Air Fryer chicken
I finally got one! I got an instant pot air fryer! And one of the first things I wanted to make was Air Fryer Chicken thighs.
No, I’m not a magician but these Air fryer boneless chicken thighs are quite magical!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I had been talking about the instant pot air fryer lid for awhile and even put it in my Amazon cart but couldn’t get myself to push that checkout button. So, early last week my amazing husband came home from work and brought in a 8 quart instant pot with the Air fryer lid!!! I was like a kid at Christmas y’all! Actually, my kids thought I had lost my mind because I was squealing and almost crying because I was so happy. Haha, yes I’m a crier when I’m super happy and excited.
I opened it up, read the directions, did the water test, and planned out my air fryer chicken thighs dinner! I also joined an air fryer Facebook group because I had no clue what temperature or how long to cook anything.
By the way I found out that different air fryers have different times and temps for everything so that made it super difficult to figure out what the right setting was! There are three different kinds of Instant pot air fryers and I didn’t even know that! There may be more but three are whats’ talked about in the group and guess what? Each have their own temps and times for everything. Here are the three that I know of and they all are amazing from what I’ve read and experienced in the group.
So, after reading a few 20 or so posts on air fryer chicken, I figured the best way to do this was to experiment. If you all know me, you know I like to experiment because I want to see what to do and also what not to do that way I can make sure when I do the post that I know that I have made mistakes and learned from the mistakes.
One of the main reasons why I wanted an air fryer lid versus the other types was because I already had an instant pot and wanted another because I like to cook multiple things and we have company over a lot. Also, the price you pay for the instant pot plus the air fryer vs the others was cheaper. Also, another reason is counter space. If you have the counter space and want the biggest opt in for the Omni Plus Air fryer I’ve heard so many Great things and no bad reviews in my group of over 12 thousand people.
When it was time for me to make my air fryer chicken thigh dinner, I looked up a few recipes for boneless chicken in the air fryer and rounded up all the temps and times. Based on that I estimated the average temp, so that’s what I set my air fryer to which in this case was 360 degrees.
Get all of your meats from Chicago Steaks and get Free Chicken!
I have found out when cooking anything new and you don’t know the time specifically to just go with the lowest time possible then you can always add time if need be.
REMEMBER: you can always add time but you can’t reverse it! So, if you burn it, it’s burned but if it’s under-cooked you can cook it more. Makes sense right.
Based on my research I wanted to start with 17 minutes. For me, that seemed like a solid number and it was the lowest number I had come across when I looked up air fryer chicken thigh recipes.
When cooking any kind of meat your times will be different because it all depends on how big and thick your meat is. This is why they give you a range of times in a recipe. In this case I will say the range is from 18-25 minutes for air fryer boneless chicken thighs.
Ok, time to start making my air fryer chicken thighs! I battered up my chicken thighs (you will see the recipe card below on how to do everything don’t worry) And put my air fryer on 360 degrees, for 17 minutes. After 17 minutes when checking it, it still wasn’t done all the way, almost but not quite done so I put it on for another 7 minutes. (I’m pretty good at eye-balling things and figuring out the time that it needs to finish cooking, I don’t know if it’s a gift or if it’s because I’ve done it for so long it’s just intertwined in my brain.)
Bam, my air fryer chicken thighs were done! Golden brown to perfection, I was so proud of myself. I’m actually surprised it didn’t take longer or more estimations to figure out my first air fryer recipe.
So, for my chicken thighs which were about 3/4 inch thick (guesstimating) it was 24 minutes with a temperature of 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Here’s the Full Recipe air fryer boneless chicken thighs for you, ENJOY!
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs Recipe
Equipment
- instant pot with air fryer lid
- Ziploc bag
- small bowl
Ingredients
- 4 whole skinless, boneless chicken thighs You can have skin on it won't change the cook time.
- 2 whole eggs beaten
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs If you want to make it Keto see Notes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp coriander
Instructions
- Place Eggs in small bowl, beat and place chicken in egg mixture
- Take a Ziploc bag and place all spices and panko bread crumbs and shake well
- Take chicken out of egg wash and place into ziploc bag with spices and bread crumbs
- With tongs take out chicken and place in air fryer basket (make sure you have the instant pot pot in then the air fryer basket)
- Put air fryer lid on and push air fryer (if 8 quart) and set temp to 360 degrees and set time. Start with 18 minutes (see notes)
- Add more time if need until your chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit (75 Celsius).
Notes
What sides are best with this Air fryer chicken?
Typically we tend to navigate towards either white rice or brown rice. Sometimes we have mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower, all with a vegetable side or salad.
How long do I cook my chicken for?
Your time will vary because of the size of your chicken but a good rule of thumb is always start out with the lowest number then you can add time if need be. Remember, you can always add time, but you cannot take time off, once it’s cooked, it’s cooked. In this particular recipe the times vary between 18-24 minutes.
Before you go don’t forget to GRAB your FREE MEAL PLAN HERE! ALSO DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS RECIPE, BELIEVE ME YOU WILL WANT TO SAVE THIS ONE.
I’m getting ready to try this tonight as my first recipe with the air fry lid. I notice you don’t mention spraying the chicken with cooking spray as other recipes do. I would prefer not to use the spray so am I correct in that you did not and it came out great. Also, did you turn chicken over half way through (assuming you did not or would have said to.) And it looks great in the photo.
Yes although it says to turn it I did not turn mine but it wouldn’t hurt 😉 also I did put one spray on my basket just to make sure it didn’t stick. I don’t like using oils in my air fryer but one spray in the basket I think is ok. Thank you for reading and please let me know how it goes! I’m excited to hear.