BEST Chicken Recipe• Two Purple Figs

We love Air Fryer Whole Chicken when we’re craving a whole roast chicken, rotisserie style. It’s juicy, succulent, so tasty and convenient. It’s flavored with roasted garlic, lemon zest and a an amazing spice combo. Make this whole chicken in the air fryer recipe with video and you won’t go back!

Another day, another tasty chicken recipe. Today’s air fryer whole chicken delivers all what you expect from a whole chicken, except so much easier and quicker. If you’ve been following my air fryer series, you’ll notice I’ve been IN LOVE with making so many dishes using it. 

After my Air Fryer Chicken Legs and Air Fryer Chicken Wings, it was time to test a whole chicken. I can’t tell you how juicy and delicious it comes out with a few steps and tips. Make sure to use my Roasted Garlic  video to make the most flavor of the garlic here. You can also try the Garlic Butter Sauce as an alternative. 

Ingredients for Whole Chicken In Air Fryer

• Roasted Garlic  – for sweetness and rich garlic flavor of garlic
• Fresh rosemary – You could use dried as well.
• Lemon Zest – for a bright flavor and lemony taste
• Seasoning -salt and pepper
• Spice blend – smoky paprika, onion powder, oregano and brown sugar
• Olive oil — I use Mina Moroccan Olive oil 

Before adding in the spice blend to the roast garlic, make sure you mash it well with a fork. Then use a small bowl and add everything in together with the olive oil until it’s a thin paste like consistency. It has to be spreadable because it will be spread over the chicken.

And of course the star ingredient –one whole chicken.

These flavors to me are similar to rotisseries style chicken yet much much tastier. You can however go with a bold spice blend, a hot spicy blend, a BBQ style blend and so much more. This simple one is our favorite so I wanted to start with that and share it. 

Now let’s make it!

How To Make Air Fryer Whole Chicken

First of all, you’ll need to pat the chicken dry. This is crucial in my opinion for all air fryer meats, as the moisture doesn’t do so well. I use that with my Air Fryer Salmon for the crispiest texture!

To get the most flavor into your whole chicken, you’ll want to separate the chicken skin form meat. This doesn’t have to be perfect or literal, but as best as you can. Try to be as gently while doing this to avoid tearing up the skin. You can use the back of a metal spoon so help you. 

Use a spoon or fork to spread the garlic spice olive oil mixture underneath the skin and over the meat, giving it a gently massage to spread the mixture over the meat. And then slather the whole inside and outside of the chicken until it’s all well coated with the marinade.

This is what you’re looking for–slathered and massaged whole chicken inside out ready to air fry for the crispiest skin and juiciest roast chicken ever!

Here’s something I discovered–you’ll need to start by placing the chicken skin side down on your air fryer basket. Why? Because otherwise the chicken breast meat dries up too soon, and nobody wants that.

You’ll air fry that for the bulk of the time, like 40 minutes until it’s golden and cooked through on that half. 

Now it’s time to finish off air frying your chicken with the breast facing up. 

It’s best to use a meat thermometer to find out exactly when the chicken is ready and cooked through. You should aim for 170-175 degrees F temperature in the thickest part of the chicken meat. 

Now you’re all set to serve! I love to finish off the chicken with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of fresh parsley, chilli flakes, and some coarse cracked black pepper. Look at that EXTRA crispy skin!! Now wait until you cut through it.

This is perfection! And here’s another close up of the juicy breast meat.

Now that’s one recipe YOU can NOT miss!

How long to cook whole chicken in air fryer?

Depending on the size of your chicken and weight in lb chicken you’re using. For a 5 lb chicken, you’ll need a total of 50-52 minutes of cooking in the air fryer.

Can you Put a Whole Chicken in the Air fryer?

This has to be the MOST dying question everyone is asking, and to sum it up YES! The main thing you’ll need to look at here is the size of your air fryer basket. So if you’re cooking a whole chicken in air fryer, make sure the size of your air fryer is 6 quart minimum. I have a 10 quart huge air fryer which I can easily fit in TWO whole chickens about 4- 5 lb each.

What temperature do you cook chicken in an air fryer?

Optimally you’ll need to cook the chicken at 350 or 360 degrees F at most.

