Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken is one of the most delicious recipes for a whole chicken! In less than 60 minutes, you can have a tender, juicy, perfectly “roasted” chicken made in your pressure cooker!. This easy recipe for Instant Pot Whole Chicken is flavored with a homemade rotisserie seasoning and is perfect for an easy dinner or using in chicken recipes.
Looking for more Instant Pot Chicken Recipes? Check out Instant Pot Chicken Breasts, Instant Pot Chicken Wings, and Instant Pot Chicken Tacos. And be sure to check out all my Instant Pot Recipes.
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Instant Pot Whole Chicken
I held off making a whole chicken in the pressure cooker for a long time. I felt like I already had a great recipe for Oven Rotisserie Chicken, so why mess with a good thing?
I am so glad I decided to start experimenting, because Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken is about the best thing since sliced bread.
Making a whole chicken in the Instant Pot results in the most flavorful, tender, juicy chicken you will ever have. The meat literally falls off the bone and each bite of chicken is oozing with juiciness.
I predict this Instant Pot Rotisserie Style Chicken is going to quickly become a new favorite recipe at your house.
How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot
Step one: Make sure your chicken fits into your instant pot.
Don’t laugh! If your chicken is larger than your pressure cooker you will be cursing up a storm you can’t make Instant Pot Roasted chicken–if your chicken does not fit into your pressure cooker just use my oven roasted chicken recipe.
I have a 6 quart Instant Pot and I have made as large as a 5 1/2 pound whole chicken. And this is the time, when you can refer to Max fill line on your instant pot. If you remember, in my Instant Pot 101, I told you not to fill more than 2/3 full when pressure cooking–this is the exception to that rule (because we are not using a high volume of liquid).
Step Two: Prepare your Instant Pot
- Place your trivet into your pressure cooker.
- Pour in 1 cup water of cold water–you need liquid in order for pressure to build and pressure cooking to be possible. If you have an 8 quart instant pot–use 2 cups water.
Step Three: Season the Chicken
- Clean out your chicken. And by cleaned, I mean clean out your gizzards, etc from inside your chicken–do not rinse your chicken. You can read more about why you shouldn’t rinse your chicken here.
- Stuff your cleaned chicken with an onion and lemon.
- Rub the chicken with the homemade rotisserie rub.
Step Four: Pressure Cook the Chicken
- Place the lid on your pressure cooker, set valve to seal.
- Set cooking time according to how large your chicken is (see recipe notes).
Step Five: Let Pressure Release
- After cook time has elapsed, allow pressure to naturally release for at least 10 minutes (I prefer 20-25 minutes for more tender meat). And it is okay to leave the Instant Pot on the keep warm setting during this time.
- Remove chicken to cutting board and let rest for an additional 10 minute before serving for the juices to redistribute.
- Save bones from your roasted chicken to make Instant Pot Chicken Stock.
How long does it take to cook a whole chicken in the instant pot?
The length of cooking time for whole chickens will vary based on size of your chicken. A safe rule of thumb is to cook your chicken 6 minutes per pound and let naturally release for at least 20 minutes for perfectly cooked chicken.
- 3 pound chicken: 18 minutes on high pressure
- 4 pound chicken: 24 minutes on high pressure
- 5 pound chicken: 30 minutes on high pressure
- For every pound add 6 minutes, for every half a pound add 3 minutes to total cooking time for whole chickens.
Please Note: If your chicken seems like it is really thick (the chicken breasts are large) you may want to increase time to 7 minutes per pound. A smaller organic chicken only needs 6 minutes per pound.
Chicken is Not Cooked Through
Once pressure releases, use an digital thermometer to check to ensure the temperature of the chicken has reached 165 degrees.
If it is below the 165 degrees, place lid back on pressure cooker and cook for an additional 2 minutes for every 5 degrees below 165 degrees. (It will not take as long for your pressure cooker to come to pressure a 2nd time.)
No Poultry setting?
No worries! Poultry setting on your pressure cooker is just high pressure. Set to high pressure for suggested cooking time.
Can you cook a whole chicken that is frozen in the instant pot?
Yes and No.
You CAN cook a whole frozen chicken in the Instant Pot if your frozen chicken already has the innards/gizzards removed and has no plastic ties around the feet. You will not be able to remove a plastic insert or bag of gizzards from a frozen chicken. Therefore, you can not put a frozen chicken with either of those items into your pressure cooker.
