How long to cook chicken legs in air fryer or Ninja Foodi is here! Whether raw or you want to make air fryer frozen drumsticks you can get them tender and juicy every time this way. With barbecue sauce or just simple salt and pepper you’ll get crispy skin and juicy meat.
Let’s talk all about how to cook drumsticks in the air fryer today. Bone-in skin on pieces kids love to grab and eat the meat covered in their favorite sauce. An easy cheap meal that is family friendly and enjoyed year round. (affiliate links present)
Table of Contents
- How long do drumsticks take in air fryer?
- Is it OK to air fry raw chicken?
- How long to cook chicken legs at 400?
- How long to cook bone-in chicken legs in air fryer?
- How do you know when drumsticks are done in Airfryer?
- Do you put oil on chicken in air fryer?
- How Long to Cook Chicken Legs in Air Fryer Recipe
How long do drumsticks take in air fryer?
The cooking time for drumsticks in an air fryer can vary depending on several factors such as the size, the temperature and how crispy you’d like the skin to become. However, as a general guideline, naked or with a light sauce like Mustard Chicken Legs typically takes about 20 to 25 minutes to reach the safe 165 degrees F. temperature.
Is it OK to air fry raw chicken?
Absolutely!! We are just talking about one kid favorite part of the bird but you can air fry the thigh still hooked together with it too like our Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters. It takes a bit longer but you’ll get the same crispy result with perfectly cooked dark meat that is super inexpensive and will feed a crowd.
How long to cook chicken legs at 400?
For Oven Baked Chicken Legs, the approximate cooking time is typically around 30 to 35 minutes. With this method you are looking at closer to 25 minutes or so but both will cook times will vary greatly depending on how thick the meat pad is. This isn’t a lot faster but the texture on the outside is a game changer.
What you need to cook drumsticks in air fryer isn’t much; you’ll want medium size pieces of poultry with bbq sauce or olive oil and seasonings like salt, pepper and smoked paprika to add some flavor. It is best to leave the skin on these babies to add moisture and not dry out the outsides and it will get nice and crunchy too. How to Cook Buttermilk Chicken Legs in Air Fryer is about the same, 25 min.
You can vary the coating as well and the timing isn’t going to change at all really. Like with our Chicken in Air Fryer without Flour you can use cornstarch to get a really crunchy fried chicken like texture quickly. If you are really going simple you can just rub with olive oil and season instead. Either is delish.
How long to cook bone-in chicken legs in air fryer?
Set aside about 30 minutes to get this done. I like to start out a bit lower in temp. and turn it up later to keep it super moist in the center. Then I’ll crank it up the last 10 minutes to get to a golden brown. The larger they are the longer it will take though. Like when you cook in the Air Fryer Turkey Legs they are much bigger, but amazing too.
- Preheat the air fryer at 380 F. for 5 minutes.
- Rinse chicken legs and dry with paper towels. Put in a deep bowl. Add salt, pepper, and barbecue sauce.
- other sauces and seasonings work too like our Air Fryer Curry Fried Chicken
- Gently mix everything so that each leg is covered.
- Spray inside of basket with oil. Transfer the legs to the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Air fry chicken for 15 minutes, then flip.
- Turning the legs over to me is the ideal way to get it right
- At this time increase the temperature to 400 and bake for another 10 minutes if they are medium sized.
- Bake larger legs for another 12 to 20 minutes (for very large) instead or until they reach 165 F in thickest part and juices run clear.
- Serve with additional bbq sauce brushed over the outsides.
If you don’t have an instant read thermometer already they don’t cost much and make a huge difference. Remember that meat will rise another 5 degrees or so when it rests so you really could take out at 160 degrees but longer is better. I like when the meat begins to pull away from the bone myself really.
How do you know when drumsticks are done in Airfryer?
You want Fall off the Bone Chicken Drumsticks at the end of the day right? Believe it or not a little extra time will get the meat to separate from the bone, but just a little bit at the very end. Same goes for thighs as well, a bit more time actually makes them more tender. Not the same for breasts, you want that right at temp. and not a minute more.
Do you put oil on chicken in air fryer?
If you don’t add bbq or mustard is another favorite in our house then yes you would want to dry, add oil, season and then this is a great way of How to Cook Chicken in an Air Fryer perfectly. It is also great to use at the end in spray form to add extra crisp to the skins. That goes for all other foods cooked this way, oil = crispy!
Same goes for when you are Reheating Chicken in Air Fryer too. You will want to add moisture to it in this case it will be precooked and dries out really easily. I think a sauce is better if it didn’t have breading on the outside, otherwise use a splash of oil to liven it back up.
How Long to Cook Chicken Legs in Air Fryer
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken legs
- 1/2 c barbecue sauce, not honey style, that has a lot of sugar and will make them quite brown + more for the end
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat machine at 380 F for 5 minutes. Rinse chicken legs and dry with paper towels. Put in a deep bowl. Add salt, pepper, and barbecue sauce. Gently mix everything so that each leg is covered.
- Spray inside of basket with oil. Transfer the legs to the air fryer basket in a single layer. Air fry for 15 minutes. Turn the legs over, increase temperature to 400 (brush on sauce now for best results) and bake for another 10 minutes if they are medium sized.
- Bake larger legs for another 12-15 minutes instead or until they reach 165 F in thickest part and juices run clear.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve with additional bbq sauce brushed over the outsides.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
