This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy for additional information.
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.
Nadine says
two thumbs up from my husband. I didn’t have old bay spice first time I’ve heard of it, will have to get some. Instead I used 1/2tbs of Montreal Chicken Seasoning and 1tbs of Clubhouse Garlic and Herbs. Had skinless boneless chicken thighs cooked for 27mins at 390 flipped chicken 3 times. Chicken was perfectly cooked tender and juicy. Thank you, first time trying fried chicken in the air fryer. As husband said this is now added to one of my go to meals. Went great with Thanksgiving dinner left overs.
Jeff says
Never heard of old bay? You call yourself a cook? Maybe not.
Lauren says
Seriously?! It’s a super popular seasoning, especially on the east coast. Just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean this person can’t cook!? get a group dude and deal with your own crap instead of being an online bully.
Marlene M Graham says
Old Bay is also popular in the South, but don’t be rude to someone that lives in an area where it is not sold.
Sandy says
How rude, and ignorant. Not everyone lives in your little world. It is really only popular in the south, I know many of you think the world revolves around you but it so much does not.
South sucks and their food sucks. Southern food= overcooked on outside, raw in the inside, sugar coated everything, turning baked beans into candy, grits – oh boy just what I wanted to eat, sand, I think salt and sugar are the only “spices”, oh yum – fried snot – okra. Old Bay sucks. If you use it, you cannot cook without someone holding your hand how to spice things up. Sheep. Funny coming from the most uncultured group – southerners.
Also, she never claimed she could cook.
Debra says
I thought we were merely talking about a recipe here. Did the Old Bay hater even try the recipe? However, congratulations, you did manage to express the ugliest comments. Do you get paid to be a troll? Or, maybe you just needed to go off on a righteous rant, show your culinary ignorance and be the biggest bully.
On a more important note, this recipe is an absolute winner!
Have a sun-shiny day y’all!
Denise Allison says
Followed the recipe to the letter, but for some reason my chicken came out still covered in flour. Not a lot, but enough to where we felt weird about the chicken. Ended up tossing it & just frying chicken the old fashioned way. I’ll try again another time, maybe using less flour
Mary says
Wow, talk about the pot calling the kettle black…Who is the rude one here Sandy?? Why would you come on here and attempt to belittle at least 30% of the country?? I guess you think all we eat in the South is fried chicken, okra, and grits..? That would be like Southerners assuming that all Northerners/New Yorkers just eat hot dogs from carts, pizza, and grinders. How small-minded you are in YOUR little world. Not all Southerners are “ignorant”, by the way, quite far from it. Maybe the person that cooked you some Southern food wasn’t very good at it?? Additionally, we have plenty of culture in the South, thank you very much. Have you ever been to Asheville (nick-named the Paris of the South), Raleigh, Atlanta, New Orleans, Charleston, etc?? LOTS of museums, Broadway shows, fine dining establishments galore, etc. Just FYI, Old Bay is not just for Southern cooks. Having lived all over the country, I can confidently say that plenty of Northerners & people in the western states use it as well. Try being a little more open-minded. Bless your heart.
michael small says
wow….a bunch of crybaby ignorant adolescents,,,grow the hell up and act your age and not your shoe size….punks.
Mary says
Wow, talk about the pot calling the kettle black…Who is the rude one here Sandy?? Why would you come on here and attempt to belittle at least 30% of the country?? I guess you think all we eat in the South is fried chicken, okra, and grits..? That would be like Southerners assuming that all Northerners/New Yorkers just eat hot dogs from carts, pizza, and grinders. How small-minded you are in YOUR little world. Not all Southerners are “ignorant”, by the way, quite far from it. Maybe the person that cooked you some Southern food wasn’t very good at it?? Additionally, we have plenty of culture in the South, thank you very much. Have you ever been to Asheville (nick-named the Paris of the South), Raleigh, Atlanta, New Orleans, Charleston, etc?? LOTS of museums, Broadway shows, fine dining establishments galore, etc. Just FYI, Old Bay is not just for Southern cooks. Having lived all over the country, I can confidently say that plenty of Northerners & people in the western states use it as well. Try being a little more open-minded. Bless your heart.
Susan says
Thank you for your reply to Sandy, with the proper restraint and logic. Nice touch, “bless your heart”!
Sherry says
I think you won the on line bully contest. Now being a born and raised Southerner myself I take offense in your post. You need to expand your tastebuds I think. You’re missing out.
