Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken
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No more store-bought chicken! Nope, you can make this in the crockpot with only 15 min prep. So tender, moist and juicy!
During my college days, I would use my mom’s Costco membership to snag one of those Kirkland rotisserie chickens whenever I could. I mean, guys, it was (or maybe still is) $4.99 for a whole seasoned chicken!
And with a college budget, this chicken would feed me for days. Maybe even a week if I could really stretch it out.
But if you don’t live near a Costco, don’t worry. I got you guys covered. You can skip that emergency grocery run to grab that rotisserie chicken on the way home from work.
All you need is a slow cooker, 15 minutes prep or less, a simple spice rub, a lemon and some fresh herbs.
That’s it! From there, you can let it cook low and slow for 4-5 hours for the juiciest chicken of your life. And if you really want to go that extra mile, throw the cooked chicken onto a sheet pan for a quick broil for crispy skin.
Either way, you won’t want store-bought rotisserie chicken ever again because it’s just that easy.
Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 4-pound whole roasting chicken
- 1 lemon, halved
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 large carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 2 celery ribs, cut into 3-inch pieces
- ½ small onion
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine paprika, brown sugar, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
- Remove giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Season chicken and chicken cavity with paprika mixture. Stuff cavity with lemon, thyme and rosemary.
- Place carrots, celery and onion into a 4-qt slow cooker. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of the vegetables; tie drumsticks together with kitchen twine.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 hours, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove chicken from the slow cooker; let rest 10-15 minutes.
- OPTIONAL: Preheat oven to broil. Place chicken onto a baking sheet and broil until crisp and crusted, about 4-5 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Quick question, recipe says 4 qt slow cooker, can I used a 6 qt? Â Do I need to adjust the cook time?
Question: Instead of a whole chicken, could I use 4 pounds of chicken breasts for this?
My family really enjoyed this! I broiled it at the end to give it some color, and it was exactly what was promised… a perfect rotisserie chicken sub!
Easy and delicious! This recipe is a keeper!
So so delicious! Made a giblet gravy to go with it! Will make again and again!
I never thought one could slow cook anything without submerging it in a broth or other liquid.
So, figuring that you knew what you were doing so gave it a shot. Awesome!
Learn something new every day I guess. New uses for an already busy slow cooker when the cooler days get here!!
I just finished prepping ingredients to make two rotisseries. I only have one slow cooker so I’m planning on cooking the second in my oven using a dutch oven. Do you have a recommendation on what temperature to cook it on and for how long? Thanks! Looking forward to dinner tonight!
This was AMAZING. I love store bought rotisserie chickens, but always run into the problem of when to get them – going to the store right before dinner is CRAZINESS, and then when I try to keep it warm it gets dry. Problem solved! I left out the lemon and celery because we just aren’t fans of the flavors, but it was DELICIOUS! I went to take it out of the crock pot and it just fell apart lol. THANK YOU!
You are so so welcome, Jenny! We’re so glad this was such a hit for you! 🙂
What color is the cooked chicken if I don’t do the broiling step? Does it brown at all in the slow cooker or does it look like white boiled chicken?
I just got a slow cooker and will be using it for the first time, so I am not familiar if it browns the chicken at all.
Benita, the chicken is still browned without the broiling step. It does not resemble white boiled chicken especially with the spices here. 🙂
The bird is in the slow cooker now. The aroma is amazing. Two more hours and dinner will be served.
Looks So Yummy & Delicious!
I just put this in the crock pot, but my chicken is bigger than 4 lbs. I’m hoping someone can give me advice of how much extra time to do per pound? Just some generic advice would be helpful, I’ll keep checking with the thermometer too.
I tried this recipe last night and it is definitely a “keeper”. Absolutely perfect roasted chicken. Costco chickens are pretty good, but this was great!
So glad you agree!
I’ve never been in a Costco, so I can’t say if my chicken was comparable…
But, man, was it ever delicious! I put my bird in the crockpot late Sunday evening and let it cook overnight. (My nights being so much shorter than my days. Boo) Woke to an amazing aroma wafting up the stairs. Let it cool while I got ready for work. Ate a few bites of warm, juicy chicken for breakfast, then cut the rest of the meat off the bone when I returned home to kit up salads for lunches the rest of the week. This recipe is a keeper!
P. S. I made 2 extra seasoning packets while I had the ingredients on the counter. The next meal prep will go even faster!
So smart to make extra seasoning packs! Thanks for sharing, Kathleen! 🙂
Great recipe, will make it tomorrow
Great recipe , I’m just not sure where I can get a 4 lb chicken for $4.99 that makes it a better deal than Costco 🙂
Go to Sams Club if one is near you, or your local grocer.So if it runs over the weight go with it compromise. “EASY MATH”!!!!
The rotisserie chicken price is still $4.99 at Costco, but one has to consider the membership cost and the hassles of getting through the checkout to evaluate the true value (let alone the big bucks many of us spend on wants rather tha needs while wandering the Costco aisled).
Your recipe perfect. Just the aroma of it cooking all day was worth it, but the chicken was very juicy. I am making another one on this cold rainy May day. It will also be great on a hot summer day when we want roasted chicken, but don’t want to go to Costco or heat the big oven.
Much to my doctor’s disapproval, I prefer to eat the skin, and like it crispy, so the optional broil step made the exposed skin crispy. To get all of the skin crispy requires one to part the chicken after cooking and broil the separated parts. Although I try to mind most of the doc’s advice, I bend the rules a bit. Most of the fat cooks out during the roasting, and broiling it removes some more. Just don’t broil it too long or dark or you may be introducing some allegedly carcigonic heterocyclic amines and polyaromatic hydrocarbons into your body.
Also, I will part out the chicken, separating the meat, and make chicken stock in the slow cooker with the bones, broth, giblet pack contents and seasonings. It may be a bit salty, but it will be concentrated and quite gelatinous and yummy and make the house smell great again.
THERE YOU GO GREGG!!!! You know how to cook!!!! You go boy/man!!!
Quick question, if I’m not an oregano and rosemary kinda gal, are there herb substitutes for those?
Thanks!
Hi Megan! There are no direct substitutes but I would say you can improvise a little and use herbs that you like. And when in doubt, garlic and lemon never hurt! 🙂
RIGHT ON JANA!!!!
I am allergic to rosemary, so I usually substitute the same amount of marjoram. When the recipe also calls for oregano, like this one does, I don’t usually add the oregano because the flavors are pretty similar. I hope this helps.
I just figured out that my slow cooker is oven safe! Now I can broil the chicken at then end right in the crock. Life-changing!
That is life changing! It makes things so much easier!
Hi be careful oven safe does not necessarily mean broiler safe please be sure before you put it under the broiler be careful