I don’t know about you, but I love rotisserie chicken. Our local supermarket sells them for $3.99, and then a more “natural” version for $4.99. Every once in a while I pick one up for dinner, but I always think about how much sodium I’m probably eating (and other….stuff). I know, I know, why ruin the moment?? Just eat the food and shut up, right? Sure, but for me, that’s easier than done. I figured there had to be a way to make an easy rotisserie chicken on my own, even if I didn’t have a …..well… rotisserie. I found this recipe for slow cooker lemon pepper chicken and thought heck, it’s close enough! After all, I have yet to taste anything bad that came from a slow cooker. No joke, it hasn’t failed me yet (and it’s officially been a year since I’ve owned one, and it has been my favorite wedding present, hands down).
Slow Cooker Lemon Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1 tsp. lemon pepper (I used Ms. Dash) **
- 2 (1-inch thick) slices of lemon
- 2 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed, or more to taste **
- 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- Cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pat your chicken dry with paper towels (sometimes they are slightly wet) and use your fingers to loosen the skin over the breast and thighs.
- Stir butter and lemon pepper in a small bowl and insert seasoned butter beneath the loosened skin using a teaspoon. Push butter from the spoon using the skin. Place lemon slice and garlic cloves in to the chicken cavity.
- Place chicken into a slow cooker. Rub skin with olive oil and sprinkle salt, thyme and cracked pepper liberally over the bird.
- Cook on High for 3 hours; reduce heat to low and cook until chicken is very tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh, not touchin the bone, reads at least 160 degrees F
Notes
** If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, omit the garlic and use a garlic or Tuscan-infused olive oil to replace the garlic flavor. Also, be aware that most lemon pepper blends contain some type of onion or garlic. If you find one that doesn’t, great! If not, I would still use the 1 tsp. in this recipe (I did, and the small amount didn’t seem to effect me). If you are in the elimination phase of the diet, just omit the seasoning and use more garlic-oil and/or sliced lemon for extra flavor.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ⅕th of recipe Calories: 520 Fat: 42.4 Saturated fat: 14.7 Carbohydrates: .1 Sodium: 1125 Protein: 34.1 Cholesterol: 178
I wasn’t exactly sure how to do the nutrition facts for this recipe. I think the calories are about right, but it really depends on which part of the bird you are consuming (obviously the white meat will be the leanest part). I’m confused about the fat tally, you can trust me when I say you will not be getting 42 grams of fat in a serving of this recipe (unless you are eating straight dark meat, maybe). Also, I’m not sure about the sodium in this estimate…..according to the actual recipe’s nutrition facts, it should be lower. I guess this all depends on whether or not you eat the outside layer of skin, which houses a lot of the added salt. If you cut into the bird and eat the meat only, you will not be swollen and puffy from this meal, I promise (Note: you could always reduce the sodium content by reducing some of the salt added. This wouldn’t take away too much flavor in my opinion, but it might not taste quite as much like a rotisserie chicken!)
Nutrition Highlights: Excellent source of protein. That’s all I got 
Our slow cooker is so darn huge, I decided to cook two birds at once (I gave one to my parents). The chicken below was so rude that it stuck it’s butt out at me when I took a photo. I gave that one to my parents.
I’ve never hosted Thanksgiving (nor do I really ever want to) but I felt like this was good practice for me if I ever have to do the Thanksgiving bird. I cut the meat and put it on a nice platter with some extra lemon for more flavor.
I might just be making this every week this fall and winter. It was so easy and tasty. My dad loved it, my husband loved it, and I’m pretty sure even my picky seventeen-year-old brother loved it (he who lives on Chipotle, Subway, and Raising Canes. No joke).
This chicken would pair well with just about any type of side, but in this household, we typically stick to vegetable sides (and then Nick eats a piece of whole-grain bread for his starch). Spinach, cooked broccoli and/or cooked green beans have been our recent go-to’s.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when I will explain how to use today’s recipe and turn it into a delicious low FODMAPs chicken broth (trust me, it’s a great recipe for anyone, even if you aren’t following a low FODMAPs diet!). Thanks for reading! And happy Thursday (I can’t wait to get this week over with, it’s dragging).
The Candid Rd