If you have a chicken that comes without the gizzards or plastic clamp around the legs, you would need to increase time by 5 minutes per pound, for a total of 11 minutes per pound and for frozen chicken, let pressure release for at least 20 minutes.
Frozen Whole Chicken Cook Times
- 3 pound frozen chicken: 33 minutes on high pressure
- 4 pound frozen chicken: 44 minutes on high pressure
- 5 pound frozen chicken 55 minutes on high pressure
- For each pound increase by 11 minutes, for each half a pound increase by 6 minutes for frozen whole chickens.
Can I make chicken stock while cooking a whole chicken?
Yes, you can make stock at the same time as cooking a whole chicken in your instant pot–with a few cautions.
- First of all, your skin will NOT be able to be crisped up, as the whole chicken will cook submerged in liquid.
- You will need to cook a smaller chicken, as you do not want to exceed filling your pressure cooker more than 2/3 of the way full.
- You will not need to use your trivet if making a whole chicken and stock at the same time.
- Omit rotisserie seasoning, so your chicken broth is not overly salty.
- Your chicken stock will be more greasy as the skin will render quite a bit of fat while cooking.
- You will need to allow chicken stock cooked with a whole chicken to naturally release pressure on it’s own, as when pressure cooking this much liquid, it would be dangerous to release the pressure prematurely.
I recommend making Instant Pot Whole Chicken as this recipe suggests and then following my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Stock with the leftover carcass from your chicken. But if you want to cook the whole chicken and make stock together, place your chicken into your instant pot, along 1 diced onion, 1 carrot, 1-2 stalks of celery and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Cover with water and cook according to size of your whole chicken. Let pressure release naturally and then remove chicken and strain broth. Use cooked chicken and stock as desired.
Instant Pot Roasted Chicken with Crispy Skin
When cooking whole chickens in the pressure cooker, the chicken skin will not have a chance to crisp up. For me, that is not a problem because I remove the skin before eating or using in recipes that call for pre-cooked chicken. BUT if you would like crispy skin on this chicken, follow these instructions:
- Cook the chicken as directed in your pressure cooker.
- After removing the chicken for your instant pot, transfer to a baking sheet.
- Brush with oil and place under broiler for 2-4 minutes, watching closely as to not burn the chicken.
Can I brine my chicken before cooking in my electric pressure cooker?
Yes, you can brine your chicken before cooking in your pressure cooker. Use your favorite brine recipe (or my Turkey brine recipe) and then omit salt from the seasoning blend. Cook as recipe states for a brined chicken.
I don’t like the homemade rotisserie seasoning? What else can I use?
If you don’t happen to like this rotisserie seasoning blend, you can simply sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper or your favorite spice blend before cooking.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Leftover Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Recipes
Instant Pot Whole Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken innards removed
- 1 lemon cut in half
- 1 onion cut in half
- 1 recipe Rotisserie blend
Rotisserie Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- dash of cayenne pepper
Instructions
Homemade Rotisserie Seasoning
- Mix together all ingredients well.
For Pressure Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken
- Place trivet in instant pot pan and pour in 1 cup COLD water into instant pot. Use 2 cups water if you have an 8 quart instant pot.
- Rub seasoning evenly over chicken.
- Place cut lemon and onion inside cavity of chicken and place chicken on trivet in instant pot.
- Place lid on pressure cooker and be sure valve is turned to sealed.
- Set on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound of chicken. If your chicken seems like it is really thick (the chicken breasts are large) you may want to increase time to 7 minutes per pound. A smaller organic chicken only needs 6 minutes per pound.
- Once cooking time is finished, allow pressure to release naturally for at least 10 minutes, preferably closer to 20 minutes. Check the temperature of the chicken with a digital thermometer to be sure it has reached 165 degrees in the thickest part of the chicken thigh.
- Remove chicken from Instant Pot and place on cutting board, let chicken rest for an additional 10 minutes for the juices to redistribute.
Notes
- 3 pound chicken: 18 minutes on high pressure
- 4 pound chicken: 24 minutes on high pressure
- 5 pound chicken: 30 minutes on high pressure
- For every pound add 6 minutes, for every half a pound add 3 minutes to total cooking time for whole chickens.
- Be sure to allow pressure to naturally release for at least 10 minutes, preferably 20 minutes.
