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.
Theresa says
I made it over 10 times and it’s delicious! I am out of white flour am wondering if I can use whole wheat flour instead?
Karlynn J says
Whole wheat flour has a very earthy flavour that will really affect how it tastes…. I don’t know if I would substitute it to be honest! Maybe try one piece and see how you like it and let me know what you think!
Sophie Spataro says
I made this tonite with chicken tenders ( no skin ) but it came out floury and not brown ( some )
So you have any recommendations?
James Smith says
You didn’t shake off the excess flour. There’s no reason it should come out floury. Flour egg flour and shake off the excess. That’s very important
Bob says
I followed the recipe, but it was to well done. need to cut down on the time
Brit says
Two stars for the crispness. But WAY too salty, these were almost inedible. We love salt and I’m always adding more to my dishes, however this was so salty that everyone was picking off the breading to try and salvage the chicken. Old Bay seasoning’s first ingredient is celery salt, so adding an extra teaspoon of salt was overkill. Not to mention that Old Bay is primarily made up of red and black pepper and so this was super spicy for my kiddos. Won’t be making this again.
Lara Vella Wallbank says
To be fair the recipe asked for seasoning salt, which also has garlic and paprika so replacing it with just salt would be too much.
James Smith says
My personal opinion would be that it’s your own fault for not looking at the ingredients of old bay before using it. My kids love Old Bay. Every chef or even mom or dad who cooks for the family should always look at the ingredients before they cook. Just saying….
Cjd says
If I’m making this for 8 people can I keep it warm in the oven and it will stay crispy?
Sarah Locken says
If you put a slice of bread ripped in half under the grill,it will soak up the grease and not make smoke.
Chris says
Amazing recipe thank you! I put double the salt in accidentally but it was brilliant and will do it on purpose next time!
Sonja Lillie says
I do not have a air fryer so can I make this chicken dish in the oven ?
Betty Jo Harmon says
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!
Bob says
I followed the recipe, but it was to well done. need to cut down on the time
Cindy B says
This recipe was great! The chicken was crispy and juicy. My thighs must have been larger as I had to cook an additional 12 minutes. I will add more seasoning next time, most likely some cayenne and salt. Thank you for this recipe! I will be adding it to the routine.
Lee says
This was the first recipe I did in my new air fryer. I love fried chicken!
The chicken thighs were absolutely perfect. Thank you so much.
Danielle Johnson says
I shook off all the excess but my chicken never turned golden. The flour just stayed on the outside of the chicken and all I could taste was flour
MoJo says
Omgee this recipe was the bomb! Thank you so much 🥰
Randy says
Very easy to make and turned out awesome. Thank you for this recipe.
Sophie Spataro says
I made this tonite with chicken tenders ( no skin ) but it came out floury and not brown ( some )
So you have any recommendations?
Irla says
When I cook my chicken pieces that have been floured, I always let sit on a cooling rack for 15 min which give the breading time to rehydrate.
Dawn C says
Huge hit at our house. Husband kept saying, “This chicken is so good…” No leftovers for me ☹️😂. No modifications, perfect as is. Old Bay — who knew?
Karlynn says
Old Bay is magical! I have a crispy old bay chicken thighs recipe on this website too if you want to search for it (It’s hard to leave a link in the comments here) And it is our go to barbeque chicken!
Lili says
This is a good recipe, but you must get some pretty big chicken thighs – mine are done in 12 to 15 minutes, flipping half-way through. I have probably the first Philips air fryer (turbo) that came out and it’s still going strong, with manual Celsius controls. I start at 200C first half, finish at 180C second half. If the thighs I get were thicker I would, of course, have to air fry them longer. I think we live in the same city, and I’m going to hunt down your cookbook! (By the way, I get my Old Bay spice at my local grocery store).
Annie says
Can I use gluten free flour and get close to the same results? I use Bob’s Red Mill.
Scott Kirlin says
I’ve tried several different recipes for the air fryer, but this one by far is the easiest and the best tasting. Thank you.
Brandi says
I’m sure user error so I’m going to go ahead and give a 5 star. My chicken tasted like ramen noodle seasoning and I did not like how it turned out. I don’t know what I did wrong but see a lot of positive reviews so I will just chalk it down to user error.
Karlynn J says
I don’t mind helping you troubleshoot it, was it the flavour of the bay seasoning that you didn’t like? Or did the chicken just not turn out?
Matthew says
Hands down the best fried chicken of ANY technique I have tried in 40 years of cookery.
I usually air fry thighs with skin on and bone in with a steak house rub and some canola until it hits 190F internal, but this, THIS was magnificent….
Never have I had such a wonderful, crispy, succulent fried chicken and that INCLUDES The Colonel (whose Wicked Wings I truly love)…
Followed the recipe and DIDN’T spray the coated thighs…
Now I’m gonna read all the comments…
Karlynn Johnston says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for letting us know!
Jim says
Made this recipe and followed it to a tea! Simply the best Air Fryer chicken I have had! I found that 22 minutes the chicken was ready. Used Olive Oil spray on my Ninja rack. Turned them over at about 12 minutes.
I will never buy; KFC, Popeyes, Mary Browns or others again. 4 thighs costs about $2.50 and ingredients another 15 cents.
Karlynn says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, we make this chicken all the time! Thanks for letting us know!
Karlynn Johnston says
That makes me so happy to hear! Saving money for the win!
TableFor8 says
I prepared the recipe as close to written as possible. My family loved it! Great alternative to plain ol’ roasted chicken. I broke down a whole chicken (skin on, bone in) and prepared it as per the recipe. All the cuts came out with a crispy breading and juicy meat! I didn’t have Old Bay and had to mix my own using a copy cat recipe. But I would love to grab some and try the recipe again with the real deal!
Ezra Rudick says
This is an awesome and simple recipe! Thank you!