Top 5 easy air fryer chicken recipes
Quick answer
The best easy air fryer chicken recipes to start with are Preppy Kitchen's wings, Simply Home Cooked's chicken thighs, Kitchen Sanctuary's chicken breast, Spice Eats' tandoori chicken and Cooking with Coit's chicken tenders. Four of them are ready in under 30 minutes, and none of them need deep frying.
An air fryer is at its best with chicken. The skin crisps, the inside stays juicy, and dinner is done before the rice is. The trick is knowing the right cut, the right seasoning and when to flip.
These five cover the cuts people cook most, from quick weeknight breasts to a spiced tandoori worth planning ahead for. Each one links to the creator's video, and the button below each recipe saves it to Recepti with the ingredients and steps written out.
1 Crispy air fryer chicken wings
By Preppy Kitchen on YouTube · Written recipe
John skips the marinade completely, and the wings still come out as crispy as deep-fried ones. They cook in about 16 minutes, then get tossed in a buttery hot sauce. This is the recipe to make for game night when you want wings without a pot of hot oil.
- Time
- About 26 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Key ingredients
- Chicken wings, olive oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, hot sauce, melted butter
The button copies this recipe's link and opens Recepti. Tap +, paste, and tap Import recipe.
2 Air fryer chicken thighs
By Simply Home Cooked on YouTube · Written recipe
Bone-in thighs are the most forgiving cut you can put in an air fryer, and this recipe shows why. A smoky, slightly sweet spice rub turns the skin deep golden and crunchy while the meat stays tender. Serve them with a salad or roasted potatoes for an easy weeknight dinner.
- Time
- About 25 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Key ingredients
- Bone-in chicken thighs, olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, a little brown sugar
The button copies this recipe's link and opens Recepti. Tap +, paste, and tap Import recipe.
3 Juicy air fryer chicken breast
By Kitchen Sanctuary on YouTube · Written recipe
Dry chicken breast is usually an uneven thickness problem. Nicky gives the thickest part a few light bashes so it cooks evenly, then seasons it with a simple paprika rub. The result is juicy enough to slice over salads, wraps or rice all week.
- Time
- About 16 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Key ingredients
- Chicken breasts, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, a pinch of brown sugar, oil
The button copies this recipe's link and opens Recepti. Tap +, paste, and tap Import recipe.
4 Air fryer tandoori chicken
By Spice Eats on YouTube
This one takes a little planning, and it pays you back. Slashed chicken legs soak up a thick, spiced yogurt marinade, then roast in the air fryer with a mid-way brush of butter. The edges char like they came out of a tandoor. Serve with naan, sliced onions and a squeeze of lemon.
- Time
- 20 minutes in the air fryer, plus at least 2 hours marinating
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Key ingredients
- Chicken legs, thick yogurt, Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, ginger garlic paste, dried fenugreek leaves, lemon, butter
The button copies this recipe's link and opens Recepti. Tap +, paste, and tap Import recipe.
5 Crunchy air fryer chicken tenders
By Cooking with Coit on YouTube · Written recipe
Golden, crunchy tenders without the takeout bag. Coit uses a mix of seasoned breadcrumbs and panko for extra crunch, and the tenders stay crisp in the air fryer. Kids love them, adults steal them, and they are just as good with a dipping sauce as they are sliced onto a salad.
- Time
- About 25 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Key ingredients
- Chicken tenders, beaten eggs, seasoned breadcrumbs, panko, olive oil spray
The button copies this recipe's link and opens Recepti. Tap +, paste, and tap Import recipe.
Save your air fryer favorites
Air fryer recipes are everywhere: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and food blogs. Recepti is a free web app that saves them all to one list. Paste the link and it pulls out the ingredients and steps, even when the recipe is only spoken in a video, and keeps the creator credit and a View original post button.
You can scale servings and pick metric or imperial units, which helps when one creator writes 180°C and another writes 350°F. It works in your phone browser with nothing to download, and you can start as a guest.
Open ReceptiFree. No download. Start as a guest.
Questions
What is the easiest chicken to cook in an air fryer?
Bone-in chicken thighs. They have enough fat to stay juicy, the skin crisps easily, and a few extra minutes will not dry them out.
How do I keep chicken breast juicy in the air fryer?
Even out the thickness first by lightly pounding the thick end, use a little oil, and do not overcook it. A meat thermometer is the easiest way to know it is done.
Do I need to flip chicken in the air fryer?
Flipping halfway helps both sides brown evenly, especially for breasts and tenders. Follow the creator's timing for each recipe.
How do I save air fryer recipes from YouTube?
Copy the video link and paste it into Recepti. It saves the ingredients and steps with the creator credit. See how to save YouTube recipes.
Every recipe here belongs to the creator named above. We link to the original post and do not copy full recipes or photos. Times and difficulty are our own estimates from each recipe.