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Whether you want a whole rotisserie chicken for dinner or need to do some batch cooking for the week’s meal plan, this Crockpot Express Whole Chicken is the best way to get it done. It works in the Instant Pot or other pressure cookers, too!
This week I put Sour Cream Enchiladas and Creamy Chicken Taquitos on the menu, so I decided to do a little meal prep and cook a whole chicken in my pressure cooker.
Normally, I would either buy a rotisserie chicken or do like my mom did growing up and boil the whole chicken. But this Crockpot Express Whole Chicken has so much more flavor and it stays perfectly tender!
This was a five pound chicken and after cooking and getting all the meat off the bones, I had plenty of meat for my enchiladas and taquitos, with a little extra for chicken salad sandwiches later!
It was easy to get the meat, too, because it was so tender. The wings actually fell off the chicken as lifted it out of the pot! 🙂
I left the juices from cooking in the Crockpot Express and when I had stripped the chicken of meat, I put the carcass back in and made a large batch of chicken broth.
I use it so often (especially now that I am pressure cooking more) that this is a much cheaper solution than buying it over and over. You can see that recipe for Crockpot Express Chicken Broth here.
If you want a whole chicken to eat (rather than to de-bone and use in other meals) just follow the same overall instructions. The difference would be the skin. To get that truly golden, crisp skin, you need to broil it after cooking, or use an air fryer/crisper lid.
Another option is to saute it first. This won’t really give you that golden, crispy skin, but it does help to lock in some of those flavors from browning. You can do it in the pot on Saute/Brown, or do it in another pan so it’s easier to flip.
Brown on both sides, pour the broth in the pot, add the trivet and then place the chicken inside to cook. If you’re new to cooking with the Crockpot Express, be sure to check out my Crockpot Express Cooking Guide and FAQ’s here.
Recipes great for using up Crockpot Express Whole Chicken:
- Easy Chicken Lo Mein
- Creamy Chicken Salad
- Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Puffs
- Garlic Chicken Rollups
Crockpot Express Whole Chicken
Instructions
- Remove the giblets from the chicken, rinse and pat dry
- Rub the outside of the whole chicken with the seasoning
- Pour the chicken broth in the pot, place the chicken in it, breast side up. Cover and press Meat. Cook for 35 minutes and leave to release pressure naturally. (Takes about 10 minutes.)
Notes
Nutrition
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brent says
I’ll make this and rate it high later, I’m sure.
I have about 4.5 lbs of a whole cut up chicken I just got on sale from my butcher.
If I filled the CPE with the cut-up parts, instead of a whole carcass, would you still advise 35 minutes? Thank you.
Nicole Burkholder says
If the chicken is cut up, the cook time will be shorter, because the pieces will cook more quickly than a whole chicken would. Typically, I cook bone in thighs for 15 minutes plus NPR. A bone-in breast is probably a bit thicker/larger so would take longer than that I’d imagine. It’s a little hard to judge when all the pieces are different sizes. I would probably start with 20 minutes, full NPR and then use a meat thermometer to test the largest pieces. You could remove the smaller ones that were done and add another 5 minutes (if needed) for larger pieces.
brent says
I put the wings, thighs, and drums on the trivet then the breast on top of those parts almost like it was whole. 35 minutes a tad too long. 30 would be perfect. All this shredded and clumped right off the bone and is moist as heck.
I GLAD left the scallop potatoes a little thin-sauced. Now I have the scalloped potatoes and their magnificent sauce on the dinner plate with the de-boned chicken bathing in the sauce and a couple dinner rolls to dunk!
I thank you for the two great recipes in a row—made them both yesterday in a couple hours. I’m set for a few days! Great meal.
Nicole Burkholder says
I’m glad it turned out so well for you! And I was right- 35 minutes for cut up chicken would be too long, but it sounds like you had a great meal! Plus now you know for next time!
John says
Fantastic recipe!!! I placed our 5.5lb chicken in the oven to roast for 15 mins following the CPI cook time. I also set the broiler on with the chicken on the lower shelf in oven for only 4 mins. This process left the skin a golden brown and very crispy. Thank you for posting such helpful tips and recipes for the CPI. My whole family appreciates it very much!!! 😁👍
Nicole Burkholder says
I’m glad you loved it!
Laura says
Love, love, love your blog. I refer to it often…
How much should I increase the cook time for a 6.4 pound whole chiken in a 6 qt? Do you have any other advice for this undertaking?
Thank you for your making our lives easier!
