This Air Fryer Fried Chicken is golden brown, juicy, and full of flavor. It’s one recipe you have to try in your Air Fryer.
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Full Recipe/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.
This recipe has over 150 5-star reviews! Check out our comments to discover why readers love this fried chicken made in the air fryer.
If you’re living in the South, then knowing how to make fried chicken is a must. I tried for the longest to avoid posting a fried chicken recipe on the blog because, in all honesty, I didn't tend to get excited about fried chicken.
Until now. For years, when my Southern husband requested fried chicken, I’d just shrug and make him these air fried chicken wings covered in an Asian sauce instead.
But one day, I went ahead and made a traditional Southern fried chicken recipe right in my Air Fryer. It was phenomenal. I had to apologize for taking so long to make it and I had to apologize for hating on fried chicken all these years. Now it’s a part of our monthly meal rotation.
I like to cut a whole chicken up into separate portions, it's economical and nothing goes to waste. I can make air fryer fried chicken thighs, air fryer fried chicken drumsticks, and also use the breast meat and wings too.
For the juiciest chicken, I like to marinade my Air Fryer Fried Chicken in buttermilk, which tenderizes the chicken and also adds a great tangy flavor.
Ingredients
- Whole chicken cut into separate pieces (breast, thigh, wing, and leg)
- Hot sauce - I use Texas Pete.
- Buttermilk
- All-Purpose Flour
- Seasoning salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Italian seasoning
- Cayenne pepper
- Canola or vegetable oil
How to Make Air Fryer Fried Chicken
First, you will want to marinate your chicken. I use a mixture of half buttermilk and half hot sauce. I learned the hot sauce trick from my mother-in-law. The buttermilk helps keep the chicken juicy on the inside and the hot sauce adds flavor to the chicken. Don't worry about it being spicy, it won't be. You can marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from 1 hr to as long as 24 hours.
Combine flour, Italian seasoning, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. I use a whisk to ensure that my flour is fully seasoned.
Grab a pair of tongs and remove one piece of chicken from the buttermilk mixture, allowing it to drain off a bit, and place it in the flour mixture and use the tongs to make sure the chicken pieces are fully coated.
Place a piece of parchment paper with holes in the Air Fryer. This has been my best solution for not having the breaded fried chicken stick to the bottom of the Air Fryer. Just make sure that you don’t put the parchment paper down without food on top. If it there is no food to hold it down, it could fly up into the heating coils on top of the air fryer and start a fire.
Place your floured chicken piece on top of the parchment paper. Make sure the chicken pieces are not overlapping or touching. The more space the better.
Frying the Chicken Pieces
Close the air fryer drawer and set the temperature to 390 degrees Fahrenheit and timer for 25 minutes.
After about 13 minutes, open the Air Fryer. Your chicken should look like the photo below on the left (still showing some dry flour spots). Grab your Air Fryer oil spray bottle and spray those flour spots. Then grab some tongs and flip your chicken. Spray this side of the chicken as well, covering all flour spots. Close your Air Fryer and let it resume cooking.
Once your cooking cycle is done, use a quick-read thermometer to ensure your chicken is fully cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove and enjoy 🙂
There you have it! Delicious Southern Style Buttermilk Soaked Air Fryer Fried Chicken.
Additional recipes
If you like chicken, try these out:
- Air Fryer Whole Chicken (Peruvian Style)
- BBQ Air Fryer Chicken Breast
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
If you're looking to fry fish instead, try this recipe for fish in your air fryer.
What to serve with Crispy Fried Chicken
Looking for some recipes to serve this chicken with? Try these out:
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges (KFC Copycat)
- Sweet and Spicy Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts
- Kale and Broccoli Salad
- Southern Style Pressure Cooker Collard Greens
- White Cheddar Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
- Sautéed Beet Greens
- Old Fashioned Potato Salad
Notes on Air Fryer Fried Chicken
- I do not recommend overlapping the chicken pieces in this recipe. It’s best to have the chicken spaces in a single layer and not touching. That way the air can get around the chicken to crisp it up and give it that nice and crispy golden layer.
- Remember to spray lightly with oil. The purpose of the oil in this recipe is to cover the dried flour spots. Not spraying with oil will have those flour spots tasting like you would imagine they would, dry flour. I use either canola or vegetable oil for my air-fried chicken.
- Some breading will fall off, whether you use the liners or not. However, much less breading falls off when using parchment liners.
- If using parchment liners, make sure that you place the chicken on top of them before starting the Air Fryer. Not doing so will cause the liners to fly into the fan, get caught, and possibly start a fire.
- Timing will vary depending on the Air Fryer brand. Use a meat thermometer to ensure your chicken has at least reached a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. My chicken usually reaches 180 degrees or more and is still juicy and deliciously crisp.
