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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
This recipe is perfect for those days when you’re craving the crunch of fried chicken without the grease. Made in your air fryer, it’s also incredibly easy to clean up afterward.
You’ll love this crispy-skinned air fryer chicken, it’s incredibly satisfying and the recipe is super simple! Why not also try this Air Fryer Fish recipe? Or, for something totally different, try some Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs.
Reader Review
This recipe is just the easiest, quickest and best fried chicken recipe ever! So much flavor from so few ingredients. Comes out juicy and with a nice crust! You’ll never go back to KFC once you make this! Thanks Karlyn! Go Oilers!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is an easy recipe.
- Total Time: This chicken will take approximately 25-30 minutes to make, depending on the exact thickness of your chicken.
- Variations: Play with the seasoning levels to make the coating more or less spicy. Try replacing part of the flour with cornstarch for a lighter taste, or mix in some breadcrumbs for extra crunch. Make a batch of Baba Ganoush to use as dip, and set out a platter of veggies or some Biscuits and Gravy to round out the meal.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need two medium bowls, a whisk, an air fryer, a large plate, some tongs, cooking spray, and a food thermometer.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Chicken: This recipe is optimized for chicken thighs but you can use it for any cut of chicken. You’ll need to adjust your cooking time accordingly. Boneless pieces will take significantly less time, while large pieces with bones will take longer. Skin or no skin is entirely up to you. Make sure to keep an eye on the chicken as you cook it, since specific times can vary significantly.
Coating: The coating for this chicken is a simple blend of flour and seasoning. All purpose or whole wheat flour are both fine. This recipe calls for Old Bay Seasoning in particular. If you don’t enjoy those flavours, or can’t find any in stores, feel free to use whatever seasonings you enjoy best on chicken. You can even try making your own Homemade Cajun Seasoning or Chicken Seasoning to use instead.
How to Make Air Fryer Fried Chicken
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat air fryer to 390°F and spray the basket with cooking oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, beat the eggs. Set aside.
- Dredge chicken thighs though the dry mixture, shaking off the excess, and then dip into the egg. Let excess egg drip off and then dredge in the flour mixture a second time.
- Spray the tops of the chicken thighs with cooking oil and then place them into the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 15 minutes and then turn the pieces over.
- Cook for 8-10 more minutes, or until chicken reaches the internal temperature of 185°F.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Perfect Companions: This tasty fried chicken will pair well with many different side dishes. Try serving it with a Classic German Potato Salad or this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad. Serve it with some Air Fryer French Fries or change it up and make some Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries instead. Or simply make your favourite mashed potatoes and gravy. There are so many wonderful options.
Other Cuts of Chicken: If you are using boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, you only need to cook them to an internal temperature of 165°F. The same applies to other boneless pieces, such as boneless skinless chicken thighs. Thinner cuts like chicken tenders will need significantly less cooking time, while drumsticks would likely take nearly as much time as bone-in thighs. As always, exact cooking times will vary based on the size of the pieces you are cooking.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: Once the fried chicken is fully cooled, you can store it in a sealed container in the fridge for 2-3 days. You may want to add a piece of paper towel to the container to help absorb extra moisture and keep the chicken from getting soggy. reheat in the air fryer for a few minutes to get it crispy again.
Freezer: For the sake of easier defrosting and reheating, spread this chicken out on a platter or plate and freeze it until solid. Then, put the leftover chicken in a freeze safe container and freeze it for 3-4 months. Reheat in an oven or air fryer.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
Looking for more easy dishes to make with chicken?
Try this amazing Butter Roasted Chicken.
Or if you’re craving that classic flavour combination of lemon and rosemary, make some Better-Than-A-Restaurant Rosemary Lemon Butter Chicken.
For a full meal, check out Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Potatoes.
Slow Cooker Chicken Stew is another great, one pot meal.
There you go, everyone. Another fabulous way to make use of your air fryer. Try this recipe and let me know what you think.
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, well beaten
- 4 large chicken thighs, skin on
- 1 ½ tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon seasoning salt
- neutral cooking oil, avocado, canola, vegetable
Instructions
- Pre-heat your air fryer to 390°F. Spray the interior basket lightly with the cooking oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, seasoning salt, and Old Bay seasoning.
- Dredge a chicken thigh through the flour mixture until well coated. Shake off any excess, then dredge the chicken thigh in the egg mixture, coating completely. Return the chicken thigh to the flour mixture and dredge it again until completely coated. Shake off any large excess of flour.
- Place the chicken thigh on a plate, then repeat the process with the other three thighs.
- Once done, spray the tops of the chicken thighs with cooking oil until they are evenly coated to prevent any dry spots of flour.
- Place the chicken thighs in the basket, skin side down (top side down), leaving enough room between them for air to circulate. Spray the bottom of the chicken thighs with the cooking spray.
- Cook the chicken for 15 minutes, then open it and with a pair of tongs. Turn each piece of chicken over. If desired, you can spray the top again with cooking oil for extra crispness. Continue cooking the thighs for another 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is 185°F when tested with a meat thermometer.
- Remove to a platter and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Dee says
Just got a small air fryer and have no clue what to do. I would appreciate some receips
Debi says
Make this one. It is awesome.
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.
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.