Air Fryer Whole Chicken
This Air Fryer Whole Chicken is so simple and delicious. In under one hour you can have a juicy and tender chicken, with an irresistible crispy skin. You’ll never want to buy a grocery store rotisserie chicken again!
For more delicious Air Fryer Recipes, be sure to check out my Air Fryer Shrimp, Air Fryer Meatloaf, and Air Fryer Steak Bites.
Cooking a whole chicken is one of my favorite ways to knock out a couple of meals at one time. You can eat the delicious rotisserie style chicken for dinner one night, then use the leftovers to make something new the following night.
Plus with the air fryer, making a whole chicken is super easy and incredibly delicious. If you’ve never made an air fryer whole chicken before, I’m here to help you change that!
You only need three ingredients, y’all. Yes that’s it! Plus I have a secret tip to help you achieve extra juicy chicken every time.
The Best Air Fryer Whole Chicken – Rotisserie Style!
I absolutely love cooking a whole chicken in the air fryer, and I know you will, too. Here’s why:
- Simple ingredients: only 3!
- Easy: this recipe takes minimal prep and cooks in under an hour.
- SO delicious! Super juicy chicken on the inside, with crispy skin on the outside.
- Multi-use leftovers: any leftover meat from your air fryer whole chicken is perfect to use in other recipes throughout the week like sandwiches, soups, or salads. We also love it in Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, Creamy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas, and Chicken and Biscuits Cobbler.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Whole Chicken (just 3!)
- Raw, whole chicken: about 3-5 pounds, with the neck and giblets removed from the cavity and discarded.
- Butter: this helps create seriously juicy chicken. Salted or unsalted butter is fine.
- Seasoning blend of choice: I love Trader Joe’s BBQ Rub when making air fryer whole chicken. It has hints of coffee and garlic that translate into a really flavorful and crispy skin. You can use any bbq rub that you prefer, though!
How to Cook a Whole Chicken in an Air Fryer – Step by Step
Step 1: Prep chicken
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and put it on a clean work surface. Next, you’re going to loosen skin from the breast meat of the chicken by running a small spatula or your fingers gently underneath the skin. Spread about 2 tablespoons of softened butter all around underneath the skin on to both breasts.
Step 2: Season chicken
For this next step, I love to use Trader Joe’s BBQ Rub and Seasoning to season the chicken. It has hints of coffee and garlic that translate into a really flavorful and crispy skin. You can use any bbq rub that you prefer for this step though! Sprinkle two tablespoons of bbq rub all over the entire surface of the chicken and rub it in well so that it sticks.
Step 4: Air Fry
Place the chicken breast-side down in the basket of the air fryer and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes is up, pull out the basket and flip the chicken breast side up. Place it back in the air fryer for 15-25 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees. Now you’re ready to enjoy some truly delicious chicken!
Air Fryer Whole Chicken – Expert Tips and Notes
- Add butter under the skin: this is my favorite tip! Spreading softened butter under the chicken skin directly onto the breast meat before cooking creates super juicy chicken. I do this with my Thanksgiving turkey every year, too!
- Preheat your air fryer. I like to preheat my air fryer for a few minutes before adding the food. This ensures that the proper temperature has been reached and that your air fryer whole chicken will cook up crispy and juicy.
- Cooking time: this recipe will work for a chicken anywhere from 3-5 pounds, but all air fryers (like conventional ovens) cook differently and some cook hotter than others. Cook until the internal temperature of your chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- Start with your chicken breast side down: For a perfectly juicy chicken, begin air frying with the breast side down. After 30 minutes, you’ll flip it breast side up. This will prevent the chicken breast from drying out.
- Let it rest: Allow your chicken to rest after air frying for about 10 minutes. You want to allow the delicious juices to soak back into the meat before slicing.
- Storing and reheating: Any leftover air fryer whole chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can place your prepared chicken in the air fryer for at 370 degrees for four minutes. You can also reheat for a couple of minutes in the microwave.
- Serving suggestions: the side dish possibitlies are endless with an air fryer whole chicken, but a few we love include Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli and Rice, Garlic Parmesan Roasted Asparagus, Baked Potatoes in the Air Fryer, and Pesto Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans.
More awesome Chicken Dinner Recipes!
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
- Chicken Pot Pie with Crescent Roll Crust
- Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
- Pretzel Crusted Chicken
- Crockpot Salsa Chicken
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and rating below. I love to hear from you and always appreciate your feedback!
Air Fryer Whole Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 whole chicken, about 3-5 pounds
- 2 Tablespoons Trader Joe's BBQ Rub and Seasoning, or bbq rub of your choice
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Instructions
- Remove chicken from packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Remove and discard neck and giblets from cavity of chicken.
