Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

These Air Fryer Chicken Thighs are the dream quick and tasty meal idea. Bone in chicken thighs are a really affordable cut of meat and in the air fryer they go deliciously juicy and crispy. With a flavoursome gluten free marinade and ready in 20 minutes!

Air Fryer Chicken Thighs are one of my favourite quick and easy wins when I need something that tastes amazing but is SO easy to make.

I love cooking chicken thighs in the air fryer. It’s way quicker than cooking them in the oven and they come out SO much juicier.

With a few simple herbs and spices you can tender and juicy chicken thighs with a crispy skin. Perfect with oven chips and your favourite green veg or salad.

I’ve been really enjoying creating gluten free air fryer recipes so check out some of my other faves like my air fryer buttermilk fried chicken and sweet potato wedges.

These skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs are a great budget recipe with a simple marinade of olive oil, garlic granules, smoked paprika and oregano.

They are perfect for meal prepping and delicious eaten hot and cold. Trust me, this is going to become your go-to air fryer chicken recipe for a simple dinner in a hurry!

Ingredients

There’s a printable recipe card for these gluten free air fryer chicken thighs below. But for the shopping list you will need…

• Chicken Thighs: This recipe is for air fryer bone in chicken thighs, with the skin on. These are super cheap to buy and packed with way more flavour than skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets. But if you’d rather cook these instead I have separate instructions for how to air fry them below.
• Olive Oil: It’s a common misconception that you don’t need oil for an air fryer. You just need less oil. The oil is still super important in this recipe for getting a lovely crispy skin on the chicken thighs. You’ll also want a spray oil to lubricate the air fryer basket.
• Onion Salt: if you can’t find this and only have onion powder I’d recommend adding a good pinch of sea salt to the marinade as well.
• Garlic Granules: Or garlic powder – this is essential for big flavours
• Smoked Paprika: This gives the chicken thighs both colour and a delicious, smoky flavour. If you don’t like smoked paprika you can use normal or hot paprika instead.

How to cook chicken thighs in the air fryer

There’s a printable recipe card below with the method, but here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy these air fryer chicken thighs are to make:

Mix the olive oil and spices in a bowl to form the marinade. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and mix together so the chicken is completely coated.

You can do this up to 24 hours before leave to marinade for a stronger flavour, or just before cooking. Ideally, at least an hour before is great to give the flavours time to develop.

Spray the air fryer basket with a little oil to stop the chicken sticking. Place the chicken thighs, skin-side-down, into the air fryer basket in one, even layer.

Air fry for 12 minutes at 200C ( 392F). Open the air fryer, turn the chicken thighs over so the skin is facing up, and air fry for another 15-18 minutes until cooked through.

You want the chicken to be at 75C (167F) at the thickest part for it to be cooked sufficiently. I recommend getting a food thermometer for this, they’re cheap and so handy!

Serve your chicken thighs with easy oven chips, air fryer Hasselback potatoes, parmentier potatoes or my smashed potatoes with garlic butter.

How to air fry boneless chicken thigh fillets

If you only have skinless boneless chicken thighs you can still cook these in the air fryer. I often cook these but have switched to bone-in to save costs!

To cook boneless skinless chicken thighs, marinade them as per the recipe then place in the air fryer basket.

I cook mine at 200C (392F) for 12-15 minutes depending on how big the chicken thighs are (again, I’d recommend a food thermometer to test them).

You can turn them half way through cooking but if you have an air fryer basket with a shelf you shouldn’t need to as the air can circulate around them.

You’ll still get juicy chicken thigh fillets in the air fryer, just without the crispy skin!

Storing and Freezing

If you want to make these air fryer chicken thighs for meal prep, you can easily do this and store the cooked chicken thighs in the fridge.

Just keep them in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Enjoy them cold or reheat thoroughly in the air fryer or oven before eating.

You can also freeze the chicken thighs. One option is to marinade them and then freeze them raw, ready to defrost in the fridge and cook as normal.

Or you can freeze the cooked chicken thighs and reheat them before eating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some FAQs about this easy air fryer chicken thighs recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.