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This Air Fryer Chicken recipe has had rave reviews from readers for years upon years now- and for good reason! This fried chicken uses no oil and has a crispy, delicious skin over tender chicken meat that your whole family will love!
You’ll love this crispy-skinned air fryer chicken, it’s incredibly satisfying and the recipe is super simple! Don’t forget to also try my air fryer fish recipe or for something totally different, my air fryer eggs!
How to Make Crispy Air Fryer Chicken
This recipe has a coating on the chicken that makes the skin crispy and perfect!
- Preheat your air fryer to 390 degrees.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and the Old Bay.
- Dredge the chicken through the flour mixture, then into the egg, then back into the flour mixture again. Shake off excess flour very well.
- Place the four chicken thighs into the bottom of the cooking compartment. Cook for 25 minutes or until the chicken reaches 180 degrees.
- Remove and serve.
Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
Cooking chicken breasts in the fryer is just as easy as cooking any other pieces, except that chicken breasts can dry out faster. It’s better to use a batter, like my recipe, to seal in the moisture. If you use skin off, you can be prepared for dryer chicken, so if you don’t want to eat the skin, simply cook the chicken breast with the skin on and then remove it before eating.
- Prepare the skin-on chicken breasts in the batter according to the recipe
- Depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts, cook them in the Air Fryer for 25 minutes.
- If you have large ones, they will take longer.
- Chicken breasts should be cooked until 165 °F.
How Long Do I Cook Air Fryer Chicken?
These chicken thighs were done in 25 minutes, but the time depends on the thickness of the meat, whether you use skin on or skin off, and what cut of chicken you use.
- Chicken thighs – cook chicken thighs in the Air Fryer for 25-28 minutes until they reach a temperature of 180-185°F. While you can cook them to 165 °F for safety’s sake, it’s a widely accepted knowledge among professional cooks that cooking chicken thighs to a higher temperature breaks down the meat fibers more, and you end up with more tender chicken thighs.
- Chicken breasts– cook chicken breast in the Air Fryer for 25 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken breasts are. If you have large ones, they will take longer. Chicken breasts should be cooked until 165 °F.
- Chicken tenders – Chicken tenders in the Air Fryer will take only 15-16 minutes to cook, depending on their thickness.
The Air fryer cooks your food by circulating hot air around it evenly, which means that for the cooking to happen properly, all the surfaces of your food need to be exposed to the hot air. I made three chicken thighs in the air fryer, and they were perfectly crispy.
Look at how crispy that skin came out! My son devoured these – as 12-year-olds are wont to do – and asked for more! So, while I would only place four small chicken thighs in the air fryer, this would also work with chicken wings!
The air fryer can only handle a certain capacity—see the manual—so it makes only a small meal for two people. You can stack the chicken on its side if you want; just make sure that there is lots of surface area to cook on.
What I loved about this air fryer chicken is that I used no grease. None. I put the chicken in there, and it cooked up beautifully without adding grease.
The container itself is SO easy to clean. As you can see, you can fit another chicken thigh or a random piece of chicken in there, but you want to make sure that you follow the instructions regarding the amount of meat that you can place in there. You simply place the food into this little basket, and away you go! It’s so easy!
Tips and Tricks
- Some readers put a small bit of water in the bottom of their Air Fryer to prevent smoking; you can try this at your own risk! Apparently, putting a little water in the container under the basket can keep the grease from the food from causing smoke.
- Other readers have sprayed the chicken with cooking spray with good results, but I don’t usually bother as the chicken skin has enough grease in it
- If you are getting floury skin, then definitely use the cooking spray on the chicken. That means the flour isn’t absorbing into your egg layer and you didn’t have enough moisture.
Here are some More Recipes for You to Try:
- Butter Roasted Chicken – The Only Roast Chicken Recipe You’ll Ever Need Again.
- Better-Than-A-Restaurant Rosemary Lemon Butter Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
- How To Make Homemade Cajun Seasoning
- Baba Ganoush
This recipe uses one of my favorite seasonings in the world: Old Bay Seasoning. It’s a very East Coast spice mix ( I was SO happy to have it in New Jersey when we visited), but this Alberta girl has been using it for years already. Mike and I will simply sprinkle Old Bay onto our chicken drumsticks and roast them thusly, with nothing else on them. You could also easily do the same with the chicken drumsticks in the Airfryer if you want a gluten-free option!