- Loosen skin from the breast meat of the chicken by running a small spatula or your fingers gently underneath the skin. Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter underneath the skin on both breasts. Use your fingers to spread it around under the skin.
- Liberally sprinkle the bbq seasoning over all sides of the chicken and rub into the skin so that it sticks. Place the whole chicken breast-side down in the basket of your air fryer.
- Set the air fryer to 350 degrees and cook the chicken for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes is up, pull out the basket and flip the chicken breast side up. Place back in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees.
- Allow chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Add butter under the skin: this is my favorite tip! Spreading softened butter under the chicken skin directly onto the breast meat before cooking creates super juicy chicken. I do this with my Thanksgiving turkey every year, too!
- Preheat your air fryer. I like to preheat my air fryer for a few minutes before adding the food. This ensures that the proper temperature has been reached and that your air fryer whole chicken will cook up crispy and juicy.
- Cooking time: this recipe will work for a chicken anywhere from 3-5 pounds, but all air fryers (like conventional ovens) cook differently and some cook hotter than others. Cook until the internal temperature of your chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- Start with your chicken breast side down: For a perfectly juicy chicken, begin air frying with the breast side down. After 30 minutes, you’ll flip it breast side up. This will prevent the chicken breast from drying out.
- Let it rest: Allow your chicken to rest after air frying for about 10 minutes. You want to allow the delicious juices to soak back into the meat before slicing.
- Storing and reheating: Any leftover air fryer whole chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can place your prepared chicken in the air fryer for at 370 degrees for four minutes. You can also reheat for a couple of minutes in the microwave.
I had no idea it was this easy to make a whole chicken in the air fryer. It came out so juicy and tender and the skin was super crispy.
I have to follow your steps! Tried another recipe and it was really dry! Thanks for sharing!
I clearly need to invest in an air fryer! This looks delicious! I love that it has some spice.
Cooking whole chickens is such a great easy way to prep for several meals throughout the week!
Been wanting to cook big portions but I only have a small airfryer… Thinking of getting a smaller chicken or a bigger airfryer here… This looks awesome!
This seems like such a good way to cook a whole chicken! I need to get an air fryer too!
I love my air fryer so much this will be a great recipe to try next ! Thanks for all the great tips!
Love this recipe! SO simple and so delicious.
I haven’t thought of putting a whole chicken in my air fryer, I don’t think it’ll fit in mine but it looks delicious so I need to try
Yum, we will be making this for sure! We love having chicken for dinner.
I’m rather new at Air Fryer Cooking, so I tried the chicken recipe featured. While it turned out good, it remained a little pink in some areas. will the altitude have anything to do with it. Am a mile high (Denver, CO).
This chicken was amazing! I didnt have that seasoning that i gave a generous amount of Louisiana cajun seasoning and it took longer than the time said but still turned out perfect! 30 minutes on one side and 30 minutes on the other. I am stopping by trader joes tonight to try and find that seasoning coffee and garlic.
We want to cook a whole chicken
I made a few adjustments to this recipe, and it came out wonderfully. This was hands down the best-roasted chicken we have done. I substituted olive oil for the margarine rub, stuffed the bird with one half an onion, and two teaspoons of minced garlic. For my rub, I used Tony Charcharie’s, paprika, garlic powder, and fresh ground black pepper, I set my air fryer on the air-fryer setting and cooked each side at 320 degrees for 30 minutes.
Quick question…I have a Ninja Air Fryer, and it has a “Roast”, “Dehydrate” and “Air Fryer” setting. I did everything you mentioned in the recipe to prepare the chicken, and now hope I did this right. I set the “Roast” app for 350 degrees, and 30 minutes. Should I have done the “Air Fryer” app? (or doesn’t it matter)
Hi Karen, I’m not familiar with the Ninja Air Fryer, but I would choose the Air Fryer setting because that is how I made this in my Air Fryer.
I made a few adjustments to this recipe, and it came out wonderfully. This was hands down the best-roasted chicken we have done. I substituted olive oil for the margarine rub, stuffed the bird with one half an onion, and two teaspoons of minced garlic. For my rub, I used Tony Charcharie’s, paprika, garlic powder, and fresh ground black pepper, I set my air fryer on the air-fryer setting and cooked each side at 320 degrees for 30 minutes.
Delicious! Moist! Perfect! It took closer to 1hr 10 but worth it!!! Company worthy!!!
Susan, Glad to know it came out juicy. I just got mine for my birthday. I have the Power LX vortex , the 7 QT.
Going to try it this weekend.