Air Fryer Smoky Chicken

Perfectly seasoned Air Fryer Smoky Chicken is a quick and easy recipe for dinner that is reminiscent of summer barbecues and smokehouse restaurant dishes.

Recipe Overview

Making chicken breast in the air fryer is one of the easiest and fastest ways to get dinner on the table in less time.

This recipe for air fryer smoky chicken uses smoky, savory seasonings to create a BBQ-style chicken that is so delicious, you’ll want to make it every week!

Air Fryer chicken is perfect to use for weekly meal prep too. Just cook up the breasts while you’re doing other things in the kitchen this weekend and pop them in the fridge for lunches and meals all week.

What you’ll need

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast – This recipe is for this cut of chicken, but I promise that this spice blend will taste good on anything!
• Smoked Paprika – This is what gives this recipe the smoky flavor. Smoked paprika is wonderful to keep on hand for chicken seasoning.
• Oregano – This adds an earthy tone to the seasoning mix.
• Garlic Salt – Garlic and Salt in one place, yes, please! I love this as an all-purpose seasoning.
• Cinnamon – a little bit of cinnamon is our secret ingredient here. It blends well with the other ingredients to give depth to the flavors.

Steps to make it

1. Mix all the spices together and set aside.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the package. Trim breasts if needed.
3. Gently pat the spice mixture into the breasts, flip the chicken breasts, and repeat.
4. Place the breasts into the air fryer basket or air fryer tray.  Spritz with oil (this helps to crisp the spices and outside of the chicken).
5. Air Fry the breasts at 350F/176C for 16-18 minutes. Flip breasts midway through the cooking process and spritz again with oil.
6. Serve with your favorite side dishes and enjoy!

What to serve with smokey chicken

I’m serving this chicken here with Balsamic Air Fryer Mushrooms. I love the strong flavors of both of these dishes together.

For other great side dishes for chicken breast, try a simple potato dish like Air Fryer Potatoes, or a Air Fryer Tater Tots.