sauteeing of the chicken at the beginning didn’t seem to do much so I stuck it under the broiler at the end. My chicken was larger so I did 6 minutes per lb and it turned out great.
Just a question. My chicken is 2.69 lbs…how much do I decrease the time in the IP?
Any suggestions for making gravy with left over stock without using cornstarch or regular white flour ?
What about adding Xanthum gum? A little goes a long way, I’d recommend sieving a bit at a time.
I do a roux with gluten free flour (Paleo or 1:1 are my go tos by bob mills) and then add in the chicken juice and left over juices from cooking.
Love this recipe! I’ve made this many times. I usually set the time for 33 minutes. I felt that at 28 it was still a little underdone. I usually make gravy out of it; no secrets there. The recipe makes a really nice rub. I sometimes place it under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to crisp the skin and breasts. Thank you for this recipe! Start the InstantPot and head to your local gym class – back in time for a delicious chicken dinner!
Tapioca or Arrowroot
You can cook carrots and or potato flakes for gravy just puree the vegetables it will make it’s own gravy
Most other gluten free flours will work. I usually use either cassava flour or rice flour, or sometimes arrowroot or tapioca (but with those two you have to be extremely careful not to add too much as it can easily turn the gravy “gloopy”!).
Well, that was damn delicious! Thanks! Super easy and very tasty. Great recipe, it’s in my rotation for sure. 🙂
This is the only way I’ve ever made rotisserie chicken. Love this recipe and instructions so so much!
It was perfect
Making this delicious and easy recipe for the 4th time! There’s nothing not to like. I love a traditional oven roasted chicken but this is great for 90 degree days when you don’t want to heat up the house! Leftovers make a flavorful addition to different salads.
Made this for my family for dinner and got rave reviews! Will definitely make this again!
This is my go to recipe when I’m in a rush to get a great meal on the table. Grandkids love Nanny’s chicken and the gravy from the drippings is amazing. I’ve made it 3 times already and they ask for it every Sunday!
Care to share how you make the gravy from the drippings?