Norma says
Sandy, the last time I checked, I95 still runs North and South. Please don’t hesitate to use only the northbound lanes. Love,
Your Southern Friends and Neighbors
Mona Copeland says
If you don’t like Southerners or the south, don’t come down here! Funny, you’re the only one I’ve ever heard say that. Most people love southern cooking. You’re sad.
Shelly says
Lol old bay is popular in the north too…for seafood….sounds like you’re probably an ignorant little sh*t.
Rachel says
Who hurt you?
Robert says
There’s a new thing called internet ….if you don’t have..you can go out of the trailer park an go to any McDonald for free Wi-Fi
Valerie Erickson says
My fryer has the rotisserie and basket. I find no recipes for the basket. Am not sure wheather to put the chicken in that or just on a
wire rack?
Sue S says
Whoa…INCREDIBLE!!! I love this recipe. (followed it to the “T”) You are one very talented fellow Albertan. You recipes are awesome…some old, some new…you never dissapoint.! Proud to have you in our province!
Thanks so much for all you do.
Iso says
To be completely honest, I had some reservations about using Old Bay and the entire process, but this was by far the best and simplest air-fried chicken I have ever prepared.
I prepared both bone-in and boneless thighs using your recipe because I couldn’t decide which I preferred. When the boneless thigh reached the desired temperature, I simply pulled it. They were both excellent, and I will definitely make this dish again and again.
Marybeth Binkley says
Perfect Fried Chicken. Satisfied my craving. Very moist!
smitty says
hi there , what can u sub the old bay for, any insight . thanks
Lori says
This was gross!! I followed the recipe, sprayed the basket and chicken and omg… Not sure what other people are eating that this rated 5 stars but as far as we go, no stars. It wasn’t the Old Bay. I put that on just about everything including my bloody Mary’s.
Sue Switenki says
I made this recipe last night for dinner and my husband said it was the best fried chicken he ever had!! He asked me not to try any other recipe. I followed exactly as written. The smell while frying made our mouths water. 😅. As a side note, had a bit leftover and was excellent cold too!!! THANK YOU! This will be a regular in our house
Kelela says
This was soo good!
Jane D. says
I was fine with the coating. Used thighs and left them in a little longer to make sure all was crispy. The issue is, to me anyway, Od Bay is a seafood seasoning The whole time I was eating the chicken I was wanting peel n’ eat shrimp!
Jess says
A little salty, not exactly crispy but not floury like some said. My kids enjoyed it but it wasn’t for me…I think I just prefer old bay on my seafood. Thanks!
JulieAnna says
Did NOT work. The breading was mushy inside and it was visually still floury. Followed directions to the exact.
Tim says
Loved the recipe. Easy and delicious. I was feeding my sourdough starter that morning, I didn’t want to throw out the portion so the starter I removed from my jar, I used in the place of the egg. I threw in a little bit of flour and water into the removed portion of starter, put it in the oven under the oven light to activate it for a couple hours, then thinned it down to a cream consistency. Came out nice, crusty and bubbly. I’ll be doing this again. Thanks Karlynn. Keep up the good work.
Donna Gant says
This is the very first thing I made in my Air Fryer. This is also the ONLY recipe I will use. The chicken skin is crispy and the meat is moist and tender. My husband LOVES this!
Karlynn Johnston says
Hi Donna, I am so glad that you love this chicken!
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Me too!
Tammi Grubb says
Hello! I just made this and it tasted fantastic but my air fryer didn’t cook all flour so it was pretty dusty even after shaking off all the extra flour. It’s probably used error 😂 but does anyone have tips on how to get all the flour to crisp up?
MamaB says
Did you spray the chicken thighs with anything? We did a few sprays of olive oil on each and it crisped perfectly! You may also have too much flour so try to shake off any excess before cooking.
John Gomes says
It’s a good idea to let the chicken sit for about 15 to 20 minutes after you coat it before frying.
lol no says
Recipe should really emphasize that it’s necessary to spray the frying basket. So much of the coating got stuck. And the 25 minute cook time is laughably low. My chicken was still running red. 40 at LEAST.
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Most air fryer baskets are non-stick, as is ours, so no, spraying the frying basket isn’t necessary in most cases. If your chicken was running red, you are using a pretty bad air fryer as we’ve made this numerous times (as have others) with no issues.
Andrea says
Omg! I had some reservations reading the reviews but WOW this was just delish – we have a small air fryer so I only added 3 pieces and upped the temp to 400. So delish and crispy – thank you for posting!
Karlynn Johnston says
Glad you liked it! Yes, you need a WORKING air fryer ( there are bad quality ones for sure!) and follow the recipe and tips, and it turns out great!
