Ninja Foodi Pesto Whole Roast Chicken Recipe

You’re not going to find an easier chicken dinner than this Ninja Foodi Pesto Whole Roast Chicken recipe. Made in the pressure cooker, then air crisped to perfection, you’ll be sitting down to a quick dinner in about 45 minutes.

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Pesto Whole Roast Chicken in the Ninja Foodi

Making a roast chicken in the Ninja Foodi is a quick and easy way to get a home cooked meal on the table without any fuss.

With this recipe, I took a whole roast chicken, rubbed it with pesto, lemon, set it in the Foodi.

It was done pressure cooking in 22 minutes, I then air crisped it and let it rest.

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How to Serve Pesto Roasted Chicken

My family and I ate Ninja Foodi roast chicken as a family dinner as a sit down family dinner.

I served it with:

• Leftover roasted potatoes
• Roasted bell peppers
• Bagged salad

It was a quick and easy meal that used leftover potatoes from the night before, a bagged salad, plus some roasted red peppers. It took me no time at all to serve it and I loved how I could repurpose leftovers and make it a whole new meal.

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Whole Roast Chicken for Meal Prep

Another option is to use whole roast chicken for meal prep.

Cook up this lemon pesto whole chicken on a Sunday and use the meat for salads, stir fries, sandwiches, etc.

Then take the bones and make bone broth in the pressure cooker.

You can utilize this one meal and turn it into multiple quick dinners (depending on the size of the chicken).

Ninja Foodi vs Instant Pot

I got into detail about it on the Ninja Foodi vs Instant Pot post.

The difference between a pressure cooker whole chicken recipe and this Ninja Foodi whole chicken recipe is the Ninja Foodi has a built-in air crisper.

The Ninja Foodi is available at most major stores. I bought mine on Amazon.

What this does is it air fries the top of the chicken to brown the skin and crisp it up. It makes the chicken look beautiful.

I personally love my Ninja Foodi so much that I sold my Instant Pot.

If you don’t have a Ninja Foodi and want to make an Instant Pot roast chicken, you can leave the crisping step out but let the chicken rest for 15-20 minutes.

You can also get some awesome Ninja Foodi accesories.

Did you know? The Instant Pot now has an air fryer lid you can buy as an accessory. I haven’t used it, as it’s new but it may be a great option for you if you don’t want to buy a Foodi.

Ingredients Needed:

• Whole chicken
• Lemon
• Jarred pesto (you can use homemade too)
• Garlic
• Red onion
• Chicken broth or water (for the pressure cooker)

How to Prep a Whole Chicken for Roasting

To maximize the flavors of the lemon and pesto, I to do a few simple steps when prepping the chicken.

This applies to whether you’re cooking it in a pressure cooker or roasting it in the oven.

Step 1

Using your fingers separate the chicken skin from the breast. You will have to in a little pressure as sometimes it’s stuck pretty good.

Step 2

Rub the outside of the skin and under the skin with lemon juice from half a lemon.

Step 3

Rub the outside, under the skin, and the cavity with the jarred pesto. You can make it yourself, but I used the Classico brand from the grocery store. Kirkland also has a good one I like.

Step 4

Stuff the cavity of the chicken with 1/4 of a red onion, half a lemon and a clove or two of garlic.

Step 5

Slice the rest of the cloves of garlic and slide them under the side to lay on top of the breast.

How to cook a whole chicken in the Ninja Foodi?

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Cooking a whole chicken in the Ninja Foodi is easy.

• Prep it
• Turn on the Foodi
• Eat

Serve it with this Easy Sourdough Stuffing.

Easy Ninja Foodi recipes for the blog:

• Pot Roast Soup in the Ninja Foodi
• Healthy Turkey Chili in the Ninja Foodi
• How to Make Bone Broth in The Ninja Foodi in 1 Hour
• Healthy Ninja Foodi Chicken Recipes
• Healthy Ninja Foodi Recipes
• Healthy Fall Dinner Ideas Your Whole Family Will Love

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