Recipe Print

This crispy, crunchy fried chicken is a breeze in the air fryer! A buttermilk and hot sauce marinade takes the flavor to the next level!

vertical photo of a white plate full of crispy brown air fried chicken legs

This hot air fryer fried chicken is savory and succulent, and practically melts in your mouth.

What You’ll Need

  • 8-12 pieces bone-in chicken pieces

For the marinade:

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1.5 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup hot sauce

For the coating:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free AP flour
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Note: If you want to control the spice level, use a milder hot sauce, or kick it up a notch with something stronger!

How to Make Them

a collage of six images showing step by step instructions for making fried chicken in an air fryer
  1. Add the marinade ingredients to a large bowl and place the chicken pieces into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
  2. Place the breading ingredients in a large zip-lock bag and mix to blend.
  3. Working one piece at a time, add the marinated chicken to the coating mix and toss to coat thoroughly.
  4. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a prepared air fryer basket. Save any leftover chicken pieces for another batch if you don’t have room.
  5. Air fry the breaded chicken for 25 minutes at 380 degrees F. Flip the chicken halfway through the cooking time to ensure it cooks evenly.
  6. Serve with your favorite side dishes and enjoy!
black air fryer basket with cooked crispy brown air fryer chicken inside

How to Check That It’s Done?

Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. When placed into the thickest part of the chicken meat, the meat thermometer should read a minimum of 165 degrees F.

For dark meat, use a knife to cut into the thickest part of the meat. You should see that the chicken has taken on a gray/brown color and the juices should run clear.

For white meat, use a knife to cut into the thickest part of the meat. There should be no remaining pink hue and the juices should also run clear.

cooked browned fried chicken pieces on a white platter

How to Serve

I suggest pairing fried chicken with: Air Fryer Baked Potato, Air Fryer Broccoli, Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts or Air Fryer Sweet Potato

air fryer fried chicken pinterest pin
cooked browned fried chicken pieces on a white platter
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
4.93 from 13 votes

Air Fryer Fried Chicken

Crispy, crunchy fried chicken is a breeze to make in the air fryer!
Prep Time1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 185kcal
Cindy – Air Fryer Eats

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 8-12 pieces bone-in chicken pieces

For the marinade:

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1.5 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup hot sauce

For the coating:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour or gluten-free AP flour
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

To marinade the chicken:

  • Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
  • Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.

To coat the chicken:

  • Combine the coating ingredients in a large ziplock baggie. Place the marinated chicken pieces into the bag of coating mix one at a time and press the bag together to coat the chicken. Place the coated chicken piece into your air fryer basket. Repeat until the air fryer basket is full.

To cook your chicken:

  • Air fry the chicken at 380 degrees F for 25 minutes, flipping the chicken pieces halfway through.
Go AD FREE!

Notes

  • I like to lay down parchment paper or foil to help with clean up.
  • I also like to use spray oil (avocado oil) on the drumsticks. Give them a spray before you flip them over to help prevent sticking, and give the tops a spritz of oil to help brown.
  • You can always spritz any floury areas to make them brown.
  • Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven. If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the “Air Fry” function.

Nutrition

Serving: 2pieces | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 1472mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 547IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg
Tired of the ads?Go AD Free – Become part of our Membership community!


Air Fryers can vary greatly. Please take the time to learn your specific air fryer. You may need to adjust times and temperatures based upon your air fryer. All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.

Similar Posts

25 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Wow! I’m a fried chicken kinda gal, but I’ve never tried it in an air fryer. Looks perfectly “fried” … just like deep frying. You have me convinced I must make this soon!

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    It is incredibly fast to fry a batch of fried chicken in an air-fryer. It took me about 1 hour usually using an oven. This is such a great win and time saver tool.

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    I am so happy that I stumbled across this recipe because I was in an air fryer rut. These look like the perfect thing to make in an air fryer. Much less mess, and so crispy! Thanks for this!

    Reply

    1. Hi Gina! Thanks for coming back and letting know us that you tried this air fryer chicken recipe! And better yet, so glad you loved it! 🙂

      Reply

    1. Yay for air fryers and RVs! They truly are a perfect match! So glad you loved our air fryer chicken! So glad it was delicious for your Memorial Day Holiday!!

      Reply

    1. Hello Betty! So glad you made it and enjoyed it! I appreciate your support! Thanks for coming back and letting us know how it turned out! We are happy to help you in your air fryer journey!

      Reply

  10. I just got a small 2 qt air fryer for my birthday, never used one before. Do you think halving this recipe (4 drumsticks) would fit in a 2 qt one?

    Reply

      1. 5 stars
        Thank you for responding! You were right. 3 fit just fine so I just had to do a couple of batches. No problem! A great recipe. 😋

        Reply

  12. 5 stars
    THSNK YOU for posting this. Chicken was so moist on the inside and had the best crispiness on the outside. Will definitely be making this again. 😋

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating