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Juicy Air Fryer Fried Chicken Legs – made with only 3 Tbsp butter but full of flavor and really easy to make. They’re tender and juicy inside and crispy on the outside. You have to try them!
These air fried chicken thighs are crispy on the outside and so juicy and tender on the inside! They taste like real fried chicken but are made using a healthier method with much less fat. Perfect for every fried chicken lover who whats to eat a bit healthier without losing flavor!
My husband loves fried chicken, especially the one from a chain with three letters. You know what I mean! I love it too but since we’re trying to eat healthier I experimented a bit with our new AirFryer and came up with this delicious recipe.
It tastes so good you won’t believe it’s made with much less fat! My husband loves this air fried chicken recipe!
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
Our AirFryer (we own this one) is one of the most used appliances in our kitchen! It gets hot much quicker than the oven and it makes fries taste so much better than making them in the oven. Just put the fries in the basket, shake it every 5 minutes or so and you get delicious crispy fries.
What is an Air Fryer?
An air fryer is a small kitchen appliance that cooks food by circulating hot air around it with a mechanical fan at high speed, cooking the food and producing a crispy texture similar to frying, but without all the oil. It cooks food with 70% to 80% less oil than a traditional deep-fryer.
The Air Fryer is perfect for making small things like fries, fish fingers, or frozen chicken strips in it. You could even make a whole roast in it but I haven’t tried that yet.
You can preheat the AirFryer but I often don’t do that, it gets hot so quickly, so I don’t think it’s necessary. To clean it, I just put the basket which holds the food in the dishwasher or I clean it quickly with some hot water and pat it dry with kitchen towels. It’s really easy and quick! The basket is big enough for fries for 2-3 people, so if you are more you might need to do it twice but thin fries only take about 10 minutes.
How to make fried chicken in Airfryer
These air fried chicken legs are made with buttermilk and have a crispy and slightly spicy breadcrumb crust. They are so juicy and tender inside and make a great dinner or party snack. We often have them with Creamy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes and homemade coleslaw.
Making homemade fried chicken in an Air Fryer is super easy and quick:
- Put chicken with buttermilk in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Combine spices and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Dip chicken pieces in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Put the chicken pieces in a single layer in the air fryer (don’t overcrowd the basket) and fry for 20 minutes.
- Brush with butter after 10 minutes.
- Check for doneness and serve.
Looking for more healthier dinner ideas?
Tools used for making this air fryer recipe:
Air Fryer: This is the model I use and love! It has a big enough basket for a family of 3 or four and is easy to use.
Panko Breadcrumbs: Panko Breadcrumbs work best for this recipe.
Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lbs chicken drumsticks, (4-6 pieces)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
Spice Mixture
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp celery salt
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 Tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Place the chicken drumsticks with the skin on in a plastic bag and pour the buttermilk into the bag. Squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes minimum up to several hours.
- In a shallow bowl combine the panko breadcrumbs, flour, baking powder, and spices.
- Preheat AirFryer to 390°F (200°C) (or don’t preheat it and just fry the chicken 2 minutes longer).
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, shake off excess buttermilk, and dredge the drumsticks in the seasoned flour mixture to coat on all sides.
- Put the chicken in one layer in the Air Fryer basket and air fry for 10 minutes.
- Then pause the AirFryer and brush drumsticks with melted butter on both sides. Turn the chicken over, lower the temperature to 350°F (180°C) and air fry for 7-10 more minutes or until internal temperature reads 165°F (79°C). Depending on the Air Fryer you use this time can be longer or shorter. Always make sure chicken is completely cooked through.
- Remove from Airfryer and let the drumsticks rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
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If you’ve tried this or any other of my recipes, don’t forget to rate the recipe and to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!
I have a Ninja AF100 air fryer. I tried this recipe today! Loved the chicken! I did cook it about 5 minutes longer than stated in the recipe after turning it over. It was juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. I certainly will make it again!
This is great but you fail to say at what temp you need to cook. So many online recipes tell you how to prepare and how long to cook but fail to say at what temp. Thank you!
Step 3 and step 6 in the recipe card at the end of the post list the temperature.
Thank you for sharing your recipe. We loved the air fryer fried chicken
I followed the recipe exactly, but mine we not at all crispy. What wattage is your air fryer? I am sure that would make a difference. The taste is great, just not crispy
Not sure what went wrong, they always come out crispy for me. I use a Philips Air Fryer, I’m not sure about the wattage, but I don’t think that the wattage makes a difference. Did you leave some room between the drumsticks? If they are too close together they might not get as crispy.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I didn’t have buttermilk, so I use soy sauce to marinate. Juicy inside and crispy outside. I am using Philip air fryer.
I have found that the Philips air fryer is much more efficient than other brands. When I try recipes that didn’t use a Philips, my food always over cooks. If you don’t have a Philips, maybe let it cook longer? I really need to figure out how to convert cook times from other air fryers to a Philips.  Not only are Julius recipe is delicious but they cook in the time allotted because I have the exact same air fryer.  If anyone knows the trick to converting times to the faster cooking Philips models please let me know!Â
We have just gotten out air fryer. Tried your recipe and the wife and I loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your recipe !!
I am posting this comment only because of people saying that their food didn’t cook through fully.
Because of health issues, chicken in my air fryer has become my most-often-cooked meat entree.
I always try to buy medium-to-large size pieces because we eat only meat and veggies — no side dishes.
I usually cook either 4 chicken thighs or 6 legs for the two of us and have found that 20-25 minutes @380 degrees works best for both, flipping them over midway cooking time.
I start checking for doneness at 20-minutes.
Both legs AND thighs come out cooked thoroughly and crispy, yet still nice and juicy.
(I cook in a Cosori 5.8 Quart air fryer)
Huge hit with my husband! Thanks for the great recipe!
I just made the recipe and it turned out crispy on the outside but red on the inside. I don’t think the air fryer temperature should go down to 300.
Cooking time might be a bit longer (or shorter) depending on your Air Fryer and how big the drumsticks are. I recommend using an Instant Read Thermometer to make sure meat is fully cooked, this really helps with getting it perfect – done but not dried out. If you don’t have one cut into it and if the juices don’t run clear put the drumsticks back in the Air Fryer and cook for a few minutes longer.
I thought it tasted good but my chicken was NOT done. It registered over 160 (closer to 180 on some) but was still pink and bloody in the middle. Anyone else had that issue?
Ive got bread crumbs but no flour.. Do I have to have the flour. I have baking powder, soda and cornstarch??