Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Breast

Air fryer chicken breast is a healthier version of golden crispy deep fried chicken as it’s air fried with very little oil, which makes it a great guilt-free meal. It’s golden and crispy from the outside, juicy and tender from the inside! It can also be ready in under half an hour in 7 easy steps.

Make sure to check out my Air Fryer chicken tenders and my Crispy Air Fryer Fish recipe, it’s THE BEST!

I can’t believe that I survived 20 something years without an Air fryer! I’ve heard people talk about it, and I’ve seen other bloggers post Air fryer recipes but I never really looked into it. And only now did I understand how I was completely missing out on so much convenience, and awesome food without feeling all guilty after eating all the flavourful comfort food.

So I recently got an Air Fryer. I started testing recipes, and we already made this healthy fried chicken recipe 3 times this week. I think that my husband is obsessed with this recipe.

AIR FRYER CHICKEN BREAST

Making air fryer chicken breast is just sooo easy. Next time you crave fried chicken and if you own an air fryer, you won’t struggle to get up from your couch and spend 10 minutes in the kitchen to get perfectly golden and crispy chicken breast.

The chicken is cooked to perfection in the air fryer. It turns out golden and crispy from the outside, and perfectly cooked and white from the inside. It won’t be dry, and it won’t take long in the air fryer either. So what’s there not to love about cooking chicken in the air fryer? This is real comfort food.

REASONS WHY YOU WILL LOVE AIR FRYER RECIPES

Cooking in the air fryer is really quick. If you compare it to cooking the same recipe in the oven, or on the stove then cooking in the air fryer takes less time.

It’s very convenient and it doesn’t leave a mess. All you’ll need to wash after the cooking is the frying basket, and it can go in the dishwasher anyway.

Air frying is quite healthy as you can use just 1 tablespoon of oil if you’re frying chicken in the air fryer, but you will need 2 cups of oil if you’re deep frying on the stove.

Air frying is economical since you don’t need as much oil when compared to cooking on the stove. It also uses less electricity than the oven.

There are so many things that you can cook in the air fryer, you can even bake in it!

TOOLS NEEDED TO MAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN BREAST

An Air Fryer. This is my favorite air fryer.

Stainless steel locking tongs

I can’t live without this non-stick grill pan accessory, I use it all the time!

I love these stainless steel measuring cups and use them every time I cook, as well as those measuring spoons.

These are the mixing bowls that you see in all of my pictures, they’re honestly the best!

This air fryer magnetic cheat sheet is very handy, it contains cooking time and temperature to cook 66 most common ingredients which I find very useful.

I also really like these air fryer parchment liners, they’re not just for steaming and you can use them for cooking things like fries or chicken without worrying that the food will stick to the basket. They’re also quite cheap and there are 100 pcs in a package.

And for a full set of air fryer accessories, I recommend this set.

HOW TO BREAD AIR FRYER CHICKEN

You have two options to choose from:

• You could either bread the air fryer chicken breast in seasoned breadcrumbs, along with some olive oil that is drizzled directly over the chicken. This oil will help the breadcrumbs stick and together they will create that lovely crispy texture to the chicken breast.
• You could use the traditional way of breading chicken just like our mothers and grandmothers always did, by using the egg and flour method. This is also a good option, but the breadcrumbs method is definitely my favourite.

Whichever way you choose, please make sure to season the coating (breadcrumbs and flour) as that’s where most of the flavour comes from.

HOW TO COOK AIR FRYER BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST – STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL

Step 1. Start by cutting the chicken breast in thin halves. For the chicken to cook quicker, you will need thinner strips of the chicken breast.

Step 2. Drizzle the chicken with one tablespoon of olive oil, and mix so the chicken is well coated in the olive oil.

Step 3. Prepare the coating. In a semi-shallow dish, mix bread crumbs with all the seasonings that you’re using. This depends on your taste, but I normally like to add chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and salt.

If you like your chicken spicy, add more chili powder or dried chili flakes!

Mix the coating.

Step 4. Coat each chicken piece in the bread crumbs mixture. Make sure that the chicken is well coated and there is no excess bread crumbs.

Step 5. Preheat your air fryer at 390F or 200C. I usually switch it on about 5 minutes prior to cooking. This ensures that the chicken does not dry out.

Step 6. Transfer your chicken to the air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you can add more or less pieces at once. I have the 3.2 litre air fryer so I could only fit 2 pieces at once.

Step 7. Cook in the airfryer for 12-15 minutes. After the first 8-10 minutes, you can open the air fryer basket and flip the chicken on the other side. Use tongs to flip the chicken as the basket can be too hot so handle with care. Cook for 5 more minutes.

HOW TO CHECK IF FRIED CHICKEN IS COOKED THROUGH

After 12-15 minutes of cooking, the air fryer chicken should become golden and crispy. Check the doneness of the chicken by using a fork and a knife and cut through a small piece to see if the meat is well cooked.

You could also check using a kitchen thermometer. Insert the thermometer in the centre of the chicken, and the internal temperature of the chicken should be read 165F or 75C.

HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN BREAST WITH NO BREADING

Now you might be wondering how to cook air fryer chicken breast if you don’t want to bread it.

Drizzle olive oil over your unbreaded chicken breast, add seasonings then cook in the air fryer for 12-15 minutes flipping halfway through. Serve immediately.

So if you want to a cut a little bit on calories then go for the unbreaded version. However, the breaded crispy chicken breast is definitely my favorite!

The texture of this air fryer chicken breast is very similar to Schnitzel, rather than KFC’s fried chicken.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH AIR FRYER CHICKEN BREAST

Air fryer asparagus and mushrooms

The best ever oven baked fries

Middle Eastern Batata Harra

Cheesy mashed potato cakes

Weight watchers points: 5 points. 

And don’t forget to check out my Air Fryer Fish recipe, it’s sooo good! The fish turns out so crispy and golden!

If you make this air fryer chicken breast, please don’t forget to rate this recipe and share a picture on social media. Tag #LittleSunnyKitchen in your posts as I would really love to see what you make! Thank you for supporting Little Sunny Kitchen, so I can keep sharing my family recipes with you for free.

Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Breast

Easy crispy and golden air fryer chicken breast chicken. This is a healthier version of fried chicken, and is cooked much quicker than in the oven or on the stove top.

5 from 19 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 163kcal

Author: Diana

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup (25 grams) bread crumbs
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp dried chili powder
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

• Put the chicken breasts in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, mix the chicken to make sure that it's well coated with oil.
• In a shallow dish, mix the bread crumbs with the spices until well combined.
• Coat each chicken breast in bread crumbs, and transfer to your air fryer basket.
• Cook in the air fryer at 390F or 200C for 10-12 minutes. After the first 7 minutes, open the air fryer and flip the chicken on the other side then continue cooking (cook for 3 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breast used).

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 423mg | Potassium: 418mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4.4% | Vitamin C: 1.6% | Calcium: 0.6% | Iron: 2.7%

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