One of the first things that we made in our Ninja Foodi was a whole chicken! It turned out so good that we have continued to make it on a regular basis. Ninja Foodi whole chicken is just like the rotisserie chickens that you can buy at the grocery store except better! Not only is it juicier but you can modify the seasonings as you would like and change it up a little bit each time.
Oh….and there’s gravy!! Did I mention that this recipe also makes the gravy to go with the chicken!!
Tips for making Ninja Foodi Whole Chicken:
1.For this recipe, we used a 6-pound chicken, but you can use any size chicken that you would like as long as it fits into the crisping basket that came with your Ninja Foodi. If you are cooking a substantially smaller chicken, reduce the pressure cook time by a minute or 2.
2. If you are wondering if you can use a frozen chicken for this recipe, the answer is no. Here’s why. Well, most whole chickens come with the giblets inside of the chicken either in a bag or in the chicken itself. If the chicken is frozen, you will not be able to get the giblets out of the chicken before cooking it. Do not cook the chicken with the giblets still inside.
3.For a lower sodium chicken, use low sodium chicken broth and reduce the salt in the ingredients. You can also substitute unsalted butter.
Looking for more recipes? Check out some of our favorites!
- Ninja Foodi Sweet and Savory Pork Tenderloin
- Ninja Foodi Crack Chicken
- Ninja Foodi Lazy Lasagna
- Ninja Foodi Mostaccioli
- Ninja Foodi Chili
Ingredients for making Ninja Foodi Whole Chicken:
- Whole chicken-not frozen ( we used six-pound chicken)
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic-peeled and quartered
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (or any Cajun seasoning)
- 4 sprigs of thyme leaves-remove from the stem
- ¾ cup of softened salted butter (12 tablespoons)
- ½ small white onion- peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 small lemon- cut into half-inch slices
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
Directions for making Ninja Foodi Whole Chicken:
1.Remove chicken from the packaging. Remove giblets from chicken and rinse chicken inside and outside and pat dry. If chicken legs are not already tied together, use twine or string to tie them together. Tying the chicken legs together is OPTIONAL, but helps the chicken stay together when cooking.
2.Create compound butter by combining the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, Old Bay, thyme, and ½ cup (8 tablespoons) of butter that has been softened. Combine well.
3.With the chicken breast side up, gently separate the skin from the meat by carefully inserting your fingers in between the skin and the meat. Be careful not to tear the skin, you don’t want holes in the skin. It’s easier if you start at the bottom of the breast in between the legs. Insert half of the compound butter in between the skin and the breast.
4.Use the remaining compound butter to cover the outside of the chicken.
5.Insert onion, half of the garlic, and half of the lemon slices inside the chicken.
6.Make sure that your insert pan is inside the Ninja Foodi and then pour in the chicken broth and add the remaining garlic and lemon to the pot.
7.Place the chicken into the crisping basket, make sure the chicken is breast side up. Put crisping basket into Ninja Foodi. Put the pressure cooker lid on, make sure the valve is on in the “seal” position, and pressure cook for 22 minutes on high. Once the timer stops, natural release pressure for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, quick-release remaining pressure. Carefully open the pressure cooker lid. Do not remove the liquid from the pot. This liquid will be used to make the gravy. Close the crisping lid and select air crisp at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Lift the lid every couple of minutes to check to see how crisp the skin is. It may not take the entire 10 minutes to crisp up. Once the chicken has reached the desired crispness, carefully remove the chicken and crisping basket from Ninja Foodi using silicone mits. Using a ladle, remove the lemon and large garlic chunks from the remaining liquid.
8.To make the gravy, turn the Ninja Foodi on saute and add the remaining butter. Make a slurry for your gravy by combining ¼ cup flour with ¼ cup water. I like to shake these together in a small mason jar. Slowly pour in the slurry and use a silicone whisk to combine and thicken the gravy. Continue to stir until gravy has reached the desired consistency-about 5 minutes.
9.Slice chicken and serve with gravy. Enjoy!!
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Ninja Foodi Chicken
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Ingredients
- 6 pound chicken (not frozen ( we used six-pound chicken))
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic (peeled and quartered)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (or any Cajun seasoning)
- 4 sprigs thyme (leaves only-remove from stems-can use dried if you don't have fresh on hand)
- ¾ cup salted butter (softened)
- ½ onion (small, peeled and cut into large chunks)
- 1 lemon (small and cut into ½ inch slices)
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Remove chicken from the packaging. Remove giblets from chicken and rinse chicken inside and outside and pat dry. If chicken legs are not already tied together, use twine or string to tie them together. Tying the chicken legs together is OPTIONAL, but helps the chicken stay together when cooking.
- With the chicken breast side up, gently separate the skin from the meat by carefully inserting your fingers in between the skin and the meat. Be careful not to tear the skin, you don’t want holes in the skin. It’s easier if you start at the bottom of the breast in between the legs. Insert half of the compound butter in between the skin and the breast.
- Use the remaining compound butter to cover the outside of the chicken.
- Insert onion, half of the garlic, and half of the lemon slices inside the chicken.
- Make sure that your insert pan is inside the Ninja Foodi and then pour in the chicken broth and add the remaining garlic and lemon to the pot.
- Place the chicken into the crisping basket, make sure the chicken is breast side up. Put crisping basket into Ninja Foodi. Put the pressure cooker lid on, make sure the valve is on in the “seal” position, and pressure cook for 22 minutes on high. Once the timer stops, natural release pressure for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, quick-release remaining pressure. Carefully open the pressure cooker lid. Do not remove the liquid from the pot. This liquid will be used to make the gravy. Close the crisping lid and select air crisp at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Lift the lid every couple minutes to check to see how crisp the skin is. It may not take the entire 10 minutes to crisp up. Once the chicken has reached the desired crispness, carefully remove the chicken and crisping basket from Ninja Foodi using silicone mits. Using a ladle, remove the lemon and large garlic chunks from the remaining liquid.
- To make the gravy, turn the Ninja Foodi on saute and add the remaining butter. Make a slurry for your gravy by combining ¼ cup flour with ¼ cup water. I like to shake these together in a small mason jar. Slowly pour in the slurry and use a silicone whisk to combine and thicken the gravy. Continue to stir until gravy has reached the desired consistency-about 5 minutes.
- Slice chicken and serve with gravy. Enjoy!!
And now I want a Ninja Foodi- whole roasted chickens are my comfort food- yum!
How tasty when pouring sauce on the chicken slice. This is a great recipe for weekend dinner. The compound butter makes chicken depth flavor. This Whole chicken is soft and infused with spicy!