Bring the taste of barbecue indoors with this air fryer BBQ chicken thighs recipe. Made in under 30 minutes and topped with your favorite sauce, these juicy chicken thighs are always great for dinner.
You're going to love making bbq chicken thighs in the air fryer. Within just 30 minutes, you'll get a tasty batch of deliciously juicy chicken topped with your favorite BBQ sauce (storebought or homemade BBQ sauce is fine).
Serve it up with some other fun summer side dishes, and you'll have a great meal ready in no time.
For more chicken thigh recipes, make sure to check out my Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs, Air Fryer Chicken Thighs and Potatoes, and Sheet Pan Chicken, Brussel Sprouts and Potatoes.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's easy! There is hardly any hands on effort or prep needed for this recipe. It's great for a "set it and forget it" type of meal.
- Minimal ingredients. You don't need much to make this recipe, so don't worry about making a large grocery trip to the store.
- Complements any number of side dishes. You can serve bbq chicken air fryer thighs with simple side dishes like roasted potatoes and green beans or add in classic BBQ favorites like Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad or Steamed Corn On The Cob.
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🥘 Ingredients
Chicken thighs- Use bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs for the best results. Boneless and skinless chicken thighs will have a lessened cooking time.
Salt and Black pepper- Added for taste.
BBQ sauce- Use your favorite BBQ sauce for this recipe or use some homemade sauce.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make air fryer BBQ chicken thighs with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Place your chicken thighs, skin side up in an air fryer basket. Sprinkle the tops and bottoms of the chicken with salt and pepper.
Cook at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Flip the chicken over so that it is skin facing down. Continue to cook for another 8 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the air fryer. Brush the tops and sides with your favorite BBQ sauce. Return the chicken to the air fryer and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Let stand for 3 minutes before serving.
🧾 Substitutions
Chicken thighs. You can use boneless chicken thighs instead of bone-in thighs if desired. To do this, you will follow along with the recipe exactly but possibly reduce the cooking time by about 2-4 minutes because they will take less time to cook through.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Chicken safety
You will know that your chicken has finished cooking properly when you can insert an instant read food thermometer into the meat hand have it register as 165 degrees F. The meat and juices may still have a slight pink coloration to them but it should not look raw.
Optional step
You can cook your thighs a little longer for more color and caramelization on the bbq sauce. Check on them every minute or so to ensure they don't overcook or burn.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
You can keep your leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Reheat again before serving.
🍳Reheating
If you have leftovers, you can reheat them in the air fryer by cooking them at 350 degrees F for about 4-5 minutes or until warmed through.
Alternatively, you can cook a thigh on a plate for just 2 minutes in a microwave.
🥗 Side Dishes
These air fried bbq chicken thighs go great with any number of tasty side dishes. Garlic Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Dill Pickle Potato Salad, or even Easy Dairy Free Coleslaw would make great suggestions.
💭 FAQs
Cooking them at 400 degrees F will take about 18 minutes. This is because the air circulates around the chicken in the basket, and it helps to cook it evenly from all sides much more quickly than in a traditional oven.
Yes, you can place raw chicken in your air fryer. You can cook your chicken while it's still partially frozen or fully thawed. Please note that frozen thighs may take a little longer to cook.
As tempting as it may be to cook a large batch of chicken at once, you should not stack the meat. Air fryers work by circulating air around the product, and if meat is stacked and touching, there is an area not receiving the heated air which means that spot will not cook at the same speed as everything else and may be unsafe to eat.
More great air fryer recipes to check out soon
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken thighs (with bones and skin) ($4.51)
- ½ teaspoon Salt ($0.05)
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper ($0.02)
- ½ cup BBQ sauce ($0.22)
Instructions
- Place your chicken thighs, skin side up in an air fryer basket.
- Sprinkle the tops and bottoms of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Cook at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Flip the chicken over so that it is skin facing down. Continue to cook for another 8 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the air fryer.
- Brush the tops and sides with your favorite BBQ sauce.
- Return the chicken to the air fryer and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Let stand for 3 minutes before serving.
Notes
Substitutions
- Chicken thighs. You can use boneless chicken thighs instead of bone-in thighs if desired. To do this, you will follow along with the recipe exactly but possibly reduce the cooking time by about 2-4 minutes because they will take less time to cook through.
Recipe Tips
- When the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, your chicken will be finished cooking.
- You can cook your thighs a little longer for more color and caramelization on the bbq sauce. Check on them every minute or so to ensure they don't overcook or burn.
Reheating
- If you have leftovers, you can reheat them in the air fryer by cooking them at 350 degrees F for about 4-5 minutes or until warmed through. Alternatively, you can cook a thigh on a plate for just 2 minutes in a microwave.
Storage
- You can keep your leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Reheat again before serving.
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