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Air Fryer Whole Chicken is my go-to method for making perfectly tender, juicy, and flavorful roast chicken with melt-in-your-mouth crispy skin – just like your favorite rotisserie-style chicken! It’s super easy to make; all it takes is a little seasoning, olive oil, and about an hour in your favorite air fryer.
Easy Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken
Air fryer whole chicken is an easy way to enjoy delicious chicken without the hassle of traditional oven-roasting. Like your favorite store-bought rotisserie chicken, cooking a whole chicken in an air fryer produces juicy, flavorful meat with perfectly crisp skin. It’s the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner.
I made this recipe in this COSORI Air Fryer and seasoned the chicken using my homemade poultry seasoning. Use any air fryer (cooking times may vary) and season your bird using your favorite spice blend or marinade.
Why This Recipe Works
- The air fryer circulates hot air around the entire surface of the chicken, resulting in breast and thigh meat cooking evenly and reaching the correct temperatures without overcooking.
- Guaranteed golden, crispy skin.
- Rubbing the chicken with olive oil and homemade poultry seasoning adds flavor, enhances browning and crispiness, and reduces moisture loss during cooking.
- Cooking a whole chicken in the air fryer is faster than roasting in a conventional oven.
Air Fryer Chicken Ingredients
Below are descriptions of the key ingredients in this Roast Chicken Recipe, including possible substitutions. You can find the printable recipe with measurements for each ingredient in the recipe card below.
- Whole chicken: This recipe calls for a whole 3-4 pound chicken. Chicken much larger than 4-5 pounds may not fit in your air fryer (I know this from experience).
- Poultry Seasoning + Olive oil: The chicken is slathered with olive oil and dried basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Salt and Black pepper
How to Air Fry a Whole Chicken
1. Rest the chicken at room temperature. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes (time allowing). This allows the chicken to cook more evenly. In the meantime, pat the chicken dry using paper towels.
2. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (175°C) and coat the basket with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Prepare the poultry seasoning. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the homemade poultry seasoning. Reserve two tablespoons of the seasoning and store the rest in an airtight container for future use. In another small bowl, combine the olive oil with two tablespoons of the homemade poultry seasoning and stir until fully combined.
4. Coat the chicken. Rub the mixture all over the chicken, including under the skin and inside the chicken cavity, ensuring even coverage. If desired, use butcher’s twine to tie the legs together.
5. Air fry the whole chicken. Place the chicken breast side down in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 30 minutes, then carefully flip the chicken over so it is breast side up and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
6. Check for doneness. Check the chicken’s internal temperature. The chicken is fully cooked when it registers between 155-165°F as measured by inserting a digital meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone.
7. Rest before serving. Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the air fryer basket and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Variations
Air frying allows endless possibilities when seasoning and flavoring your chicken. Experiment with different spice blends, marinades, and flavors to add variety to your chicken. My favorites include Homemade Greek Marinade, Chimichurri, Cajun Seasoning, Shake and Bake Seasoning, and Jerk Chicken Marinade.
How to Serve
I love serving this whole air fryer chicken with a fresh green salad, tomato salad, or roasted veggies like zucchini or asparagus. I also love adding a side of mashed potatoes, twice-baked potatoes, or simple buttered egg noodles.
Storage and Leftovers
Place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. For best results, remove the meat from the carcass before storing it. Reheat leftovers in an air fryer preheated to 350°F (about 175°C) for 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces, or in the microwave.
Use leftovers to make homemade chicken soup, crack chicken casserole, or toss in your favorite salad. The leftover chicken carcass is perfect for making homemade chicken stock.
If you love cooking with your air fryer, check out my recipes for air fryer chicken thighs, air fryer chicken legs, air fryer chicken wings (super crispy!), and air fryer chicken breasts (no breading). You may also love this juicy roast chicken recipe and easy spatchcock chicken recipe.
Air Fryer Whole Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer I made this recipe in my COSORI Air Fryer
Ingredients
For the Whole Air Fryer Chicken
- 1 (3-4) pound whole chicken, at room temperature with the giblets and the neck removed
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon poultry seasoning, recipe below
- salt and black pepper, see notes
For the Homemade Poultry Seasoning
- 1½ tablespoon dried basil
- 1½ tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried majoram
- ½ tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes (time allowing). This allows the chicken to cook more evenly. In the meantime, pat the chicken dry using paper towels.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (175°C) and coat the basket with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the homemade poultry seasoning. Reserve two tablespoons of the seasoning and store the rest in an airtight container for future use. In another small bowl, combine the olive oil with two tablespoons of the homemade poultry seasoning and stir until fully combined.
- Rub the mixture all over the chicken, including under the skin and inside the chicken cavity, ensuring even coverage. If desired, use butcher’s twine to tie the legs together.
- Place the chicken breast side down in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 30 minutes, then carefully flip the chicken over so it is breast side up and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
- Check the chicken’s internal temperature. The chicken is fully cooked when it registers between 155-165°F as measured by inserting a digital meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the air fryer basket and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Notes
- Add salt and pepper to suit your taste and preference. I suggest at least one teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper (to start). You can always add more later.
- The poultry seasoning recipe above makes approximately seven tablespoons. Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container.
- Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
