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This Air Fryer Whole Chicken recipe creates the perfect rotisserie-style chicken with little effort! You will have tender and juicy chicken on the inside with crispy golden skin on the outside, all without heating up your kitchen!!
How many of you grab a rotisserie chicken when you are at the grocery store?✋ They make a quick and easy meal, but they don't always have them ready to go!! Nine times out of ten Fry's is sold out!
Now you can make your very own chicken at home and you control the what goes on top. Today we are keeping it really simple, we are following the same recipe that I use for my Instant Pot Faux-tisserie Chicken.
What you will need:
- a whole chicken that is 3.5 to 4.5 pounds - look for one with even skin tone and no bruising or tears in the skin.
- softened butter or ghee
- whole garlic cloves
- sliced yellow onion
- Southwest seasoning, or seasoning of your choice
How to make a whole chicken in an air fryer:
Mix the softened butter and seasonings together in a small bowl.
Slide your fingers between the skin and chicken breast to create a pocket. You can use gloves or carefully use a large spoon if you like.
Place a handful of the butter mixture under the skin and rub it around to cover as much as you can.
Rub the remaining butter all over the chicken.
Place the onion wedges and garlic cloves inside the chicken.
Use butcher's twine to secure the legs.
Plug in your air fryer and press the "Air Fry" button. Press the "Time" button and turn the knob to 1:00 hour, then press the "Temp" button and turn the knob to 360 degrees and press "Start".
Place you chicken breast side down into the basket when display reads "Add Food".
Push the basket in and wait for the "Turn Food" prompt and beep. Flip the chicken over.
Close the basket and continue cooking. When the air fryer is done, remove the chicken and place on a platter covered with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Serve with your favorite sides: Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Zucchini and Carrots, Hawaiian Potato Mac Salad, Crispy Roast Potatoes, or Classic Rice Pilaf.
Recipe Notes:
- I have included a scaled down Southwest Seasoning recipe, but any seasoning will work, garlic-lemon, paleo powder, etc.
- Using twine to keep the legs together helps to keep the chicken moist as it cooks.
- Make sure you remove the giblets and neck before cooking. Use them to make gravy or stock, or freeze for a later time.
- To store leftovers: remove all of the meat from the chicken carcass and place in an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 5 months.
Tools used to create this recipe:
- Instant Vortex Air Fryer - it is 5.8 quarts and my chicken was 4.5 pounds.
- Kitchen Twine
- Cutting Board
- Chefs Knife
You can see the rest of my favorite kitchen tools and gadgets here in my Amazon Affiliate Page. I earn a small commission when you purchase through my links, at no cost to you, so I can keep bringing you more delicious recipes!
More whole chicken recipes:
- Instant Pot Whole Roast Chicken
- Classic Roast Chicken - with lemon and fresh thyme
- Greek Roasted Chicken - with lemon, thyme, oregano, and parsley
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Peruvian Roast Chicken - this one need to marinate overnight, and the flavor is amazing!
- Oven Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
- Instant Pot Huli Huli Chicken
I have not tried this yet, but I am willing to bet that any of the above recipes would also work in an air fryer.
If you love this recipe, please rate it five stars and help me share on facebook and to help other readers in our community!
Enjoy!!
Air Fryer Whole Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 pound whole chicken giblets removed
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened or ghee for Whole30 or Paleo
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 0.5 teaspoon cumin
- 0.5 teaspoon dried basil
- 0.5 medium onion cut into quarters
- 5 large cloves garlic peeled, smashed, and left whole
- sea salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the softened butter and seasonings together in a small bowl.
- Slide your fingers between the skin and chicken breast to create a pocket. You can use gloves or carefully use a large spoon if you like.
- Place a handful of the butter mixture under the skin and rub it around to cover as much as you can. Rub the remaining butter all over the chicken.
- Place the onion wedges and garlic cloves inside the chicken. Use butcher's twine to secure the legs.
- Plug in your air fryer and press the "Air Fry" button. Press the "Time" button and turn the knob to 1:00 hour, then press the "Temp" button and turn the knob to 360 degrees and press "Start".
- Place you chicken breast side down into the basket when display reads "Add Food". Push the basket in and wait for the "Turn Food" prompt and beeps, at 30 minutes. Flip the chicken over.
- Close the basket and continue cooking for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reaches 165°F. When the air fryer is done, remove the chicken and place on a platter covered with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Notes
- I have included a scaled down Southwest Seasoning recipe, but any seasoning will work, garlic-lemon, paleo powder, etc.
- Using twine to keep the legs together helps to keep the chicken moist as it cooks.
- Make sure you remove the giblets and neck before cooking. Use them to make gravy or stock, or freeze for a later time.
- To store leftovers: remove all of the meat from the chicken carcass and place in an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 5 months.
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