Juicy rotisserie-style keto chicken straight from my Instant Pot — lemon herb butter under the skin, a quick broil for crispy skin, and 48g protein with 0.4g net carbs. The timing secret: 6 minutes per pound on high pressure.
I started making this keto rotisserie chicken at home because I was tired of paying $8-9 for grocery store birds that were already cold by the time I got home. Now I make one almost every week, and the flavor is so much better than anything from the deli counter.
The method is straightforward. I pat the bird dry, mix up a simple seasoning blend (Italian seasoning, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt, pepper), then get lemon butter under and over the skin before pressure cooking. What I've found is that 6 minutes per pound on high pressure is the sweet spot. My 4-pound chickens take about 24 minutes of cook time, plus 15 minutes of natural pressure release. I use a 6-quart Instant Pot, which fits up to about a 5-pound bird. If you have an 8-quart, you can go up to 6.5 pounds. Check for 165 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh before you move on to the broil step.
The trick I figured out after a few rounds is the broil step at the end. Pressure cooking gives you juicy meat, but the skin comes out pale and soft. I move the chicken to a sheet pan and broil on high for about 3 minutes, and the skin turns golden and crackly, just like a true rotisserie. Keep a close eye on it because it goes from golden to burned fast.
Getting the bird out takes a little practice. I use two large spatulas, one under each side, and lift it straight onto the sheet pan. After a 5-minute rest, I either carve it for dinner or shred the whole thing for the week. I use the leftover juices to make a lemon herb gravy right in the pot. Switch to saute mode, stir in a bit of arrowroot powder, and let it reduce. You can skip the arrowroot for a thinner pan sauce, which I prefer half the time. It all depends on what I'm serving alongside, whether that's a simple side salad or something like my keto chicken casserole.
This is one of my favorite low carb recipes for meal prep. I cook the bird on Sunday and use the meat all week in everything from wraps to quick bowls to crack chicken. One bird gives me protein for 4-5 meals, which makes the per-serving cost hard to beat. I store the shredded meat in airtight containers (3-4 days in the fridge, up to 3 months frozen), and I save the drippings in a jar and spoon them over when I reheat. Keeps everything juicy, even microwaved. If you want another pressure cooker protein that shreds beautifully, my shredded chicken recipe is also a staple in my rotation.
I've also made this in the slow cooker when my pressure cooker was tied up with something else. Same seasoning, same lemon butter, 6-7 hours on low. It works, but I always finish under the broiler either way because that crispy skin is non-negotiable for me. For another low carb pressure cooker favorite, try my butter chicken.
A whole chicken out of the pressure cooker in under an hour, and it feeds a crowd.
Before You Lock the Lid
Liquid is what lets the pot build pressure, so do not skip the 1 cup of chicken broth. Clean out the chicken, but do not rinse it. Rinsing raw poultry can splash bacteria onto your towels, counters and any food nearby.
Cook Time by Chicken Weight
Cook time depends on the weight of the bird. At 6 minutes per pound, here is what that works out to:
3 pound chicken: 18 minutes
3.5 pound chicken: 21 minutes
4 pound chicken: 24 minutes
4.5 pound chicken: 27 minutes
5 pound chicken: 30 minutes
If your chicken is on the thicker side, bump it up to 7 minutes per pound. These times do not include the 15 minute natural release.
I season the bird with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt, and pepper, then get a lemon butter mixture under and over the skin. It pressure cooks on a trivet with chicken broth for 6 minutes per pound, followed by 15 minutes of natural release. The final step is a quick broil to get that crispy, golden rotisserie-style skin. I use the leftover juices to make a simple lemon herb gravy right in the pot.
Keto Lemon Herb Rotisserie Chicken in the Instant Pot Ingredients
Step by Step Instructions
1
Make seasonings
Mix together Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, mustard powder and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
2
Dry chicken
Pat chicken dry with a paper towel.
3
Pour in broth
Place a trivet down into the liner of the instant pot. Pour in 1 cup of chicken broth. Place chicken on the trivet in the instant pot.
4
Butter the bird
Mix together melted butter with lemon juice. Lift up the chicken skin underneath the breast and pour half the lemon butter mixture underneath the skin. Pour remaining butter mixture over the chicken.
5
Place chicken in the pot
Sprinkle seasoning all of the outside of the chicken.
