This Air Fryer Fried Chicken is golden brown, juicy, and full of flavor, thanks to a simple buttermilk and hot sauce marinade.
You’ll find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check out the blog post itself for extra tips and tricks!
5 Star Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Linda says, "I’ve made this several times and it always turns out yummy."
Southern fried chicken is a classic comfort food, but for a long time, I wasn’t that excited about it. In fact, the only fried chicken I usually ate was air-fried chicken wings tossed in an Asian-inspired sauce.
That changed when I made fried chicken in my air fryer. Marinating the pieces in buttermilk and hot sauce gave me fried chicken that was beautifully golden on the outside and juicy on the inside, with way more flavor than I expected.
Whether you’re new to frying chicken or just looking for an easier way to make it at home, this air fryer version is a simple, flavorful place to start.
With love, Tanya
AIR FRYER FRIED CHICKEN AT A GLANCE
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Marinade Time: 1–24 hours
- Total Time: 35 minutes (plus marinating)
- Serves: 4 people
- Best For: Comfort food cravings, Sunday dinners, family meals, game day, and when you want classic fried chicken with less oil
A Quick Look at the Ingredients Needed
Ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions are on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Whole chicken cut into separate pieces (breast, thigh, wing, and leg)
- For the Marinade: Hot sauce (I use Texas Pete) and Buttermilk. Choose a mild hot sauce and avoid very spicy ones like sriracha.
- Seasoned flour: All-purpose flour, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper.
- Canola or vegetable oil: for spraying the chicken.
How to Make Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Step 1: Marinate your chicken. I use a mixture of half buttermilk and half hot sauce. I learned the hot sauce trick from my mother-in-law. The buttermilk helps keep the chicken juicy on the inside, and the hot sauce adds flavor. Don't worry about it being spicy; it won't be if you use a milder hot sauce. You can marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours.
Step 2: Combine flour, Italian seasoning, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. I use a whisk to ensure that my flour is fully seasoned.
Step 3: Grab a pair of tongs and remove one piece of chicken from the buttermilk mixture, allowing it to drain off a bit, and place it in the flour mixture. Use the tongs to make sure the chicken pieces are fully coated.
Step 4: Lightly spray your air fryer basket with oil, or add a parchment liner with holes if your basket tends to stick. Place the floured chicken pieces on top, in a single layer, with space between each piece so the air can circulate. If using parchment, be sure the chicken is on the liner before you start the air fryer—loose parchment can fly up into the heating coil and be a fire hazard, and could start a fire if it hits the heating element.
Step 5: Close the air fryer drawer, set the temperature to 390 degrees Fahrenheit, and set the timer to 25 minutes.
Step 6: After about 13 minutes, open the Air Fryer. Your chicken should look like the photo below on the left (still showing some dry flour spots). Grab your Air Fryer oil spray bottle and spray those flour spots. Then grab some tongs and flip your chicken. Spray this side of the chicken as well, covering all flour spots. Close your Air Fryer and let it resume cooking.
Step 7: Once your cooking cycle is done, use a quick-read thermometer to ensure your chicken is fully cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove and enjoy 🙂
There you have it! Delicious Southern Style Buttermilk Soaked Air Fryer Fried Chicken.
Other Chicken Recipes in the Air Fryer You May Enjoy
If you like chicken in the air fryer, try these out:
- Air Fryer Whole Chicken (Peruvian Style) - the marinade for this recipe is simply amazing.
- BBQ Air Fryer Chicken Breast - For that BBQ flavor, but made quickly in the air fryer.
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets - Another way to fry chicken in the air fryer, these nuggets are brined in pickle juice, then breaded and air-fried.
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings - My go-to way to make wings these days. I love cooking wings in the air fryer and tossing them in all kinds of sauces.
Make it a Meal
Fried chicken deserves good sides. Here are some of my favorites to make this a full meal.
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges (KFC Copycat) - Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, these KFC-style Air Fryer Potato Wedges are an easy, family-friendly side dish for your Air Fryer Fried Chicken.
- Sweet and Spicy Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts - If you think you don’t like Brussels sprouts, these sweet, slightly spicy, crispy bites might change your mind.
- Kale and Broccoli Salad - I love serving this crunchy kale and broccoli salad on the side for something fresh and green with all that crispy chicken.
