Air Fryer Roast Chicken

Jump to:

• Recipe highlights
• How long should you cook a whole chicken in an Air Fryer
• What size Air Fryer do I need for a whole chicken
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Frequently asked questions
• Expert tips
• More Air Fryer recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Recipe highlights

Is there anything better than fresh roast chicken, potatoes and salad for dinner?

Nope, I don't think so!

Air Fryer cooked chicken is succulent, juicy and tender. Plus it won't have you using up the oven and heating the whole house!

Talk about Winner Winner Chicken Dinner time (yummo!)

This Air Fryer Roast Chicken, is exactly like the rotisserie chicken you can buy from the deli.

The recipe is easy, the ingredients are simple and the chicken tastes seriously AMAZING!

How long should you cook a whole chicken in an Air Fryer

A whole chicken will take 50 mins - 1 hour to cook in an Air Fryer.

Starting with a raw chicken, covered in seasoning and stuffed with lemon and garlic, it requires no oven bag and can simply be popped straight into the Air Fryer!

What size Air Fryer do I need for a whole chicken

Check your Air Fryer 1st to ensure the chicken you purchase, will fit into the basket or tray.

For this recipe, I am using a 7 litre Air Fryer and the chicken is a 1.5 kg chicken.

It fits perfectly, with a little room around the outside.

If your Air Fryer has a smaller basket, choose a smaller chicken to ensure it fits.

If you have a larger Air Fryer, you can use a larger chicken, being mindful that it will take longer to cook.

Ingredients

The ingredients you need are shown in the photo below, they are all simple and can be found at the local shop (you might already have some of them!)

As you can see, the recipe calls for:

• Whole chicken
• Chicken seasoning
• Olive oil
• Lemon
• Garlic

We use a dry rub for the chicken, mixed with olive oil to get a lovely crispy skin as well as ensuring it doesn't dry out when cooking.

An alternative rub to try is the homemade jerk seasoning (packed with flavour!)

Instructions

Here are the easy step by step instructions on how to cook this recipe:

• Combine seasoning with olive oil (Photo 1)
• Whisk till consistently mixed (Photo 2)
• Add garlic and lemon to chicken cavity (Photo 3)
• Pour over seasoned oil (Photo 4)

The reason I recommend using dry seasoning combined with (just a little) oil is to ensure that the skin of the chicken won't dry out.

• Massage the seasoning all over the chicken (Photo 5)
• Place in basket breast side down (Photo 6)
• Cook for 20 mins, then use tongs to flip (Photo 7)
• Cook for a further 35 mins (Photo 8)

It will seem counterintuitive to place the chicken into the Air Fryer breast side down.

However, we need to do this to ensure that the chicken skin won't dry out and the top of the chicken over cook in the initial part of Air Frying.

I have forgone the deli cooked chook and cooked a whole rotisserie chicken in the Air Fryer using both a dry rub and breast side up, however, the best way to achieve succulent juicy chicken needs the 2 golden rules:

• add a little oil
• cook breast side down (to start)

They only need a couple of mins to toast to a light golden brown colour and give a delicious texture to the chicken!

Air Fried to the point of perfection, this whole roast chicken smells great, looks great and tastes delicious!

Frequently asked questions

• Choose a chicken between 1.2-1.8kg
• The seasoning is dried, combined with olive oil
• It is optional to use lemon and garlic in the cavity
• It takes 1 hour from start to finish for the recipe
• My Air Fryer is a 7 litre basket version
• The chicken needs to fit comfortably, so check this 1st!
• This recipe is perfect as a quick dinner recipe!
• The oil ensures the skin doesn't overcook and dry out.
• This is a quick, easy to bring together recipe!
• This marinade only uses 2 ingredients (seasoning and oil)
• I do spray the Air Fryer basket with cooking oil to prevent sticking
• If you have a smaller Air Fryer choose a smaller chicken

To serve, try pairing with the Duck Fat Roast Potatoes, Muffin Tin Potatoes or Creamy Garlic Potatoes.

Or have a look at all Roasted Potato Side Dishes.

The sauce you see in the photos is the Herbed Yogurt Sauce (I keep telling you about), it is SO good and perfect to pair with chicken or Teriyaki Salmon Air Fryer.

Expert tips

This is what I have learnt that will help you master the recipe from the 1st time and every following time:

• Start with the chicken breast side down
• Flip after the 1st 20 mins
• If the legs are splaying out, use kitchen string to tie together
• Pull the basket out by the handle to check how the chicken is cooking in the 1st 20 mins to ensure it is centered and flat
• There are so many sizes and types of Air Fryers that some will cook faster or slower depending on the model.
• A larger chicken will take longer to cook, allow for extra time

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📖 Recipe