Air fryer marinated chicken uses a healthy, homemade marinade & cooks in under 20 minutes. Grab you favorite cut of chicken for this easy air fryer recipe.
Ingredients For Marinated Chicken
The ingredients in this marinated chicken recipe are simple.
- Chicken: Use your preferred cut of chicken! Bone-in, boneless, skin-on, skinless, white meat, dark meat…whatever you want. The cook time will vary depending on if white or dark meat is used. This is discussed in detail below.
- Oil: Oil is one of the main ingredients in the marinade. You can use the oil that fits your lifestyle or dietary restriction. Suggestions include olive oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil.
- Balsamic or red wine vinegar: Vinegar is another main ingredient to the marinade. Balsamic, red wine or even white vinegar can be used.
- Coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce: Coconut aminos is a gluten-free substitute for soy sauce. I’m not gluten-free but I use is on a regular basis because it’s also paleo and whole30 compliant.
- Seasonings: Dried basil or another herb like oregano along with garlic powder, pepper, and a pinch of salt.
How To Make Marinated Chicken In The Air Fryer
Making marinated chicken breasts, legs, or thighs wings in the air fryer is very easy.
- In a small bowl, mix together the marinade ingredients until well blended.
- Add the chicken to a large bowl or plastic bag. Pour the prepared marinade on top of the chicken. Ensure all the pieces have been coated. Cover/seal & refrigerate minimum of 30 minutes to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees for dark meat or 360 degrees for white meat.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in the air fryer basket. Discard any remaining marinade. Do not overlap or stack the chicken. You may need to cook this in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Cook 10 minutes, flip the chicken and cook an additional 6-8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Your chicken may need to cook less or longer depending on the cut & thickness.
What Cut Of Chicken To Use
The best thing about this recipe is that it calls for your preferred cut of chicken. That’s right you can use bone-in, boneless, skin-on or skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or legs. The cut of chicken you use will dictate how long the chicken needs to air fry. What you see in the pics is a combination of skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and chicken legs. Always check to ensure the internal temperature of your chicken is at least 165 degrees F before consuming.
A Healthy, Homemade Marinade
The star of this healthy air fryer chicken recipe is the homemade marinade. The marinade is what I call the trifecta meaning it’s low-carb, paleo, and whole30 compliant. The ingredients are basic & hopefully you already have them in your pantry. If you don’t have coconut aminos, you can use low-sodium soy sauce in its place however the recipe will no longer be gluten-free, paleo, or whole30 compliant.
FAQs & Tips
How long should you marinate the chicken?
Marinate the chicken between 30 minutes to 24 hours. Anything longer then 24 hours, the meat will start to break down.
Can you use frozen chicken?
Technically yes. Should you….no. One of the benefits of using the air fryer is that you can cook chicken directly from frozen but personally I do not recommend it when a marinade is involved. Marinades don’t stick well to frozen chicken so you won’t get the same amount of flavor that you normally would if you used defrosted chicken. If you do choose use frozen chicken for the recipe, add an additional 5-7 minutes to the cooking time.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover marinated chicken should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Leftover will keep for up to 4 days when stored properly.
Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
PrintAir Fryer Marinated Chicken
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 - 2 pounds pounds chicken, cut of your choice
- 1/2 cup oil of your choice
- 1/2 cup balsamic or red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil or similar herb
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Pinch of salt (or more)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the marinade ingredients until well blended.
- Add the chicken to a large bowl or plastic bag. Pour the prepared marinade on top of the chicken. Ensure all the pieces are have been coated. Cover/seal & refrigerate minimum of 30 minutes to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees for dark meat or 360 degrees for white meat.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in the air fryer basket. Discard any remaining marinade. Do not overlap or stack the chicken. You may need to cook this in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Cook 10 minutes, flip the chicken and cook an additional 6-8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Notes
WHITE MEAT: 360 degrees 16-18 minutes, flipping halfway through
DARK MEAT: 400 degrees 16-18 minutes, flipping halfway through
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 192
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 1236.8 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.4 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
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3 thoughts on “Air Fryer Marinated Chicken + VIDEO”
Would this be a good marinade for grilling the chicken?
I don’t have an air fryer… how can I cook it in the oven?
This was amazing.