- Southern Style Pressure Cooker Collard Greens - These collard greens give you that classic Southern flavor without babysitting a pot on the stove all day.
- Old Fashioned Potato Salad - this salad is perfect for fried chicken nights, cookouts, and potlucks.
Tanya's Top Tips
- I do not recommend overlapping the chicken pieces in this recipe. It’s best to have the chicken pieces in a single layer and not touching. That way, the air can circulate around the chicken, crisping it and giving it a nice, golden crust.
- Remember to spray lightly with oil. The purpose of the oil in this recipe is to cover the dried flour spots. Not spraying with oil will have those flour spots tasting like you would imagine they would, dry flour. Use an oil with a high-smoke point for your chicken.
- If using parchment liners, make sure you place the chicken on them before starting the Air Fryer. Not doing so will cause the liners to fly into the fan, get caught, and possibly start a fire.
- Timing will vary depending on the Air Fryer brand. Use a meat thermometer to ensure your chicken has reached at least 165°F. My chicken usually reaches 180 degrees or higher and remains juicy and deliciously crisp.
How to store leftover fried chicken
To refrigerate: Keep any leftover fried chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To heat up, warm the chicken in a preheated oven at 400F until warmed through.
For freezing: Once cooked and cooled, place any pieces of leftover chicken into an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
FAQs:
You can place your chicken pieces in the fridge for 10-15 minutes after breading, and before air frying. This will help if you have trouble with the breading staying on.
You can, but the results will be a little different. The skin helps the coating stick and get extra crispy, and bone-in pieces stay juicier. If you use boneless, skinless chicken, reduce the cook time and keep a close eye on the internal temperature so it doesn’t dry out.
If you have tried my Air Fryer Fried Chicken or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Air Fryer Fried Chicken Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces in buttermilk and hot sauce. Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate anytime from 1-24 hours.
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- Place a parchment liner in the Air Fryer basket.
- Remove a piece of chicken from the buttermilk mixture and place in the flour mixture, coating all sides of the chicken and shaking off any excess flour. Place the chicken pieces in the basket in a single layer.
- Close the Air Fryer basket and set temperature to 390 degrees Fahrenheit and timer to 25 minutes. Start the Air Fryer.
- After 13 minutes, open the air fryer and spray any flour spots on the chicken. Flip the chicken and spray the other side with oil, ensuring all the flour spots are covered. Close the Air fryer and cook for 12 more minutes.
- Once the timer is up, open the Air Fryer and check chicken pieces with a quick read thermometer. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees at the thickest part of the chicken.
Nutrition
Notes
- I do not recommend overlapping the chicken pieces in this recipe. It’s best to have the chicken pieces in a single layer and not touching. That way, the air can circulate around the chicken to crisp it and give it a nice, golden crust.
- Remember to spray lightly with oil. The purpose of the oil in this recipe is to cover the dried flour spots. Not spraying with oil will have those flour spots tasting like you would imagine they would, dry flour.
- Some breading will fall off, whether you use the liners or not. However, much less breading falls off when using the parchment liners.
- If using parchment liners, make sure you place the chicken on them before starting the Air Fryer. Not doing so will cause the liners to fly into the fan, get caught, and possibly start a fire.
- Timing will vary depending on the Air Fryer brand. Use a meat thermometer to ensure your chicken has reached at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. My chicken usually reaches 180 degrees or higher and remains juicy and deliciously crisp.
- Use any part of the chicken you like that has skin on. The breading may not stick to skinless chicken, and it may not be as crispy.
- I use Texas Pete hot sauce in this recipe. If you are sensitive to heat or use a spicier brand, reduce the amount of hot sauce.
- Air Fryer Parchment Liners (They come in different sizes so make sure to select the one that correlates to your size of Air Fryer)
- Oil bottle for spraying
- Tongs for flipping (I like to have a few around)
- Quick Read Thermometer
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!This post was originally published on March 5, 2019. It has been updated with additional helpful tips.
Adriana says
That was the best fried chicken I’ve had in a very long time!! Thank you so much for that recipe 😋
Catharine Schaidle says
Do you need a special parchment paper fir the air fryer?
Cat
Tanya says
Yep. They have precut parchment paper liners that have holes in the bottom to help with air flow. However, you can cut a piece of parchment and cut holes in the bottom as well.
