Best air fryer chicken thighs ever! Use this dry rub for chicken to make sweet and crispy chicken in an air fryer that’s tender and juicy inside. Yum!
Yes, I have been obsessed with creating easy air fryer recipes lately! For breakfast, lunch and dinner our handy crisping machine comes out and these air fryer chicken thighs were our latest meal. Using our sweet dry rub for chicken thighs everyone gave it a thumbs up. (affiliate links present)
- The Foodi air fryer is what we have.
- Find more information on the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker and air fryer here, but any brand of air fryer will do.
Why do we love air fryer chicken thighs??
- Thighs are really cheap
- The meat inside is super moist
- If you use bone-in with the skin on the tops will get deliciously crispy
- They’re done start to finish in about 30 minutes
This is what we started with here. I bought basic store brand bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on. They are the cheapest cuts of chicken ever and overlooked a lot I feel. Once they’re done they’ll be packed with flavor, tender on the inside and crispy skins on the outside.
What you’ll need to make chicken in an air fryer:
- 4 chicken thighs – can use more but 4 fit perfectly without overlapping
- We used bone-in with the skin on
- If using boneless minutes would need to be adjusted for less time
- Olive oil
- Spices
- Use what you normally would use to coat a whole chicken and bake it.
- Or we have a recipe below for a sweet brown sugar mixture if you’d like to try that.
- I love using this air fryer grill pan.
Our dry rub recipe for chicken
Rub thighs with olive oil, then mix:
- Brown sugar – optional
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Chili powder
Other ideas for a dry rub for chicken thighs
Massage chicken thighs with olive oil, then use:
- Salt free seasoning
- Or mix even amounts of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
- Another option is to go simple with a sprinkle of Lawry’s seasoning
- Marinating is great too. Soak your thighs in your favorite type overnight in the fridge.
If making our brown sugar chicken rub the top skin will get dark brown because the sugar is going to caramelize. Not to worry. We did 10 minutes time once the skin was facing up and everyone in the house agreed that they were amazing!!
- Total cook time for our chicken thigh recipe was 25 minutes. Timing will vary slightly depending on how large each piece is. Our total weight for 4 pcs. was 2.3 lbs.
- Use this air fryer cook times printable for more info.
- You’ll cook chicken thighs in the air fryer basket you have.
- Always ensure the internal temperature of your piece of chicken is at least 165.
- The air fryer cooks fried chicken without oil which we love!
It is important to flip them halfway through so you get a nice golden brown on both sides.
Looking for air fryer side dishes?
- Air fryer tater tots are the bomb
- Our air fryer baked potatoes are amazing
- Brussel sprouts in the air fryer are the perfect vegetables
- These air fryer ravioli are great
Other ways of cooking chicken thighs
- Our Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs seen below are to die for
- This Instant Pot crack chicken casserole uses diced boneless chicken thighs
- Oven baked thighs are great
Find more ideas on our Ninja Foodi recipes post and air fryer dinner recipes too.
Here are a few more resources if you have a Foodi:
- This is the Ninja Cooking system we got
- You can grab a free recipe book too here. 😉
- You’ll find more Foodi air fryer recipes here too.
- Join my EASY Foodi Recipes Facebook group for more recipes.
Always ensure your chicken reaches a safe 165 degrees internal temperature before eating.
Here are printable instructions as well as how to make air fried fried chicken and air fryer egg rolls.
Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs approx 2 lbs, bone-in with skin on is what we used
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 c brown sugar optional if you want sweetness, can omit
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Mix brown sugar and all spices together well in a bowl. (or if you want to just sprinkle with salt and pepper, skip this step)Preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees for at least 5 minutes.
- Trim any excess fat hanging off the sides of your chicken thighs (ours were bone-in with skin on).
- Rub olive oil on each thigh and put herbs and spices on top and bottom. Any you'd like. If you want to try our brown sugar mixture shown above then: Pour spice mixture on to a plate. Rub olive oil on outside of each chicken thigh, top and bottom.
- Press thigh on to plate so spice mixture sticks, do this on both sides. Place thigh on to trivet that has been sprayed with non stick spray turned upside down, with skin side down.
- Do this for all 4 thighs. Try not to overlap in the air fryer.
- Set to 375 degrees again and cook for 15 minutes. Then open lid and flip all chicken thighs over so skin side is now facing up. Cook at 375 degrees for an additional 8-12 minutes. Check at 8 minutes to see if you want it browner and/or chicken is done inside.
Joleen says
Green beans added…
This sounds really weird, but just before I turned the 4 pieces of chicken, I pull out the basket, threw a bunch of green beans in the bottom, replaced the chicken and basket, and cooked it all a remaining 10 minutes. The green beans cook in the seasoned fat from the chicken rub at the bottom. They cook to the the point of crispy. I put them in paper towels, like I would with bacon, to absorb a lot of the fat. Throw salt on them. Like I said, it sounds weird, but my husband and I both love the taste and texture.
The Typical Mom says
Yay great idea!!
Karen says
These turned out awesome! A prefect quick weeknight meal. I’m always looking for new ways to use my Foodi. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
The Typical Mom says
Yay, so glad they were a hit!
Joan says
I’ve been very skeptical about the air fryer. It’s so big and bulky and cooks small portions. That being said this chicken was delicious. I threw some potatoes in when I turned the chicken. I’ll be more open minded!
The Typical Mom says
Yay!!! It took me a while to get into it too but now I love it! Hope my recipes help you love it too.
Donna says
Calories from Fat is a high percentage
FirstPancake says
Are you aware of how chicken thighs work? Clearly the fat didn’t come from the ingredients in the recipe other than the thighs.
Beth says
What’s your point? Don’t make it if you don’t want to.