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
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ½ 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.
Yvette says
Made this today. Very yummy and easy. No changes necessary!
Deb Liddle says
Wow! These turned out so yummy. I was thawing 4 chicken thighs and had put some Stste Fair Chicken marinade in the bag while they thawed. In the meantime I went searching for good air fryer recipe since I didn’t want to heat up my kitchen using the oven. I found your recipe and decided to give it a whirl. Dumped out the marinade once they were thawed and added your spices and the thighs, gave it a good mix and was ready to go. Air fried at 390 in my Ninja Foodi (there wasn’t a 380 choice). Perfect!
Melissa says
So I didnt have the seasoning you use but I did have black garlic parm seasoning. Cooked it exactly how you said and it came out perfect!! so far your method made the chicken way better than other chicken recipes I have tried. I love my air fryer and am always looking for new recipes.
Susan says
Jennifer! I am always “on the hunt” for a recipe for good ways to cook chicken thighs.
Now I found one! These were perfect, I followed your instructions and they turned out better than I expected. They were delicious. I have a Cuisinart Air Fryer so I was able to cook six at once. I am so pleased with the results, a “no brainer” recipe.
Thank you!
Susan
Mike says
I’m cooking at 400 for 30 minutes , your recipe doesn’t say temperature wise only what they should we cook that which is 165 so I’m going with 400 yes I love the air fryer it works really good on all meals even breakfast meals
James says
Best DAMN Chicken Thighs ever!!!
Will always use this recipe…
Sharon says
So delicious! I made without skin and was still very crispy and juicy!