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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
- Prep Time
- 4 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Total Time
- 29 minutes
- Course
- Main Course
- Cuisine
- Chicken
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 327
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
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.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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James says
Made this with legs instead of thighs. Sprayed the chicken with cooking oil spray. Turned legs with 10 minutes left, but I don’t know if it was necessary, it seemed to be cooking evenly Came out amazing.
Terri says
Did you have to use any oil
Reign says
I bought an Air fryer but it is the Nu Vue version. I fried potato wedges in it last night, The recipe said to soak potatoes in water for 30 minutes which I did but it took a long time for the potatoes’ to get done. I don’t think I had to many in the fryer, its a 6 Liter fryer, the potatoes was hard it time I checked after the initial 25 min which the recipe booklet called for. Once the potatoes were done they were hard and dry. Can anyone tell me what happened?
Gerry says
After you soaked the fries did you dry them? The soak is to get starch out of the fries then you use paper towels or a real bar towel to take the excess water out of the popatoes
lorelei smith says
What about pork chops?
Iris Torres says
Mine came our delicious..They were not dry and they were crispy ..
Jane says
I don’t lke the looks of that crust. Is there a good batter recipe for chicken batter that would give a nice thick crust?
Sharon says
I coated the chicken tenderloins with mayonnaise then rolled them in Italian bread crumbs. Cooked @390 degrees for 20 minutes. Picture perfect. Moist and yummy!
Richard Stellar says
Followed it to the letter but added a quarter teaspoon of garlic salt to the teaspoon it calls for, No need to do that, The recipe is perfect as is. Turn the chicken once during the process. Keep the basket under-loaded. Perfect, and much better than the version that calls for soaking the chicken in butter milk.
Robin says
Be sure to spray your chicken with oil prior to cooking in fryer to get breading crispy.
Jane says
When you say to put the chicken at the bottom of the pan, do you mean…don’t put the chicken in the basket, but in the pan below? I put mine in the basket and had to turn it midway thru the time as the bottom was not crisping/cooking at all.
Thanks for the recipe!
Christine says
Did this recipe exactly as directed and it was amazing! I bought the airfryer because my father-in-law likes fried chicken but cannot have the fat. He was so happy.
SHEILA BLAIR says
First time using my airfryer can I use will breadcrumbs be better as a batter than flour
valerie says
I preheated my air fryer, soaked the chicken in buttermilk, dipped in egg, then flour mixture. I added it to the preheated basket at 390…checked at 12 minutes and the flour still looked like flour except for burnt tips. I thought maybe it needed to cook more so when the timer went off, it looked pretty much the same. I cut a piece open and it was cooked but it just looked bad. I ended up scraping all the batter off and doused in bbq sauce to salvage the chicken. Any thoughts on what went wrong?
Elka says
You need to spray the coated chicken with olive oil. Get a spritzer or can of extra virgin olive oil. Make sure that the type you buy doesn’t have propellants or other additives. This will ensure that your chicken gets crispy.
Karlynn Johnston says
I don;t have soaking the chicken in buttermilk in the recipe, so that’s probably why it didn’t turn out .
wert says
Old Bay Cajun Seasoning? It’s from Chesapeake Bay. Not exactly Cajun country.
Karlynn Johnston says
It’s the literal name on the container of Old Bay, they call it their Cajun Blend.
John Storm says
I made this and it was fantastic. I cut up a whole chicken and made the whole thing in 2 batches. I took the advice of the other comments and lowered the temperature of my air fryer to 330 F after the initial preheat. I also sprayed the fryer basket and the chicken with cooking spray to help prevent sticking (it didn’t stick at all). The chicken was perfectly cooked to a golden brown and looked like something out of a magazine. I took a picture of the 2nd batch — my family devoured the first batch before I could grab my camera! This will now be my go to recipe for “fried” chicken.
Picture of my chicken: https://photos.app.goo.gl/oKxwj8XYy8v6zJQi1
Karlynn Johnston says
That looks AMAZING!!!! Thanks for sharing!!! I am so glad you love the recipe!
Jeff says
Chicken theigh bloody near bone Burnt on crust will try lower temperature over longer period of time
Amy says
Do you use boneless or bone-in thighs for this recipe? Thanks!!
April says
Five stars,btw, and I love your recipes AND stories!
SHANNON says
Can’t wait to try this but could go without life story
April says
You want free recipes from her website that she tests so that you don’t screw up, you can deal with some stories! Honestly, haven’t you ever read a blog?
