Air Fryer Chicken Thighs – reliable every time!

At a glance

What stands out: Lightly seasoned air fryer chicken thighs are a speedy and rich way to prepare chicken. Reliable as is, or easily adapted for any type of cuisine. Chicken cooks so quickly in the air fryer, and it’s juicy and rich.

How long it takes: 25 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: air fryer
Servings: 4

Whether you’re making chicken thighs the star of your meal, or including them in a more complicated recipe, you’ll find yourself turning to air fryer chicken thighs often. We sure do!

Straightforward Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

Ready in only twenty minutes! Air fryer chicken thighs are a staple in our kitchen. Looking for a speedy solution to dinner? With hardly any prep, and only twenty minutes in the air fryer, you can have dinner on the table in less time than it takes to call for take out. Add a speedy salad, veggies, potatoes, or even cook up a box of mac and cheese. Dinner is served!

Reliable for meal prepping. Air fryer chicken thighs can be added to make other recipes. Often recipes will call for adding “cooked chicken”, which is fine and dandy if you just happen to have some cooked chicken lying around. But honestly, unless we've been in a real meal-prepping mood, we usually need to cook the chicken before proceeding with the recipe. Air fryer chicken thighs can be the answer in this situation.

June Said:

“First time using air fryer for chicken. Lovely and tender with an memorable flavour.”

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What goes in

• Chicken Thighs: Skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs are usually cheaper than boneless skinless thighs. We like them for this recipe because they turn out juicier and more flavorful. Leave the skin on or remove it, it’s up to you. Use a kitchen shears to trim off the excess fat and skin.
• Olive Oil: Just a bit is used to rub into the surface of the chicken. It helps retain the moisture and crisp up the exterior.
• Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt and Pepper: These simple seasonings are mixed together to season the chicken. If you have our from-scratch all purpose seasoning on hand, you can substitute that. If you have another favorite, go ahead and use it.

How it comes together

This is a simple recipe that can easily be customized to fit your needs. Here’s how to do it:

Make the seasoning mix. In a small bowl, combine spices to create the seasoning mix. You can season these any way youd like – keep reading for some of our suggestions.

Season the chicken. In a large bowl, coat approximately two pounds of chicken thighs with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with the seasoning mix.

Air fry the chicken. Place the thighs in a single layer in your air fryer. You’ll probably have to cook the chicken in batches unless your air fryer is bigger than ours.

Time and Temperature

Cook at 400°F for ten minutes, flip the chicken over, and cook for another ten minutes. That’s it!

Ways to serve it

Main course: Air fryer chicken thighs can be the star of the meal because it’s juicy and rich. Serve air fryer chicken thighs with crispy roasted potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, and a crisp green arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette. It goes great with a pasta salad, like this Greek pasta salad with feta and beans or a panzanella salad.

As an ingredient: The cooked chicken can be cut up and add it to recipes like cauliflower nachos or creamy chicken spaghetti. Add it to a tortilla with the fixings you like for a great chicken taco. Put it on a bun, with tomato, lettuce, and mayo for a rich chicken sandwich. Add spaghetti sauce, and eat it with spaghetti. The possibilities are endless!

Ways to change it

• Use your favorite seasoning blend. Just plain seasoned salt is good or make it as spicy as you like it with lots of black pepper. Try a barbecue rub, a blend of dark brown sugar, salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, and other spices. Taco seasoning or southwest spice blend will give the chicken a south of the border flair. Season the chicken with curry powder and add it to rice and stir fry vegetables.
• Marinate the chicken. Any marinade will enhance the flavor of the chicken. Skip the seasoning on the chicken and marinate it instead. We love these ginger chicken thighs, or try our chicken thigh marinade, Greek chicken marinade, or any of our chicken marinades.
• Not a fan of chicken thighs? Try air fryer chicken drumsticks, air fryer chicken wings or air fryer BBQ chicken wings. If you prefer white meat, try boneless skinless air fryer chicken breasts or air fryer chicken nuggets.
• Add a sauce of your choice to the chicken after it’s cooked: barbecue sauce, chili sauce, salsa, hoisin or plum sauce, Thai peanut sauce, whatever you like.
• Don’t have an air fryer? Try Instant Pot chicken thighs, with optional gravy. For a meal all on one pan, try sheet pan chicken thighs with potatoes and green beans.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate/Freeze: Leftover chicken, wrapped well, will last up to four days in the fridge or you can freeze it to use later. For best results, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Reheat: Heat gently in the microwave or use the chicken in a recipe.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #44. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week!

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• Yield: 4
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (approximately 2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat air fryer to 400ºF. In a small bowl, mix paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
2. Trim excess fat and skin from chicken thighs using kitchen shears. If desired, skin can be removed completely.
3. Rub oil on both sides of chicken. Sprinkle on seasoning and rub it into the chicken.
4. Place chicken on rack in air fryer in a single layer. It's okay if the pieces are touching or even overlapping a bit. They shrink as they cook. If necessary, cook the chicken in batches.
5. Cook for 10 minutes, turn thighs over, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Notes

Boneless skinless chicken thighs: If desired, use boneless skinless chicken thighs. Cooking time will be shorter. Approximate serving size: 8 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs; 12 ounces bone-in skin-on.

Seasoning: Feel free to use different seasoning on the chicken. Try a barbecue rub, a blend of dark brown sugar, salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, and other spices. Taco seasoning or southwest spice blend will give the chicken a south of the border flair. Season the chicken with curry powder and add it to rice and stir fry vegetables. The possibilities are endless.

How to serve: Serve chicken as is for a rich main course. The meat can be cut into pieces or shredded to use for other recipes, too.

Storage: Leftover chicken, wrapped well, will last up to four days in the fridge or you can freeze it to use later. For best results, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.