Air fry chicken thighs are a fantastic choice if you want to stay home and have a delicious dinner with your family. These expertly seasoned and fried chicken thighs will be perfectly cooked using your air fryer. The meat is very tender, juicy, and flavorful, thanks to adding garlic powder and savory spices to the recipe. My family loves this straightforward dish because it can be prepared in half the time it would take to deep-fried chicken. I am sure you’ll like making this simple dish and want to do so repeatedly because air-frying chicken thighs take only 27 minutes and need a handful of ingredients.
Ingredients to air-fried chicken thighs:
- Chicken thighs: 4 (with bones and skin). Because the bone keeps the chicken extra juicy and the skin crisps up while cooking, I prefer to air fry bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, but you can also create air fryer boneless chicken thighs using this recipe. Both the bone-in and boneless thighs’ cook times are specified in the recipe.
- Garlic powder: 1 tsp.
- Onion powder: 1 tsp.
- Paprika: 1 tsp.
- Chopped parsley: 1 tsp.
- Black pepper: ½ tsp.
- Salt: ½ tsp.
- Olive oil: 1 tsp.
Equipment:
- Air fryer
Additional kitchen hardware tools:
- Meat thermometer
How to air fry chicken thighs?
Step 1: With the help of a paper towel, pat dries the chicken thighs properly. Then mix all the ingredients except the parsley in a zipper bag.
Step 2: Set the temperature of your air fryer to 380 degrees.
Step 3: Moving to the next step, shift the marinated chicken thighs to the air fryer with the skin side down. Let them cook for 10-12 minutes. Cook the chicken for 12 minutes or until it reaches 165 degrees on the other side.
Step 4: Just before serving, add parsley to the chicken & enjoy.
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How long to cook chicken thighs in air fryer?
The size and number of bones in the chicken pieces and the type of air fryer you choose will affect how long the chicken takes to cook. Estimated cook times are provided here. The instant-read thermometer is the best way to determine when the chicken is finished cooking. When cooking chicken, the internal temperature should reach 165° F without touching the bone.
- Chicken thighs with the bone in should be air-fried for 12 minutes at 380°F before flipping and cooking for 7 to 12 minutes.
- For 11 to 15 minutes, air fry boneless chicken thighs at 380°F. During the cooking process, there is no need to flip them.
Pro tips:
- Avoid overfilling the air fryer basket. You should only have one layer of chicken thighs. To ensure that the skin on the pieces cooks to a crisp, you need to allow air to flow around them. If necessary, cook the chicken in batches.
- Since air fryers might vary, the cook times listed are only estimations. The wonderful thing about the air fryer is that it’s simple to open it while the chicken is cooking to see if it’s done.
- Smaller thighs will cook more quickly than larger thighs if your chicken pieces are all different sizes. If some thighs are finished cooking before others, remove the earliest-finished pieces to a clean plate and let the others spend.
How to serve air fry chicken thighs?
With air fryer chicken thighs, so many different side dishes work great!
- For vegetable sides, try air-fried asparagus, air fryer cauliflower, roasted green beans, or roasted broccoli.
- Favorites include roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, brown rice, and pasta.
Air fry chicken thighs: | |||||
Prep Time | Cook time | Total time | |||
5 minutes | 22 minutes | 27 minutes | |||
Servings: 4 | |||||
Course: Main course | |||||
Cuisine: American | |||||
Calories: 354 kcal | |||||
Nutrition facts for 1 bone-in thigh: |
|||||
Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 24g | |||
Fat: 28g | Saturated fat: 7g | Sugar: 1g |

Air fry chicken thighs
Equipment
- Air fryer
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 (with bones and skin) Chicken thighs
- 1 tsp. Garlic powder
- 1 tsp. Onion powder
- 1 tsp. Paprika
- 1 tsp. Chopped parsley
- ½ tsp. Black pepper
- ½ tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Olive oil
Instructions
- With the help of a paper towel, pat dries the chicken thighs properly. Then mix all the ingredients except the parsley in a zipper bag.
- Set the temperature of your air fryer to 380 degrees.
- Moving to the next step, shift the marinated chicken thighs to the air fryer with the skin side down. Let them cook for 10-12 minutes. Cook the chicken for 12 minutes or until it reaches 165 degrees on the other side.
- Just before serving, add parsley to the chicken & enjoy.