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 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 the 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. A smaller, 3 pound chicken, will be fully cooked around 45 minutes, while a larger 4-5 pound chicken will require closer to an hour to cook.
- 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.
- Make sure it fits: I use a 6 quart basket style Air Fryer, and have no issues cooking a 4-5 pound whole chicken. An air fryer smaller than 6 quarts might not work depending on the size of your chicken. If you have a 6 quart or larger air fryer and are unable to push the basket back in all the way after adding your chicken, you can press down on the center of the chicken and break the breast bone to make it lay more flat in your air fryer.
- 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 possibilities are endless with an air fryer whole chicken. I like to keep it simple by serving with a fresh green salad and some fried potatoes or rice. Here are a few other good veggies side dishes to pair with your chicken:
- Honey Glazed Rainbow Carrots
- Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli and Rice
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
- Smothered Green Beans
FAQs
Yes, cooking a whole chicken in an air fryer is the best choice! You’ll get crispy skin all around, and the white meat stays juicy and tender. Don’t forget to let it rest for a bit so the juices soak back into the meat.
If you make sure to cook your chicken until it hits an internal temperature of 165 degrees, it’s totally safe to cook raw chicken into an Air Fryer.
It takes approximately 45-60 minutes to cook a whole chicken in the air fryer at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For chicken breasts, you will need to allow 10-15 minutes of cooking time, depending on the size of your chicken.
More awesome Chicken Dinner Recipes!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and rating below. I love to hear from you and always appreciate your feedback!
Recipe: 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. A smaller, 3 pound chicken, will be fully cooked around 45 minutes, while a larger 4-5 pound chicken will require closer to an hour to cook.
- 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.
- Make sure it fits: I use a 6 quart basket style Air Fryer, and have no issues cooking a 4-5 pound whole chicken. An air fryer smaller than 6 quarts might not work depending on the size of your chicken. If you have a 6 quart or larger air fryer and are unable to push the basket back in all the way after adding your chicken, you can press down on the center of the chicken and break the breast bone to make it lay more flat in your air fryer.
- 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 great results with this recipe, and the only change I made was I did put a light coating of rice bran oil on the chicken in a bag before I sprinkled seasonings on it. I had not tried putting butter under the skin before–and I think that was part of why the breast meat came out incredibly moist.
Did anyone have issues with it smoking out of air fryer?
If you are talking about the butter, no I had no problems.
hi I just emptied the bottom tray when I turned Chicken over and had no problem with smoke, hope that helps you
I just tried this recipe. It is so delicious ever I think. My children like this so much. I like oily food, so I use a little bit more oil than your specifications.
Great recipe! I did find that I had to drain the excess liquid when I turned the chicken over in order to keep the fryer from smoking.
What would happen if like Mom used to do in the old days…put a bit of water in the pan with the drippings to keep it from smoking?
Did this recipe yesterday in our air fryer and I’ve got to say WOW. How juicy and tender and flavorful. Thanks for the great recipe.
I made it with a different seasoning rub (garlic Parmesan) and put a half a lemon in the cavity and it was perfectly delicious! For someone who is notorious for overcooking chicken, it was done in the exact amount of time stated in the recipe and perfectly moist. I will def make this again.
Been roasting chicken in the oven for a long time, takes a long time. I was gifted and airfryer and had no idea what to do with this. Found this recipe and wow, it is truly amazing. The skin is crispy and delicious, the chicken itself is juicy and mouth watering, and the best it from start to finish, less than an hour. Wonderful recipe.
I tried this recipe and was stunned by the results. The chicken was sooo moist, crispy, and was full of flavor. Thanks for the recipe. No more cooking chicken on the stove-top, in the countertop rotisserie, on the grill, or in the oven! Set the air fryer and forget it until the alarm sounds. Yippee!! If I had known the joys of air frying, I would have purchased one years ago.
Wow, this chicken looks amazing!! I bet it tastes great too. I can’t believe that you can do the whole thing in the air fryer, wow, that is so easy! Cheers for sharing
Perfect, delicious, mouth melting and yum. Presentation amazing.
Simple, quick, flavorful and mouth melting. I love the presentation. Awesome.
I love whole chicken – looks so crispy and delicious! Perfect for dinner parties!
Omg this chicken looks amazing and so easy to make. Pinning for later!
This post was mouthwatering beginning to end! So easy and flavorful, this is my kind of meal!
Hmmmm, haven’t seen that seasoning at Trader Joe’s. Can’t wait to look for it next time I’m there!
It’s a seasonal item that they only sell during the summer months.
Wow that looks just like a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and I bet it tastes even better!