This amazing Air Fryer Fried Chicken recipe is an easy way to make crispy fried chicken drumsticks, thighs, and breasts without using oil!

Air Fryer Fried Chicken leg with crispy golden brown crust


 

This easy recipe for Air Fryer Fried Chicken is a simple way to make traditional fried chicken in the air fryer. No oil needed!

As a southern girl I take my friend chicken pretty seriously and I’ll admit I was a little skeptical about using the air fryer. Now that I’ve done it I’ll never fry chicken in oil again. Not only is the chicken perfectly cooked on the outside, it’s tender and juicy on the inside.

The best part is there is no oil involved so the house doesn’t smell like fried food for three days after I’m done and I don’t have to figure out what to do with a pan full of oil.

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Top down shot of Air Fryer Fried Chicken on a plate with green beans

What You’ll Need

  • Chicken, breasts, thighs, and legs – You can use any chicken parts you like for fried chicken. I prefer the dark meat (thighs and legs) because they have more flavor and stay extra juicy. Whichever part you choose to fry you should use chicken with the skin on. This skin will get crispy in the air fryer and give you that perfect bite you are craving.
  • Flour – A little all-purpose flour is part of getting that perfectly crispy crust on your fried chicken.
  • Spices – Salt, Onion powder, Garlic powder, Paprika, and Black pepper are mixed with the flour to give the grust extra flavor.
  • Eggs, Milk, & Water – These 3 ingredients whipped together act as the “glue” for this dish helping the flour and spices stick to the chicken so it can cook into a crispy crust.
  • Cooking spray – You don’t need oil to fry things in the air fryer but you will need to add a little cooking spray on the outside of the chicken to ensure that all of the flour crisps up nicely as it cooks.
Raw chicken coated in flour and placed in the air fryer

How to Make It

Prepare your breading. Combine the flour, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper and pour into a shallow bowl or on a large plate. Crack the eggs into a second bowl and add the water and milk before whisking the mixture together. 

Coat the chicken pieces. Coat each piece of chicken by first dipping it in the egg mixture, then rolling it in the flour mixture to coat it. Then dipping it in the egg mixture again, and then rolling it in the flour once more. You can use your hands to make sure the flour coats the chicken completely. As you finish with each piece set it aside. 

Spray with oil. Once all of the pieces of chicken are breaded preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 pieces of chicken with cooking spray making sure to turn and coat all sides and place them in the basket of your air fryer.

If you can fit more pieces of chicken in your air fryer without crowding it then you can add more. Only spray the chicken when it is ready to be fried.

Fry it. Cook for 9 minutes, then open the air fryer, gently turn the chicken over, and place the basket back in the fryer to continue cooking for 9 minutes more, or until the internal temperature of each piece is 165 degrees F. 

Air Fryer Fried Chicken leg with crispy golden brown crust
Do Air Fryers Work for Fried Chicken?

Yes! Air fryers can fry anything that is fried in oil as long as it doesn’t have a runny coating, like beer batter or tempura batter Since fried chicken has a flour coating on the outside it is perfect for the air fryer.

To get that browned, crisp texture you do need to spray your chicken with butter or olive oil non-stick spray on all sides making sure to coat the flour. This allows the flour to crisp up as it cooks like it would when it is dropped in oil during the regular frying process.

Is Fried Chicken in the Air Fryer Healthy?

It is healthier than using an oil fryer which adds lots of extra fat from the oil that seeps into the chicken as it cooks. If you want to really be healthy though you’ll make air fryer chicken breasts or chicken thighs with no coating on the outside.

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Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 33 minutes

Air Fryer Fried Chicken

This amazing Air Fryer Fried Chicken recipe is an easy way to make crispy fried chicken drumsticks, thighs, and breasts without using oil!
Air Fryer Fried Chicken leg with crispy golden brown crust
Print Recipe
4.50 from 10 votes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Chicken, breasts, thighs, and legs
  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 2 teaspoons Onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons Garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 2 tablespoons Milk
  • ¼ cup Water
  • Cooking spray

Instructions

  • Combine the flour, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper and pour into a shallow bowl or on a large plate.
  • Crack the eggs into a second bowl and add the water and milk. Whisk together.
  • Coat each piece of chicken by first dipping it in the egg mixture, then rolling it in the flour mixture to coat it. Then dipping it in the egg mixture again, and then rolling it in the flour once more. You can use your hands to make sure the flour coats the chicken completely. As you finish with each piece set it aside.
  • Once all of the pieces of chicken are breaded preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F.
  • Spray 2 pieces of chicken with cooking spray on all sides making sure to coat the flour and place them in the basket of your air fryer. See note 1 below.
  • Cook for 9 minutes, then open the air fryer, gently turn the chicken over, and place the basket back in the fryer to continue cooking for 9 minutes more, or until the internal temperature of each piece is 165 degrees F.

Notes

  1. If you can fit more pieces of chicken in your air fryer without crowding it then you can add more. Only spray the chicken when it is ready to be fried.

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece, Calories: 279kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 625mg, Potassium: 162mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 628IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 4mg
Nutrition Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are provided as a courtesy. They are generated by an online API which recognizes ingredient names and amounts and makes calculations based on the serving size. Results may vary.
Author: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Keyword: air fryer fried chicken, fried chicken in the air fryer
Handwritten signature for Kat & Melinda