So, who has an air fryer, and what do you think about it? Who has wanted to try an air fryer like I have? Stay tuned for two more posts where I delve into this appliance and really try it out!
Love you more than chocolate,
Karlynn
Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 4 small chicken thighs skin on
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- cooking spray if desired
Instructions
- Pre-heat the Air Fryer to 390 degrees.
- Whisk together the flour, salt and the Old Bay.
- Dredge the chicken through the flour mixture, then into the egg, then back into the flour mixture again. Shake off excess flour very well. If you want to, you can spray the chicken with cooking spray lightly at this point, but I don’t bother.
- Place the 4 chicken thighs into the bottom of the AirFryer cooking compartment. Cook for 25 minutes or until the chicken reaches 180 degrees.
- Remove and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Micah Stupak says
I have no idea why this recipe is so highly rated: the flour-egg-flour technique is a disaster. It works *very* well for frying chicken traditionally, but here, the flour and egg dehydrate under the chicken on the basket, forming a dried out hard crust that actually drips through the holes and makes a nice seal. Egg + flour makes a fine glue when dried out. So much so that it even holds onto the chicken as you try to scrape it off the bottom of the basket. The egg can be skipped here. Don’t use a protein: I’ve done chicken before with breading using oil mixed with mustard or BBQ sauce or even hot sauce as the middle layer.
jen says
I agree. this was the worst. made a total MESS
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Sorry it didn’t work out for you. Next time be sure to follow the instructions to ensure a successful end result.
Giovani says
I agree. Just made it and it was a disaster.
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
It has a high rating because people like it. If you don’t like how it’s done that’s fine but rating a recipe because you disagree with the method is not appropriate – the recipe works well as is without tweaks. If you have tweaks you’d like to make that you think are better, by all means publish your own recipe for people to enjoy. Thanks.
Jennifer Gordon says
Delicious! The whole family loved it!
Jared Fofonoff says
The BEST chicken I have made in my air fryer yet. So simple, and delicious. I used bone in with skin, and didn’t use a drop of oil. Came out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Fantastic,
Amy says
I have cooked whole chickens, chicken leg quarters, sweet potato fries, whole sweet potatoes, donuts. All really good. So happy with my air fryer.
Leni says
I used regular seasonings in the flour, and they turned out awesome!! Thank you!
Erika says
My new Air Fryer only goes to 200C so at total 30 minutes it works great this recipe.
Renee says
First time I’ve done chicken, well something other than French fries, in my air fryer. This was really good! Nice crunch on outside and still really moist inside. Hubby loved it! I can’t seem to make fried, fried chicken so this is great! Thanks no more take out!
Dave says
Tried chicken tenders. Don’t, this recipe sucks for that
AC says
This turned out tender and juicy chicken thighs
Sue Marie says
Move over Popeye’s and KFC. This one is juicier and the skin is just as good. I modified the recipe by eliminating the salt because someone posted it was too much. I subbed 1 TBSP of Adobo seasoning for the 1 1/2 TBSP of Old Bay. I used drumsticks instead of thighs because I couldn’t wait to try this recipe . lol I cut the time down to 20 mins. (like I found for other drumstick recipes) and it was perfect. Now on my list of FAVS. Thanks for sharing!
Sue Marie says
I’m new to air frying and have an Instant Pot Vortex Plus Oven. When people complain of recipes with alot of grease, smoking,… tips to stop this is to put a slice of bread in the bottom drip tray to absorb most of the grease. I have no idea if this can be done in the type of fryer you are using. If so, it’s worth a try! Thanks for sharing your recipe. Sounds amazing. That will be my next chicken dish to try.
Meg Nunez says
My hubby loves my southern fried foods but we both hate the fat that comes with it. This was perfect! A little salty for me as I don’t eat much salt anymore but hubby loved it. Old Bay is fantastic and the chicken was crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside. I’ve been cooking for 40 years and it’s great to be able to make my old southern favorites more healthy.
Maggie says
Thank you for this yummy recipe Karlynn! This was the first meal I made in my air fryer and it was delicious! I did use skinless and boneless thighs because that’s what I had on hand. The chicken was not dry at all!
crackerssouth says
First time I made this, I used cornmeal, not a big crowd pleaser . Tonight I made it with breadcrumbs and everyone raved about it. Other that that I used the recipe to a “T”. BTW, I cooked the chicken in an air fryer, 390F for 10 min., perfect. My wife and daughter loved it. This is a keeper.. Thanks.
