Fauxtisserie Chicken

98 Comments
October 15, 2025
Author:
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

The public has spoken–faux rotisserie chicken it is! Don’t worry, my little pretties, we’ll have Texas Sheet Cake soon.

So I’ll admit that one of my greatest fears in life is raw poultry; it all stems back to my mom telling me not to put my toothbrush on the bathroom counter when I was little because I’d get salmonella from the pet goldfish and that raw poultry also carried salmonella, yada yada yada. I always live in fear of undercooking poultry, especially whole birds, and usually end up overcooking them, even when I use my trusty meat thermometers. Yes, I have three. Add in the fact that the more I handle dead animals when they still resemble their live animal selves, the less I like whatever it is I’m cooking.

Suffice it to say that me + a whole chicken = culinary disaster. I actually once had a real, true panic attack while skinning a whole raw chicken.
So this recipe is for me and people like me. It’s easy. You barely touch the dang thing. And after 8 hours or so in the slow cooker, it’s guaranteed to be done. Even better? It tastes just like the rotisserie chicken you get fully-cooked and fully-priced from the grocery store!
Now, you may wonder (as I have) what one does with a whole cooked chicken. Sometimes we just slice it up like you would a turkey and eat it with potatoes and a salad. Or you could make a big chef salad and toss the chicken on it. You could throw it in fried rice, chow mein, chicken noodle soup, on top of BBQ chicken pizza, or use it in any number of recipes that call for pre-cooked chicken like enchiladas, pot pie, or casseroles. Dip it in BBQ sauce, shred it for cold chicken sandwiches, or make chicken salad with it. It’s super versatile and a great thing to know how to do! And it’s way better than boiling it. Waaaaaaaaaaay better.

Fauxtisserie Chicken
Our Best Bites
1 whole chicken, small enough to fit in your slow cooker
Salt-based seasoning (Seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper with salt in it, etc. Just make sure salt is one of the first ingredients on the label.)
OPTIONAL:
Whole garlic cloves, peeled

Make 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can circulate all around the chicken and so it’s not stewing in its own juices.

Rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs are on the plate. If you want (and I actually strongly recommend that you do UNLESS you’re looking for a neutral flavor), pull the skin up all around the chicken. This does involve sticking your hand between the skin and the breast. Oooh, sounds dirty. Slice a few garlic cloves in half lengthwise and stick them under the skin. You can also arrange a couple sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and/or sage under the skin. This makes a very pretty chicken when it’s all cooked and adds a lot of flavor.

Rub salt-based seasoning VERY liberally onto the skin of the chicken. Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker, cover, turn heat to low, and leave it alone for 7-8 hours.

(And by breast side up I mean, completely opposite of the pictures shown in this post. Hey, you try photographing every step of your dinner and see if you make it all the way through without an upside-down chicken every once and a while…!)

This poor guy has no idea what’s coming…

I actually didn’t take it out of the slow cooker for the last picture because it’s so tender that the legs and wings will literally fall off when you pull it out. But that makes for some yummy chicken! Try it with steak fries or Sara’s Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes.

Fauxtisserie Chicken
Our Best Bites
1 whole chicken, small enough to fit in your slow cooker
Salt-based seasoning (Seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper with salt in it, etc. Just make sure salt is one of the first ingredients on the label.)
 OPTIONAL:
Whole garlic cloves, peeled

Instructions:

Make 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can circulate all around the chicken and so it’s not stewing in its own juices.

Rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs are on the plate. If you want (and I actually strongly recommend that you do UNLESS you’re looking for a neutral flavor), pull the skin up all around the chicken. This does involve sticking your hand between the skin and the breast. Slice a few garlic cloves in half lengthwise and stick them under the skin. You can also arrange a couple sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and/or sage under the skin. This makes a very pretty chicken when it’s all cooked and adds a lot of flavor.

Rub salt-based seasoning VERY liberally onto the skin of the chicken. Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker, cover, turn heat to low, and leave it alone for 7-8 hours. Try it with steak fries or Sara’s Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes.

woman in denim shirt holding a salad bowl
Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite Recipes, Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Fine Cooking, The Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

Read More

Join The Discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Questions & Reviews

  1. So, do you do anything with the juice in the bottom of the crock pot? Or just throw it out?

    Reply

    1. You can use it to make gravy, save it and use it with the bones to make chicken stock, or just toss it. Totally up to you. 🙂

      Reply

  2. My husband stumbled across your website recently and since then I have made this twice. I did find that cooking the chicken leaves the breast dry, so for next time I think I will cut the cooking time down to maybe six hours. It was delicious! Thank You for making my busy weeknights easier 🙂

    Reply

  3. I love this. Like others I have many chicken “issues”. This solves all of them, Thanks!!

    Reply

  4. Here’s my problem – I have a 10hr time span from when I leave my house for work and make it home. I reeeaaally want to try this recipe but I am so worried about over-cooking. Should I try it frozen?

    Reply

    1. Get a programable outlet timer like what is used to turn lights off and on when you are on vacation. You can find it in the hardware/electronic department of many stores, Wal-mart, Target, Wal-greens, ect. Set it to come on at a time say, 4-5 hours before you get home, so it won’t be completely cooked by the time you get home.

      Reply

  5. I can honestly admit that before now, I refused to cook whole chickens because I did not know how or want to spend the time carving all the meat off of it. What was I thinking!? I was missing out on the easiest thing ever. When the chicken is done, it simply falls off the carcus and there is literally no effort involved. I am so glad that I steped out of my comfort zone and tried this. I cook this all the time now.

    Reply

  6. I made this chicken today and it is the best chicken I’ve ever made! I used cilantro and lemon grass along with the garlic and salt. DELICIOUS! Thanks.

    Reply

  8. I tried it your way with the skin on and another way with the skin off and there was more juicyness your way!! This is a delicious and easy way to fix an inexpensive meal, thanks!!!

    Reply

  9. Do you know if it's safe to cook a whole chicken in a crock pot? I've read several times that it isn't safe because the temperature does not rise quickly enough. I just Googled it and found several sources saying not to cook chickens this way. I'm a salmonella basket case too. This method looks so simple and I'm dying to try it, but not if it could end up making us sick.

    Reply

      1. Shiloh, thanks for the link. However, I have literally cooked HUNDREDS of chickens this way and no one has ever been sick. I also worked in a restaurant that cooked whole turkeys similarly, and they served thousands of guests a day, and there were never any kind of violations or complaints of illness. If you’re concerned about safety, try cooking a smaller chicken, don’t cook it from frozen, use a thermometer to check on the temp, and cook it on the high setting, but I promise, it’s safe. 🙂

        Reply

        1. Kate, thank you for the kind reply 🙂 After I posted I was afraid it was rude of me to bring it up in the comments instead of just trying to e-mail you. I trust your judgment and am excited to try cooking a chicken this way soon!

          Reply

          1. I know this is like a year later, but just a heads up for anyone concerned about the safety… I checked out the government site that the HEB link said the info was from, and it does not actually say that you should not cook whole chickens. It does say to check your crockpot manual for the recommended sizes of meat for your particular crockpot. I know my crockpot manual has recipes for cooking whole chickens. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FACT_SHEETS/Focus_On_Slow_Cooker_Safety/index.asp

  10. Sha–The salt-based rub just helps with the tenderness, but Mrs. Dash should be fine! 🙂

    Reply