Air Fryer Whole Chicken (2024)

FAQs

Can you cook whole chickens in an air fryer? ›

We know it sounds mad, but it's true – you can air fry an entire chicken! The results are surprisingly good; super-crisp golden skin and, because of the way an air fryer works, the meat underneath remains super juicy. Perfect if you are running low on oven space or worry about dry, overcooked chicken.

Place the chicken on the air fryer basket / grate in an even layer, leaving a bit of space for air to circulate around. Air fry the chicken at 415 degrees for 10 minutes. If you have larger pieces of chicken, you'll want to go closer to 13 minutes. You're looking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Place chicken in air fryer basket, standing against sides of basket if necessary. Set to 350°F; cook 15 minutes. Turn chicken; cook 5 to 8 minutes longer or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (at least 165°F).

It's fast: Compared to an oven, chicken cooks quite efficiently in the air fryer. Typically, you'll shave off about 30 percent to 40 percent of the cooking time by using an air fryer. Again, this is thanks to its compact size, which allows hot air to circulate more rapidly.

There really is no comparison to oven-cooked roast chicken which is perfectly decent but so much drier in texture in comparison to the air fryer version. Air fryer roast chicken was juicy and the best I have ever had.

After testing a variety of temperatures, I found that 375 degrees F is the best temperature for air frying chicken. Because the air fryer uses convection heat, you do not need to set it as high as you would an oven (in a regular oven, 425 degrees F is best for baking chicken, like Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast).

The air fryer cooks the protein by circulating the hot air, so it is important. Flip the chicken halfway through the cooking time so both sides cook equally and yield a juicy chicken breast.

The #1 tip for the best chicken breasts in an air fryer is: Don't overcook them! Chicken breasts should be cooked to 160°F, but if you cook them all the way to that temperature in the air fryer, carryover cooking will take them beyond that temp and cause them to dry out.

Even if your air fryer has top-notch air circulation from its fan, you need to give most larger pieces of food (such as pork chops, burgers, and chicken cutlets) a turn about halfway through cooking.

Foil is safe to use in an air fryer so long as you follow three basic rules: never let foil touch the heating element; make sure the foil is weighted so it doesn't blow around the basket; and avoid contact with acidic ingredients, which can cause the foil to leach onto your food.

How do you keep chicken from drying out in an air fryer? ›

If the portions are closer to eight ounces, air fry time will be about 20 minutes. How do you prevent chicken from drying out? Most importantly, don't overcook it! Use an instant read thermometer to make sure you don't cook it too long.

An air fryer basket within the 6- to 10-quart size range will provide enough room to roast a whole chicken, a whole pizza and pounds of finger foods.

You didn't pat the chicken dry

You'll probably end up with soggy skin rather than the crispy golden crust you were looking for. Before putting chicken into the air fryer — or even seasoning your chicken — you should pat it completely dry with clean paper towels.

Cooking a whole chicken in your air fryer is quicker and more cost effective than in the oven meaning you can have a tasty midweek chicken for dinner.

Large Whole Chickens – Whole chickens and other large, bone-in proteins are not great for the air fryer because they will cook unevenly. There's a good chance that the breast meat will be over cooked even before the chicken thighs are safe to eat.

Cook up to 25% more* – the extra-large 9.5L capacity feeds 8+ people. Each drawer fits up to 1.4kg of fries or a 2kg chicken. Enjoy delicious food, cooked in under half the time of a fan oven. Perfect when you need to get dinner on the table quickly.