- Total time: 10-15 minutes to come to pressure + cooking time based on size of chicken + 10-20 minutes pressure to release
- If your chicken seems like it is really thick (the chicken breasts are large) you may want to increase time to 7 minutes per pound. A smaller organic chicken only needs 6 minutes per pound.
Kristen Chidsey
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I loved how it cooked so evenly and was falling off the bone! I WAS going to do the broiler thing at the end to crisp up the bird skin but decided not too. It looked too good as is. I will say that I had a bigger Chicken (6.4 lbs) so I added the minutes as suggested. I have an 8 qrt IP and set it for 38 min and did a 25 min natural release with the Warm feature kept on…. it’s a bit on the overcooked side though. Its still has moisture and falling off the bone but yet kinda of dry at the same time. I can tell I overdid it on the cooking time. I happen to have another whole chicken that’s the same size (I bought a two pack) so I think I’ll try again and cut the actual cooking time down quite a bit and keep the natural release time as is. I’m going to give it another go. #forscience! ☝🏻 😁. The beautiful thing with this method you shared though is that even when we go and over do it, it’s still so forgiving. The moisture and juices are a beautiful thing 😉. I loved this recipe, and am still a happy camper even tho’ I didn’t judge the cooking time well. I’m definitely coming back to this time and time again. My new favorite way to do a whole chicken… and so easy!
Hi Michelle! So glad you loved this recipe so much, even with the added time! I hope you enjoy many more times.
OMG!!!! WOW!!!! This is INCREDIBLE! I only had smoked paprika and accidentally rinsed the chicken but I just made this and it is OUT OF THIS WORLD FANTASTIC! Juicy, tender, falling off the bone and flavorful all around. Thank you for such a WONDERFULLY AWESOME and easy recipe.
Yay!! I am so glad you loved this chicken so much Paula.
This is fabulous! I never write reviews, but this is truly magnificent. Like the author, I don’t keep the skin either, so there is no need to sear or to crisp it. This recipe is fantastic. Thanks!
I love hearing how much you enjoyed this recipe Ann. Thank you so much for taking the time to review 🙂
Just thought re-reading through, do the time to weight ratios include the stuffed weight i.e. does one have to include the weight of the lemon & onion in working out the cooking time, or just the weight of the chicken? Thanks
Hi Jo! No need to worry about the weight of the lemon and onion, just the chicken 🙂
Thanks Kristen, stuffed a 5lb 12oz chicken last night with packet stuffing added dried sage, sultanas, chopped walnuts, it came out perfect, also added my potatoes individually double wrapped in parchment paper, also perfect 30mins pc 35mins nr. Once again thank you, & all the best to you & yours Jo
Oh I am so glad you enjoyed Jo! Thank you for sharing what you did <3 All the best to you as well!
I’ve never left a comment online for a recipe before, but I felt compelled to do so for your whole-chicken recipe. I have *never* in my life made or eaten a chicken that was as perfectly done and tender as mine was using your recipe. I used a 4-lb thawed whole chicken, crammed the inner with lemon and onion, and cooked it for 25 minutes. I did a natural release for 25 minutes. I have always hated white meat because it’s usually dry, but this one was soooo tender and moist. It was better than a sous vide chicken. Thank you! Loved it!
Hi Sarah! I am so grateful you took the time to leave a review and share with us how much you enjoyed this chicken. It makes my heart happy to hear how much you enjoyed this recipe and I hope you make it many, many more times. All the best!
This recipe was great! My family loved it. I ended up doing a 6.2 lb chicken in my 6-quart pot for 40 minutes with a 15 minute pressure release. Everything was done to perfection. I made gravy from the juices afterwards using the saute setting. The only thing I would change is that I think you only need about half the amount of the spices listed. I used most of the amount listed, but it became rather gloppy on top of the bird. Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Becky! And yes, after rubbing your chicken with the spices, you may have leftover rub–just discard it if it touched any raw chicken 🙂
Welcome. They will be on the soft side though (although not soft and mushy and disintegrating had you just put them in with the chicken unprotected), I only use (wrap) root vegies this way, & any liquid/moisture that has gathered in the bottom of the parchment paper wrap I pour into the stock
place all your vegies in separate parcels made from parchment paper (if you wish you can use foil instead of or as well, place on top of chicken or on another trivet if you have one, make sure vegies are cold from the fridge, that way they will take longer to cook, placing to the top of the instant pot also slows the cooking of the vegies. When the time is up you have chicken & vegies all cooked in the same pot. Works a treat! BTW I cook mine in home chicken bone carcase stock which is frozen in 1 cup batches. Just put everything in close the lid & sit back
Great tip–I am going to have to give that a try. Thanks for sharing Jo!
