How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
How to make tender, juicy chicken breasts in the air fryer!
Easy air fryer chicken breasts are great as a simple main dish or meal prep to use in other recipes, like BBQ chicken pizza, chicken taquitos, chicken alfredo, chicken broccoli rice casserole, and so many more!
I have tried cooking chicken breasts in the air fryer a few different ways – brining the chicken and without brining. Side by side, I hardly noticed a difference! The brined chicken breast was a bit saltier, but both were very juicy and delicious. Might as well skip the brining, in my opinion.
Plus with this simple air fryer chicken breast recipe you can have a simple chicken dinner ready in less time than going to get drive-thru. If you want even more easy chicken recipes, take a look at our 10 air fryer chicken recipes that you can download and start making right away!
Ingredients and Supplies for Air Fryer Juicy Chicken Breasts:
Ingredients:
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried parsley
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne pepper
- Olive or avocado oil spray
Supplies:
- Air fryer
- Oil sprayer
- Meat pounder
How to air fry chicken evenly:
Pound down the thicker end of each chicken breast. This helps to even out the thickness so they will cook more evenly and quickly. The Norpro Meat Pounder makes quick work of it.
What type of oil is needed for flavorful chicken breasts?
Spritz the chicken with oil. I like to use an avocado oil spray, but any olive oil or avocado oil will work. Just a thin layer to coat is needed.
Seasoning to flavor chicken:
Use any dry rub or your favorite chicken seasoning. This air fryer chicken recipe includes a nice, simple seasoning mix with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, smoked paprika, and a little bit of cayenne pepper.
How long to cook chicken breast in the air fryer?
Air fryer chicken breast is so easy and fast! Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the chicken and your air fryer, but for a 6-ounce chicken breast, pounded to even thickness, it takes about 10 minutes. Turn the chicken breast over halfway through cooking to ensure even browning.
Safe internal temperature for chicken breasts:
Using an instant read thermometer is the best way to tell when the chicken is done. You want the center of the thickest part of the chicken breast to reach 165°F.
How to make Air Fryer Juicy Chicken Breasts:
Step 1: Pound chicken
Step 2: Create homemade seasoning with spices
Step3: Season chicken breasts
Step 4: Air fry chicken
Important things to note when cooking air fryer chicken:
Let the air fryer chicken breasts rest for about 5 minutes after cooking and before slicing to maximize juiciness. I hope you enjoy this simple way to cook chicken breast in the air fryer. So quick and easy!
If you plan to shred the chicken, check out how to shred chicken the easy way.
What to serve with air fryer chicken breasts:
There are plenty of options for easy side dishes to serve with this simple chicken breast recipe. But, to get your started, here are a few to try out.
My favorite and easy side dish recipes:
- Air Fryer Broccoli from Frozen
- How to Roast Any Vegetable in the Air Fryer
- Rice in the Air Fryer
- The Best Fried Rice in the Air Fryer
Final Thoughts
If you love a quick way to make deliciously cooked chicken to pair with an easy side dish, this is a great way to do it!
You can have dinner done in less than 30 minutes with a simple homemade seasoning blend and keep it relatively healthy too!
The best air fryer chicken recipes to make for the family:
- Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken Dinner Recipe
- The Easiest 5 Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken Dinner
- How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
- Easy and Crispy Air Fryer Fried Chicken
- One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies for the Air Fryer or Oven
- Air Fryer Chicken Thighs Make Perfect Chicken Street Tacos! (Easy Dinner Idea + VIDEO)
Air fryer tips and tricks
- Air Fryer 101
- Learn these common Air Fryer Mistakes!
- All about the Best and Worst Air Fryer Accessories
- How to Clean Your Air Fryer
- How to Cook Any Recipe in the Air Fryer
- FREE Download → Air Fryer Tips & Temps
- Air Fryer Buying Guide
- Watch Fabulessly Frugal YouTube Channel for Air Fryer Recipes
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 6 ounces each
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper
- olive or avocado oil spray Spritz chicken with oil
Instructions
- Pound the thicker end of each chicken breast to even it out so they will cook more evenly. Pat chicken dry with paper towel.
- In a small bowl, combine salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
- Spritz chicken with oil and rub to coat. Season both sides of chicken with the seasoning.
- Place chicken in the air fryer basket in a single layer, no overlapping. Cook at 380˚F/193˚C for about 10 minutes, turning halfway, until cooked through and instant read thermometer inserted into center of thickest part reads 155˚F/68˚C.
- Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes to finish cooking, then slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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Do you preheat your air fryer? It doesn’t seem to be included on many of your recipes, though I do miss things. : ) I’ve found after preheating, by the time the drawer of the Cosori is opened and I get everything situated inside, some/a lot (?) of the heat has dissipated anyway, so maybe not that important? Thanks!
I’ve found that I don’t need to preheat the air fryer for most of my recipes. I like to preheat it when I want my foods to have a little extra sear on it (like for air fryer steak or pork chops). Unless your air fryer instruction manual says you need to preheat, it is optional.
You spelled prepare as prepear and complement as compliment. (See the red box above.)
Hi Daphne, I compliment you on catching that hehe. However; Prepear is the brand name of our meal planning service.
Delicious! My husband and I are empty nesters, and my favorite grocery store seems to only sell chicken breasts that are too big for us and come in multi piece packages. Found Perdue Perfect Portions breasts which come in a pack of 5 (totaling 24 oz, so each are just under 5 oz each) in a different store. I cooked two at 380 for 10 minutes an they came out just right.! This will be my go to probably every week. Will mix up a large quantity of the spices and store in an empty jar for ready use. Thanks, Cathy!