How Long to Cook Whole Chicken in Air Fryer? (Easy + Tender)

How long does it take to cook a 5lb, 3lb whole chicken in an air fryer? This is one of the questions my readers ask a lot. Well, I´ve got you covered.

An air fryer offers a few advantages over deep frying or baking when preparing a whole chicken. However, some cooks may primarily care about how long it will take.

While the answer may vary slightly depending on the size of your chicken, most air fryers won’t accommodate a chicken over 4 or 5 pounds. For a chicken of this size, it will take about an hour in the air fryer at 360°F, stopping halfway through to flip it over.

Needless to say, the process is slightly more involved, so you may wish to keep reading for more info.

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Table of Contents

The Advantages of Air Frying Chicken

First, it’s important to understand why you should consider air frying your chicken in the first place. This process works best for those who wish to enjoy the crispiness and texture of deep-fried chicken without consuming quite as much fat.

Since air fryers use significantly less oil, they don’t wreak nearly as much havoc on your cholesterol.

Fat and cholesterol aren’t the only elements of nutrition to take into account. The oil used to prepare fried foods can also lead to heart disease and a significantly greater risk of inflammation.

Furthermore, deep fryers can create a compound called acrylamide, which has been linked to multiple forms of cancer.

That’s not to say air fryers decrease the buildup of harmful compounds by 100%. Furthermore, they don’t accommodate particularly large meals. However, those cooking smaller chickens may find air frying preferable when trying to reduce health risks without necessarily eradicating them completely.

How to Cook Whole Chicken in Air Fryer

The precise steps to cooking a whole chicken in an air fryer may vary slightly depending on the seasonings and other ingredients used.

Fortunately, the process still remains relatively consistent regardless of specifics. For info on ingredient recommendations, scroll down. For now, plan on following these basic steps:

If the neck and giblets have not already been removed from your chicken, begin by doing so.
If including large ingredients such as onion or lemon, stuff them on the inside of the chicken so the meat will absorb their juices.
Rub the outside of the chicken with cooking oil. About a tablespoon of vegetable oil should be plenty.
Mix any desired seasonings together in a small dish. You’ll want to mix them well so they spread evenly.
Coat your oiled chicken in the seasonings you’ve mixed together. You don’t need a particularly thick coat, although this is ultimately a matter of taste.
Heat the air fryer to 360°F.
Place your chicken breast-side down in the air fryer. Cook for 30 minutes.
Turn the chicken over and cook for another 30 minutes. You’ll want to check the breast before removing to ensure the internal temperature has reached at least 165°F.

After removing the chicken, let it stand for about 10 minutes. This not only improves the taste but also makes it easier to serve.

Tips for Serving Air Fried Chicken

If you’ve followed the above directions, you should find your chicken relatively easy to carve.

However, if you care about appearances, you’ll want to follow a few tips to ensure your chicken looks presentable to any guests you might have in attendance.

Preferably, use a carving fork to hold the chicken in place as you begin to make your cuts.
Begin by removing the legs. You’ll want to cut at the hip joint to remove both the drumstick and thigh.
Place the leg on a flat surface with the skin facing downward. This should make it easier to see where the thigh and drumstick connect. Cut at that joint to separate them.
Using the wings as a benchmark, cut just above the base of the chicken. Make this cut horizontal. Do this on both sides.
Cut just on each side of the breastbone. Carve all the way down until you slice through the cut you made at the base. This will fully remove the breast on each side.
You can now more easily slice the breast into whatever portions you desire.
The wings should be the only part still attached to the chicken. Bending them away from the body will make it easier to remove them.

Removing the wing tips is optional but recommended for aesthetic purposes.

Best Ingredients for Air Fried Chicken

It makes little sense to spend an hour cooking and carving a chicken if nobody wants to eat it in the first place.

To this end, you may wish to pay careful attention to your ingredients. While some ingredients go well with chicken of any kind, you’ll find some work particularly well when using an air fryer.

What Kind of Chicken to Use

The chicken itself is obviously the most important ingredient of all. When using an air fryer, the size is the most important thing.

A chicken weighing around 4 pounds should fit easily into most air fryers. Depending on the particular model you have, you might be able to fit a 5-pounder in there as well. Just be aware that it might be a bit of a snug fit.

Even if the weight fits, you might be unsure of what specific type of chicken to select. If all you care about is taste and budget, you can go ahead and opt for cheaper store brands or whatever brands looks best to you.

It’s fairly hard to go wrong with Publix, and their chickens are all-natural.

However, there are other factors to consider. While organic, antibiotic-free chickens are healthier, many have grown increasingly concerned with buying chickens that are raised and slaughtered humanely as well.

This may cost a bit more, but cage-free brands like Bell ; Evans, or Springer Mt. Farms may appeal to you if animal welfare is a priority.

Other Ingredients to Include

While some chicken brands come out surprisingly flavorful with no added ingredients whatsoever, you’ll probably still wish to spice things up a bit.

In this case, you should consider both larger ingredients as well as seasonings.

Two of the best large ingredients to include are lemon and onion. When cooking chicken with an air fryer, the only prep necessary is to cut the lemon and/or onion in half and stuff them into the chicken. The meat will absorb the juices on its own.

You might also consider throwing some potatoes in there. They won’t flavor the chicken, but the chicken will flavor the potatoes.

As far as seasonings go, the world is your oyster. You can include any seasonings that suit your fancy, but you might want to note a few in particular.

If you’re aiming for a classic rotisserie chicken flavor, the best seasonings to include are:

Salt (very, very little)
Black pepper
Smoked paprika
Onion powder
Thyme
Garlic powder (or consider stuffing the inside with roasted garlic cloves for a real kick)

Air Fryer Whole Chicken, Rotisserie Style FAQs

What size air fryer do I need to cook a whole chicken?

Naturally, the size of your air fryer will determine what type of chicken you’re able to cook.

Larger air fryers can accommodate slightly larger chickens, while smaller air fryers might make the above directions difficult to follow.

In general, however, air fryers sized at between 6 and 10 quarts should be large enough to allow for the instructions provided.

Will separating the chicken parts reduce cooking time?

If you wish to separate the chicken into parts before cooking, then you can get away with a significantly reduced cooking time.

However, bear in mind that cooking times will vary depending upon how much of the chicken you include.

For instance, when only air frying the breasts, you can typically reduce cooking time to as little as 12-15 minutes.

How do I keep the chicken from becoming dry and rubbery?

These problems tend to arise when setting the temperature too high.

While it can be tempting to raise the temperature in the hopes of rushing the process, allowing for more cook time at a lower temperature will result in moister, better-tasting chicken.

If it seems to be cooking faster than recommended, check it more frequently.

Air Fryer Whole Chicken >> Check out the video below:

Conclusion

Cooking a whole chicken in an air fryer may not be the most traditional method, but it gets the job done.

If you enjoy the taste of deep-fried chicken but prefer at least some of the health benefits of oven baking, this might be the method for you.

Just be sure to check the internal temperature after an hour of cooking to ensure your chicken is safe to serve.

References

https://airfried.com/air-fryer-whole-chicken/

https://www.eatingwell.com/article/15621/how-to-carve-a-whole-roasted-chicken/