Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken is one of the easiest ways to cook a whole chicken. The chicken will be done in under an hour and is tender, moist, and flavorful.
There is no easier way to get dinner on the table then having tender cooked chicken in the fridge, ready to go. You can make everything from chicken enchiladas to chicken noodle soup.
Your Instant Pot will make fast work of cooking up a whole chicken. I like to pop one in my IP on Sunday and have shredded chicken in my fridge for the crazy week days!
How to Make Rotisserie Chicken in the Instant Pot
There are 3 main steps in making an Instant Pot Whole Rotisserie Chicken. Preparing, seasoning, and then pressure cooking the whole chicken.
Before you start you will want to make note the weight of your chicken, you will need this for the cooking time!
Prepare Your Chicken
It is very important that you remove the gizzards and neck from the inside of the chicken. Sometimes they are contained in a plastic bag and you do NOT want to cook that!
So reach in, pull out all the loose bits and pieces and then get started!
Remove any excess skin or fat around the openings and any feather pins left on the chicken.
Pat the whole chicken dry with paper towels.
Kitchen Tip: you do not need to rinse your chicken! It is actually a cross-contamination hazard and is not recommended.
Season Your Chicken
Mix together 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, ½ tsp onion powder. Sprinkle ⅓ of the seasoning into the inner cavity of the chicken.
Quarter an onion, cut the garlic cloves in half, and slice half a lemon into wedges. Stuff as much as you can into the cavity of the chicken.
Sprinkle the remaining seasoning on the outside of the chicken.
Instant Pot Cooking Times
Pour 1 ½ cups water into the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the metal trivet in the pot. Put the seasoned whole chicken, BREAST SIDE UP, onto the trivet.
Close the Instant Pot and set it to cook on high pressure mode for 6 MINUTES PER POUND. For example I had a 5 lb chicken so I set my cook time to 30 minutes.
At the end of cooking time do a 15 minute natural release and then quick release any remaining pressure.
Kitchen Tip: Use the trivet handles to pull the whole chicken out of the Instant Pot.
Parts of the Chicken
There are two types of chicken meat: white meat & dark meat.
White meat is mainly located in the two breasts. The white meat is traditionally considered the healthier of the two, yet drier.
Dark meat is located on the legs, thighs and wings. This meat is considered more flavorful and juicier, yet higher in fat content.
When you break a rotisserie chicken down you will have 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 wings, and 2 legs. The majority of the meat will come from the breasts and the legs.
How to Break a Rotisserie Chicken Down
Start by cutting the breasts off of the chicken:
Run your knife along the breast bone located at the very top middle of the whole chicken. Pull the breast away from the bone.
Run the knife between the leg and the breast to cut the skin.
Lastly, run the knife between the breast and the wing. The breast should now pull away easily.
The wings will just pull away once you cut the breasts out.
To remove the leg/thigh combo pull the leg away from the whole chicken. You will crack the bone that holds it to the carcass. You may have to run your knife between the leg and the whole chicken.
Lastly, pick any remaining chicken meat stuck to the carcass.
How to Brown your Rotisserie Chicken
If you want to serve your rotisserie chicken whole, you will probably want to brown/crisp the skin. Once it comes out of the Instant Pot simply place it on a sheet pan, brush with a little olive oil or melted butter and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn.
Tips of shredding your rotisserie chicken
If you are going to use your rotisserie chicken to make other recipes then you will want to cut or shred your chicken.
The easiest way to shred your chicken is with a hand held blender or stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Just make sure to do it when it is still warm/hot.
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Recipe
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 whole raw chicken 4-6 lbs.
- 1 yellow or white onion cut into 4 pieces
- ½ fresh lemon cut into wedges
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp each: garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 ½ cup water
Instructions
- Prepare the whole chicken by removing the giblets and neck from the inside of the chicken cavity. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels.
- In a small bowl mix together the 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp onion powder.
- Sprinkle ⅓ of the seasoning mix in the inside cavity of the chicken. Place as much of the cut onion and lemon as you can inside the bird.
- Sprinkle the remaining seasoning mix on the outside of the bird.
- Pour the water into the bottom of the Instant Pot.Place the metal trivet in the pot.Put the chicken BREAST SIDE UP in the pot.
- You will cook the chicken on pressure mode/high for 6 MINUTES PER POUND.(ie. my chicken was 5 lbs. so I set the cook time for 30 minutes)
- Do a 15 minute natural pressure release at the end of the cook time and then quick release any remaining pressure. Make sure your chicken has reached 165 degrees!
- Remove the chicken from the pot by using the trivet – be careful the handles of the trivet may be hot.Let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes for the juices to redistribute before cutting or serving.
Notes:
Recipes to Use Your Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken
There are endless ways to use your chicken to make dinner. There are plenty of chicken recipes on Mom’s Dinner to look through. Here are a few that would make a great dinner!
Anna Kate Goshko says
My chicken always looks like a crazy butcher went at it! Thanks for sharing…will keep this one saved.
Emily Bruno says
This post was so helpful!! Can’t wait to try this.
Tawnie Kroll says
I am so glad I found this post – so helpful! I really loved having the visual from the video too! Thank you!
Lauren Grant says
LOVE how comprehensive this post is, I can’t wait to make this for meal prep! Not only will this save time and money, but it’s healthier than the rotisserie chickens you buy at the store!