Air fryer chicken thighs turn out so incredibly moist and juicy on the inside with the perfect crispy skin! These chicken thighs cook in just 20 minutes, making them the perfect weeknight dinner!
Okay, I’ve got to know… Are you a dark meat or white meat person?
Personally, I prefer the white meat, but my kids LOVE dark meat! Our air fryer chicken legs are a major favorite in this house!
We decided to test out our air fryer on some chicken thighs and oh man…Total perfection!
Crispy skin, moist and tender meat, and it’s all ready in less than 30 minutes? Sign me up for that every night of the week!
These are delicious with our air fryer green beans and air fryer sweet potato cubes. Yes – we often do the whole dinner in our air fryers…we have three. 😉
Ingredient Notes:
Chicken-We are using bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe. Definitely want the skin on as it is the best part!
Seasonings– We are trying to keep it simple with just 5 different seasonings. We like using smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. This is our go to seasoning for meat.
How to Make Air Fried Chicken Thighs:
Season the chicken- Add the chicken, oil, and all the seasonings, except for the parsley, to a zip-top bag and seal. Move your chicken all around inside the freezer bag to coat the chicken in the seasoning.
Cook the chicken- Place the thighs in your air fryer with the skin down and cook for 10 minutes. Then flip the chicken over and cook for 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with parsley for serving.
FAQ:
Roasted vegetables, such as green beans, asparagus, and broccoli are always a good option. Baked or mashed potatoes are also a favorite with chicken.
Thighs, while richest in flavor, are the least desired portion of chicken for consumers. This seems to be because they take longer to cook and because the bones annoy some people to try and eat around.
Store in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 5 days. Reheat in your air fryer at 350 degrees F until warm.
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Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except for the parsley to a large zip top bag and seal. Smush the chicken around in the bag to coat in the seasoning.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Place the chicken thighs, skin side down, in the air fryer basket and cook for 10 minutes.
- Flip the chicken over and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 degrees.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Az Anna says
You say smoked paprika in the ingredients notes, but the recipe calls for plain paprika. Which is it?
Karly Campbell says
Whichever one you prefer will be fine. We like smoked paprika, but regular works great.
Az Anna says
Thank you! Used smoked paprika; we all loved the chicken!! Making it again tonight!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Ed says
Just bought 20 pounds of back attached chicken thighs at 89¢/ pound, cheaper than apples around here. Separated the backs from the thighs, did a few thighs according to the recipe (froze the rest) and they turned out amazing. Put BBQ sauce on them for the last 5 minutes. Didn’t want to waste the backs or make broth so I ended up seasoning the chicken backs and cooking in the air fryer, great to nibble on. Thank-you for a great, straight forward recipe.
Karly says
Sounds delicious! Thanks, Ed!