Mia Pia says
I had this same issue and blew off this recipe and many others until I stayed at an Airbnb with a new air fryer. I bought a new one after using that one and it 100 percent was the problem to why a lot of 5 star recipes weren’t working like they were for others.
Jessica says
Have you tried this with chicken breasts? If so, are there any adjustments?
Tony Harvey says
Dear Karlynn, I’ve been getting to grips with my ‘Gourmia’ air fryer and tried this chicken recipe, which was a real success… many thanks. Might I just add the usual plea that US recipe sites not quote only in American units? A massive 96% of potential worldwide web users (like me in the UK) live outside the USA and don’t use them, but we all share this internet. Imagine how many millions would benefit if those sites could just add gram and litre/liter equivalents alongside US lbs/oz/pints, and quote temperatures in both °C and °F.
Lois Demers says
We did 2 chicken breasts, each cut in half, with this recipe. Our air fryer was a 1-2 person (which really means 1) and so there were spots where the chicken pieces were touching that didn’t get as crispy. Not the recipe’s fault, the crispy parts were so good we went out and bought a bigger air fryer! Who knew Old Bay was for anything other than seafood! Having it with thighs tonight!
Clara says
My husband craved fried chicken but it was too caloric until we got an air fryer. This is the best recipe yet! Crispy, well seasoned, and yet still juicy. It was so good I’m making it again tonight. I dredged the thighs in the flour mixture both under and over the skin for extra flavor. I didn’t have Old Bay spice so I made my own; it worked well. This morning I bought Old Bay to see if it makes a difference.
This recipe is not only a keeper, it’s one to share.
Steve says
The recipe looks good from what I can tell but there are so many pop ups I went to the next page. Very annoying.
Lois Demers says
Just click on the ‘jump to recipe’ button.
Rjones says
A pop up ad won’t even let me finish looking without submitting my email. No thank you. Who has time for that?
Roland Fernandez says
Depending on he age of your air fryer, the non-stick coating may be getting a littler tired. It always helps to spray the basket and chicken with some PAM.
I supplemented the Old Bay and Lawrys with a little garlic power, onion power and smoked paprika. Trust me, with all the flour you will need some additional flavor.
This is a go-to recipe now and the thighs are crispy, juciy and full of flavor!
Carol says
I’ve made this recipe a few times now using thighs and it’s in my lineup of quick and easy dinners that my family eats up. If I wanted to make it with drumsticks, would I keep the temperature and just change the time it takes to cook?
Linda Van Dyken says
I have tried this recipe 2x – first I cooked as instructed and chicken was burnt and dried out. The second time I reduced heat to 360 degrees and cooked for 20 min. Much better. Chicken is fully cooked at 165 internal temp. Not sure why you suggested180 degrees. Seasoning is great. Five stars at lower temp and time.
Frank says
Did this your way and it was excellent. I’m finished looking for other ways to do it will definitely try your fish recipe.
Karlynn, very cool name. And I had so much fun reading your description. There is absolutely no way I would have said you were Canadian. Lol I was thinking more North Carolina or Tennessee. I’m from Ohio.
Anyway, excellent recipe!
Becca Sadler says
I have to say that this is quite good. I do highly recommend spritzing the fryer and the chicken with some oil. It helps it from sticking to the pan as well as the chicken being too floury. Very tender and moist.
Jessica says
This was so easy and delicious! I am not much of a cook, but you wouldn’t know from this dish! I made it with bone-in, skin on chicken thighs and prepared it just as stated in the recipe. This will definitely be a regular around here. I bought some Old Bay seasoning just for this recipe, and it gives a nice heat, but not too much for this girl who can’t handle spicy food. Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Carol Armstrong says
I can’t believe how easy and delicious this chicken was. Making it again tonight. Thank you for the recipe.
Remy'sMom says
All the breading ended up stuck to the bottom of the air fryer basket (I sprayed the chicken and the basket first) and the chicken was pretty dry and stringy. 🙁
Natalie says
My chicken thighs were skinless. They came out pretty flour-y on the outside and a little dry actually. Cooked for 25 min. Next time I’ll sorry with oil and reduce cook time.
Maria T Helberg says
First time doing fried chicken in my air fryer it was delicious 😋
Thanks for the recipe loved it. I did use some Cajun spice in the flour mixture and old bay.
Mary G says
This can be gluten free if you use cassava flour. I found that spraying olive oil is required for a crispier crust while using a smaller air fryer.