These Lemon Pepper Air Fryer Chicken Thighs are quick, easy, and on your dinner table in less than 20 minutes. Juicy moist chicken made right 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.
Quick and easy weeknight options are a must in our house, especially these days. We’ve moved outside the city (yay) which means a longer commute after work (nay). Most evenings, I come in the house exhausted, ready to order “la pizza.”
But with this Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Thigh Recipe, pizza gets pushed on the back burner and this gets made in a jiffy. It’s full of flavor and I don’t have to wait for my chicken to marinate, woo hoo! My chicken thighs still come out juicy and moist and full of flavor.
Chicken thighs are one of my favorite pieces of chicken to cook in an Air Fryer. They don’t dry out, they're full of flavor, and they’re pretty much hands off.
How do you cook chicken thighs in an Air Fryer?
For this recipe, I start by washing and drying my chicken thighs. Yes, I know the big debate..do as you wish when it comes to washing your chicken. But...make sure they are dry when adding the seasonings.
I then season my chicken thighs with my seasonings. For this recipe, I use lemon pepper seasoning, fresh lemon juice, black pepper, paprika, italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Most lemon pepper seasoning by itself just doesn’t move me, so I add to it.
I then place my chicken thighs in my Air Fryer...it's ok if they touch a little.
I follow the following cooktimes:
- Boneless chicken thighs: 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-17 minutes, flipping halfway through
- Bone in chicken thighs: 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 22-25, flipping halfway through. Then crank up to 390 degrees for 5 minutes if you want crispy skin.
Then serve and enjoy your delicious moist Lemon Pepper Chicken.
Do I need to spray these chicken thighs with oil?
Not this time! I find that some foods need oil while others don’t. Since there is no breading on this and chicken thighs have their own natural fat, you don’t need oil. I talk about this and more in my 10 Air Fryer Tips every Air Fryer Owner Should Know.
Will these chicken thighs get crispy?
Not if they are skinless, because there isn’t really much to crisp. If you want crispy chicken thighs, skin on would work best.
I hope you enjoy these lemon pepper chicken thighs as much as we do.
Looking for more Air Fryer Chicken Recipes? Try my
Air Fryer Chicken Wings (Fresh or Frozen)
Crispy Korean Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Air Fryer Whole Rotisserie Chicken
Pin Lemon Pepper Air Fryer Chicken Thighs for Later
Watch this video tutorial and see how I make these air fryer chicken thighs from start to finish.
Lemon Pepper Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 ½ Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ Tablespoon Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dry chicken thighs. Rub remaining ingredients over chicken thighs.
- Place in Air fryer and cook on 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, turning halfway through until the chicken has reached a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
For Skin On Bone in Chicken Thighs
- For bone in thighs with skin, increase cook time for 22-25 minutes at 360 degrees. Then cook on 390 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes more.
Andrea Meidell says
Just got an air fryer for Christmas! This looks amazing ?
Can’t figure out how to post my picture!
Tanya says
Hi Andrea, thank you! Unfortunately, my blog doesn't have the ability for pictures to be posted in the comments.
Marlene McCarthy says
I followed the recipe exactly for boneless, skinless thighs. They turned out perfect and were so delicious! Thank you such a simple and tasty recipe!!!
Harry cox says
We are cooking this tonight ! I'll let u know how it goes should be an easy task ,thanks ??
Laura says
So good! Juicy and very flavorful. The first thing I've really made in the air fryer- will be making this again. Thanks!
Joe says
Recipe work good
MyKeshea says
We used your recipe for dinner tonight. Those chicken thighs were amazing!! I also sliced some chicken breasts into strips, rubbed them down with the seasonings, and cooked in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Wow!! Thank you for sharing it!
PJ Harmon says
This was delicious! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. This is a keeper.
Michelle Saelim says
Very good recipe and super easy and quick to make! I only used Mrs.Dash lemon pepper seasoning and it still came out good, subtle lemon flavor, very juicy and crispy skin! Next time I will add more garlic and salt, some extra seasoning for more flavor impact. I will definitely be adding this on one of my regular dinner meals!
Caron says
The BEST Lemon Pepper dish I've ever had. Like you I have never been a big fan of this particular seasoning, but you have really made me a convert!. This is so simple and yet tastes like you fussed for hours. Thank you Tanya.
Tanya says
Thank you for the feedback 🙂 I agree, simple yet tasty recipes are the best.
Suz says
I made this recipe tonight for the 2 of us. Used 5 strips, about 1/2 pound. Halved the recipe for rub. I didn’t have the lemon pepper seasoning, so I took a large lemon and used the zest and some season pepper in place of it. They were small strips, so I cooked 8 min. flipped and 10 min on the other side. They were soooo good. Perfect with the Asian Salad mix I had on hand. Quick, easy, delicious recipe! Thanks.
Tanya says
So glad you liked the recipe. Great idea to use the lemon zest too.
Robert Dies says
I agree thighs are great in air fryer,I also like to use a bar b que rub on thighs put them in a ziplock bag for a few hours then cook is really tasty.I enjoy your site.
Diane says
Made this tonight.....this was "delishous" ? I will be making again❤
Gloria Guerrero says
Made this last night and it turned out delicious.
I did make a small change and that was using white pepper instead of black (I just prefer the taste of the white pepper) and I didn’t have lemon pepper seasoning so I didn’t use that. It still came out really good. Thank you!
Sharon S says
My family loved this recipe! Got raves. I'll be making it again. Thank you!
Tanya says
Yay! So glad you all liked it. Thank you for making it.
Katherine P. says
Excellent recipe, thank you very much for sharing.
Tanya says
You're welcome. So glad you liked it 🙂