air fryer fried chicken thighs

Pancake

Air-Fryer "Fried" Chicken Thighs

Air fryers need a lot less oil to create a deep-fried crispy crust. Here, chicken thighs are marinated in buttermilk and dredged in a simple breadcrumb coating. With the help of a little cooking spray, they cook up nice and crispy with a lot less fat. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce or slice them up to top a salad.

Ingredients

2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon hot sauce, such as frank's redhot
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 pound total), trimmed
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
cooking spray

Directions

Combine buttermilk, hot sauce and garlic in a medium nonreactive bowl. Add chicken thighs. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Combine flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Add eggs to another shallow dish and breadcrumbs to a third shallow dish.
Working one at a time, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade. Coat with the flour mixture, then the egg. Finally, coat both sides with breadcrumbs. Coat both sides of the chicken with cooking spray.
Lightly coat the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray. Place the chicken thighs in a single layer in the basket. (Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may have to cook in batches.)
Cook the chicken at 400°F until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the chicken registers 165°F, turning the thighs over halfway through, about 16 minutes. (If cooking in batches, cooking time for the second batch may be shorter.)