Yes! Fried chicken in the air fryer is totally possible! It's crispy, juicy, and delicious. If you're craving a fried chicken with a little less fat, give this a try!
Air Fryer Fried Chicken is juicy on the inside with crispy crunchy skin!
This chicken is quick to make without the fuss or muss of a deep fryer meaning less fat and calories with all of the flavor.
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!
How to perfect air fryer fried chicken :
The crunch: The chicken must be crispy & crunchy on the outside with lots of spices.
Juicy: It must be cooked through and tender and juicy on the inside with flavor and spice.
Save time: be able to get the chicken on the table from start to finish in under an hour.
Healthy: have all the above without deep frying.
Why Air-Fry?
There are two reasons why you might want to make air fried chicken instead of classic fried chicken.
First, there is a health benefit to air frying over deep frying or pan frying. While I do recommend very lightly spraying the fried chicken with oil before and during air frying, you don’t submerge the pieces entirely in oil, and as a result, they undoubtedly absorb less oil in the process.
For me though, the bigger advantage is time savings. It takes 30 seconds to flip on the air fryer, and the cleanup is worlds easier than dealing with big pots of hot oil.
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 4 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 breast 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
Cook the 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.
Kitchen Tips
No Air Fryer? Cook fried chicken in the oven instead of the air fryer.
If using boneless chicken, cook time can be reduced. Use a thermometer and cook just until chicken reaches 165°F.
Ensure chicken is in a single layer and there is a little bit of space between each piece to allow the air to circulate.
If needed, cook chicken in batches. Heat all of the chicken at 400*F for 4 minutes before serving.
Leftovers
To reheat air fryer fried chicken while keeping it crispy, air fry at 400°F for 3-5 minutes.
Alternatively, cut the meat off the bones and tuck it into a tasty wrap, or a pot pie for a whole new meal! Or make a delicious classic chicken salad sandwich.
If stored in an airtight container or zippered bag, the USDA recommends that fried chicken can keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. For the best quality, use frozen fried chicken within 4 months.
Full recipe:
Prep Time : 4 minutes
Cook Time : 25 minutes
Total Time : 29 minutes
Delicious "fried" chicken done in an Air Fryer! This air fryer chicken is the best recipe out there!
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.