Perfectly seasoned Air Fryer Smoky Chicken is a quick and easy recipe for dinner that is reminiscent of summer barbecues and smokehouse restaurant dishes.
AIR FRYER SMOKY CHICKEN RECIPE
Making chicken breast in the air fryer is one of the easiest and fastest ways to get dinner on the table in less time.
Air Fryer Sticky Ginger Chicken is another favorite chicken breast recipe.
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.
INGREDIENTS IN AIR FRYER SMOKY CHICKEN
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 a depth to the flavors.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you.
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER SMOKY CHICKEN
- Start by mixing all the spices together and set aside.
- Remove chicken breasts from the package. Trim breasts if needed.
- Gently pat the spice mixture into the breasts, flip the chicken breasts and repeat.
- 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).
- Air Fry the breasts as directed. Flip breasts midway through the cooking process and spritz again with oil. Cook until the breasts are at 165F/73C. Use a meat thermometer to measure the temp.
- Serve with your favorite side dishes and enjoy!
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SMOKY AIR FRYER 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.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU COOK RAW CHICKEN IN THE AIR FRYER?
Follow the recipe here for perfectly cooked air fryer chicken breasts. Note that all air fryers cook a little bit differently, so it's important to check on your food as it's cooking.
You should use a food thermometer to make sure that the inside of your chicken breast is at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the temperature at which chicken is safe to eat.
SHOULD MY AIR FRYER BE SMOKING?
This is a smoky chicken recipe, not a smoked chicken recipe! It is normal for smoke to come out of your air fryer in some cases.
Many times you'll see smoke coming from your air fryer if you are cooking fatty meats like hamburgers or chicken thighs with skin. This is normal.
Chicken breast shouldn't smoke in the air fryer because it's low on fat. If you see smoke, check it out to be sure it isn't starting to burn!
HOW TO USE THE AIR FRYER FOR MEAL PREP
I love using this recipe for simple meal prep. Having cooked chicken breast on hand for lunches during the week makes my life much easier.
For chicken meal prep, Air Fry your smoky chicken breasts on Saturday or Sunday. Place one piece of chicken in a lunch sized container. Add in some veggies - mushrooms, broccoli, green beans are all great. If you want, add a carb like rice, quinoa, or potatoes for a filling meal.
You can double or triple this recipe to make enough chicken to make multiple lunches for the whole family for the entire week!
This recipe was made in a Cosori Air Fryer with a Basket. The recipe should work in other air fryers.
Keep in mind that each air fryer runs differently, it is important to check your food often.
If you have a Cuisinart Air Fryer Oven or a Ninja Basket Air Fryer, both of these units seem to run "hotter" than most air fryers. That means you will need to LESSEN the cook time.
TRY THESE AIR FRYER CHICKEN RECIPES
Air Fryer Chicken Wings are a total crowd pleaser, and much less expensive than ordering out.
Crunchy and delicious Air Fryer Fried Chicken is totally worth the effort and comes out perfectly in the air fryer.
You can cook a Whole Chicken in the Air Fryer in under an hour.
Meat Air Fryer Resources - We have a Meat/Veg Air Fryer Newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. We also have several Air Fryer Facebook Groups that you can join (see below for links).
Vegetarian Air Fryer Resources – We have a vegetarian air fryer newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. We also have a specific vegetarian air fryer recipes group on facebook.
If you are looking for vegetarian recipes beyond air fryer ones, we have a Vegetarian Newsletter as well as a Vegetarian Recipes facebook group. This newsletter and FB group offers up recipes that on the stove, in the oven, on the grill, in the instant pot and more!
Have you made this recipe? Please leave a comment AND rating below! It helps other readers!
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Air Fryer Smoky Chicken
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Breasts boneless, skinless
- 1 t Smoked Paprika
- 1 t Oregano
- ½ t Garlic Salt
- ¼ t Cinnamon
Instructions
- Start by mixing all the spices together and set aside.
- Remove chicken breasts from the package. Trim breasts if needed.
- Gently pat the spice mixture into the breasts, flip the chicken breasts and repeat.
- 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).
- Air Fry the breasts at 350F/176C for 16-18 minutes. Flip breasts midway through the cooking process and spritz again with oil. Cook until the breasts are at 165F/73C. Use a meat thermometer to measure the temp.
Notes
- This recipe works great for meal prepping.
- 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
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.
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Vegetarian Air Fryer Bundle - Click here
I made these and ate them sliced up on top of a big salad. It was delicious! I'm going to use the extra for lunches.
So glad you loved them!!