Like so many others, I have a slight obsession with my air fryer. For a long time, I held off on buying one because I don’t really eat a lot of fried food. Why would I need one? I wasn’t trying to add anything “fried” into my diet, whether oil or air fried. Little did I know! Once I realized all of the different ways you could use an air fryer, I had to try one. Now I use it for all sorts of dishes…roasted veggies, chicken, turkey burgers, even gnocchi. Some people even make desserts in an air fryer…go figure!
But my absolute FAVORITE use for my air fryer is cooking a whole chicken. The chicken stays perfectly crispy on the outside and incredibly juicy on the inside. I think the secret to this is just spraying the basket with olive oil spray and not using butter or olive oil on the skin of the chicken. And this is honestly one of the easiest recipes ever! No chopping, dicing or pre-cooking of any kind. Just season the chicken and put it in the air fryer. Perfect for a simple weeknight dinner and ready in under an hour.
This recipe is also easy to adjust the seasonings to your taste. Don’t like dill? Swap it out with some oregano or basil. You could even make this using Cajun or Greek seasoning instead of the thyme and dill. Add some paprika if you like! This goes perfectly with mashed cauliflower or potatoes and broccoli or a side of sauteed spinach.
Enjoy!
Easiest, CRISPIEST Air Fryer Chicken
(Makes 4 servings)
- 3-4 pound whole chicken, giblets removed and legs tied (Note: Ensure your air fryer is large enough to fit a whole chicken.)
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried dill
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt (or more to taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper (or more to taste)
- Olive oil spray
Instructions:
- Remove chicken from packaging and pat dry with paper towels.
- Mix thyme, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Rub dry seasoning mix all over chicken.
- Spray the basket of the air fryer liberally with olive oil spray.
- Place the chicken breast side down in the air fryer and set the temperature to 350 degrees. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Once 30 minutes is done, remove the basket from the air fryer and turn chicken over so it is breast side up. Cook for another 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees.
