A whole roast chicken dinner all done in the air fryer in around 90 minutes. That’s roast chicken with potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and green beans!
I only use a pan for making the gravy – which takes a few minutes and is really simple (I promise!).
This is my go-to mid-week roast, when I want a nutritious dinner on the table with minimal fuss.
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Everybody is talking about Air Fryers at the moment, and I really wanted to put ours to the test by seeing if it would make a complete roast chicken dinner, without having to parboil or precook anything- the answer is a resounding… YES!
Well… except for the gravy.
I guess you could use an air fryer to make the gravy, but it’s easier to do it in a pan, while the vegetables are cooking in the air fryer. And this recipe is all about simplicity.
This is a one-pan, easy-to-make, tastes flippin’ delicious dinner, that saves SO MUCH on the washing up.
📋 What do we need?
- Chicken – go with the size of chicken that will fit in your air fryer nicely. For my Ninja Max (<-- affiliate link) air fryer, this is a 1.5kg chicken, which takes about 45-50 minutes to cook.
- Vegetables – I’m using potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and green beans. The carrots and potatoes cook and brown beautifully! You do have to keep an eye on the cauliflower and green beans (cauliflower LOVES to char in the air fryer), but so long as they’re nestled into the other veggies nicely, without any big sticky-out bits, you should be fine.
- Gravy – stock, cornflour (cornstarch if you’re in the US), seasoning and the juices from roasting the chicken are all you need to make this simple gravy.
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
👩🍳PRO TIP Turn your cauliflower florets upside-down and nestle them into the other vegetables when cooking in the air fryer – this will cook them, without them browning too much.
Don’t want to use a pan at all for making your gravy?
Sometimes life calls for good ole’ Bisto gravy (no, this isn’t a sponsored post). If you want to make this recipe even easier, make up a jug of Bisto (or shop-brand equivalent) gravy in your gravy jug and if you want even more flavour, stir in those cooking juices from cooking the chicken in the air fryer.
Ideas for leftovers
Don’t forget to save any leftover shreds of chicken to make:
🍲 More fantastic roast dinner recipes
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Air Fryer Roast Chicken Dinner
A whole roast chicken with roast potatoes and vegetables all cooked in the air fryer! All done in less than 90 minutes. This is a great way to make a simple roast dinner with minimal washing up!
Ingredients
For the Carrots and Potatoes:
For the Green Beans and Cauliflower
INSTRUCTIONS
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 30-45 minutes before roasting to take the chill off it.
1 Whole chicken – approx. 1-3kg-1.5kg (2.9lb- 3.3lb) – ideally free range
Rub the oil into the skin of the chicken with your hands.
1 tbsp olive oil
Sprinkle on the salt, pepper and thyme.
½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp dried thyme
Place the chicken in the air fryer at 180C/350F for approx. 45-50 minutes – until the skin is golden and the juices run clear (you can test this by inserting a skewer in the thickest part of the thigh – the liquid that runs out should be clear). If you have a temperature probe, the internal temperature should be 75C/165F.
Remove from the air fryer, place on a board or in a tray to rest and cover with foil and a tea towel on top.
Add the chicken stock to the air fryer basket and give it a swill around to pick-up up any chicken juices – this will form the basis of the gravy. Pour the liquid into a small saucepan and put to one side.
400 ml (1 + ⅔ cup) strong chicken stock
Turn the air fryer temperature up to 200C/400F
Place the potatoes and carrots into the air fryer basket and drizzle on 1 tbsp of the oil and ¼ tsp each of the salt and pepper.
2 medium potatoes (approx. 175g each), 2 large carrots (approx 85g-100g each), 1 tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
Toss together and place in the air fryer for 12 minutes, shaking once, halfway through cooking.
Add the green beans and cauliflower to the air fryer basket. Drizzle on the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper.
120 g (4.2 oz) trimmed fine green beans, 1 small head of cauliflower, 1 tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
Use a spoon or set of tongs to toss together with the potatoes and carrots, trying to ensure the florets of the cauliflower are pointing downwards or tucked under the potatoes/carrots, and the green beans aren’t sticking up (this will prevent them from burning) and place in the air fryer to cook for 10-12 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile make the gravy. Place the pan with the chicken stock and chicken juices over a high heat and bring to the boil.
Slowly add the cornflour slurry while stirring with a whisk, until the gravy has thickened to your liking.
2 tbsp cornflour(cornstarch in USA)
Add any further chicken juices from resting the chicken, plus any leftover juices at the bottom of the air fryer basket to give the gravy maximum flavour. Give it a taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.
salt and black pepper to taste
Remove the vegetables from the air fryer and place in a serving bowl or on the tray with the chicken.
Carve the chicken and serve with the air-fried vegetables and gravy.
✎ Notes
You need to ensure you can fit the chicken in the air fryer basket so test it out first by placing the chicken in and ensuring the legs don’t interfere with the opening and closing of the air fryer. We also don’t want the legs to touch the element on the air fryer. If they do, you may need to trim the legs down using a sharp knife on a sturdy chopping board.
Type of Air Fryer
I’m using the Ninja Max (<-- affiliate link) air fryer, but these instructions apply to any drawer-style air fryer (not grill style or air fryers with a paddle. I haven't tested with these. If you have, please let me know in the comments :-))
Ingredient Swaps
Swap out the potatoes and/or carrots for other chunky root vegetables, such as parsnips, sweet potato or swede.
Swap out the cauliflower and/or green beans for broccoli, chunks of courgette (zucchini), halved sprouts, and sliced runner beans (same rules apply re: charring and nestling these more tender vegetables in to protect them from the high heat of the air fryer).
Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (this recipe serves 4).
Nutrition
Calories: 660kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 42gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 1497mgPotassium: 1187mgFiber: 6gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 7594IUVitamin C: 63mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 3mg
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
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