Recipe Library
Air-Fryer "Fried" Chicken Thighs
Crisp, golden breadcrumbs shatter under each bite, revealing juicy chicken thighs steeped in tangy buttermilk and a whisper of heat. The air-fryer delivers that crave-worthy crunch without a drop of oil.
- Total
- 36 min
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 16 min
- Serves
- 4
Nutrition per Serving
- Calories
- 353
- Protein
- 27g
- Carbs
- 20g
- Fat
- 18g
- Fiber
- 0g
- Sugar
- 2g
- Sodium
- 420mg
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 pound total), trimmed
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, hot sauce and garlic in a medium nonreactive bowl. Add chicken thighs. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Combine flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Add eggs to another shallow dish and breadcrumbs to a third shallow dish.
- Working one at a time, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade. Coat with the flour mixture, then the egg. Finally, coat both sides with breadcrumbs. Coat both sides of the chicken with cooking spray.
- Lightly coat the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray. Place the chicken thighs in a single layer in the basket. (Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may have to cook in batches.)
- Cook the chicken at 400°F until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the chicken registers 165°F, turning the thighs over halfway through, about 16 minutes. (If cooking in batches, cooking time for the second batch may be shorter.)