Toroso Restaurant says
I always love a recipe I can recreate. Definitely pinning this!
Judith Fertig says
I Just made this today and it turned out soo great! Thanks for sharing this guide!
Judith Fertig
Mary@lasesana says
I haven’t got any air fryer but I tried some dishes make by this machine at my friend’s house, she bought it and use to cook fried dishes for her family that’s very good choice for reducing fat. I think I should buy one and try your recipe.
Olive says
I recently got a Philips Air Fryer as a hand-me-down from my Sister-In-Law. She’s always buying the next new thing and then never using them. Anyway, this was the first recipe I tried with an Air Fryer and it worked out wonderful. My kids want me to do the bacon they saw on your site!
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Awesome, thanks for sharing.
Crystal Jones says
What can I do about not using
Oil spray. All I have is vegetable oil
Daily4ever says
Made this for the first time the air fired chicken with from ticks and thighs
The chicken skin was crispy and the meat moist. My wife won’t each drumstick except she wanted more! Thanks, great suggestions above on how to add spice to the recipe.
Amy Ross says
Used my air fryer because my kids wanted “fried chicken”. They LOVED this recipe and SO easy. This is definitely going into rotation. Thanks!
Cristina McBeath says
Used different spices. Too much sodium
Linda says
Can they be cooked without anything on them except the spray?
Thanks Linda
.
Viola Brooks says
I would at least put pepper on the chicken…and like wings you could put cornstarch in a bag, add chicken . Spray with olive or canola oil.
Robert Alexander says
The recipe never did specify skin or skinless
Shannon says
Clearly saids skin on.
Christine says
The chicken turned out amazing!!! It was moist and crispy and so easy to prepare! My husband loved it!
Vicki Wetzel says
How do you use the probe??
Susie says
Getting ready for first time using my air fryer. My husband got boneless no skin thighs. I wanted skin but oh well. Do
I need to use the cooking spray?
Pat McEntee says
Spray is optional. I usually use it though with vegies.
For things like steak fries, Brussels sprouts, and onion rings, I mix my seasoning in a small amount of olive oil and then hand toss the food in a large bowl, then in the breading.
For breaded pork cutlets I use an egg wash, flour, and bread crumbs then let the air fryer brown them as is.
Try it until you find what works for you. Oil won’t brown the food; that comes from the food caramelizing.
Helen says
Thank you for posting this recipe. I just purchased an Airfryer a couple weeks ago. I don’t have many recipes and am just learning. My chicken turned out tasty and moist.
Annie says
So this was literally the best air fryer recipe for this southern girl because it’s was fried chicken in the air fryer! Mine was so good, thank you thank you ?? Make sure to give it a spray if it’s very floury and it turns out amazing.
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Glad you liked it!
Marsha says
This is a great recipe. All I had the first time we’re skinless thighs. They worked out perfect!
No need for skin but I am sure it’s great with skin on thighs. At the end of cooking (last 6 min )if chicken lookes like flour, spray no stick cooking spray to dampened the flour and continue cooking.
Excellent recipe.
National Restaurant says
Just made this today and it turned out soo good!
Cassie Konkle says
This was my first time ever making fried chicken in the air fryer. I was using large chicken thighs, so I was only able to fit 2 in the air fryer. So mine took about 30 minutes to cook completely. I was pleasantly surprised with how the skin came out. It tasted like extra crispy fried chicken. And the meat itself was still very juicy. However, I do think that while the skin was very tasty, the flavor didn’t really penetrate into the meat very well. So the meat itself was a little bland. I think if I were to make this again, I would brine the chicken or at the very least put some sort of dry rub on it and let it sit overnight to get a little extra flavor into the meat itself.
rosetta mitchell says
I’ve had my air fryer for about a year and love love love mine. Steaks are great in the fryer, just season and put in fryer and turn half way through. They are great and moist too. Just be sure you put a little water in the bottom of fryer. This will cut out smoke and help keep them moist. I would buy another one if mine tore up tomorrow.
N Ben says
Just received a Gourmia air fryer. Instructions and recipes don’t say when to use the crisper. Does all food just go into the basket, or should I always use the crisper?
CJ says
I received a Gourmia for Christmas. I have done chicken wings, coconut shrimp and preparing Chicken thighs now. I just put them inside, have not used any of the accessories.