Air fryer frozen chicken breast is the BEST way for you to enjoy flavorful and healthy chicken in a variety of ways. With a cook time of just 20 minutes, you can turn chicken in the freezer into a quick and tasty meal.
How to cook frozen chicken in an air fryer
Do you ever forget to take something out for dinner? You know those nights. All of a sudden it's 5 PM and everyone is asking, "What's for dinner?" and you just kind of stand there at the fridge wondering the same thing.
Well now, you no longer have to wonder or reach for the phone to order take out because we are answering the question of, "Can you air fry frozen chicken breast?"
And the answer is yes! With your air fryer, you can easily create great-tasting healthy dinner and use it in a variety of ways - even if it's still frozen!
Whether you are topping a salad, adding it to a sandwich or wrap, or simply serving frozen chicken breast cooked in the air fryer beside your favorite side dishes, you are going to love how quick and easy this whole recipe comes together.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It allows you to cook your dinner from frozen, saving you from another night of takeout or boxed dinners just because you forgot to plan ahead.
- Not only does it need just 3 ingredients, but the whole thing is finished in under 30-minutes!
- Serve as is, or use your air fryer frozen chicken breasts in a variety of other dinners such as salads, wraps, soups, and casseroles.
- Gluten-free, low-carb, and keto-friendly as we are not adding any breading. This recipe is also Whole30 approved, paleo, dairy-free, and sugar free.
If you love using your air fryer to cook up chicken as much as we do, be sure to check out our other air fried chicken recipes such as breaded chicken breast, chicken drumsticks, and chicken tenders without breading.
Ingredient Notes
- chicken breasts, frozen
- olive oil
- seasoning - salt & pepper or chicken seasoning
- optional - sauce for topping or dipping
Needed Supplies
An Air Fryer- We have an Omni Plus oven style air fryer and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer.
Cooking time and temperature
- Preheat your air fryer to 360F.
- Brush one side of the chicken breasts with ½ tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper, chicken seasoning, or your favorite seasoning blend.
- Place your frozen chicken breasts in the air fryer, seasoned side up. A smaller basket-style fryer will only hold 2 pieces of chicken, where a larger oven-style fryer will accommodate 3-4 pieces. Air fry for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, flip the meat and add the remaining ½ tablespoon of oils and seasoning.
- Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
- Brush your chicken with the sauce of your choice 1 minute prior to the end of air frying and air fry for the last minute with the sauce. Or, serve it with a choice of sauces for dipping.
Recipe Tips
- Total air fryer time may fluctuate slightly based on the size of the chicken breast pieces you are using. For best results, use a meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 165F before serving.
- We do recommend flipping the chicken breast fillets after 10 minutes of cooking for even cooking, but you can skip that step if you prefer. Just remember to season both sides before you place them in your air fryer.
- Because you are cooking chicken from frozen, make sure you leave space in your fryer basket or tray for the air to circulate around the entire fryer. Cook in batches if necessary.
- Feel free to mix up the seasoning and sauces you use with your air fryer chicken breast pieces to create a variety of savory, spicey, and flavorful options that can be used in a variety of ways.
How to Store After Cooking?
You can store your air fryer frozen chicken breast pieces in the fridge for 4-5 days in a covered container.
You can also freeze the fully cooked pieces for up to 3-months.
More Frozen Chicken Recipes
- Air fryer frozen chicken tenders (breaded)
- Air fried frozen chicken wings
- Instant pot chicken breast from frozen
- Pressure cooker chicken tenders from frozen
Please leave a review if you make our recipe! We love feedback from readers, plus it helps others too.
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Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Breast (Boneless Skinless)
Cook boneless skinless chicken breast from frozen in your air fryer in just 20 minutes! No need to worry to defrost it first. Makes for an easy and healthy dinner recipe, just add olive oil, your favorite seasoning, and sauce if desired.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, frozen (boneless skinless)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- seasoning- salt and pepper, chicken seasoning
- sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 360F.
- Lay the chicken in a single layer, a small air fryer might just hold 2 chicken breasts whereas a large one will hold 4 chicken breasts.
- Lay with the breast side down, brush with oil and sprinkle with seasoning. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Flip over and brush with more olive oil and seasoning. Cook for 10 more minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160F. Season and add sauce of choice.
- To add sauce, brush on after the chicken gets flipped. Take the chicken out one minute early and brush on a little more sauce and put it back in the air fryer for one minute.
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving so the juices have time to distribute in the meat and the temperature rises to 165 F.
Notes
Small chicken breasts (about 6 oz) were at 165F right at 20 minutes total cook time, thin frozen chicken breast with rib meat attached needed 25 minutes in total and thicker frozen chicken meat with rib meat attached took about 28-30 minutes to cook.
This is one of those situations where frozen chicken breast doesn't come as a standard size. Start cooking the chicken for a total of 20 minutes, and then depending on how close it is to 165F keep adding 3-5 minutes to the cooking time until it's cooked through.
We purchased pre-seasoned chicken that was brined, raw, and came in a 2 lb bag in the freezer section.
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