Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
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Make THE BEST bone-in chicken thighs that are incredibly juicy inside, and crispy outside, with this easy recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Thighs! Using just 4 ingredients, including my famous Chicken Seasoning, will give you perfectly cooked, flavorful chicken thighs in less than 30 minutes!
Table of contents
You know when you cook something and throughout the entire meal you can’t stop talking about how good it is? Well, this is going to be one of those meals!
I should have known after how amazing these air fryer chicken wings turned out that bone-in chicken thighs would also be delicious. But I was seriously blown away by how good and how easy this recipe turned out!
If you’re usually a boneless, skinless chicken thigh kind of person, I dare you to try these bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in the air fryer. Having the bone in the chicken keeps it so moist while it cooks, and the skin turns out so perfectly crispy! The layers of juicy meat with crispy skin is just so good.
For the flavor, I simply used lemon juice and chicken seasoning on the chicken thighs. This all-purpose chicken seasoning is seriously so good on everything from grilled chicken breasts, to rotisserie chicken, to these air fryer chicken thighs. It’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes and I always keep it in my pantry to add flavor to every chicken recipe that I make!
If you want to step up the heat, swap it out for my famous chicken wing seasoning. Also so delicious and easy to make!
Ingredients
- Bone In, Skin On Chicken Thighs – yes, you can make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but you will need to reduce the cook time. And I highly recommend trying it just once with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, so you can get a taste of the extra moist chicken and crispy skin.
- Olive oil – to help the seasoning stick on the chicken and help the chicken brown in the air fryer.
- Lemon juice – to add a bright, zesty flavor to the chicken. You could also use lime juice if that’s all you have on hand.
- Chicken seasoning – click the link for my all-purpose chicken seasoning. It’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes with 7 pantry staple herbs and spices, like garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, salt and black pepper.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Season the thighs. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, then add them to a large bowl. Pour olive oil and lemon juice over the thighs and toss until they’re coated. Sprinkle the chicken seasoning over the thighs and toss to coat them in the seasoning. Place the thighs, skin side down, and not overlapping, in an air fryer basket. I made this recipe in a 5.8 quart Cosori air fryer and it fit four bone-in chicken thighs perfectly. If your air fryer is smaller, you might have to cook the chicken in batches.
- Cook the thighs. Air fry the chicken thighs at 400°F for 10-12 minutes. Flip and cook for another 10-12 minutes, or until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 160°F. The internal temperature will continue to rise 5-10 degrees after you remove the chicken from the air fryer. Let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.
Variations
This recipe is perfect for a simple, flavorful chicken thigh recipe, but you can also mix up the seasonings to make different variations.
Pairing this chicken with pasta? Make it Italian style! Want to serve these chicken thighs on taco night, season them with taco seasoning.
The possibilities really are endless, but here’s a few ideas to get you started!
- Lemon pepper seasoning – double up on the lemon goodness by tossing these chicken thighs in both lemon juice and lemon pepper seasoning, instead of the chicken seasoning.
- Taco seasoning or fajita seasoning – add these scrumptious chicken thighs to your next fiesta or taco night by seasoning them with either taco seasoning or fajita seasoning. Instead of lemon juice, I recommend lime juice to pair with these Mexican spice blends.
- Chicken wing seasoning – use my famous chicken wing seasoning blend to spice up the flavor of these chicken thighs. Instead of lemon juice, I recommend tossing the thighs in olive oil and buffalo sauce before seasoning them with the spice blend. Optionally, you can also brush more buffalo sauce on at the end, once the thighs are fully cooked.
- Italian seasoning – replace the chicken seasoning with Italian seasoning. And feel free to add 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, to add a taste of Italy to these chicken thighs. Perfect for pairing with pasta, risotto, or your favorite Italian dishes.
- BBQ seasoning – use this brown sugar bbq seasoning to bring the flavor of a bbq inside to these air fryer chicken thighs.