Cindy says
Seriously!? I like reading comments to see how people like the recipes, but could do without the snarky ones. How about that, Shannon?
Steven says
Shannon, then don’t read her life story. Simple as that. Move along
CarolynM says
Rude!
Dorothy J Show says
I haven’t made this yet, have to get the old Bay, will make it soon.
P Combs says
Help! What am I doing wrong? I am a proficient chef but I have made this recipe twice and both time they came out covered with flour. Not yummy and golden brown at all. Very frustrated. Not your recipe, something else must be wrong.
Karlynn Johnston says
Hmmmm. Try brushing it with egg at the end, right before? Your flour is sticking a LOT, which is good, but you don’t want it too stuck!
Wendy says
Mine chicken breast came out covered with flour also. Did you ever figure out why?
Sonya says
Make sure you lightly cover all of breast with cooking spray. Wherever it isn’t covered will have that floured effect.
Alexis Evans says
I sprayed the basket and rack but the coating came completely off the chicken. It tasted good but was a mess.
How can I make it look like yours?
Angie Thurman says
Let the chicken sit for a little while before airfryer
Maxine says
Yes, refrigerate them to get the layers to stick!
Jeff says
Same thing happened to me
Sudhir says
Any model for commercial use in restaurants?
Jadi Penyebab says
What if we cooked this for around 30 mins? I’d like to trying this recipe! Thanks btw
Squiddy says
You can actually fit more than three or four chicken thighs in the basket by slightly overlapping them or even sitting them end-on. Because the airfryer powerfully circulates the heated air, it doesn’t matter if the food overlaps a bit, you just have to then move the pieces around once or twice to let the heated air get to the covered bits. I’ve found that once the outside gets crisped, it doesn’t matter how the food is stacked – you don’t have to faff around with placing it correctly because the hot air will cook it evenly. When I cook chicken wings in my airfryer I just dump the whole lot in the basket until it’s almost full and I shake the basket around once or twice during cooking.
In a regular oven you can’t crowd food because the heat doesn’t penetrate but the airfryer cooks much more efficiently. For example, to cook chips (frozen or homemade), you don’t have to have them in a single layer like oven chips, you just pile them all in as if you were deep-frying them.
SeniorKiwiGirl says
You sound like a girl after my own heart. Housework is sooo last century – cooking is much more fun. Your chicken recipe above sounds divine. Going to try it tonight. I’ve had my Philips air fryer since Christmas and already used it to cook chips, crumbed schnitzel, sausages, grilled tomatoes, bacon, fried bread, home made rissoles, home made chicken nuggets, home made burger patties – the list keeps on getting bigger. But I just love it!!!
SeniorKiwiGirl says
Came out perfect! Thank you.
Sandy Soresi says
I would love to have your Fried Bread recipe if at al possible.
For some reason my Air Fryer didn’t come with a Instruction book. I am relying on you sweet people who share.
Kathy says
If love to have your recipes!! They all sound great!!!
jjeanot says
thanks for the recipe but I can’t find what temp to cook it at or if you had to preheat it?
SeniorKiwiGirl says
jjeanot Line 1″of the instructions says “Preheat the Airfryer to 390 degrees
nicolthepickle says
This looks wonderful. I’ve been wanting an air fryer for a while. But my family is bigger and at 25 minutes per batch that wouldn’t be that suitable.
Fireteammom says
My family is large. I receied the smaller one for Christmas and really appreciate having it, now I am buying the Proair extra large one for my larger cooking needs.
marzuput says
< > Welcome to The Kitchen Magpie! While I’d love to be a professional bourbon blogger (is that a thing?),
………..https://tinyurl.com/z5m5hl3
Jane Falzone says
Aww, you were in NJ and never stopped in to say hey….next time
Jane Falzone says
I recently got one and haven’t tried it yet. I will be tomorrow night. Making chicken wings and ribs.
Lori Brash Jansen says
I just received my second larger one yesterday. I love these things. Could not get family to stop deep frying so I thought I would try one is these..well….I think I can now throw out the disgusting deep fryer. Family loves it. So do I! No more greasy mess.
Deb Lundberg McLean says
I just got one and I’m not too sure about it yet.
Fireteammom says
Jump in and make fries, tatertots, or chickenuggets. You should find yourself wondering how you lived this long without it. I have only had mine for three weeks, I took it with me recently on vacation. I csnnot wait to use it in my RV.