When it comes comes to chicken, we typically like roasting chicken thighs because they stay so juicy and get extra crispy. Chicken breasts have a terrible reputation for drying out, but an air fryer keeps that from happening. The quick cook time means they stay nice and tender and the breading still gets extra crispy from the intense air circulation inside these powerful little machines. All without a drop of oil. It's an actual miracle.
Can I marinate the chicken? What about a brine?
We made this recipe straightforward and skipped the marinade because the crunchy coating makes up for the flavor. Plus, the super quick cook time the air fryer allows means your chicken won't dry out, which is something a marinade helps with. If you want to go ahead and marinade go for it! A marinade typically needs to contain a fat, acid, salt, and flavor. This Ginger Soy Marinade is one of our favorites!
We typically reserve brines for larger birds, such as a whole chicken or turkey. Because brines contain a lot of salt it can be too much for individual chicken breasts. However! You could "dry brine" the breast which essentially just means salting the chicken ahead of time and letting it chill an hour for every pound of meat in your breast.
Can I use frozen breasts?
Absolutely! If we weren't breading them I'd even say you could technically cook them from frozen and season halfway through cooking. But in this case I would let them thaw overnight in the fridge and then follow the recipe as written.
How do I store leftovers?
Easy enough! Simply place in an airtight container and chill for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 6 months.
What should I serve with it?
While we wouldn't mind serving this crispy chicken with a side of air fryer fries, it may be hard to cook everything at once. Instead you can opt for some roasted fingerlings or a hearty, verdant green like swiss chard.
How long does it take to cook chicken breasts in an air fryer?
Because of the concentration and distribution of heat that occurs in air fryers, we typically recommend cooking at temperatures that are 25º to 50º degrees lower than what you'd use in a standard oven. Additionally the air fryer tends to cook foods faster. Through our testing we found that 375ºF for 10 minutes was able to make bread crumbs golden brown while keeping the interior tender.
Do I need oil?
Nope! That's the best part of an air fryer. No to very little oil is needed in most air fryer recipes. For a more golden crust you can spritz with a little cooking spray, but we don't think it's absolutely necessary.
If you've made this recipe, we'd love to hear from you! Leave us a comment and rating down below to let us know how you liked it. For more quick weeknight dinner ideas, check out these 80+ easy chicken recipes.
Editor's Note: The introduction to this recipe was updated on October 4, 2021 to include more information about the dish.
