Are you ready to taste the most flavorful, tender chicken of your life? Air fryers can really help you cook chicken. Let’s learn how to do it.
Chicken Wings
Cooking the chicken in batches is the key to successful air-fried chicken wings. So that each wing can be crisped by the hot air, the wings need to be arranged in a single layer, barely touching each other. There is no problem fitting approximately one pound of food (10-12 drumettes) into most air fryers.
Instructions: If you cook the wings in stages, you will get the best results: 350°F for 25 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through. Then increase the heat to 400° and continue cooking until the outsides are crispy, about 5 minutes. Make sweet and tangy chicken wings with air-fryer peach-bourbon glaze for a twist.
Chicken Breasts
Do you get tired of dry, boring chicken breasts? Cook them in your air fryer! (We found the best air fryer for family of 4). Its convection airflow keeps the meat juicy. You may only be able to fit one or two chicken breasts into the air fryer at a time, but you can return them all to the basket at the end to reheat for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Instructions: Make spicy air-fried chicken breasts by breading the chicken first, or skip the breading for a low-carb meal. To keep chicken breasts juicy, we recommend brining or marinating them before cooking. (Brine chicken is easier than you think!) Next, cook the breasts in the air fryer at 375°. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes total, flipping halfway through.
Thighs
We love making chicken thighs under the broiler or on the grill, and our recipe for crispy garlic broiled chicken thighs also works in an air fryer! In most air fryers, you can fit between six and eight chicken thighs, depending on whether they’re boneless or not.
Instructions: It is best to cook at 360° for 15 to 17 minutes for boneless and 22 to 25 minutes for bone-in, flipping halfway through. if you bought chicken thighs with skin on, increase the heat to 400° and cook for an additional 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. Our favorite way to serve air-fried chicken thighs is with a sweet-hot Asian dipping sauce or curry mayo dipping sauce.
Drumsticks
Drumsticks are more difficult to cook than other cuts of chicken because they contain more tendons. If you cook them correctly, they turn out super juicy and delicious. You can only fit six drumsticks in the air fryer at a time, but you can cook them in batches, and they only take two to three minutes to reheat once they’re finished cooking.
Instructions: You can air-fry your drumsticks with a breading to create a Southern-style chicken. Making jalapeno lime chicken drumsticks with a tasty glaze is also a great idea. It doesn’t matter how you cook them, chicken drumsticks cook best when the air fryer is set to 375°. Drumsticks should be cooked for 15 minutes. Cook the chicken for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
Chicken Tenders
Air-fried chicken tenders make a quick and easy snack, appetizer, or meal. A pound of chicken should fit in the air fryer, but that could be three to eight tenders, depending on the size of the strips.
Instructions: Both homemade breaded chicken strips and frozen chicken tenders can be made with this recipe. Cook the chicken in a single layer in an air fryer set to 390°. The chicken should be crispy and no longer pink after 6 minutes. Flip the chicken after 6 minutes and cook for 6 to 8 more minutes. Make your homemade air-fried chicken tenders taste like fast food by serving them with Chick-fil-A sauce.
Whole Chicken
Air-fried chicken tastes like rotisserie chicken: crispy on the outside, juicy and moist on the inside. Most air fryer baskets can fit a whole chicken, so you won’t even have to cut it up.
Instructions: Season the chicken generously with salt and spray it with cooking oil. We love to cook this herbed roast chicken recipe in the air fryer, but honey-lime roasted chicken or sweet and spicy chipotle chicken are also good options. For about 40 to 50 minutes, cook the breast-side down in a 360° air fryer. After flipping the chicken, cook it for an additional 10 to 20 minutes, or until the thickest part of the breast registers 165° on an instant-read thermometer.
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