- This chicken is best served on the same day. If reheating, place chicken in Air Fryer and cook at 370 for about 10 minutes.
- Use any part of the chicken you like that has skin on. The breading may not stick to skinless chicken and it may not be as crispy.
Pin Air Fryer Fried Chicken for Later
Watch me make this chicken from start to finish.
How to store leftover fried chicken
To refrigerate: Keep any leftover fried chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To heat up the next day warm the chicken in a preheated oven at 400F until warmed through. Leftovers also make a great addition to salads and sandwiches the next day.
To freeze: Once cooked and cooled, place any pieces of leftover chicken into an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. As the chicken is already cooked it can be reheated from frozen in a preheated oven at 350F. When ready to enjoy place the frozen chicken onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes to reheat.
FAQs:
Yes, absolutely, just ensure you cook it until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
The pieces of chicken are marinated in buttermilk and hot sauce. When ready to cook lift a piece of chicken and shake it gently to remove any excess marinade. This marinade will help the breading mixture to stick to the chicken.
If you don't have buttermilk in the fridge don't worry, there are a few good substitutes for buttermilk. Try adding a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk; alternatively, mix 1 ¾ teaspoons of cream of tartar to a cup of milk; or mix some sour cream or plain yogurt with a little milk or water to thin it down a little.
Once the chicken is coated in the breading place the pieces into the Air Fryer in a single layer, allowing space between each piece of chicken for the air to circulate. Do not be tempted to overcrowd the basket or the chicken won't crisp up. Next set the Air Fryer to a hot 390 degrees Fahrenheit so the chicken cooks fast and high. Finally, I like the flip the chicken over halfway through, this also allows me to spray any flour spots with a little extra oil so the coating crisps up nicely.
I like to use Canola oil or vegetable oil as it has a higher smoke point which is ideal for frying chicken. Don't be tempted to use olive oil as it has a lower smoke point and is likely to burn.
Your chicken will not crisp up if using boneless chicken. I recommend using skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces.
You can place your chicken pieces in the fridge for 10-15 minutes after breading, and before air frying. This will help if you have trouble with the breading staying on.
If you have tried my Air Fryer Fried Chicken or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade
- ½ whole chicken cut into separate pieces (breast, thigh, wing, and leg)
- ½ cup hot sauce
- ½ cup buttermilk
Seasoning
- ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Oil for spraying Canola or Vegetable
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces in buttermilk and hot sauce. Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate anytime from 1-24 hours.
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- Place a parchment liner in the Air Fryer basket.
- Remove a piece of chicken from the buttermilk mixture and place in the flour mixture, coating all sides of the chicken and shaking off any excess flour. Place the chicken pieces in the basket in a single layer.
- Close the Air Fryer basket and set temperature to 390 degrees Fahrenheit and timer to 25 minutes. Start the Air Fryer.
- After 13 minutes, open the air fryer and spray any flour spots on the chicken. Flip the chicken and spray the other side with oil, ensuring all the flour spots are covered. Close the Air fryer and cook for 12 more minutes.
- Once the timer is up, open the Air Fryer and check chicken pieces with a quick read thermometer. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees at the thickest part of the chicken.
Video
Notes
- I do not recommend overlapping the chicken pieces in this recipe. It’s best to have the chicken spaces in a single layer and not touching. That way the air can get around the chicken to crisp it up and give it that nice and crispy golden layer.
- Remember to spray lightly with oil. The purpose of the oil in this recipe is to cover the dried flour spots. Not spraying with oil will have those flour spots tasting like you would imagine they would, dry flour.
- Some breading will fall of, whether you use the liners or not. However, much less breading falls of when using the parchment liners.
- If using parchment liners, make sure that you place the chicken on top of them before starting the Air Fryer. Not doing so will cause the liners to fly into the fan, get caught, and possibly start a fire.
- Timing will vary depending on Air Fryer brand. Use a meat thermometer to ensure your chicken has at least reached a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. My chicken usually reaches 180 degrees or more and is still juicy and deliciousy crsip.
- This chicken is best serve the same day. If reheating, place chicken in Air Fryer and cook on 370 for about 10 minutes.
- Use any part of the chicken you like that has skin on. The breading may not stick to skinless chicken and it may not be as crispy.
- I use Texas Pete hot sauce in this recipe. If you are sensitive to heat or use a spicier brand, reduce the amount of hot sauce.
- Air Fryer Parchment Liners (They come in different sizes so make sure to select the one that correlates to your size of Air Fryer)
- Oil bottle for spraying
- Tongs for flipping (I like to have a few around)
- Quick Read Thermometer
Nutrition
This post was originally published on March 5, 2019. It has been updated with additional helpful tips.
Madison G says
Hi! My husband and I just tried this recipe and were really excited — but it’s REALLY spicy. I’m not sure if you used a different kind of hot sauce, but we used Tobasco (which is pretty classic, southern hot sauce) and it was crazy levels of spicy.