Recepe came out perfectly. I did everything exactly except for put anything inside the chicken. Next time ill try putting the lemon and onion in chicken. The chicken was so moist. It was a hit with my hubby!!!
I LOVE when the family enjoys! Thank you for taking the time Kim to share your success with us:)
Thank you for sharing this recipe!! We had a 6lb chicken that had to be cooked and had just received an 8 quart IP as a gift. Your instructions were dead on and SO helpful since we are new to IP recipes. We let ours sit on keep warm for 20 minutes after it finished because we weren’t sure exactly what natural release means… It came out moist and delicious so I think that worked just fine. We be making your IP broth with the leftover bones and bits tomorrow. Can’t wait!! Thanks for saving our chicken dinner tonight it was a great success!!
I am SO glad that you had success with this recipe <3 If you want to find out more about Natural pressure release, check out my Instant Pot 101. But basically it means to leave on keep warm until float valve goes down. Enjoy the chicken stock as well–I just made some yesterday myself. 🙂
Fantastic recipe – followed the instructions and chicken was moist, succulent, juicy! I had a 3.5 Ib / 1.6 kg fresh chicken to serve 6 adults. Marinade overnight it in a ziplock with mish-mash of seasoning on the skin (paprika/herbes de provence/garlic powder/salt/chilli powder – can really use anything/in any quantity), underneath the skin and really gave the entire chicken a good massage as I was rubbing marinade. Stuffed with 1/2 lemon and 1/2 apple. Brought chicken on tabletop about 30mins before putting in to 6qt instant pot. I used 1 cup of liquid made up of 1/4 parts mushroom broth and 3/4 parts white wine. 22 mins high pressure, 20min natural release and 3-4 min broiler. Browned up very nicely (ps. not crispy skin though this wasn’t what I was looking to accomplish anyway). Made for a truly stunning central dish complemented by a variety of warm and cold sides. Used the cooked liquid as additional dressing (though not needed at all since chicken was so moist!). THANK YOU! 🙂
I am so so glad you enjoyed!
Cooked a 4lb chicken (not frozen) for 34 minutes, parts were well over 165 and parts were 120. Cooked for another 10 min. Parts still in the 140’s. My pin dropped after 5-7 minutes both times- that seems quick. Any suggestions? (Giving up and broiling bird and then tossing in microwave)
Hi Kate! I am sorry for your issues–very frustrating. That seems EXTREMELY quick for your pin to drop with a full size chicken. Did you use a full cup water? Was your chicken only partially thawed? Let me know and I can help further trouble shoot for you.
Hello there,
I am just wondering if it is ok to use 2 cups of water since I have an 8qt pot and it says to never use less then 2 cups with it and you also said that you used a 6qt.
Thank you 🙂
Hi Juliane! I would use at least 1.5 cups for an 8 quart but 2 cups works great too 🙂 Enjoy!
Can I stuff a chicken and put gravy instead of water.?
Hi Jeaninne! The stuffing inside the chicken will probably get fairly soggy as the chicken is cooked with moist heat, it also will take longer to cook the chicken, which may dry out the meat. Ad for gravy, no, you need water or chicken stock–and then can make gravy after cook time with drippings. The gravy would cause a burn notice to occur on your instant pot. Sorry it can’t work out the way you were hoping.
Thanks I will try it.
I’m typing this with a very happy mouth full of chicken. Thank you thank you thank you for this delicious recipe!
YAY!!! So glad you are enjoying!
I am a new Instant Pot user and this is the very first recipe I am trying. My question is that the safety notes for my 8-qt Duo say that the minimum amount of liquid for any recipe is 18 oz, but you are recommending 8 oz. What am I missing? (no rating because it is cooking as I write this)
Hi Norma! I am sorry for any confusion. Because of the liquid that the chicken will render when cooking, 1 cup in the bottom of your pressure cooker will be plenty. In the future if you are concerned, add an extra 1/2 cup. I hope you enjoyed the chicken 🙂
Do you use the entire spice blend for one chicken? I am trying this right now (kitchen is smelling good!) and put the entire spice blend on the chicken, but it seemed like a lot of spice blend. Hoping I didn’t just over-season and ruin a whole chicken! Thanks!
