I admit, not the prettiest photo of a cooked bird, but it is the easiest way to create a "rotisserie" style chicken at home- while you're not at home! Win, win. I put it in the slow cooker and left for work. It cooked for 10 hour and was deliciously tender for dinner that night. Typically, 6-8 hours on low will do, but if it ends up being more, no harm done!

Fast and Easy Meal Prep

I am trying to source meat more locally and use chicken from Goose Pond Farm. I usually buy 5 birds at a time and freeze them, but I admittedly don't cook them as often as I should because I am rarely home long enough to slow roast a whole bird.

Enter the slow cooker! While not technically roasted chicken, this method does allow me to prep a whole chicken while I'm not home. It is a super easy method for people who work out of the home but want home cooked meals!

We still purchase regular chicken breasts to use for meals throughout the week too, but the whole chicken is great for meal prep type meals like chicken salad for lunches or chicken soup for dinner.

I made this chicken and we ate the breasts with potatoes and roasted broccoli. Then, I took the rest of the chicken from the bird and shredded it to use for other meals that week.

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

Slow Cooker "Rotisserie" Lemon Pepper Chicken

Prep Time5

Cook Time8

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Meal Prep, Slow Cooker

Equipment

1 Slow Cooker

Ingredients

1 onion, white sliced thickly
1 whole chicken thawed, about 4-5 pounds
1 Tablespoon garlic minced
2 teaspoons salt sea salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper freshly ground
1 lemon juiced

Instructions

Slice the onion into thick slices and line the bottom of the slow cooker with the slices. This will provide a barrier between the chicken and the slow cooker so it doesn't stick.
Mix the seasoning ingredients (garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon) together in a small bowl.
Rub the seasoning blend all over the chicken. If you can, get inside the skin a little so the flavor can soak through.
Once you have coated the chicken in the seasoning, place the chicken into the crockpot and cover with the lid.
Cook on low for 8 hours. (I left it for 10 and it was fine!).
When the chicken is ready, carefully remove it from the slow cooker. It will be tender and may fall apart on you so use 2 utensils to slowly ease it out of the slow cooker. Have the platter or plate you plan to move it to very close by!

Notes

For storing:

Eat what you want for that meal and remove the rest of the meat from the bones. You can freeze the leftover shredded chicken for 3-6 months. I like to refrigerate it and incorporate it into other meals that week!