So just wanted to let the folks know who might want a more mellow version of fried chicken!
Tanya says
oh no, I generally use Texas Pete, which has some spice but we can barely taste the spice in the recipe, just the flavor. Thank you for the feedback 🙂
Shane says
@Madison G, Tabasco is way too spicy for this application. I would use Crystal, Louisiana brand, or Frank's Red Hot. You want a vinegar based sauce that is not too spicy.
Lori Clark says
Have you ever cooked this recipe in the air fryer that is like an oven? I wonder if that parchment paper would work for it.
Tanya says
I've made breaded chicken in the oven air fryer, not this exact recipe though. I did use parchment paper in the oven and I found that it helped.
Tara says
newbie here as in I am using this air fryer I have had for over a year for the 1st time - please no judgement 🙂 I would like to use this recipe however I only have boneless chicken breast. will it work with boneless and what temp should I put it on and how long do I cook it. also, do I need to flip like you do with the original recipe.
Tanya says
Hi Tara, This works with boneless breast, albeit not as well as it does with bone-in chicken. Yes, I would still suggest flipping the chicken, you would just need to be careful when flipping to try and keep most of the breading on. As far as temp, I use 6 oz breast in the air fryer and those take about 13-14 minutes on 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Larger chicken breast will take longer.
Dorothy says
I’m grateful your instructions stated what the pieces will look like through the cooking process and noting some of the coating will fall off versus some recipes that look as though they came straight out of Martha Stewart’s kitchen. I’ll certainly try this.
Tanya says
You're welcome! I take the photos exactly while I'm cooking because I want yours to look exactly like how mine does. I hope you enjoy 🙂
Michael says
Mine didn’t look at all like the pic, most of the flour fell off. What did i do wrong?
Tanya says
Hi Michael, was it skin on or skinless chicken? The flour may have some difficulty sticking to skinless chicken.
Mike says
This was so good. Had to use chicken breasts but I didn't run into much trouble with the flour not sticking.
Diane Constantine says
Is the parchment paper a special type for the airfryer, or just regular parchme t?
Tanya says
The one I use is a special type of air fryer liner. It's cut to fit your air fryer and has holes in it. They sell it on Amazon.
Michael says
@Diane Constantine, I used regular parchment paper
Amy says
Best Fried Chicken I've ever eaten!!!
Trista says
Hello Tanya,
We are looking to make this for our family, but some of the kids are fairly sensitive to spicy foods. With the hot sauce and cayenne pepper, how spicy does this turn out in the end, or is it not spicy at all and just added for flavor?
Thank you in advance!
Tanya says
I don't find it spicy, but a few people have. I'd use a hot sauce that isn't crazy spicy (Like Texas Pete) and cut the hot sauce and cayenne pepper in half.
Tasha says
Hi there! I am looking to invest in an air fryer but didn't see the link to the brand name and style you use? (I saw the accessories, so thank you!) How long have you had yours and how often do you use in a week? My new convection oven/microwave offers a "slim fry" but haven't had much success with it :/ Thanks again for your Southern Chicken Recipe!
Brandy Freeman says
@Tasha, I know this is an older comment but noticed noone replied to you. I have the Cosori 6.5qt air fryer & LOVE it! I've had it over a year & use it 2-3 times a week. It is very user friendly, holds a large amount of food so there's no need to cook in batches (unless you have an extremely large family.) Also the baskets are dishwasher safe making clean up a breeze. I purchased mine from Amazon. Hope this info helps ?.
Rik says
When I cook breaded chicken in my ninja foodi air fryer the breading comes out burned I cook at 390 for 22 minutes What am I doing wrong it sure doesn’t look like your chicken
Tanya says
My guess is that your chicken pieces are too close to the fan, causing the burn spots. I'd try using the lower rack and the air fryer setting next time, since the rack won't be as close to the heating element.
Jo Wright says
I made this and it turned out wonderful!!
Ang says
Hi Tanya, can I use almond flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Tanya says
Hi Ang, I haven't used almond flour on this. My only concern is that almond flour may darken and brown much quicker than all-pupose flour, so I would keep an eye on it. Let me know if you try it.
Sonya says
I tried almond flour and it didn't turn out bad, like you said you just have to watch it more carefully
Tanya says
Thank you for letting us know how it turned out for you. It's good to know for sure that it can be used if needed.
Janet says
Oh my god what a fantastic recipe. This was my first experiment with my new Ninja Foodi, and it completely convinced us that it was a worthwhile purchase. Crunchy coating, tender juicy interior. Thanks so much for this Tanya, I’ll check your site for all of my air fryer adventures!
Sabrina says
Is this 318 calories for the whole recipe or one piece of the chicken?