Hi Robin! I make the spice blend and then use just what is needed to liberally season the entire chicken. Even if you used too much, just discard the skin, the meat will be fine.
I also put all of the spice seasoning on the chicken. I thought it seemed like a lot, but I read back through the recipe and figured that must be what I was supposed to do. The chicken is moist and flavorful. I take the skin off anyway so it was not an issue at all.
I have only had my Instant Pot for a couple weeks and I’m determined to make good use of it. I was heading to the store to buy a rotisserie chicken today and decided to first see if I could cook a whole chicken in the Instant Pot. Obviously I can. Thanks for showing me how to do it.
Hi Cindy! I will be sure directions are clear–just use the amount of seasoning needed to cover entire chicken, but be very generous. I am so glad you found this recipe though and enjoyed 🙂
Picked up my first Instant Pot today. I had a chicken ready to oven roast for dinner. Googled recipes for the Instant Pot and here we are! Your rottiserie seasoning is perfect. The cooking times and instructions are perfect. I cooked a 7 pound chicken in my 8 quart Lux to perfection.
Way to go Tracy! Most people buy the instant pot and let it sit for a long time because they are too scared to use it! I am so happy you found my recipe and it was a success. Here is to many more Instant Pot recipes!!
Hubby and I just finished our whole chicken in the instant pot. The lemon and onions gave it an amazing flavor. It was moist juicy and absolutely perfect. I am saving the broth for another day I just couldn’t throw it out it was so perfect tasty. I followed your directions exactly except I made it a little spicier. I had a little chicken left on the serving dish my son stop by and slowly picked away at it until there was none left he loved it. Good job thank you so much.
Thank you so much for taking the time Betty for sharing this with me. I love hearing about families enjoying my recipes together. I hope you find more recipes you like here.😊
EXCELLENT. I wanted plain chicken to use in recipes during the week so I did not season or saute (I don’t care about the skin) and this came out perfectly! I’m going to use the bones and leftover liquid for stock, which I can use in other IP recipes. Thanks for clear and practical instructions.
Hi Abby! I am so glad you this recipe was easy and clear for you to follow. I love using the bones to make stock myself! Enjoy through the week 🙂
This turned out really good!!! I followed the instructions exactly, and it was juicy and falling off the bone. I put it in the oven on broil to crisp it up, which ended up drying it out some. I had it in for four minutes, but that may have been too long. Delicious!!
I am glad you enjoyed so much Taylor. Next time, cut the broiling time down for juicier meat 🙂
Hi, can you please clarify/explain the logic behind why you say a chicken WITHOUT gizzards requires MORE time to cook rather than less? This doesn’t seem to make any logical sense.. (You stated: “If you have a chicken that comes without the gizzards or plastic clamp around the legs, you would need to increase time by 5 minutes per pound, for a total of 11 minutes per pound..”) Thank you for your help!
Hi Chis,
That is referring to the a FROZEN chicken (it was under can you cook a frozen whole chicken) You can only cook a frozen chicken if the gizzards and clamp have already been removed–because if not, it is too hard to remove them from a chicken when frozen. Sorry for any confusion that caused. Let me know if you need any further clarification 🙂
Excellent! This was only the third time i’ve Used my instant pot and it came out perfect. I tend to like drier chicken because i’ve Never been able to make tender but juicy chicken before. But this came out very tender and very juicy. Thank you for this simple and perfect recipe. Going to try the lasagna soon!
Hi Elizabeth! I love that you were able to enjoy juicy chicken and enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy the lasagna as well!
Hi I was wondering if theres a way to make the skin crispy. Unfortunately the skin was gelatinous so i had to peel it off. Otherwise the chicken turned out really well and was very tender. Also had some trial and error actually getting out of the pot. I ended up sticking some tongs up its butt it worked but the arms kind of fell off haha…
Hi Brent! Yes, my directions state if you want to crisp up the skin, place on a baking sheet and brush with oil. Broil until crispy. Also, I use the handles on my trivet if I can reach them or two carving forks to help get out of pressure cooker.
I’m making this for the first time. I’m wondering about the people that ended up with raw chicken, if they counted the warm up time as cooking time?
That could be. But I really think it is that it is more likely the chicken was not defrosted or thicker through the cavity. But yes, my timing refers to cook time only! Enjoy!