These crispy air fryer chicken thighs are juicy, flavorful, and ready in minutes! With a simple spice rub and very little oil, you can use boneless or bone-in chicken thighs. This recipe is gluten-free and low carb!
The air fryer is such a useful appliance for cooking chicken! We love cooking air fryer chicken breast and chicken tenders, and now I’m showing you our go-to air fryer chicken thighs recipe.
You can use either boneless chicken thighs, or skin-on bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe, and the results are always the same: juicy, flavorful, and quicker than the oven!
These chicken thighs are perfect served with rice or cauliflower rice, and kale salad.
Reasons you’ll ♡ air fryer chicken thighs
- they cook quicker than the oven
- they are juicy, flavorful and kid-friendly
- you can use boneless or bone-in chicken thighs
Recipe video
Want to see how I cooked these air fryer chicken thighs? Watch the video below to see how easily they come together! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.
Don’t forget to pin this post to save it for later!
It all starts with the rub
I’ve adapted my perfect baked chicken thighs rub swapping out oregano and basil for thyme leaves. We are combining onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, thyme leaves, salt and pepper, and mixing them all together.
Spritz the chicken with spray oil, and press the rub all over the chicken thighs. Pressing it on is essential in helping it stick. This rub adds so much flavor to your chicken, and reminds me of KFC!
You may want to triple (or more) the batch and store in the pantry- it’s good for up to one year.
Use high heat
Most air fryers max out at 390°F/ 200°C, and that’s the temperature we use to cook our air fryer chicken thighs. In my experiments with oven-baked chicken breasts and chicken thighs, I found that a high heat helps cook the chicken to juicy perfection, and it works well in the air fryer as well.
Use a digital thermometer
Chicken thighs come in many different shapes and sizes, and while they are less prone to drying out than boneless chicken breasts, they definitely can overcook. I highly recommend investing in a digital thermometer so that you know exactly when the chicken thighs are ready to come out.
Cook your air fryer chicken thighs until they reach 165°F in the thickest part, then pull them out.
Rest before slicing
Resting your chicken thighs is a crucial step, as this allows the juices to settle in the meat. Slicing into them immediately after cooking would result in the juices running all over your plate.
To rest your chicken thighs, place on a clean plate, and cover with a baking dish for 5 minutes.
Cooking boneless chicken thighs
To cook boneless chicken thighs in the air fryer, you will:
- Stir together the rub.
- Spritz chicken thighs with spray oil on both sides.
- Rub all over with the rub (and press it on with your hands)
- Cook for 4 minutes at 390°F/ 200°C.
- Flip, and cook for another 4 minutes.
- Check the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh; if it has not reached 165°F, keep cooking.
Cooking skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
While not quite as crispy as the oven, air fryer chicken thighs cook through much quicker, and the spices crisp up in a delicious way.
- Mix up the rub.
- Dry off chicken thighs with a paper towel).
- Spritz on both sides with spray oil.
- Using your hands, press the rub all over the chicken thighs.
- (optional) Place bread in the bottom of the air fryer to help absorb fat and reduce smoking.
- Place chicken thighs in the air fryer and cook for 15 minutes at 390°F/ 200°C.
- Gently flip and cook for another 8-10 minutes.
- Check that chicken thighs reach at least 165°F in the thickest part (we cooked ours closer to 190°F).
Recipe tips
- Flip the chicken– in order to ensure the chicken cooks through evenly, I highly recommend flipping it halfway through
- Alternate rubs– you are welcome to switch up the rub (I have 7 rub recipes here), but I’d advise skipping anything with sugar as it can be prone to burning
- Smoking– skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs release a lot of grease into the bottom of the air fryer which smokes while cooking. I recommend placing the air fryer under a range hood fan on high power. Another trick I’ve learned is to put pieces of bread in the bottom- this seems to reduce the smoking but does not eliminate it.
More air fryer recipes
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Ultra Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas
- Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
- Air Fryer Tofu
- Honey Lime Air Fryer Shrimp
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on or boneless, skinless; see note 1)
- spray oil
Rub
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper (optional; can be a touch spicy for kids)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
Instructions
Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Place chicken thighs on a plate. Spray on both sides with spray oil.
- Stir together the rub, and sprinkle over the chicken thighs. Press it on with your hands (to get it to stick properly), flip the chicken thighs, and repeat on the other side.
- Heat air fryer to 390°F/200°C.
- Place two of the chicken thighs in the bask of the air fryer (see note 2), making sure they are spread out and not curled up. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Flip, and cook for 4 more minutes, or until a digital thermometer stuck into the thickest part reads 165°F.
- Remove the chicken from the air fryer, cover, and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Place chicken thighs on a plate. Spray on both sides with spray oil.
- Stir together the rub, and sprinkle over the chicken thighs. Press it on with your hands (to get it to stick properly), flip the chicken thighs, and repeat on the other side.
- Heat air fryer to 390°F/200°C.
- (optional) Place 2 pieces of bread, torn, into the bottom of the air fryer, under the basket (see note 3).
- Place all four chicken thighs into the basket, spreading them out as much as possible. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Flip the chicken carefully, and cook for another 8-10 minutes, until an internal temperature of at least 165°F is reached (see note 4).
- Remove from the air fryer, and let chicken rest (uncovered) for 5 minutes before serving.
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