Nicole Burkholder says
First, make sure it will fit and the lid will close correctly 🙂 For 6 pounds, I would add another 7 minutes or so. So somewhere in the vicinity of 40-45 minutes will be good, plus NPR time. If you want to crisp up the skin under the broiler, that’s something else to think about when deciding on the time. You can always open it up, check the temperature and then add a couple more minutes if it really needs it.
Megan Nhare says
Is this with a frozen or thawed chicken?
Nicole Burkholder says
This is a thawed chicken. It’s possible to do from frozen, but it’s not ideal. Cooking isn’t as even and it’s hard to season frozen chicken. However, it will work in a pinch! Typically, frozen foods don’t need to be cooked longer because preheating takes so much longer. However, for a whole chicken, I would add probably 10 minutes to the overall cook time just to be safe.
Josh says
I haven’t tried it, but you could clean the chicken, season, freeze and cook from frozen that way. I’m just not too big on “cook from frozen” anyhow, so it just a thought for anyone who would want to try.
Barbara Van Dyke says
I buy whole chickens at a big box store, rinse, dry, season and vacuum seal the chicken. When I’m ready to cook, I can put it in frozen. Turns out great.
LINDA METZ says
I LOVE cooking a whole chicken in my CPE, this time I immediately made the chicken broth as Nicole suggests afterwards. So there’s left over chicken breasts (I ate the legs/thighs/wings as I was deboning it) and a LOT of chicken broth chilling in the fridge. I think I’ll make a chicken noodle soup tonight. All the chicken soup recipes I see on here call for uncooked chicken. I don’t want to have dry overcooked meat. If I’m using pre cooked chicken, how should the time be adjusted – or should I just cook the noodles and veggies in the CPE and add the chicken after it’s done?
Nicole Burkholder says
For soup, it’s not as much of a worry since there’s so much liquid involved. But you can certainly cut the cooking time down if it’s only cooking the veggies/broth. I’d still leave the chicken in there so you get all that good flavor in your soup!
Victoria says
Hello, I am new to using the crock-pot express, actually I haven’t used it once. Makes me a little nervous because I cant figure out the release directions..in saying..what does this mean?…and leave to release pressure naturally. (Takes about 10 minutes.)
Nicole Burkholder says
It means don’t do anything. 🙂 The pot will slowly release pressure all by itself. It’s silent, so don’t worry about listening for anything, either. After 10 minutes of “natural release” then you can flip the steam release valve to “open” and any remaining pressure will “quick release” with a whoosh out of the valve. If there’s no sound after opening the valve, that means all the pressure released naturally already.
The lid will NOT unlock unless the pressure is fully released, so don’t worry about it being unsafe. It won’t open until it’s safe to open 🙂
Victoria says
I understand now! Thank you for your time 🙂
Brian Jones says
how transferable are Instant Pot recipes to the CE unit….very few outlets are there for CE recipes it seems… 🙁
Nicole Burkholder says
The recipes are fairly interchangeable, once you get familiar with the settings. I know there aren’t many CPE specific recipes out there, which is why I started creating and documenting mine! 🙂 The biggest difference is in very short cook time recipes like pasta and veggies. The IP doesn’t heat up quite as quickly as the CPE (I’m comparing 6 qt to 6 qt here) so the short cook times like 1 minute might not be long enough for the CPE. (Because the food begins cooking during the heating up process.) Other than that, there’s very little difference. 🙂
Vivica says
I can’t wait to try this but why not put it on Poultry? Just curious
Nicole Burkholder says
You can-it works the same way. It just defaults to 15 minutes so you have to adjust the time. I usually just choose the preset that’s closest to my cook time.
Mary says
Thank you! I was looking for HOW to cook it, already had my seasoning picked. Like you said, it’s all preference and I don’t care for Italian seasoning so I went with a family favorite.
It’s cooking now, updates after it’s done!
Ben says
Needs LOTS of salt.
Nicole Burkholder says
I think that will depend on the brand/type of Italian seasoning you use. Some mixes are much more salty than others. As with any recipe, adjust to you personal tastes, for sure!
eileen says
yes, i wondered why the recipe had no salt in it. ive never seen salt in Italian seasoning.
Nicole Burkholder says
The brand that I like has garlic salt in it already, plus the saltiness that’s in the chicken broth. As I mentioned above, it’s very simple to adjust to your own tastes/needs. Also, this is typically a way to cook a whole chicken for use in other recipes, so I don’t want to over season the meat. That way, I can add seasonings that lean towards whatever recipe I’m making-Mexican recipes, Italian, BBQ, etc.