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whole chicken from the air fryer rotisserie style on a plate surrounded by tomatoes, lemon slices, fresh rosemary and a fork and knife to cut

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.

Course Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean
Keyword air fryer, air fryer chicken, air fryer recipes, air fryer whole chicken, chicken dinner, chicken recipes, roast chicken, whole chicken
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 176 kcal
Author Mahy

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.

    a bowl with the spice mixture and garlic and olive oil mixed in and ready for the chicken

  3. Take your whcole chicken and pat it dry.

    a hand patting down the whole hcicken with kitchen towels making sure it's 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.

    A hand separating the skin from the meat for a whole chicken to make sure it infuses with most flavor during air frying

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

    A spoon adding in the roast garlic and spice mixture between the skin and meat of the chicken

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

    whole chicken well marinated inside out and ready to air fry

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

    whole chicken in the air fryer with breast side down

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

    Flipped whole chicken in the air fryer basket with breast side up ready to continue cooking

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

    A meat thermometer placed in the middle of a whole chicken breast checking of the skin is done

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

    Air fryer whole chicken served on a plate with some parsley on top with crispy skin and perfectly cooked

  11. Cut up the chicken and enjoy

    cutting up a whole chicken into pieces to serve on a plate

Recipe Video

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.