Air fryer whole chicken rotisserie style

As I mentioned earlier in the post, the spice blend used here are similar to rotisserie style chicken, only much tastier! I used my homemade Roasted Garlic  instead of just garlic powder. This adds a richer sweeter and deeper taste of garlic to your chicken. The spice blend is similar to the rotisserie chicken, except I added a bright & zest of flavor using lemon zest and rosemary.

And finally, i used quality Moroccan Olive oil in my chicken which is definitely not something you’ll get from the grocery rotisserie chicken!

How to Reheat Whole Rotisserie chicken in air fryer

Simply place the chicken back into your air fryer and choose the reheat function (if you have it), or set the temperature to 350 degrees F for 4-5 minutes until warmed through.

Whole Chicken In Air Fryer Quick Tips

1. Pat the chicken dry to obtain a really crispy skin on the roast chicken.
2. Use a blend of dry spice and oil for your marinade, always avoid wet mixtures. 
3. You can buy store bought roast garlic, but best to use my homemade recipe–it’s so easy and keeps in the fridge for a while.
4. When air frying whole chicken, always place the chicken breast side down for the bulk of the cooking time.
5. This step avoid drying out the chicken breast while the remaining chicken cooks through.
6. When ready, give the chicken an extra drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, chilli flakes, some parsley for an extra burst of deliciousness!
7. Enjoy right away!
8. See Q&A for reheating.

Best Air Fryer Recipes

Whole Chicken in Air fryer

This is the BEST Air Fryer Whole Chicken to make when we’re craving a whole roast chicken, rotisserie style. It’s juicy, succulent, so tasty and convenient.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1
  5lb
  whole chicken
  trimmed and cleaned

Chicken Flavoring

• 1/4
  cup
  roasted garlic
  recipe on the blog
• 1/3
  cup
  of extra virgin olive oil
  Moroccan Mina olive oil
• 1
  tablespoon
  each salt and pepper
• 1/2
  tablespoon
  brown sugar
• 2
  teaspoons
  onion powder
• 1
  tablespoon
  paprika
  smoky
• 1 1/2
  tablespoon
  oregano
• 1
  lemon
  zested
• 2
  tablespoons
  chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  use half the amount for dried rosemary

Finishing off

• 1/2
  teaspoon
  black pepper
• 2
  tablespoons
  fresh parsley
• 2
  tablespoons
  olive oil
• 1/2
  teaspoon
  chilli flakes
  optional

Instructions

1. Start by mashing the roast garlic with olive oil in a small bowl until it’s smooth.

2. next add in your spice blend all at once and mix them in the roast garlic bowl, so now the marinade is ready for the chicken.

3. Take your whcole chicken and pat it dry.

4. Use the back of a spoon or your hand to separate the skinf rom the meat as best as you can. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just gently create some room for the marinade to be slathered between the skin and meat as well and not only over the top of the skin.

5. Start infusing the marinade between the skin and the meat. Massage the mixture gently into the skin.

6. Rub the outside and inside of the chicken with the remaining garlic mixture and stuff the chicken with the zested lemon.

7. Place the chicken, breast side down on the air fryer basket and air fry for 45 minutes at 360 degrees.

8. Once golden, flip so the breast side is up and continue air frying.

9. Cook until a meat thermomemeter readys 175 degees F. This should take another 10 minutes or 15 minutes max.

10. remove from the air fryer basket and serve as is.

11. Cut up the chicken and enjoy

Recipe Notes

1. Pat the chicken dry to obtain a really crispy skin on the roast chicken.
2. Use a blend of dry spice and oil for your marinade, always avoid wet mixtures. 
3. You can buy store bought roast garlic, but best to use my homemade recipe–it’s so easy and keeps in the fridge for a while.
4. When air frying whole chicken, always place the chicken breast side down for the bulk of the cooking time.
5. This step avoid drying out the chicken breast while the remaining chicken cooks through.
6. When ready, give the chicken an extra drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, chilli flakes, some parsley for an extra burst of deliciousness!
7. Enjoy right away!
8. See Q&A for reheating.

Nutrition Facts

Whole Chicken in Air fryer

Amount Per Serving

Calories 176
Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 12g

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 1170mg51%

Potassium 116mg3%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 783IU16%

Vitamin C 13mg16%

Calcium 47mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.