Name: Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on); 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 teaspoon paprika (smoked); ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ½ teaspoon onion powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper

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I am loving my air fryer and I needed to try some easy meat recipes. Summer is coming and I see the air fryer as a great solution for those days when it’s so hot you don’t even want to step outside to grill! And when I have chicken I prefer dark meat, so air fryer chicken thighs were a logical choice.

I also see chicken thighs as automatic portion control. One thigh is just enough meat for me, and I don’t feel the need to have any more than one.

Ingredients needed

Chicken thighs – the recipe makes 4 but depending upon the size of the thighs and of your air fryer basket, you might need to do these in batches.
Olive oil
Spices

How to air fry chicken thighs

Chicken thighs are delicious with a simple spice rub added before cooking. I don’t use any sweetener in the spice rub which keeps it healthy, low carb and keto friendly.

air fried chicken thigh on a plate with salad and broccoli

I use the Instant Pot Air Fryer lid. From what I can tell, other brands might run a little “hotter” than mine so if you have a larger air fryer you might want to consider using a 375F cooking temperature.

I also consider a meat thermometer pretty important for this. Just like for grilling, it is sometimes difficult to know whether your meat is truly cooked all the way through. Checking with a meat thermometer is a great way to check to be sure.

With that in mind, simply oil the meat a little with olive oil, mix up the spice blend and then sprinkle it over the thighs.

Place the thighs in a single layer in the air fryer basket. For mine, that is usually 3 thighs.

Air fry for 18 minutes at 400F. Check the internal temperature using a meat thermometer to verify that the temp is at least 165F. if needed, air fry for an additional 4 minutes until fully cooked.

one air fried chicken thigh on a plate with broccoli and salad

(Note: It is possible to air fry all 4 chicken thighs at once, by overlapping slightly. I typically do this just because the packages I buy contain 4 thighs. When the thighs overlap they do need an extra 5 minutes or so of cooking time and the skin is a little less crispy, but it is an option. Just verify with the meat thermometer that the meat is fully cooked.)

Add a simple salad and/or vegetable and you have an easy, healthy and satisfying meal.

Chicken thighs are such a versatile cut of meat! Stock up a bunch so you can also try this sous vide chicken thigh recipe.

air fryer chicken thigh on a plate with salad and broccoli

5 from 42 votes

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