Air Fryer Fried Chicken (2024)

This air fryer fried chicken recipe will satisfy all your fried chicken cravings. It’s super crispy on the outside and will make your mouth water! After trying this chicken recipe, you won’t want to go back! It’s perfectly seasoned, and the buttermilk ensures the chicken is beyond tender.

Like my air fryer chicken nuggets recipe and air fryer chicken wings recipe, this recipe only uses a fraction of the oil. It’s mess-free and easy to clean up after, making it perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. Skip the take-out and make this at home instead!

Key Ingredients You Need

• Chicken — For classic fried chicken, you want bone-in, skin-on chicken legs or chicken thighs. The skin becomes a delicious crispy crust while keeping the meat juicy and moist.
• Buttermilk — Do not skip the buttermilk! It helps tenderizes the chicken so it’ll melt in your mouth.
• Flour — All-purpose flour or bread flour is perfect for fried chicken as it gives the chicken a golden-brown coating after being air-fried. It is also neutral in flavor, so it doesn’t compete with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika added to it.

How to Make Air Fryer Fried Chicken

Step 1: Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

Step 2: In another bowl, make the seasoning: add the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Mix until well combined.

Step 3: Add the chicken to a large mixing bowl with the egg and buttermilk.

Step 4: Remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture and shake off any excess. Place the chicken in the seasoned flour and coat well.

Step 5: Give the chicken a good even coat of olive oil spray and give the air fryer's basket a light coat of spray. Place the chicken skin side up on a single layer, giving each piece some room for the hot air to circulate.

Step 6: Cook for 20 to 25 minutes at 360 F. Halfway through the cooking time, spray the chicken with another coat of olive oil. Cook until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 F.

Tips For This Recipe

• If the air fryer starts smoking, you can add some water to the bottom of the basket to keep the grease from the chicken from causing smoke.
• Do not overcrowd your air fryer, as it’ll prevent the circulating hot air from reaching every single piece of fried chicken. You’ll end up with unevenly cooked chicken, and the skin won’t crisp up.
• Make sure to let the excess buttermilk and egg drip off before coating the chicken with flour. While you need there to be enough moisture for the coating to stick but not too much that the flour coating can’t absorb all the moisture.
• Try to air fry similar-sized chicken together. Alternatively, pull out the smaller pieces from the air fryer, so they don’t overcook as the larger pieces continue to air fry.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve tried this Air Fryer Fried Chicken Recipe, then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!