With air fryer bone-in chicken thighs, you are less than 30-minutes away from the best, juicy chicken thighs! We are keeping things simple here with a fantastic chicken dry rub and letting the air fryer work its magic and cook your chicken thighs to WHOLE LOTTA YUM perfection.
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Bone In Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer
Recently we have been on a chicken thigh kick here in our home kitchen. This super flavorful cut of meat is versatile, flavorful, and easily adapted to a variety of cooking methods and seasoning options. We love how easy bone-in chicken thighs are to cook and the extra few minutes of cook time due to the bone and skin is well worth it.
For our air fryer chicken thighs bone-in recipe, we are using our homemade dry chicken rub. Made with garlic, paprika, and onion, among other things, this easy DIY chicken rub is our go-to seasoning. Paired with rice and steamed broccoli, this bone-in chicken thighs air fryer recipe makes the perfect weeknight dinner.
Why you'll love this Bone In Skin On Chicken Thighs Air Fryer recipe
- Air fryer chicken thighs (bone-in) are the best way to enjoy crisp, juicy, and flavorful chicken thighs.
- Our bone-in chicken thighs air fryer recipe takes less than 30-minutes to cook - significantly faster than baking!
- While we are loving using our homemade chicken rub, you can easily swap the seasoning with your favorite seasoning blend or mix of spices.
- Air fry chicken thighs are gluten-free and dairy-free. To make sure they are compliant with low-carb or keto lifestyles see diet adaptations below.
The air fryer is one of the best kitchen tools to make mouth-watering chicken dishes your whole family is sure to love! Be sure to check out our other air fryer chicken dishes including keto air fryer chicken tenders, air fryer chicken drumsticks, and frozen honey mustard chicken thighs.
Looking for even more chicken thighs recipes? Then you'll want to learn about cooking chicken thighs on the stove top.
On Keto? Grab our FREE keto foods list here OR Snag our Keto Binder HERE
What you'll need for Air Fryer Bone In Chicken Thighs
You just need 3 ingredients to make our air fryer bone-in chicken thighs.
- chicken thighs - bone-in with skin
- olive oil
- chicken dry rub - we are using our homemade chicken dry rub, but feel free to use your favorite seasoning brand or blend
Bone In Chicken Thighs Air Fryer variations
- Chicken Thighs - For this recipe, we are using a bone-in chicken thigh with skin. However, if you prefer boneless and skinless thighs, you can use them. Alternate cooking instructions will be listed in the common questions section.
Can I air fry boneless chicken thighs?
To cook boneless skinless chicken thighs, air fry on 400F for about 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
Diet Adaptions
- Low-Carb/Keto- To make your air fryer bone-in chicken things compliant with either low-carb or keto lifestyles opt for seasoning blends that don't have added sugar or are made with an approved sugar substitute. If you are making our homemade chicken rub, swap brown sugar for golden erythritol or monk fruit.
Equipment
An Air Fryer- We have an Omni Plus oven style air fryer and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer.
How to Air Fry Chicken Thighs (Bone In, Skin On)
While your air fryer is preheating you are going to prep your bone-in chicken thighs. Then, it's as easy as cook, flip, and finish your way to air fryer bone-in chicken thigh perfection.
Prep Ingredients
- Trim the chicken thighs of excess fat and skin.
- Blot the chicken dry with paper towels.
- In a bowl, drizzle the olive oil over both sides of the chicken and sprinkle evenly on both sides with the chicken rub.
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs Time and Temperature
- You are going to cook your air fryer bone-in chicken thighs in a 400F air fryer.
- Prior to cooking, preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes to allow it to come up to temperature.
- While the air fryer is preheating, prepare the chicken thighs for cooking.
- With the skin side down, air fry the bone-in chicken thighs for 8 minutes.
- After these first 8 minutes, use tongs and flip the chicken pieces over.
- Continue cooking for about 7-8 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F. While our chicken took about 16 minutes total to cook, it could take up to 20 minutes depending on your air fryer model and how small or large your chicken thighs are.
Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer recipe tips
- Preheating your air fryer is an essential step to making the best air fry chicken thighs.
- Starting your chicken thighs skin side down to allow the chicken to finish cooking, but finish with the skin side up to allow the chicken skin to crisp up.
