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.
Lisa says
iI love these recipes and the techniques you use i’m about to order i’m parchment paper and a spray bottle from amazon THANK YOU SO MUCH
Nanci says
Could you use this recipe for just the wings ?
Thank you
Tanya says
Hi Nanci, yes you can 🙂
Sandra York says
I made this yesterday and it was GREAT! That hot sauce really makes the meat taste good. I put my chicken on a rack and it was perfect. I won't change a thing about this recipe. Thanks for sharing it!!
Peter says
It was perfect! I was worried it would be too hot, but it wasn't, might even add a bit more next time! 🙂
Dorothy Black says
Oh Tanya, I cannot thank you enough! This chicken is excellent! The hot sauce/buttermilk marinade is wonderful. Thought that Texas Pete would be a wise choice because my scotch bonnet sauce would be gilding the lily. Even the cat was ecstatic! Used bone-in, with skin, chicken thighs and did two batches of two. They fit into the fryer basket, a snug fit but not touching. Did not have problems with the coating falling off. My practice is to blot pieces with paper toweling before I coat the pieces. It was stunning to see how much fat fell into the pan! Your tips were so helpful because I am relatively new to air frying. Next! The jerk pork! Kind regards,
Tanya says
So glad you liked the air fried chicken recipe. lol. I'm also happy the cat liked it too 🙂
Lisa says
The buttermilk/hot sauce marinade is a GAME CHANGER!!!!! the first time I made it almost all my batter fell off (as predicted) so the second time I tried I did a quick flour toss before putting the chicken in the buttermilk/hot sauce, and then also sprayed the parchment circle with a little oil. The first flip was still messy but the stuff that cooked on top the first time around stayed intact much better! This recipe is a new staple at my house, I'm obsessed!
Pam C says
I lost ssoooo much breading when I flipped the chicken over. ?? We still have 1 breast that wouldn't fit so trying it without the flip.
Tanya says
Oh no Pam, that makes me sad. The only time I lost breading was when I didn't use parchment paper. If you want, you could try placing the chicken pieces back in the fridge, after breading, for an hour to see if that helps it stick better.
Don Mims says
Hey Tanya,
I tried your recipe for air fried chicken and I'm so thankful to you for it. It was amazing I did cut back some on the hot sauce but I won't do that again not hot it at all.
I cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit my square Elite Pro and it worked great. I folded over my parchment paper and used a three hole punch to make the air holes works great.
Thank you so much for your blog I plan on trying your air fried fish recipe soon.
Tanya says
Hi Don, so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 I love your tip on making your own parchment liners too, I never even thought of the hole punch.
Diane taber says
Hi I’m really just looking for soon recipes and noticed your lovely recipes for the chicken air fryed chicken.and want to try the chicken recipe. as it looks really good delicious food.thank you take care bye.
Gavin G Stevens says
I tried this out last night.. It was OK.. Most the breading fell off and it was pretty "crunchy" - It probably would have been a lot better deep fried, but hey, its healthier right ?
Victoria Petrakis says
Is it necessary to poke holes in parchment ppa
Tanya says
Hi Victoria, the parchment paper does need holes for proper air circulation. They actually sell the parchment paper liners with holes for Air Fryers on Amazon. They usually sell them in packs of 100s. They come in handy for recipes like this one. I have heard of people making their own by cutting the parchment paper to the size of their Air Fryer and poking holes in it.
Barb says
This a good recipe for fried chicken without all the fat and greasy mess. It is very good. I followed the recipe as directed. It turned out very well. Skinless does not do as well but it is still quite good.
Rob says
Only thing I did different was to double the ingredients to cover 2 bone in breasts and 4 bone in thighs.
Everything turned out perfect! I also followed your instructions for rehearing and they were just as good the second day as they were the first!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful goodness with the world!!
Robert says
Reheating I mean ?
Tanya says
Hi Rob, so glad you liked the recipe. And yes, I reheat almost everything in the Air Fryer. It's the best!
Michelle says
I tried this in my Ninja air fryer but the outside burned and the inside still wasn't cooked - would you suggest lowering the temp on the air fryer to prevent it from happening? I also used almond flour instead of regular because we are low carb - I don't know if that was the culprit...
Tanya says
Hi Michelle, I've never done it with almond flour so that may be it. It shouldn't burn at 360 but it may be because of the air fryer brand as well. I'd lower the temp and see if that works better.
Jami says
Hi, we do not have Buttermilk would whole milk be ok as well?
Tanya says
Hi Jami, It would be better to use buttermilk instead of milk for the soaking. A buttermilk sub of 1 cup vingar and 1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice. https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/buttermilk-substitute/
Susan says
I think she means 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
Tanya says
Yes Susan, thank you, my mistake. I was typing faster than I could think 🙂
Liz says
that's what I did since I didn't have any buttermilk. it was very good.