This Air Fryer Chicken Breast Is Ridiculously Good
Two things I’ve never been big on:
- Air Fryers
- Chicken
But my life has changed in such a big way out here in the year 2024, and I’m now making this air fryer chicken almost on the daily. It’s so juicy, so delicious, and those crispity little browned bits! Ugh.
How I got here: Bjork has been going hog wild on all things protein in the last few months. As resident cooker of all the food in our house, I decided it’s time for me to figure out a really foolproof way to make chicken – for him (#protein), and for me, so that I actually like it.
So even though I’ve resisted it for years… I bought an air fryer. Almost exclusively to make chicken. And guess what? The one recipe I keep coming back to is these thinly sliced chicken breast pieces, coated to the max in spices, plus a bit of brown sugar and cornstarch, and air fried to golden, juicy perfection. I LOVE THIS CHICKEN SO MUCH!
There’s an excessive amount of seasoning and flavor, which we obviously love, but it’s the golden crisped exterior with little edge bits that you will die for. And all the while it stays nice and juicy on the inside.
Takes 15 minutes to make and it’s such a family winner for us. I hope you love it!
How To Make This Air Fryer Chicken
1
Thinly slice the chicken.
No thank you for thick chicken breasts. I always slice the chicken breasts into thinner pieces, about half an inch or less. Goal: more even cooking, more juicy chicken, and more flavor coating surface area. (Careful for your fingers – in this picture I was trying to hold it so you can see both sides for size.)
2
Toss with spices.
Toss the chicken with your spices and the avocado oil. No piece left behind – we want every bite SUPER well-coated!
3
Air fry at 415 degrees for 11 minutes.
Preheat the air fryer; place the pieces in a single layer so they get good air flow around them (hello, browning)! Sometimes I have to do this in two batches depending on how much chicken I have. Don’t overcrowd.
4
You’re Done! Yum!
When that timer goes off, you’re done. Slice and serve! Hot, juicy, golden browned and full of flavor. *drool*
Ridiculously Good Air Fryer Chicken Breast
Total Time: 21 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
My go-to everyday air fryer chicken breast! Thinly sliced chicken breast pieces, coated to the max in spices, plus a bit of brown sugar and cornstarch, and air fried to golden, juicy perfection.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
The Spices
- 1 heaping teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use Morton table salt for this because it’s fine and better for coating)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
The Chicken
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- somewhere between 1 to 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Cut the the chicken into thin pieces: Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally to get about a half-inch thickness on each piece. You can also cut them in half vertically to make smaller pieces if you’re working with larger chicken breasts. Pat the chicken breasts dry if they have a lot of moisture on them.
- Coat the chicken with spices: Toss the chicken with the spices and the oil – you want to thoroughly coat the chicken. At this point you can marinate it in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but you do not need to by any means. The flavor is excellent even if it just goes straight into the air fryer, and that’s how I usually make it.
- Air fry: Preheat the air fryer. Place the chicken on the air fryer basket / grate in an even layer, leaving a bit of space for air to circulate around. Air fry the chicken at 415 degrees for 11 minutes. If you have larger pieces of chicken, you’ll want to go closer to 13 minutes; smaller pieces will be done in closer to 10 minutes. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- You’re done! Yum! It should be a gorgeous sight for hungry eyes. Crisped on the outside, full of flavor, and juicy to the max. Let it rest for a moment; then slice into it and enjoy. We often eat at least half of it just hot out of the air fryer while standing over the cutting board. I am on a kick with dunking the chicken pieces in a house-made gochujang dipping sauce which is in the notes below!
Notes
Salt Depends on The Amount of Chicken: And the salting is important. Here’s what I recommend.
- 1 pound of chicken breasts: 3/4 teaspoon table salt (as written)
- 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts: 1 teaspoon table salt
- If using coarse kosher salt: 1 teaspoon salt for 1 pound of chicken breasts
Paprika: I buy paprika labeled “ground paprika” or “paprika”. There are tons of varieties of paprika out there, including smoked paprika, hot paprika, Hungarian paprika, or sweet paprika, and this recipe isn’t intended for those types of paprika. I would recommend using a regular paprika to start and then branch out if you want a different flavor.
Cheat Code for the Seasoning: This recipe is very clutch with McCormick Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning blend. Not sponsored, just so easy and so good. I found a neglected bottle of it when I was cleaning out my spice cabinet and it is DELICIOUS on this chicken. Just use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the seasoning mix in place of the paprika, salt, onion and garlic powders. Then add your cornstarch and brown sugar to it and love your juicy, delicious chicken life!
Amazing Gochujang Dipping Sauce: This is my current favorite sauce to have with this chicken, either in a bowl, a salad, or just dipping the chicken pieces straight in. Mix 1/2 cup mayo with about 2 tablespoons gochujang sauce (table sauce, not paste), 1 clove grated garlic, a shot of soy sauce, and a dash of rice vinegar if you want. Season with salt and pepper. Oooof. So good.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: air fryer chicken, air fryer chicken breast, chicken breast recipe