- Air fryer models can vary and some models could cook faster or slower than the Cosori unit we used. Check the chicken temperature a couple of minutes before the recipe suggests by chance your model cooks hot.
- We do recommend using a digital meat thermometer to check for doneness and prevent consuming undercooked chicken.
How to serve Air Fryer Bone In Chicken Thighs
We love serving air fryer chicken thighs (bone-in) with rice and steamed broccoli, however, you can opt for your favorite grains or vegetables.
How to store Air Fryer Chicken Thighs (Bone In)
How long does cooked chicken last?
Once cooked, store any leftover chicken pieces in a covered container in the fridge and use within 4 days.
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs Bone In FAQs
You can cook frozen chicken thighs in the air fryer. Start your air fryer at 320F and allow the chicken pieces to cook for 3-4 minutes until you can separate the pieces. Then, season the thighs and continue cooking them in your air fryer at 400F for 12-16 minutes, flipping after 8 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 165F.
You want to air fry bone-in chicken thighs until the internal temperature reaches 165 F, the best way to check this is with an inexpensive digital meat thermometer. How long to cook bone-in thighs to reach the proper temperature depends on your cooking temperature, air fryer model, whether or not you preheated your air fryer, and size of thighs. As a general rule of thumb, it takes 15-16 minutes of cooking time in a preheated air fryer at 400 F.
There are a few reasons why your chicken might not get crispy in an air fryer. To maximize crispness you want to blot the chicken dry before air frying to reduce the moisture in the chicken. Also, skin-on chicken is better at crisping than boneless cuts of chicken like chicken breast since it’s the skin that turns crispy, not the meat. Spritzing the chicken skin with oil before air frying also helps to make the chicken skin extra crisp.
Yes, you can put foil in an air fryer! Aluminum foil is a great way to prevent spills and it makes for easy clean-up. However, using parchment paper works even better in an air fryer than foil, you can purchase parchment paper squares or circles for your size of air fryer with perforated holes that stil allow for air flow. Although, don’t add foil to the air fryer until after you’ve preheated the unit, if you place it in the air fryer during preheat it can get sucked up into the fan and press up against the burner element, which is a fire hazard.
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
Looking for more air fryer chicken recipes?
- Frozen chicken thighs in air fryer (honey mustard)
- Air fryer chicken wings dry rub
- Breaded Air fryer chicken cutlets
- Keto air fryer chicken tenders
Bone In Skin On Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer
Cook simple and juicy chicken thighs in the air fryer that are bone-in with skin on and seasoned with dry rub. Perfect with rice and broccoli for an easy dinner. Use our
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken thighs, bone-in with skin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon chicken dry rub (homemade below or use store bought)
- CHICKEN RUB
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ground onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoon sea salt or coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer at 400F for 5 minutes.
- Trim the chicken thighs of excess fat and skin. Blot the chicken dry with paper towels.
- If you're making the homemade chicken rub, mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. This makes more than the recipe needs but you'll be all set for your next few dinners! Your favorite grocery store rub will work as well!
- In a bowl drizzle the olive oil over both sides of the chicken and sprinkle evenly on both sides with the chicken rub.
- With the skin side down, air fry the bone-in chicken thighs for 8 minutes and then flip the chicken over. Continue cooking for about 7-8 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F. While our chicken took about 16 minutes total to cook, it could take up to 20 minutes depending on your air fryer model.
Notes
We used our homemade chicken rub but any store-bought rub or chicken seasoning mix will work too.
Air fryer models can vary and some models could cook faster or slower than the Cosori unit we used. Check the chicken temperature a couple of minutes before the recipe suggests by chance your model cooks hot.
To cook boneless skinless chicken thighs, air fry on 400F for about 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
If you're following a low carb or keto diet, we suggest making our homemade dry rub and swap brown sugar for golden erythritol or monk fruit.
Recommended Products
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Powlaken Meat Food Thermometer for Grill and Cooking, Instant Read Waterproof Digital Kitchen Thermometer Probe for Grilling Smoker Oil Deep Fry Candy(Black) -
COSORI 5.8 QT Electric Hot Oven Oilless Cooker LED Touch Digital Screen with 11 Presets, Preheat and Shake Reminder, Nonstick Basket, Black, 5.8QT
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Jody says
Best air-fried thighs I’ve had in my 8 years air-frying. Also, so easy to adapt to other flavors, spices, oils, etc. Thanks 👍