Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Recipe
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I recently realized that I didn’t need a rotisserie to make this Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken. As you can tell from the title, I only needed a slow cooker!
Few things in life feel as homey and wonderful as coming home to a house that smells like dinner is ready and waiting. Better still is when it actually IS ready and waiting.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved rotisserie chicken. The tenderness of the meat outdoes anything I’ve ever been able to bake in an oven or fry in a skillet. But since I don’t have a rotisserie, I’ve always purchased my birdies at Whole Foods (the only place I’ve ever been able to find a clean rotisserie chicken!).
When I wrote my first cookbook, (amazon affiliate link) I started learning a bit more about cooking meats in a slow cooker. I experimented with several and quickly realized that a rotisserie style chicken was completely doable in a slow cooker. And the best part (in my humble opinion), is that you also get some gravy and chicken stock out of the deal. Not too shabby for one little bird!
This particular clean eating slow cooker rotisserie chicken recipe is super simple. It takes about 5-10 minutes to get the bird ready, then you just plop it in the slow cooker, turn it on and forget about it for the next 8 to 10 hours. So your slow cooker will cook dinner for you all day long and provide you with a very tender bird at the end of your work day. Not a bad deal all the way around. And if you really want a complete dinner ready to go, add a few veggies to the crock. Things like carrots, onions and celery do well here.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THESE CLEAN EATING RECIPES:
- Clean Eating Whole Roasted Chicken
- Clean Eating Chicken Stock/Broth
- How To Get Your Money’s Worth Out Of A Whole Chicken
SLOW COOKER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN RECIPE:
Slow Cooker Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 lb. chicken give or take (Do NOT use a frozen chicken!)
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. chopped, fresh rosemary
- 1 medium lemon (sliced, 1/4 inch thick slices – optional)
Instructions
- If your chicken came with the gizzards, remove them from the cavity of the chicken. (I don’t use them, but if you do, pack them away for another use in the future).
- Mix your spices together in a small bowl and using your hands, coat the whole outside of the chicken with your spices.
- Slide your hand between the skin and the meat, separating the skin from the flesh. Spread any remaining spices under the skin and then slide as many lemons slices as you can under the skin as well.
- If you have any lemon slices left over, stuff them in the cavity of the chicken.
- Place the entire bird in a slow cooker (between 4 and 6 quarts works best). No oil or water is needed. Cook on low for 8 hours. If you want to cook some vegetables with this, simply put them in the slow cooker first and place your chicken on top of them. With veggies, you will need closer to 10 hours. Every slow cooker is different. It’s important to know how your slow cooker cooks.
- IMPORTANT: You absolutely MUST check the temperature of your chicken before removing it from the slow cooker. It should be at least 180 F.
I’m not sure… It’s a good size.
Chelsea – I would need to know how many quarts your slow cooker is to tell you exactly. But if it fits a whole chicken, I’m guessing you could go for 4-6 breasts. That’s just a guess though. Any time I put chicken breasts in a slow cooker, I use enough to make 1 layer in the bottom of the slow cooker. You might also want to add a little something to help tenderize it. The breasts don’t have fat on them like a whole chicken does. So either vinegar, lemon juice or tomato sauce of some type.
I made this BEAUTIFUL chicken the other day and my kids (who hate everything it seems) LOVED IT. I used it in my clean enchilada casserole & they went bonkers. “This chicken is so good!” I was amazed. I even had plenty to share (I like to take small meals to my 80 year old grandma) and she loved it too! (she has a hard time with consistency, etc and is a picky eater) THANK YOU!
Amanda C – My pleasure! 🙂
I made this yesterday while I was at work, and it turned out delicious. The chicken was so juicy that it was falling off the bone. My only problem was that I ended up stuck at work for an extra two hours, overcooking the breast meat a bit. Nonetheless, it was a hit with the fiancee.
I also made gravy and chicken stock, bonus! Thanks for the wonderful idea! Next time I’ll try it with other flavors and herbs.
Christie – So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Is there a way you can use the slow cooker on high for less time!!! I totally forgot to take out my bird early this morning and have it under warm water trying to defrost it as fast as possible so I can throw it in the slower cooker by 12:30, but really don’t want to have to eat so late:( Did I majorly drop the ball on this one!???