6
Pressure cook
Lock on the instant pot lid and set the valve to sealing. Pressure cook on high for 6 minutes per pound. Then let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes before releasing the rest of the pressure.
7
Broil to get it crispy
To get a crispy, golden brown crust, remove the chicken from the instant pot and place on a baking tray. Set oven to broil and broil on high for 3 minutes or until the skin is golden brown.
8
Make gravy
To make a lemon herb gravy, set the Instant Pot to saute. Add 1-2 teaspoons arrowroot powder to the remaining chicken juice and simmer until mixture reduces.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1/8 of recipe
Calories
575
Fat
41.1g
Protein
48g
Total carbs
0.6g
Net carbs
0.4g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size pressure cooker do I need?
I use a 6-quart, which comfortably fits a bird up to about 5 pounds. For anything bigger (up to 6.5 pounds), you want an 8-quart. I tried squeezing a 6-pound chicken into my 6-quart once and the lid barely sealed, so I don't recommend it. If you have the bigger pot, my sesame chicken is another recipe that benefits from the extra space.
Can I pressure cook a frozen chicken?
I've done this when I forgot to thaw. Add about 15 extra minutes to the total cook time, so roughly 8-9 minutes per pound instead of 6. My 4-pound frozen bird took about 35 minutes on high pressure. The seasoning won't stick as well to frozen skin, so I season after cooking and before the broil step. It's not my preferred method, but it works when you're in a pinch.
Can I use a different seasoning blend?
I switch it up all the time. My favorite swap is a smoky paprika and cumin blend when I want something with more heat. I've also used ranch seasoning, which my kids prefer. The lemon butter stays the same no matter what spice mix I use. If you like bold flavors, try the seasoning approach from my grilled marinated chicken on the bird before pressure cooking.
How do I get the chicken out of the pot without it falling apart?
I learned this the hard way after my first bird basically disintegrated. Now I use two large spatulas, one under each side, and lift it straight onto the sheet pan. If your chicken is really tender, tongs on the cavity opening plus a spatula underneath works too. Move quickly and don't try to be delicate about it.
What internal temperature should the chicken reach?
I check for 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone. I use an instant-read thermometer every single time. Even after making this dozens of times, I still check because the cook time varies slightly depending on the size of the bird and how cold it was going in. If it reads under 165, I close the lid and run another 2-3 minutes on high pressure.
How do I store and reheat leftover chicken without drying it out?
I pull all the meat off the bone right after it cools enough to handle, then portion it into airtight containers. It keeps 3-4 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. My trick for reheating is saving the drippings in a separate jar and spooning them over the meat before microwaving. Keeps everything juicy even days later. I use the leftovers in everything from quick bowls to my chicken divan.
Can I add vegetables to cook alongside the chicken?
I've tried onion quarters, garlic cloves, and lemon slices in the cavity for extra flavor, and that works great. For cooking vegetables alongside, I don't love the results because they turn to mush at the cook times needed for a whole bird. I prefer roasting veggies separately on a sheet pan while the chicken rests and broils.
Can I make this in a slow cooker instead of a pressure cooker?
I've made this in my slow cooker plenty of times. Same seasoning, same lemon butter prep, then cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours until it hits 165 degrees internally. I always finish it under the broiler for crispy skin either way. The slow cooker version is a bit more fall-apart tender, which makes it great for shredding into white chicken chili or soups.
The smell when I lifted the lid before the broil caught me off guard. I figured the pressure cooker would mute everything, but the lemon and butter had been doing their thing and it smelled like an actual roasting oven.
Back off the lemon a bit. I used the full 6 tablespoons concentrated and it completely buried the herbs. 4 tablespoons and the Italian seasoning actually comes through.
Tara, you can skip it. The chicken is fully cooked without the broil, you just lose the crispy skin. I use my air fryer at 400 for 3-4 minutes when I don’t feel like waiting on the broiler.
After about eight of these, I started patting the chicken extra dry before touching the seasoning. Skin comes off the broil with actual crunch instead of just color.
If you’re not using the arrowroot on those drippings, you’re missing it. A teaspoon into a cup of the liquid and two minutes on sauté makes a proper pan sauce that carries all the lemon herb from under the skin. Recipe’s already solid, but that step takes it somewhere.
All that lemon herb from under the skin goes straight into the liquid under pressure. I do the arrowroot step every time now. Two minutes on saute and you’ve got a sauce worth pouring over everything on the plate.
