Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

34 Comments

5 from 6 votes
6
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 5 minutes
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Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs are tender and juicy on the inside with a crispy skin seasoned with savory, smokey flavors!

Using this easy Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning, you’ll achieve the crispy outside texture similar to Crisp and Juicy Slow Cooker Chicken and all the flavors similar to Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken with the simplicity of using succulent chicken thighs.

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs in crockpot

SLOW COOKER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN THIGHS

If you love the convenience of picking up a grocery store rotisserie chicken, you’ll be thrilled with this slow cooker version that fills your home with the same tempting aroma and is ready to eat by dinner time, without a trip to the store.

Slow Cooker Recipes are some of the most popular on the site, and for good reason! They allow you to complete prep work for your main dish early in the day, freeing up your time and oven space for making sides and desserts. These Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs have all the classic rotisserie flavors of garlic, onion, thyme, salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Bone-in chicken thighs are a favorite cut for the slow cooker. The bone and skin on the chicken thighs will infuse a ton of flavor and moisture into the chicken while it slowly cooks to perfection. By the time these are finished in the slow cooker, the fat in the skin will melt away and leave a thin, crispy exterior. To achieve this mouth watering texture, do not add any liquid to the slow cooker with the chicken thighs.

If you’d like a quicker method, these can also be made with an Instant Pot. Because of the faster cooking time, the skin does not always get as crispy as it would in the crock pot or oven, so I like to place the chicken thighs on a baking dish and put them under a low broiler for a few minutes after they come out of the Instant Pot to make the chicken skin nice and crispy.

This recipe would also be delicious prepared on an outdoor grill! If you plan to add any wet sauces to the rotisserie chicken thighs, such as Homemade BBQ Sauce, you will want to wait until after the thighs are finished cooking and you are about to serve them. Adding a sauce too soon will make the skin soggy.

You can also use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. When making rotisserie chicken breasts in the slow cooker, reduce the cooking time to 4-5 hours on low so that the chicken breast does not dry out. As always when cooking poultry, use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

While your crock pot does the work for these Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs, prepare a comforting side dish such as Super Creamy Mac and Cheese or Easy Mashed Potatoes. Or put together an Easy Fruit Salad or Rainbow Roasted Vegetables to balance the bold rotisserie flavors with something light and fresh.

MORE EASY CHICKEN RECIPES

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs in crockpot

VARIATIONS ON SLOW COOKER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN THIGHS

  • Meat: Use chicken leg quarters, which is the thigh and drumstick connected, instead of only thighs to have a variety of dark meat pieces the whole family will love.
  • Seasonings: Change up the flavors of this slow cooker chicken thigh recipe by swapping out the rotisserie seasoning for Ranch Seasoning or Taco Seasoning.

Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Thighs

  • Season chicken thighs with 1 tablespoon Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning.
  • Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot, and add chicken thighs on top of trivet.
  • Secure lid and set manual high pressure for 12 minutes, or 10 minutes if using boneless skinless chicken thighs.
  • Natural release for 5 minutes before quick release and removing lid.
  • Place thighs on a baking sheet and broil on low for 3 minutes to crisp skin, monitoring closely.

MORE SLOW COOKER CHICKEN RECIPES

HOW TO STORE SLOW COOKER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN THIGHS

  • Serve: Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs can be left at room temperature for up to two hours before they should be stored.
  • Store: Store chicken thighs in the refrigerator, wrapped in foil or in an airtight container, for up to four days.
  • Freeze: After chicken cools completely, remove meat from the bones and place in a freezer bag. Freeze up to 4 months.

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs in crockpot

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Dinner, then Dessert

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs are tender and juicy on the inside with a crispy skin seasoned with savory, smokey flavor!
Yield 6
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs in crockpot
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Ingredients
 

Instructions

  • Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and coat with oil. Cover evenly with Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning.
  • Arrange chicken thighs in the slow cooker in a single layer, skin side up.
  • Cook on low for 7 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 296mg | Vitamin A: 113IU | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword: Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs

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Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken Thighs collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

    1. We recommend vegetable oil. Olive oil has a distinct flavor that would change the overall taste of the recipe.

      Reply

  2. Very tasty, couldn’t be easier to make. All I had were boneless thighs so I cooked them low for six hours. It was a little salty for my taste, so next time I’ll tweak the seasoning a little. Thank you for another great recipe!

    Reply

  3. Hi from sunny West Yorkshire in the UK!

    What a fabulous recipe.

    All the family loved this recipe and it is now my second time of making it (actually it’s twice this week).

    Today I cooked it with chicken thighs that had the skin on, and bone removed, quite simply because that’s what I had in my freezer, I will say that it took slightly less time to cook (around 30 minutes) the skin wasn’t as crispy as the bone in version as above but boy what a result “the meat so succulent and the skin was so tasty”, these chicken thighs didn’t last long they were devoured by us all.

    I cannot wait to try more of your recipes, also may I say whilst writing “thank you so much for sharing your techniques and recipes with us.”

    Much appreciate!

    Reply

  5. Question…in your recipe for the whole rotisserie chicken, you have it elevated with the foil. Do the thighs need to be elevated also? Was thinking that would make the skin even crispier?

    Reply

  9. I’ve used this recipe with boneless thighs and breasts and will continue to use it. I’m in the middle of a Whole 30 right now and this is perfect straight out of the fridge on salads for a quick easy lunch. Thank you!

    Reply

    1. They will cook faster and I haven’t tested it so I would keep an eye on it so it doesn’t dry out. Good luck!

      Reply

    1. No, you want to make sure that they are completely thawed before adding them into the slow cooker otherwise they’ll release too much liquid while cooking.

      Reply

  16. Hello Sabrina,
    Just made these for dinner tonight and they were fabulous. The Rotisserie chicken was so good. Followed recipe exactly. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you Sabrina for this great recipe!

    Reply

  18. I’ve wrapped thighs in bacon before (it comes out AMAZING), could I add the seasonings and proceed with the rest of the instructions.

    Reply

  19. I have been using the slow cooker liners and wondered if it would be okay to use one with the rotisserie chicken since you don’t add any liquid?
    Also, I have tried lots of your recipes and have been very happy with the results on all of them. Thank you for the recipes and work you do to bring them to us. Your style is spot on with my family! Thanks.

    Reply

    1. I’ve found that the liners don’t really allow the chicken to crisp up in the slow cooker. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes and the site.

      Reply