Air Fryer Chicken Thighs - Juicy Crispy & Oil Free
These air fryer chicken thighs are so crispy outside and juicy inside! Marinated in cumin, pepper, soy sauce seasoned milk for 2 hours, the chicken thighs turn out to be so tender and flavorful. This recipe enables you to make the perfectly crispy fried chicken thighs with an air fryer, or even just a regular oven - Not a single drop of oil is needed!
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer (or an oven)
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs (skin on, deboned)
Marinade
- 1½ cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili pepper powder (or paprika)
Batter
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup cornstarch
Coating Mixture
- 2 cup crispy fried chicken blending (can be substituted by ½ cup of cornstarch, 1½ cup of all purpose flour, and 1 tsp baking powder)
- ½ tsp salt (skip if your crispy fried chicken blending has already been seasoned.)
- ½ tsp pepper (skip if your crispy fried chicken blending has already been seasoned.)
Instructions
- Add chicken thighs, milk, salt, pepper, cumin, chili pepper powder, and soy sauce to a large bowl. Mix together. Cover with lid or food wrap. Keep in the fridge for 2 hours.
- 2 hours later, get the bowl out from the fridge, drain the milk.
- Add 1 egg and ¼ cup of cornstarch to marinated chicken thighs. Mix with hands until the chicken thighs are evenly coated in the batter.
- Add crispy fried chicken blending, salt, and pepper to a large shallow pan. Stir until mixed.
- Dredge the chicken thighs into the coating mixture. If you see some uncovered spots, you can manually pat some coating mixture to these spots to make sure that each piece of the chicken thighs are thoroughly coated.
- Spray the air fryer net with cooking spray if its not nonstick. Place the chicken thighs in the air fryer, with skin side up. Air fry at 355°F for 20 minutes. (Or bake in an oven at 375°F for 20 minutes.)
- Turn the chicken thighs meat side up and air fry at 355°F for 10 more minutes. (Or bake in an oven at 375°F for 15 more minutes.)
- Serve while they are hot and crispy.