These Air Fryer Chicken Thighs turn out so crispy and delicious! They are coated in the most delicious seasoning rub, then air fried until juicy on the inside with crisped up skin.
4bone-in, skin-on chicken thighsabout 1.5 - 2 pounds in total
2teaspoonsolive oil
1teaspoonground paprika
1teaspoongarlic powder
1teaspoononion powder
½teaspoonItalian seasoning
1teaspoonbrown sugar
1teaspoonsaltmore or less to taste
black pepperto taste
Instructions
Preheat air fryer for 5 minutes.
Pat chicken dry, then place in a bowl with the olive oil. Toss to coat.
Combine seasoning in a small bowl, then evenly sprinkle over chicken. Toss to coat. Rub seasoning into each chicken thigh to ensure it stays on.
Carefully place chicken thighs into hot air fryer basket, skin side up. Air fry at 380°F for 10 minutes, then flip and air fry at 380°F for another 8 minutes. Flip again and finish air frying at 400°F for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient notes
Chicken thighs: I used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Boneless thighs may need to cook less, so check them 5 minutes before the cooking time in the recipe is up.
Olive oil: Feel free to use any cooking oil you have on hand; I often use canola oil in place of the olive oil and it works just as well.
Brown sugar: This adds nice caramelization and browning, but if you don’t want to add sugar to your chicken you can just leave it out! If you want a low carb recipe, you can replace the sugar with your favorite low carb sweetener.
Recipe tips
Make sure to rub the seasoning well on the chicken, otherwise it falls off during cooking.
There’s no need to grease or spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray before adding the chicken, enough fat renders from the chicken during cooking.
You need to remove the chicken from the air fryer and serve it as soon as it’s done. Otherwise, the skin will start getting soggy, but the crispy skin is the best part!