Taylor – I wouldn’t defrost under water, especially warm water. The thawing will be too uneven. You can try cooking it on high, but I doubt you’ll shorten the time much. Sorry!
hi….I think you leave out small details that new cooks might miss, such as rinsing off the chicken, raw chicken precautions, breast up or down…or perhaps these things are not important?
Laurie – I never rinse my chicken, which is why I don’t mention it. I’m not sure which raw chicken precautions you are referring to. To wash your hands after handling perhaps? As for breast up or down, it’s never mattered to me. The chicken cooks fine one way or the other.
I’ve made this twice and absolutely LOVE it! Any tips for removing the chicken from the crock pot? Mine falls apart in the crock pot making it difficult to remove. Any tips/ suggestions are greatly appreciated!!
Nicole – Ya, mine kinda does too. I use two very large spoons and use them like tongs. Sometimes I get the whole bird, sometimes I don’t. But either way, it’s pretty easy to scoop out with big spoons. Plus they are slotted, so I don’t have to worry about taking a ton of the liquid with it.
made it once, making it again today. added more herbs this time. can’t wait to get home to a cooked bird!
Laurie – Wonderful!!! Enjoy it! 🙂
I am making this tomorrow after I come home from preschool, can’t wait to smell that delish scent in my home 🙂
Mary Pat – Fantastic! I hope you enjoy it! 😀
Have chicken breasts in the crock right now – I just put some butter pieces on top of them. Smells soooooo good!
Ashely H – I bet!!
I tend to be out of the house for ten hours with traffic and long work hours. Do you know if it would work best to use your recipe and have the slow cooker turn to warm for the extra time or would the chicken dry out?
Thank you,
Susan
Susan – I think the meat would be really overdone at that point. Sorry. 🙁
I am putting this in the crockpot right now. I will let you all know how it comes out. It looks like it is going to be amazing. Great for summer when you don’t want to turn on the oven.
Denise – Let me know how it turns out!
I just served this chicken. It is wonderful. Simple and so worth it. I was hoping to be able to make chicken salad for lunches but my husband is on this thing like a dog on a bone. I think he ate both breasts off this chicken in one plateful. And he used the juice from the chicken as a gravy on the meat. Great recipe!!
Denise – Thanks for the feedback! I’m so happy you both enjoyed it! 😀
Trying this tonight!! A little nervous about starting on low, so I thought I would first start on high, then turn down. Can’t wait!
Michele – You will need to shorten the cooking time then so it doesn’t dry out. Hope you enjoy it!
Can the liquid that is left over be used as “chicken broth”? Maybe frozen until needed? Or is there something else that you typically need to add to make it “broth”? Thanks
Jen – You absolutely can. I usually strain it to get all the bits out, then put it in a pan and mix in some spices. Maybe garlic powder and onion powder. Add a little whole grain flour to thicken it up.
I’m obviously a newbie when it comes to cooking so I have a question. How do you tenderize the chicken breasts with vinegar for this recipe? Do you put the vinegar in the crock pot to cook or let the breasts sit in the vinegar and then take the breasts out of the vinegar and cook them? Thank you!
Audra – If you mean what I mentioned in a different comment here, it’s something you would just add to the slow cooker for the cooking process. When you cook meats in a slow cooker, it’s best to add something acidic because that will make the meat tender. So it could be tomato sauce, vinegar or lemon juice. For this recipe I didn’t use any because I used a whole chicken which has all it’s fat. That tends to help with moisture. But if you are making just breasts, then I recommend adding something acidic to the crock. Is that what you meant?
I have a problem with mixing the seasoning together. Since the rosemary is moist, when I add the garlic powder, it gets all clumpy and difficult to spread over the outside of the chicken. Any suggestions?
Bonnie – It’s okay if it does that. If it really bothers you, you can use dry rosemary. But otherwise, just “press” the herbs on, or even skip mixing them in the bowl and simply sprinkle them on individually. However, if you are referring to the herbs that go under the skin, those do get clumpy. It won’t hurt anything though. Just do your best to spread it out. Whatever works best. Let me know how it works out!
I ended up putting them in the oven on low for 10-15 minutes to dry them out. They spread easily after that. I will try putting the garlic powder on first and then the rosemary separately next time. It’s in my crockpot right now. Can’t wait to get home after work and have dinner all ready.
Bonnie – Great! Let me know how it turns out! 😀