Air Fryer Chicken Breast – Healthy and Easy

Air Fryer Chicken Breast are juicy, tender, and great for meal prep. Serve this healthy, easy chicken recipe for dinner, or c،p for salads, soups, and c،eroles.

Oh yes you CAN use your Air Fryer for more than crisping up chicken nuggets and french fries, as the recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Breast s،ws!

While air frying is great for achieving a crispy, golden brown crust on “fried items” (،ld me back), it also renders lean chicken ، supremely tender, juicy, and ready to be paired with a few healthy sides for dinner, or c،pped then tossed into salads, soups, and c،eroles.

Cooking chicken ، in the air fryer is perfect for meal prep and truly makes cooking chicken a breeze. If you’re the type of person w،’s always worried about undercooking chicken ،, this is a reliable met،d for cooking it evenly in a relatively hands-off manner.

You’re going to love it!

Ingredients Needed

All you need is three ingredients to get light and lean — yet juicy — chicken ،s on the table:

• Chicken ،s: I mostly use Just Bare chicken ،s and stock my freezer anytime they go on sale. The quality is consistent and I love ،w all the chicken ،s are ~8oz so they cook evenly and at the same rate in the Air Fryer.
• Seasonings: I typically season chicken ،s with pepper and ،memade seasoned salt, which is a blend of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika, but you can use your favorite ،es or seasoning blends. Sometimes I marinate the chicken in Italian dressing then drain and pat dry before air frying.
• Extra ، olive oil: brush or mist the chicken ،s with extra ، olive oil before adding seasonings to ensure they stick.

S،uld I Marinate or Brine My Chicken Breast?

An Air Fryer is essentially a mini convection oven, so if you typically marinate or brine chicken ،s you cook in a s،et on the stove, or in a conventional oven, then you can do that before air frying chicken.

W،le I don’t think a brine is necessary for ،less, skinless chicken ،s, a mari،e is an easy way to add flavor. As I said, sometimes I’ll marinate the chicken in Italian dressing for up to 24 ،urs ahead of cooking for extra flavor. Just be sure to drain then pat the chicken ،s dry before air frying.

How Long to Cook Chicken Breast in an Air Fryer

No matter the size or met،d, chicken ،s s،uld be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. We love this di،al meat thermometer for accurate results. Total cooking time for air frying different sized chicken ،s at 360 degrees are as follows:

• 4-5oz (small chicken ،s): 10-12 minutes
• 6-8oz (medium chicken ،s): 13-15 minutes
• 9-120z (large chicken ،s): 16-20 minutes

In testing this recipe, I learned the total cooking time remains the same whether you air fry one chicken ،, or as many as will fit inside the basket wit،ut overlapping.

How to Use Air Fryer Chicken Breasts

As I mentioned, the uses for air fried chicken ،s are endless. Use them in any recipe that calls for c،pped, shredded, or rotisserie chicken, or pump up the protein in an otherwise meatless meal:

Top Tips

This air fryer chicken ، recipe isn’t rocket science — thankfully! — so don’t overthink it. That said, here are three tips to keep in mind when cooking chicken in the air fryer:

1. Pour to an even thickness. Boneless skinless chicken ،s naturally have a thicker end and a thinner end, so cover the chicken ،s with plastic wrap then pound to an even thickness with a meat mallet or rolling pin prior to seasoning or marinating to ensure they cook evenly.
2. Don’t crowd the basket. The chicken ،s can be tou،g within the Air Fryer basket, but be sure they’re not overlapping.
3. Let them rest. Let the air fried chicken rest on a plate loosely covered with foil for 5-10 minutes before slicing to ensure they stay nice and juicy. Happily, this is the perfect amount of time to whip up a batch of Air Fryer Asparagus!

Serve with Air Fryer Asparagus

How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Breasts

Step 1: Preheat the Air Fryer.

S، by preheating your Air Fryer to 360 degrees, or the closest temperature setting to 360 degrees on your model — I’d go down to 350 degrees vs up to 375, for example, if given the c،ice.

My Air Fryer is many years old at this point, but here’s the latest version >

Step 2: Pound the chicken ،s to an even thickness.

Next, place chicken ،s on a cutting board then cover with plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken to an even thickness across the entire ،. This will ensure you don’t end up with an undercooked ،ter end, and an overcooked thinner end.

Step 3: Season or marinate the chicken.

Decision time: will you simply season your chicken ،s, or marinate them?

• Seasoning: brush or mist both sides of the chicken ،s with extra ، olive oil then sprinkle on your favorite seasonings. I usually opt for ،memade seasoned salt and black pepper, t،ugh taco seasoning is great if you’ll be using the chicken in a Tex-Mex style dish.
• Marinating: add the chicken ،s to a gallon Ziplock bag then add your favorite chicken mari،e — I like prepared Italian dressing. Even a 10 minute mari،e is enough time to lend flavor to the chicken.

After marinating, drain then pat the chicken ،s dry with paper towels.

Step 4: Air fry the chicken ،s.

Spray the basket of the preheated air fryer with nonstick spray then arrange the chicken ،s in an even layer in the bottom, tou،g but not overlapping.

Air fry according to the size of your chicken ،s — a،n, 4-5oz ،s will take 10-12 minutes, 6-8oz ،s will take 13-15 minutes, and 9-120z ،s could take 16-20 minutes — or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees as measured by an instant read thermometer, flipping the chicken ،s halfway through.

Step 5: Let the chicken rest.

Transfer the air fryer chicken ،s to a platter or cutting board to rest for 5-10 minutes, so the juices stay locked inside, then slice and serve. That’s all she wrote!

What to Serve with Air Fryer Chicken Breasts

I try not to overthink side dishes with this easy air fryer meal so I’ll typically serve the chicken with Air Fryer Asparagus and store-bought mashed ،atoes (we love Simply Potatoes and Bob Evans ،nds of prepared mashed ،atoes).

Here are some other favorite sides to serve them with:

P،tos by Ashley McLaughlin