Air Fryer Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

Name: Air Fryer Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 28 min
Ingredients: 8-9 boneless skinless chicken thighs; 5-6 tablespoons seasoning of your choice; cooking spray

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This recipe for Air Fryer Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs cooks up a beautifully seasoned main protein in just 18-20 minutes! This recipe will get your perfectly cooked air fryer chicken every time.

Plus I include links to several seasonings you may want to consider, including this homemade Spicy Adobo Seasoning which uses ingredients you likely already have in your cupboard.

Air-fried chicken has quickly become one of my go-to meals. Boneless chicken thighs (my cut of choice, thick thighs save lives!) only take 18-20 minutes and come out cooked to perfection without having to use any type of cooking oil or butter. Just a spritz of cooking spray to prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan.

A good homemade Adobo Seasoning is a great way to quickly flavor chicken without the hassle of marinating. Plus you can make these amazing Adobo Chicken Tacos.

air fryer boneless skinless chicken thighs seasoned with adobo seasoning in an air fryer basket.

Cooking chicken thighs in the air fryer is super easy, so if you're new to air frying this is a fantastic recipe to try! Chicken thighs are very forgiving thanks to their higher fat content. If you accidentally cook them longer than instructed, say by a 2-3 minutes or so, they should still be succulent and juicy!

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredients Needed
Great Air Fryer Seasonings for Chicken
Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer - Directions
Air Fryer Chicken Thigh Serving Suggestions
Top Tips for the BEST Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
Recipe FAQs
Perfect Pairings
Air Fryer Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
What else can I make in the air fryer?

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Cooks in Less Than 30 Minutes. The air fryer does the work in beautifully cooking the chicken to juicy perfection in 18-20 minutes.
Perfect for Weeknight Dinners. This chicken is so easy to make, especially if you season simply with a homemade Adobo dry rub. This dish is ideal for busy weeknights but also tasty enough to serve company or for an informal meeting of the minds over a taco dinner. Speaking of cozy weeknight dinners that are easy to prepare and even easier to share, you might also want to check out Chicken Picadillo or this Rotel Fettucine Pasta.

Ingredients Needed

This is a super simple recipe. Making this recipe is as easy as sprinkling on a seasoning of your choice, and then air-frying the chicken for 18-20 minutes. You will need:

8-9 boneless chicken thighs - I used thighs without skin. See the FAQ for directions on how long to cook chicken thighs with skin.
Seasoning of choice* - See below for some homemade seasoning suggestions.
Cooking spray - I like to use a little to prevent the chicken from sticking during cooking.

This is what I call a Minnesota go-to seasoning. Take 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Mix to combine and use liberally when you want to be lazy but still properly season your food.

Great Air Fryer Seasonings for Chicken

Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer - Directions

Aggressively season each nook and cranny of your chicken thighs with seasoning.

For easy cleanup, lay down a layer of aluminum foil over a baking sheet. Spritz with cooking spray.

Depending on your air fryer model, preheat first. Put the chicken thighs in your air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes, flipping once halfway through, at around around 9-10 minutes into air frying.

You may need to air fry in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.

Remove chicken thighs and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting or serving.

air fryer boneless skinless chicken thighs resting on a cutting board.

A Note on Air Frying

I have tried and tested this recipe using two different air fryer setups:

1) an Air Fryer Lid that is compatible with my Instant Pot, and

2) a Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Smart XL Air Fry Oven.

The air fryer lid does not require preheating, but the Ninja Foodi does have an automatic 90-second preheat.

Air Fryer Chicken Thigh Serving Suggestions

air fryer chicken thigh tacos with fresh lettuce and feta cheese and hot sauce.

Use moist and juicy air-fried boneless chicken thighs in tacos, quesadillas, sandwich melts, pasta dishes, or as a standalone main served with everything from a fresh Romaine salad to roasted vegetables. Might I recommend adding this air-fried chicken to Rotel Pasta, Taco Gnocchi Dish, and as a featured protein in this Taco Salad Bar.

Top Tips for the BEST Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

Tip 1. Don't skimp on the seasoning. Use a recommended homemade seasoning, or apply a favorite mix of your choosing.

Tip 2. Don't be afraid to use a thermometer. I use a meat thermometer all the time to make sure I consistently serve safely cooked chicken. The USA recommends cooking chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tip 3. Easy chicken marinade. If you have any time to marinade the chicken, even just 15 minutes, let the chicken thighs hang out in some leftover pickle juice before seasoning and air frying. The pickle juice does introduce sodium, so season accordingly. You can always add but it's harder to tone down seasoning once it's gone too far.

Wondering what else to do with leftover pickle juice? You can also add a little dill pickle juice to the marinade in this recipe to add a little something special :); plus it reduces or eliminates the need to add salt since pickle brine is typically salty.

chicken thighs cooked in the air fryer, freshly sliced after resting from cooking on a cutting board.

Recipe FAQs

How long do you cook chicken thighs in an air fryer?

I recommend air frying boneless, skinless chicken thighs for 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, flipping once halfway through.
For boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, the cook time is the same, though I would recommend cooking skin side up the entire time.
For bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, cook for 20-22 minutes. Flip halfway through.
For bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cook for 20-22 minutes. No need to flip, keep the skin exposed to the air.

Can I reheat chicken thighs in the air fryer?

Yes, and you should definitely reheat these chicken thighs in the air fryer! I recommend reheating at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 7-10 minutes or until heated through.

Perfect Pairings

You should definitely pair air-fried chicken thighs with these slammin' sides:

If you tried this Air Fryer Chicken Thigh recipe (or any other recipe on Midwexican), please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the 📝 comments below!