Air Fryer Fried Chicken is juicy on the inside with crispy crunchy skin!
Bone in chicken pieces are marinated to tender perfection and tossed in a simple flour breading. With a light spritz of oil, the chicken cooks in an air fryer to crispy perfection.
It is quick to make without the fuss of a deep fryer meaning less fat, calories, and mess with all of the flavors.
Crispy Air-Fried Chicken
I really love fried chicken for the skin and the juicy chicken. It seems like it’s always tender. It’s great as a chicken sandwich with a side of french fries or served hot and crispy with waffles.
- The air fryer means less fat (without the hassle of deep frying).
- It comes out with crispy skin and juicy meat.
- It’s easy to prep ahead and air fry just before serving.
- Air fryer-fried chicken cooks in less time than oven fried with just a little spritz of oil.
Ingredients
Chicken – This recipe works best with bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces, rather than boneless. It does work for other pieces like chicken thighs, skinless chicken breast, wings, legs, or tenders but the cooking time may need to be adjusted.
Marinade – A buttermilk mixture with hot sauce combined with garlic powder makes the meat extra tender and flavorful. Tangy, not spicy, and a little bit garlicky!
Coating – Cornmeal and flour are combined with garlic, black pepper, spices and seasonings!
How to Air Fry Fried Chicken
Fried chicken is one of those entrées that the air fryer cooks so perfectly!
- Marinate chicken for at least ½ hour & up to 24 hours.
- Dredge chicken in the flour/cornmeal mixture and spray well with spray oil or cooking spray.
- Air fry in a single layer until crispy turning the chicken halfway.
Air Fryer Chicken Tips
- No Air Fryer? Cook fried chicken in the oven or on the stovetop 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 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness.
- 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 for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Amazing Air-Fried Chicken
Did your family love this Air Fryer Fried Chicken? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken with skin
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- cooking spray
Coating
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
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Preheat air fryer to 370°F.
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Combine chicken, buttermilk, hot sauce, & garlic powder and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
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Combine all coating ingredients in a bowl.
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Remove the chicken from the marinade allowing excess to drip off.
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Dip chicken in the flour mixture until evenly coated.
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Place chicken on a pan or plate and generously spray with cooking spray or oil.
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Place chicken in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook for 15 minutes.
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Open the air fryer and check for any dry flour spots, spray with oil if needed. Flip chicken and cook an additional 10-15 minutes or until crisp and chicken reaches 165°F.
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Remove from the air fryer and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American
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Tasted good but the chicken was not very brown. Made in air fryer in the oven. Maybe that was the problem?
So glad you loved it! I have a smaller portable Air Fryer as well as the toaster oven style but I haven’t tried an air fryer oven so I can’t say for sure how it compares. For browner skin, you could turn up the heat for the last 10 minutes or broil a little bit.
works in the regular oven too….very good chicken!
Excellent recipe. Made it with legs and trying thighs tomorrow. May be my new go to recipe for air fryer chiken.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Robin!
This was delicious. I just bought an air fryer and this is one of the first things I made. My family loved it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Dawn! Welcome to the wonderful would of air frying! You can see all of my air fryer recipes here.
Holly, I got up the nerve to try this recipe using my air fryer, and I just want you to know it was delicious!! And clean up was a breeze. Thank you so much.
I”m so glad you loved it Betty, it’s a favorite for us too!
Hi Holly, This time I have a question and not a comment, but will state that I LOVE your recipes, have made several (without substituting ingredients), and I rate several of your recipes a 5. My question is about the Air Fryer. I just bought a new stove with an air fryer in the oven, so it’s not the countertop variety. Are there any adjustments to recipes that need to be made when using an oven air fryer vs. a countertop variety? I rated the recipe a 5 because not rating it and just asking a question unfairly impacts the average rating value.
I’m so glad you’ve loved the recipes Richard!
I don’t have an air fryer oven (just an air fryer toaster oven which needed a couple of minutes longer than my countertop air fryers). I did some reading on a few of the ovens available online and the manuals state that “Air Fry is an oven feature that works like a countertop air fryer.” so it shouldn’t be too incredibly different in cooking time. The cooking time and temps of the air fryer oven recipes on the manufacturer’s sites match fairly closely to the times I use in my countertop appliances.
The great thing is that it’s easy to quickly check it early (either the temperature or the crisp level) and leave it a little longer if needed. For this wings recipe, you’re looking for a nice brown crisp on the skin before removing them from the air fryer oven.
I hope that helps!
For those following keto, can you sub almond flour & get the same results?
Hi David, to make this keto I would substitute half almond flour and half crushed pork rinds to get some of that crunch!
Tonight, I made the air frier chicken parmesan Was very good. Thank u
Glad you enjoyed it, Maria!
This recipe is terrible in an air fryer. The cornmeal/flour mixture does not stick to the chicken properly and after the first flip it all sticks to the pan. So Basically if you are lucky, you will have one sided battered chicken. Total thumbs down.
Oh no, sorry to hear that JTrox. We have some troubleshooting tips that might help – To prevent the coating from coming off in the air fryer we generously spray with cooking oil in step 6. If the coating is just not sticking to the chicken, make sure you have let any excess marinade drop off in step 4 before dipping in the breading mixture. You can also gently press the coating onto the chicken to make it stick better. Hope that helps!
this is good holly i love chiken
thanks holly i love chiken
Easy and tasty!