These Lemon Pepper Air Fryer Chicken Thighs are quick, easy, and on your dinner table in less than 20 minutes. Juicy moist chicken made right in your Air Fryer.
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Full Recipe/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.
Quick and easy weeknight options are a must in our house, especially these days. We’ve moved outside the city (yay) which means a longer commute after work (nay). Most evenings, I come in the house exhausted, ready to order “la pizza.”
But with this Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Thigh Recipe, pizza gets pushed on the back burner and this gets made in a jiffy. It’s full of flavor and I don’t have to wait for my chicken to marinate, woo hoo! My chicken thighs still come out juicy and moist and full of flavor.
Chicken thighs are one of my favorite pieces of chicken to cook in an Air Fryer. They don’t dry out, they're full of flavor, and they’re pretty much hands off.
How do you cook chicken thighs in an Air Fryer?
For this recipe, I start by washing and drying my chicken thighs. Yes, I know the big debate..do as you wish when it comes to washing your chicken. But...make sure they are dry when adding the seasonings.
I then season my chicken thighs with my seasonings. For this recipe, I use lemon pepper seasoning, fresh lemon juice, black pepper, paprika, italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Most lemon pepper seasoning by itself just doesn’t move me, so I add to it.
I then place my chicken thighs in my Air Fryer...it's ok if they touch a little.
I follow the following cooktimes:
- Boneless chicken thighs: 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-17 minutes, flipping halfway through
- Bone in chicken thighs: 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 22-25, flipping halfway through. Then crank up to 390 degrees for 5 minutes if you want crispy skin.
Then serve and enjoy your delicious moist Lemon Pepper Chicken.
Do I need to spray these chicken thighs with oil?
Not this time! I find that some foods need oil while others don’t. Since there is no breading on this and chicken thighs have their own natural fat, you don’t need oil. I talk about this and more in my 10 Air Fryer Tips every Air Fryer Owner Should Know.
Will these chicken thighs get crispy?
Not if they are skinless, because there isn’t really much to crisp. If you want crispy chicken thighs, skin on would work best.
I hope you enjoy these lemon pepper chicken thighs as much as we do.
Looking for more Air Fryer Chicken Recipes? Try my
Air Fryer Chicken Wings (Fresh or Frozen)
Crispy Korean Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Air Fryer Whole Rotisserie Chicken
Pin Lemon Pepper Air Fryer Chicken Thighs for Later
Watch this video tutorial and see how I make these air fryer chicken thighs from start to finish.
Lemon Pepper Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 ½ Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ Tablespoon Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dry chicken thighs. Rub remaining ingredients over chicken thighs.
- Place in Air fryer and cook on 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, turning halfway through until the chicken has reached a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
For Skin On Bone in Chicken Thighs
- For bone in thighs with skin, increase cook time for 22-25 minutes at 360 degrees. Then cook on 390 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes more.
Amanda Schaible says
I haven’t tasted these yet. But an FYI for anyone using the instapot vortex plus cooking time or temp will need to be adjusted. I am on about 25-30 min at 360*F.
Suzy says
I enjoyed the recipe very much. I doubled the lemon juice because I accidentally squeezed too much and I wasn't going to throw it away. I added a little salt. I got called away and had to leave it. I left it marinate for about 1/2 hour. I don't know if these things changed anything but it was excellent.
Gretchen A Riley says
When do you put thelemon juice on? Or do you mix all the dry ingredients together with the lemon juice? I sprinkled tge juice on the thighs then rubbed the dry ingredients all over the thighs. I had mixed the dry ingredients together 1st. The chicken thighs were good.
Tanya says
Hi Gretchen, I mixed all the ingredients together. I'll update the card to indicate that. Glad you liked them and thank you 🙂
Niamh says
This was so quick and so tasty and my 17yo son ate 5 of them after swim practice. Super picky eater, he loved them. This is going to be a weekly dinner for sure!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Lana says
Forgot to mention: made those in Instant pot duo crisp. Time worked perfectly for me.
Lana says
My family loved this recipe. My 3yo ate three of those! She is a picky eater and never eats that much. Definitely a keeper!
Tanya says
Yay! Thanks for the feedback. I love when the picky eaters enjoy the recipes.
Katherine says
Tried this last night and my family loved the flavor and juiciness of the chicken. I did have to modify the time a little, though. I have a KitchenAid countertop oven style air fryer instead of the basket style that is very popular. We have found consistently that it take longer to cook food, so I did have to cook about 10 minutes longer for the large thighs to be cooked completely. Other than that, everything was awesome!
Tanya says
Thank you Katherine. So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Devina says
Beyond juicy! Subbed paprika with cayenne pepper cause it's all we had, and also added a little extra seasoning overall (cause you can never have too much), and even my toddler wanted a second thigh! It was my first time cooking (not crispy) chicken in the air fryer and it didn't disappoint. Thank you!
Michelle says
Excellent recipe. I think the sweet spot for our taste is 18 minutes cooking time. Prepared without any changes and we were very happy with outcome. Thank you!
Kim says
Do you add the lemon juice after it cooks in the airfryer?
Tanya says
Nope, I didn't. That's not a bad idea though.
Laurie B says
Finally, a recipe that looks like the chicken I have! Thanks!
Jennifer says
This air fryer chicken recipe was easy and absolutely delicious.
Kate says
Just curious, where the calories come from? The chicken doesn’t have oil, and the spices are low in calories. I just want to make sure to track it correctly since I’m on A Ketogenic diet.
Delish no matter what!!!
Tanya says
Hi Kate, the calories are from the chicken thighs. I used the recipe with skin attached to calculate.
Natalie says
@Tanya, is it each thigh that is 252 calories ?
Tanya says
Hi Natalie, yes, according to my fitness calculator for a skin-on chicken thigh.
Jay says
This is a great, easy recipe! I use Herbs De Provences for my seasoning. The extra couple of minutes with the higher temp works great for crisping the skin.
Sheila Pearse says
wow....I have had melt in your mouth steak before but never melt in your mouth chicken. This was awesome. tyvm for a fabulous recipe. You rock!!!