Air Fryer Chicken Thighs come out oh-so crispy, super tender, and juicy with the most simple ingredients. Make them a meal by adding them to a salad, on top of risotto, with green beans, pasta, and more.
Can you put raw chicken in an air fryer?
You can and should! I think a lot of us are so used to using the Air Fryer to reheat foods or make frozen foods like chicken nuggets, that it's easy to forget how absolutely wonderful it is for making whole foods from fresh ingredients.
How long does it take to cook chicken thighs in an air fryer?
There are several factors when determining the ideal time for air frying chicken:
- Cut of Chicken: Chicken thighs, wings, or breast?
- Bone Status: Bone in or Boneless?
- Size: Did the meat come from a small free range chicken, or a mega chickenzilla? Larger thighs will need to cook longer!
- Type of Air Fryer: (These following are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.) Each Air Fryer is a little different. The times I've shared are for my 5 Qt PowerXL Air Fryer. I also tested them in my Dash 2Quart and the times were accurate within 1 minute.
An Instant Read thermometer is your friend! I highly recommend getting one so you can verify the internal temperature reaches 175 F during the cooking process. With the help of a meat thermometer, you can use this same seasoning and recipe for anything from boneless skinless chicken thighs to chicken breasts!
At what temperature do you air fry chicken thighs?
400 F is the best temperature for chicken thighs in air fryer - it's hot enough to crisp the skin, but not so hot that the skin burns before the internal meat is cooked through. It will give you juicy, crispy chicken thighs.
BOOM! Easy Air Fryer Chicken Thighs!
I encourage you to play around with this recipe's seasonings. I almost always use a brown sugar dry rub because I like the crisp it gives the thighs, but a hearty addition of your favorite herb mix (I like thyme, oregano, rosemary) adds a gourmet touch. Alternatively, you could rub them in some homemade taco seasoning to use these thighs in burrito bowls
If you like this easy Air Fryer recipe, you might also like these other awesome Air Fryer Chicken Recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 3 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer for 5 minutes at 400 F.
- Combine the seasonings and rub over all sides of each chicken thigh.
- Spray the inside of the air fryer with oil. Place chicken thighs skin side down in a single layer on the grate. Cook for 15 minutes. Flip so that they are now meat side down and cook for another 5 minutes. Very large thighs may need to be cooked for up to 10 minutes after flipping instead of 5 minutes.
- Let the thighs rest for 10 minutes before serving. Their internal temperature will continue to rise at during this time. Chicken thighs are ready when they are 165 F internally.
Linda P says
Can I use skinless chicken thighs?
Sher says
are the directions the same if using an air fry setting in the oven? There’s no way to spay the oven so I didn’t know what the difference would be?
Nancy Lynn says
This was my very first time using an air fryer. My chicken thighs were juicy and the skin crispy. I used chicken seasoning with garlic salt and pepper and brown sugar. The result was delicious tasting! Thank you.
Ynana says
Made this last night and it turned out wonderful! Will be adding this to my recipe list to remake!
Jesse says
My first recipe in an air fryer, the thighs came out perfect, incredibly juice and tasty. I added a bit of cayenne for a bit of heat , loved ir