Christine says
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! Nice combination of herbs and spices - I did cut back on the hot sauce a bit. It turned out very juicy.
Diana says
Can’t wait to try it. Looks delicious. Thanks.
Claire Sendejas says
I made this for my husband's birthday on Monday with our home shucked oysters and champagne and it was incredible! I used Crystal hot sauce instead otherwise followed your recipe exactly. My daughter loved it so much she had me make it for her birthday two days later! Lol. I'm making the left overs again today lol. Can't wait to try your other recipes!
Viola says
I didn't have buttermilk or vinegar so I just used whole milk and hot sauce. That's the only thing I did differently to the recipe itself. I did need to up the temperature and let them go about 5 extra minutes to brown more. Other than that it was perfect. They taste a bit like popeyes chicken (mild). I was afraid with the hot sauce that they'd be spicy, but nope. Perfect. I used 4 chicken legs for me and my boyfriend and paired it with baked potatoes. Total hit.
Tanya says
Thank you Viola! So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Sandra Newcomer says
@Viola, what kind of hot sauce are you using? I used Frank's that is all I could taste.
Patricia says
@Viola, You can make buttermilk by adding lemon juice or vinegar to your milk. I think it is 1 tablespoon. Mix it in and stir let stand for about 5 minutes or so...
Carol says
This looks awesome! Would I get the same results with skinless chicken?
Tanya says
Hi Carol, this flour breading sticks best with chicken with the skin on. However, I have some comments stating that they used skinless chicken and it was fine as well.
luisa padilla says
I am new to the InstatPot cooking world, just got a InstatPot duo as a birthday gift, made your steak recipe and loved it. Today I am trying your fry chicken, love your recipes, I subscribed.
Vicki Cantrell says
Hello I found your site while looking for an air fryer can you tell me which air fryer you use want to get my brother one for Christmas but there are so many on the market, Thank you Vicki
Tanya says
hi Vicki, there are so many. I own a few but the one you will see most often are the Philips Avance XXL or the Bella Pro 5.3qt. Both work very well for me.
Tim says
Made this today and it was so good! I did 3 legs and one very large breast so had to go about 5 minutes longer on the breast because my readings were 159 to 170 while the legs were reading as high as 190. Also had to use regular parchment and cut some holes, but otherwise recipe was followed exactly and best fried chicken ever! Used ninja Foodi XL grill with air fryer. Have ordered parchment for air fryers for next time which will be very soon, thanks for sharing!
Tanya says
Thanks Tim! So glad you liked the recipe and thank you for the feedback 🙂
Ally says
Can you double layer the chicken? I have an accessory that allows me to have two cooking levels. Would I need to increase the time?
Tanya says
hi Ally, you can but it would take more work. You would need to rotate the chicken from top to bottom to ensure even cooking. You will likely need to add a few more munites to the cooking time to ensure all pieces are properly cooked.
Norma says
I’ve read some comments about the hot sauce after my previous post. It added, for my family, just the right amount of “hotness” for all of us. Now if you don’t like spicy food at all, I’d dial it down to 1 parts hot sauce, 3 parts buttermilk to still get the affect without the heat. My family is African American and traditionally, we like a little more seasoning than some of our European American counterparts. The seasoning level on this was just so spot on without being obnoxious, I was shocked and pleased. Usually I need to adjust recipes after the first time making it and no changes are needed for this. It is just so GOOD!
Jackie says
What kind of air fryer was used ?
Tanya says
Hi Jackie, I used the Philips Avance XL for the chicken you see in the photos. In the video I used the Bella Pro 5.3qt
Norma says
This was awesome! My family loved it. And, this was my first time using an air fryer, so I greatly appreciated all the tips. Thank you!
Tanya says
Yay! So glad you liked the recipe Norma 🙂
Norma says
@Norma, I’m Norma too and I approve this message! Seriously, it was so good, my husband with notoriously high standards and my amateur food critic son raves over this. And I loved it too. We will definitely be adding this to our rotation, too. Sooooo good and delicious!!!
Tanya says
Thank you Norma 🙂
Kathie Morris says
Thank you for this fantastic recipe! This was my first time using an air fryer, and the chicken came out perfect!
Tanya says
Yay! So glad you liked the recipe Kathie 🙂