This is our easy air fryer bbq chicken breast recipe from frozen or fresh! You get tender meat with barbecue sauce on top = a healthy low fat dinner option with a ton of flavor. Make in a Ninja Foodi with the attached lid, AirWave or Cosori machine.
Jump To
- Frozen Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
- Ninja Foodi BBQ Chicken
- Tips
- Ingredient Notes
- What is the best sauce to put on chicken breasts?
- Do you put sauce on before or after air frying?
- How Long to Cook BBQ Chicken in Air Fryer
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breast Strips
- FAQ
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Recipe
- Why is my chicken dry in air fryer?
- How to save leftovers
If you don’t want to take the time to heat up your grill, no problem! Try our bbq air fryer chicken recipe and enjoy the same flavors and crispy outside you love cooked in just minutes. One of many easy air fryer recipes we love.
Frozen Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
Below is the timing for fresh or defrosted white meat pieces of medium size. If you need to know how to cook frozen chicken breasts in air fryer read this post first. Brush sauce on for the last 2-3 minutes so it bakes on nicely and caramelizes too.
I have a lot of fancy gadgets. I’m a food blogger so I guess that makes sense. First we started with making Ninja Foodi chicken breasts and those came out good. Not everyone has that dual machine though so I thought I’d provide instructions for a stand alone Cosori or other brand as well.
Ninja Foodi BBQ Chicken
Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.
It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Tips
In this case two boneless skinless breasts were used. If you insist on eating the skin then by all means leave it on. To reduce the fat it was removed. With rib meat attached the cook time would need to be increased. In a Foodi you will use the lid that is attached and the air crisp button, with the directions below.
I always say to stay away from huge pieces at the store. Small to medium sizes are best so they cook all the way through. Almost always I choose to buy organic and they always come in these sizes. If all you have is very thick you’d want to slice them in half to thin them out.
In a rush? With chicken cutlets in air fryer you would add the sauce at the end as shown here. You could easily reduce the timing by half this way, I’ll show you how to make them bite sized as well at the bottom of this post.
Timing below is not for frozen chicken breasts remember, that link is above. I recommend you defrost or purchase fresh pieces for this recipe. If you prefer to use dark meat I suggest bone-in medium pieces or larger boneless. I leave the skin on to add moisture and they will get crispy and wonderful this way too.
When they’re thawed it is much easier to add seasoning to the outside and have it stick well too. This is all you need to get started;
Ingredient Notes
Ideally I want fresh or thawed out medium sized Boneless chicken breasts, skin on or off is just fine depending on your preference. I don’t eat skin but will say that on will make the meat more tender (even if you pull it off later).
You want to add your favorite barbecue sauce for flavor and to add more moisture to your protein. I love Sweet baby ray’s original style. Since the sauce is added at the end you could use any style you like, even sweet honey style.
Salt and pepper (at least) will season the outsides of your meat, any of your favorite seasonings can be used of course but we kept it simple.
Non stick cooking spray for easier cleanup, I prefer olive oil spray myself to air fry everything.
What is the best sauce to put on chicken breasts?
If you have a favorite homemade sauce you swear by then by all means use that. You can even use a thick teriyaki instead to change things up now and then. I’d recommend trying our air fryer teriyaki chicken recipe where we did that next. Even honey mustard will work to add flavor to the top.
Do you put sauce on before or after air frying?
In this case you will want to brush it on once your meat is at the proper internal meat temperature first. Use a thermometer with the meat removed from the basket, inserted into the thickest part. Once you know it’s safe, return it to the machine, brush on the sauce and put it in for a few more minutes. This isn’t a must but it gives the top a nice golden brown caramelized yum to it. Added too soon may cause it to burn before meat is done.
Different from how we do it with bbq chicken thighs in the oven because in that case we leave it covered for a bit and then uncover at the end to brown. It is not recommended to add foil in this hot air machine.
How Long to Cook BBQ Chicken in Air Fryer
You always want to preheat your machine for 5 minutes, so take that into account. If you use medium thickness breasts you are generally going to want to air fry for 12-14 minutes flipping around minute 6 or until thickest part of chicken reaches 165 degrees F + a few minutes at the end to add sauce and caramelize.
What we love about this is that you will get a crisp all around the outside which is different from our Instant Pot bbq chicken outcome but delicious either way.
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breast Strips
You could do this with chicken tenderloins as well. Those are thinner and smaller so the timing wouldn’t be as long. I’d cut it in half and check the middle depending on their size this should be plenty. This is a great alternative to barbecuing especially if it is winter time or you just want a quicker meal.
FAQ
It is recommended to keep it moist. For the most part the air will circulate well all the way around so it won’t be ruined, it just helps so it doesn’t dry out as much.
1. Dice up breasts into bite size pieces when meal prepping first.
2. Then toss with about 3/4 cup of your favorite sauce.
3. Preheat as usual to 360F.
4. Air fry for about 5 minutes
5. Toss to flip pieces over and cook an additional 2 minutes.
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts, boneless skinless, about 1/2" thick for timing listed
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 pinch salt, sprinkle to taste
- 1 pinch pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 165 F for 5 minutes. Spray air fryer basket with non stick spray. Put breasts inside without overlapping. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
- Set to 360 degrees F for 12-14 minutes, flipping around minute 6 or until internal temperature reaches 165 F in thickest part. (timing will vary, very small may be closer to 10 minutes where very large may take a few minutes past 14 minutes.)
- Brush bbq sauce on top and continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes and then slice.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Why is my chicken dry in air fryer?
If you feel like your meat dries out more than you’d like it to using this method there are a few tips; Use pieces with fat and keep that side facing up, that will keep it more moist. Cook chicken at a lower temperature for a bit longer. Another thing to try is using much smaller pieces like fresh air fryer chicken tenders for a fraction of the time with sauce lathered on top the whole time.
Check the largest piece by cutting or breaking it in half. Once the insides are no longer pink you are set! We love serving it this way over a bed of Ninja Foodi rice or just with a side of air fryer vegetables. Toss with a bit more sauce at the end once it is cooked to get them all nicely coated well. Bite size goodness I tell you.
How to save leftovers
You always want food to cool to room temperature when done first. Then transfer to air tight containers and use to make one of our leftover bbq chicken recipes the next day, or within 3 days.
Do you preheat your air fryer at 360 degrees like stated in article while going over recipe or 165 degrees like noted in the recipe at the bottom of the page.
165 is the temperature the meat should be internally before eating, 360 is the temperature of the machine