- Chicken thigh marinade – the great thing about using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs is that the skin keeps the chicken moist as it cooks. If using boneless skinless chicken thighs, you might want to marinate them first. Click the link to grab my easy 3-ingredient chicken thigh marinade recipe.
Recipe tips
- Always start cooking the chicken with the skin side down. With the skin facing up the second half of the cooking time, this allows it to crisp up nicely and turn golden brown.
- If you want to make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, reduce the cook time to 6-8 minutes per side. Boneless chicken thighs tend to be smaller than bone-in chicken thighs, so they will cook quicker. You always want to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken thighs. Only remove them from the air fryer once they’ve reached 160-165°F internally.
- If using frozen bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, you can cook them straight from the freezer, but you will need to increase the cook time to 15 minutes per side. Use a thermometer to make sure they’ve reached an internal temperature between 160-165°F before removing them from the air fryer.
- This recipe is naturally gluten free, dairy free and low carb. It’s perfect for those on a keto diet, as each cooked chicken thigh contains less than 2 net carbs.
- Leftover cooked chicken thighs should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend reheating them with the skin side up in an air fryer for 2-3 minutes. This will reheat the meat throughout and re-crisp up the skin.
What to serve with it
- Italian Salad – for a healthy meal, pair the chicken with this basic Italian salad. It’s a delicious copycat of the salad at Olive Garden!
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes – cook the potatoes in the air fryer first. Keep them in the oven on warm while you prepare the chicken thighs in the air fryer. No oven, no problem! Just cover the potatoes with foil until you’re ready to serve them.
- Baked Sweet Potatoes – click the link to learn how to make them in the air fryer, oven or microwave!
- Potato Salad – for a taste of summer, pair the chicken with my famous Red, White and Blue Potato Salad!
- Mac and Cheese – for a quick meal that the entire family will love, prepare my EASY stovetop mac and cheese recipe while the chicken cooks in the air fryer. The two pair perfectly for a delicious comfort food meal!
- Roasted Baby Potatoes – these potatoes are full of flavor, just like this chicken, which makes them the perfect pair for dinner!
More air fryer recipes
Fire up your air fryer and try all of these delicious recipes!
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, approximately 2 pounds
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chicken seasoning, click link for the recipe
Instructions
- Preheat an air fryer to 400°F.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, then add them to a large bowl. Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the thighs and toss until they’re coated.
- Sprinkle the chicken seasoning over the thighs and toss to coat them in the seasoning.
- Place the chicken thighs in an air fryer, skin side down, and not overlapping. I made this recipe in a 5.8 quart Cosori air fryer and it fit four bone-in chicken thighs perfectly. If your air fryer is smaller, you might have to cook the chicken in batches.
- Air fry at 400°F for 10-12 minutes. Flip and cook, skin side up, for another 10-12 minutes, or until the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) reaches 160°F.
- Rest the thighs for 5 minutes before serving. The internal temperature of the chicken will continue to rise 5-10 degrees after you remove the chicken from the air fryer.
Notes
- For flavor variations to make Italian, Mexican or BBQ seasoned chicken thighs, refer to the blog post above.
- If you want to make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, reduce the cook time to 6-8 minutes per side. Boneless chicken thighs tend to be smaller than bone-in chicken thighs, so they will cook quicker. You always want to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken thighs. Only remove them from the air fryer once they’ve reached 160-165°F internally.
- If using frozen bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, you can cook them straight from the freezer, but you will need to increase the cook time to 15 minutes per side. Use a thermometer to make sure they’ve reached an internal temperature between 160-165°F before removing them from the air fryer.
- This recipe is naturally gluten free, dairy free and low carb. It’s perfect for those on a keto diet, as each cooked chicken thigh contains less than 2 net carbs.
- Leftover cooked chicken thighs should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend reheating them with the skin side up in an air fryer for 2-3 minutes. This will reheat the meat throughout and re-crisp up the skin.
Nutrition Facts
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