Pulled this out and my dad walked over without me saying a word. He’s been doing Sunday roast chickens for thirty years and he stood there while I got it under the broiler with this look like he was trying to catch it doing something. What he came back to was the mustard powder holding the lemon butter against the skin instead of washing off during the pressure cook. Now he’s talking about using the same rub on his next bird. Four stars for now because my broil timing is still getting dialed in, but the flavor under that skin is something else.
That’s exactly why the mustard is in there. It binds the butter to the skin so the pressure steam can’t wash it off. For the broil, go one level down from the top. You’ll get more even color before anything scorches.
My ten-year-old picked the lemon herb butter from under the crispy skin before touching anything else on his plate. Had no idea he’d even noticed it was there. Made a second one three days later because he kept asking when I was going to make ‘the lemony one’ again. Still pretty new to the Instant Pot, but this was the most confident I’ve felt using it.
He found the best part first. Getting that butter under the skin before cooking is the whole point. Once the 6-minutes-per-pound rule clicks, the IP stops feeling like a gamble.
This has been in my Sunday prep rotation for a few weeks. The 6-minutes-per-pound rule makes timing easy to plan around, and I pull the meat off into containers right after the broil. Reheats without drying out, which is what always kills me with batch chicken.
I’ve tried at least four or five instant pot chicken recipes claiming to be rotisserie-style and most of them taste exactly like what they are: boiled chicken with spices on top. This one actually delivers. The lemon herb butter under the skin is doing something the other recipes skip, and you can taste the difference right away. The broil step is non-negotiable (I rushed it once and regretted it). Skin was properly crispy, meat was still juicy, and the house smelled like a real rotisserie for about an hour. 48g of protein per serving is also nice when you’re trying to hit your numbers. This replaced everything else I was rotating.
First time doing a whole chicken in the Instant Pot and the lemon herb butter under the skin made a real difference compared to just seasoning the outside. Broil step at the end did what it promised. Does the arrowroot gravy thicken much, or is it closer to a jus?
My dad made rotisserie chicken every Sunday growing up, just a grocery store bird with lemon and herbs, nothing fancy. I’ve been trying to get that smell back in my kitchen for years. Made this last Sunday and when I opened the Instant Pot after the broil step, it stopped me. The lemon herb butter under the skin does something I didn’t expect. Not a four-star yet, still dialing in the timing on my pot, but it’s the closest I’ve gotten to that Sunday feeling.
Been making this on rotation for about a month and the one thing that actually helped was spooning pan drippings over the chicken right before the broil (now it actually crisps, not just browns).
First whole chicken I’ve ever made and the lemon butter under the skin was easier to do than I thought (and the broil at the end actually got the skin crispy), but curious if the 6 minutes per pound still holds for a smaller 4-pound bird or if I should adjust the time.
I’ve been doing rotisserie chicken in the oven for years and was skeptical an Instant Pot could get close. The lemon butter under the skin is what did it for me. After the broil, the skin had this tight golden crisp at the edges and the meat was juicy all the way to the bone, not just the breast. My oven method takes twice the time and doesn’t reliably hit that.
Thigh juicy all the way to the bone is the thing the oven always messed up for me too. Either the breast was done and the thigh wasn’t, or I’d overdo both. Pressure just solves it.
Never cooked a whole chicken before and picked this as my first try, probably not smart. But the lemon butter under the skin actually worked, and it came out looking like real rotisserie chicken. Did not expect that.
Four months of meal prepping and I finally found a chicken that holds up past Tuesday. Made it Sunday, pulled all the meat off, portioned it into containers, and by Thursday it was still worth eating. The lemon butter under the skin is the reason. Even microwaved, the meat comes out juicy and the seasoning is still there. I do exactly 6 minutes per pound and let it natural release about ten minutes before the broil, and the skin crackles when it comes out. Not tweaking anything. This is on every Sunday rotation now.
I’ve been keto seven months and basically written off rotisserie chicken at home. Every attempt ended in dry meat I couldn’t finish. First time pressure cooking a whole bird, and the lemon butter under the skin had the house smelling like something serious was happening the second I lifted the lid. The broil at the end surprised me. A few minutes under heat and the skin pulled tight and golden, which is what I needed. Still pretty new to cooking, so having it work at all was a relief. Four stars because my bird ran small and I should have cut the pressure time, but I know what to fix when I make it again Sunday.
