Air Fryer Chicken Breasts

Name: Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds Boneless & skinless chicken breasts (($3.98)); 1 Tablespoon Olive oil (($0.13)); 1 teaspoon Paprika (($0.10)); 1 teaspoon Garlic powder (($0.10)); 1 teaspoon Oregano or Italian seasoning (($0.10)); ½ teaspoon Salt (($0.05)); ¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper (($0.02))

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These air fryer chicken breasts are a delicious way to serve up tasty chicken for your meal. Made to have a juicy center and crisp outer skin these breasts are well flavored and fabulous.

two air fried chicken breasts on a plate lined with greens one breast is sliced

Making chicken breasts in the air fryer is a super easy and convenient way to get dinner on the table quickly. Serve it up as-is, or take it one step further to make Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breasts.

We love cooking chicken in the air fryer all summer long. With the summer heat outside, we can keep the house cool inside and still have food that tastes like it came off the grill.

This air fryer chicken breast recipe is sure to become one of your favorites like it has mine. For more ideas check out my Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters, Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs, and Air Fryer Chicken Thighs and Potatoes.

Why This Recipe Works

It's quick! Cooking breasts on the stovetop requires babysitting it to make sure it cooks evenly throughout and it can take up to an hour in the oven but in your air fryer, it's only 20 minutes!
Lots of possibilities. Sometimes I even like to cook up this recipe and then dice my cooked chicken to stir into a pasta alfredo- the kick of spice really helps to elevate the taste of that jar of storebought alfredo sauce!
Minimal ingredients. All you'll need to make this recipe is some chicken, olive oil, and seasonings.

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🥘 Ingredients
🍽 Equipment Needed
🔪 Instructions
📖 Variations (different chicken cuts)
🍴 Recipe Tips
👩🏻‍🍳 Storage
🍳Reheating
💭 FAQs
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

Chicken breasts- You will need some boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Trim off the fat before using.

Olive oil- This will help to get the seasonings to adhere to the chicken and will get us a crispier "skin" on the meat.

Seasonings- For the best possible flavor, you'll want to use paprika, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and ground black pepper.

For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.

🍽 Equipment Needed

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🔪 Instructions

Check out how to make air fryer chicken breasts with these simple step-by-step instructions:

Brush the basket tray of your air fryer with olive oil.

Turn the air fryer on and heat it up to 400 degrees F for 2 minutes while you prepare the chicken.

Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil using a pastry brush.

In a bowl, mix together the seasonings. Sprinkle over the chicken and rub the seasonings all over the chicken to coat all sides.

Place the seasoned chicken breasts into the preheated air fryer.

two seasoned raw chicken breasts in an air fryer

Cook at 400 degrees F for 8 minutes. Cook it presentation side up.

Flip the chicken over to the other side and cook for another 10-15 min or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

aerial view of two cooked chicken breasts in an air fryer

📖 Variations (different chicken cuts)

For any of these cuts:

Bone-in Chicken Thighs or Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters
Chicken Drumsticks
Fresh (not frozen) Chicken Wings

You will cook the same exact way as the air fryer chicken breasts in the recipe card below. Cook for 8 minutes, flip and then cook for an additional 10 minutes or so until finished.

🍴 Recipe Tips

I like to cook one more than needed so that I can have an already cooked chicken breast for easier meal prep for future dinners.

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.

👩🏻‍🍳 Storage

You can keep your cooked chicken breast stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days if you do not plan to eat it immediately.

🍳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.

💭 FAQs

Can I cook frozen chicken breasts in the air fryer?

Yes, you can follow along with this recipe and cook it exactly the same way using either fresh or frozen chicken breasts.

What temp should chicken be?

You will know that your chicken is finished cooking when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast.

How do I Preheat my air fryer?

Some air fryers come with a feature where all you have to do is press a button to preheat the appliance but many do not come with this luxury. Simply preheat the air fryer to the cooking temperature that you need and let it run for 2-5 minutes to reach temperature before adding in your food.

aerial view of two chicken breasts on a lettuce lined plate

More great air fryer recipes to check out soon

📖 Recipe

upclose view of sliced air fried chicken breast

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