Pull those bone in, skin on chicken thighs out of the refrigerator and make these air fryer crispy chicken thighs tonight! In under 30 minutes you will have a delicious family friendly dinner.
Related: I get all of my grass fed beef and pasture raised chicken from Butcher Box. Read my honest review here.
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
This is the perfect way to cook chicken thighs for that extra crispy skin and no need to heat up the oven.
- Just 5 ingredients – chicken thighs, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and onions powder (plus salt and pepper but those don’t count!)
- Cooks quickly thanks to the air fryer – These take about 25 minutes in the air fryer…which is great!
- No splatter on the stove top!
Personally, I think the air fryer is the best invention besides a home coffee maker. I use mine just about everyday!
I love to make burgers, pork tenderloin, crispy pork chops, and even crispy Brussels sprouts.
My method for crispy chicken thigh skin
I start by pre-heating the air fryer before I spray with cooking spray. I do this only when I want my food to be really crispy.
I make sure the chicken thighs are patted dry and any excess skin is cut away.
Then I mix the chicken thighs with all of the seasonings.
Now we can place the chicken thighs in the air fryer basket skin side down.
I do this so the skin can start to render the fat without browning the skin too much.
I also do this with my Air fryer whole chicken recipe.
My Air fryer has a 6 quart basket so 4 chicken thighs fit perfectly.
If your air fryer is smaller you would need to cook these in batches.
After the chicken thighs cook skin side down, we can flip them over and continue to cook them until the skin is nice and crispy and the internal temperature is 165F.
Making this a complete meal
I like to serve these air fryer chicken thighs with cauliflower Mac and cheese, keto green beans with bacon, or a broccoli salad.
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs - Super Crispy!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 Bone in, skin on chicken thighs, trimed of excess fat and skin
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your air fryer to 380F for 5 minutes. After pre-heating, spray with cooking spray.
- Add the chicken thighs to a large zip-top bag or a bowl with a lid. Top with the kosher salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano and onion powder. Shake to coat.
- Place the chicken thighs in the air fryer, skin side down, for 12 minutes.
- Turn your chicken thighs skin side up and cook for 10 minutes more. If you would like your chicken thighs super crispy. Cook for 4 minutes increments to get your desired crispness.
- Thighs are done when an internal meat thermometer reads 165F. Serve.
DiAnna Cooper says
This is my first recipe with my new Air fryer. It was amazing. Easy to follow for a first time user and delicious.
Susan pahman says
So easy and so good.
Rebecca S Schott says
This was so delicious! My husband loves crispy chicken and it was perfect! Thank you for the recipe!
Brian says
Carb count?
Reggie says
Jennifer. I love the fact that you share your recipe without making me jump through hoops. Thank you. I will be following you from now on.😊
Kathy says
This was absolutely delicious! My husband don’t like mushrooms and he loved it! He even asked if this could be in our dinner rotation. A keeper!🤤
Carol says
Made this recipe as is. My husband said it was fantastic!
Nina says
Crispy outside, juicy inside – we couldn’t believe how delicious this was. Wow!!! This is our new, go-to chicken recipe.
Claudia P says
Definitely will do this recipe again and again. Crispy & flavor outside, really juicy and tender inside…I so have picky eaters but I got complements after dinner 😉
THANK YOU!!!
Craig says
Easy and fantastic flavor!
Zaak OConan says
Made this tonight.
12 min flip 12 more and done.
Extremely tasty.
Connie Losee says
Wow! This air fried chicken thigh recipe is how I broke in my brand new just-out-of-the-box air fryer. I was scared to death I’d burn it or something being totally inexperienced using an air fryer. Thanks to your recipe and perfect instructions’ these were the best chicken thighs I think I ever made. I am hooked on your air fry recipes and this weird contraption. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Sioned Lang says
In another recipe, you said you also use the baking powder in your chicken breast recipe. But your Air Fryer Chicken Thighs, there is no baking powder. They still turned out great, no complaints, but I have 4 more breasts & will add the BP.
Karla says
I have a Emeril 360 and it doesn’t have a basket. It has a wire rack. I was wondering if I would get the same outcome with this type id Air Fryer?
jenniferbanz says
Should work perfectly!
Chrissy says
Can you use boneless chicken for this?
jenniferbanz says
You can but you would want to cook them for a much shorter time
Brenda Piña says
These were so easy and great for a Sunday easy lunch!
Judi says
Does this not have any carbs with the seasonings? Thanks.
Tara Stevison says
It was really good, I will definitely use the “other” grocery store chicken next time though.
Jen says
My family loves this recipe. I double up the ingredients and make 8 thighs at a time. I’ve also tried a batch with ceyanne pepper added to the seasoning and that was good too.
Jaime says
These may be the best chicken thighs I’ve ever made! My kids asked me to make them again tomorrow and they were so easy to make!
Judie says
Just learning to use the air fryer and enjoyed the recipe.
Julie Lyle says
I’m new to using a air fryer. Tried this and it was delicious!
Timothy Provost says
Perfect, thank you very much!!!
Terri says
We made this it was so delicious we had it two nights in a row
Ainslie says
This is an amazing recipe. It was soooo easy and turned out exactly as promised! The chicken was moist, crispy and delicious! We are new to the air fryer world so I’m trying new recipes all of the time. This is definitely keeper! I will be checking out more of your recipes both for keto and air fryer! Thanks again!
Shari says
These thighs were so flavorful and moist. I did the extra couple minutes to make the skin a little crisper. So easy and delicious. The whole family loved them. They will be on rotation for sure. Thanks for a great recipe!
Ramona says
Thank you so much so easy and good. I love my air fryer too. Best thing EVER
Bev says
The moistest chicken I have ever made! These were delicious and will be making again many more times.
Jacqua says
Looks great! I never get crispy chicken. Now with my air fryer I can make great crispy chicken.
Ann says
We had really big thighs, so I added about 5 minutes but this recipe works great! Thanks for sharing!
Eric says
WOW!!!!! 1 word…. AWESOME !!! Thank you!!!
Lisa says
Perfect measurements, perfect cook time- including the additional 4 minutes for extra crispiness (I tried both with and without). The whole family loved it!
Lynda H says
Absolutely fabulous! I did have to cook it the extra 4 minutes….the skin was perfect, then! Will definitely be my go-to recipe for bone-in chicken thighs 🙂
Nikki says
Amazing and simple