Air Fryer Whole Chicken
This rotisserie-style air fryer whole chicken is perfectly seasoned and features both crispy skin and juicy meat! The prep is so fast and easy, you’ll be cooking a whole chicken in your air fryer ALL THE TIME.
Servings: 4
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken between 3½ to 4 pounds
- 1 tablespoon your favorite Nom Nom Paleo Spice blend or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Avocado oil spray
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and remove any giblets or organs inside the cavity.
- Using a pair of kitchen shears, trim away any excess flaps of skin and/or globs of fat at the cavity opening.
- Pour some of the seasoning blend in a small bowl. Rub some seasoning all over the skin, in the cavity, and even under the skin above the breast meat. Use your fingers to carefully separate the skin from the meat and then rub the seasoning directly onto the breast meat
- Tuck the wings behind the back of the chicken and marinate the chicken, uncovered, at least one hour or up to two days in the fridge.
- Preheat air fryer to 375°F. When the air fryer is ready, spray the interior basket with avocado oil spray.
- Place the chicken breast-side down and air fry at 375°F for 30 minutes. The back of the chicken should be a beautiful golden brown.
- Carefully, flip the chicken breast side up and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the skin is golden brown, the juices run clear, and the internal temperature of the breast reaches at least 157°F and the thighs are 175°F. Yes, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature!
- Rest the bird for 20 minutes before carving. If you want to minimize food waste, remove the meat from the bones and use the carcass to make bone broth!
Video
Notes
- Use a basket-style air fryer that has at least a 5.8 quart capacity. The air fryer I love the most is the 6-quart Instant Pot Vortex Plus. If your air fryer is smaller, you’ll have a hard time finding a whole chicken that will fit.
- Season well, all over, and early! Many years ago, I learned that Chef Judy Rodgers’s secret for amazing roast chicken is to salt it well and early, so that’s what I always try to do. Even if you don't have time to marinate, it’ll still taste fab.
- Use a Nom Nom Paleo spice blend! My Whole30-compatible spice blends make healthy and delicious meals super easy and they're now available on Amazon, directly from The Spice Lab (use the one-time promo code LETSGO for 15% off), and at iHerb (worldwide shipping)!
- Don’t truss your chicken! The first time I cooked a whole chicken in the air fryer, I made the mistake of tying the legs together—which made them pop up during the cooking process and get scorched by the heating element.
- Start with the breast-side down! When you air fry the chicken with the breast-side down, you protect the white meat from getting overcooked and drying out before the rest of the chicken reaches the proper doneness. The 10 to 15 minutes of cooking the chicken breast-side up at the end is the perfect amount of time for a perfectly browned chicken with moist meat.
- Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness! The only proper way to know if your whole chicken is cooked properly is to check the internal temperature with an accurate meat thermometer. I always use my trusty Thermapen One. You can refer to this article for the proper internal temperatures for cooked chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 429kcal | Protein: 35g | Fat: 31g