Air Fryer Chicken Breast – Juicy, flavourful chicken breasts lightly coated in a simple seasoning mix. An easy method to ensure they’re cooked evenly, and they’re perfectly juicy and tender.
Having a quick and delicious recipe for chicken up your sleeve is super important, especially on those busy days.
It’s great as a meal-prep staple, so you can have a tasty source of protein in the fridge whenever you need it.
Add it to soups, sandwiches, salads, and pasta dishes for some added meaty goodness.
One thing that really surprised me when I started using an air fryer was how well it cooks chicken. It’s always left me with the juiciest, golden chicken that absorbs flavour like a sponge.
This recipe takes only 16 minutes and the result is perfectly seasoned, tender chicken breasts!
📋 Ingredients
Chicken Breasts – you want them to be around 180g (6.3 oz) each. If you use larger chicken breasts, you’ll need to increase the cooking time (see notes in the recipe card for more info).
Garlic Powder – You can substitute this for the same amount of garlic salt, just omit the regular salt.
Light Brown Sugar – This is optional but I find it adds a hint of caramelization that creates that much more flavour.
📺 Watch how to make it
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- This recipe takes a small amount of prep, then the air fryer does the rest of the work. Start off by putting the chicken in a plastic sandwich bag and bashing the thickest part of the chicken with a rolling pin until the thickness has evened out.
- Now, mix together the seasoning in the bowl and add the chicken, pressing the seasoning to the chicken to coat it.
- Then drizzle over the oil and toss once again to fully coat.
- Then, pop in the air fryer for 11-12 minutes, turning halfway through until the chicken is golden on the outside and no longer pink in the middle.
Pro Tip
You can customise the seasonings you coat the chicken with to your taste. Add chilli flakes or powder for heat. Add more herbs (basil, thyme and dill are great options). You can even use a ready-mix seasoning – such as fajita or Cajun seasoning.
This chicken is the perfect way to make tasty, juicy chicken in extra-quick time.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- This recipe is so versatile, that you can add it to anything your heart desires, here are my favourite ways to use it:
- Spruce up these salads: Simple Green Salad, Moroccan Couscous Salad, or Cobb Salad with Smoky Chickpeas.
- Another great way to use this chicken is to shred it and add it to pasta and noodle dishes, like these: Basic Stir-Fried Noodles, Roasted Vegetable Pesto Pasta, or Peanut Butter Noodles.
So juicy and flavourful, this is my go-to recipe to get chicken breast perfect, every single time.
🍲 More fantastic air-fryer recipes
Yes! I love to make a few quick batches of chicken to keep in the fridge for the kid’s lunches. Cook them, then quickly cook and store in an air-tight container in the fridge, it should keep for 3 – 4 days.
You can also freeze them once cooked but I find it can be a little dry once you reheat them, to help with this, and for quicker reheating, you can slice up the chicken into chunks before storing in an air-tight container in the freezer.
If you find your chicken is a little bit dry, add a small splash of water alongside it when reheating. Make sure the chicken is piping hot throughout before serving.
If cooking more than 2 chicken breasts, you may need to work in batches. We need to be able to layer the chicken in a single layer, with a little bit of space around each piece for good airflow.
Stay updated with new recipes!
Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).
Air Fryer Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (about 180g/6.3oz each)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder or use garlic salt, but omit the regular salt
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp light brown sugar optional, but adds a tiny bit of caramelization
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in a plastic sandwich bag or between a large folded piece of baking parchment.2 chicken breasts
- Bash the thickest part of the chicken breast few times with a rolling pin. We don’t want to flatten the chicken a lot – we just want to even out the thickness.
- It should still look like a chicken breast after a few light bashes (we don’t want it to thin like a chicken steak).
- Mix together the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and sugar in a small bowl.¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp light brown sugar
- Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the two chicken breasts and press the mixture in with your hands, so they're thoroughly coated and so the mixture sticks to the chicken.
- Drizzle over the oil and toss to fully coat.1 tbsp neutral oil
- Place in the air fryer basket (no liner, we want it straight on the tray), in a single layer, with a bit of space in between the chicken breasts for good airflow. Air fry for 11-12 minutes (no need to pre-heat) at 200C/400F, turning once, halfway through cooking. Once cooked, the chicken should no longer be pink in the middle (internal temp should be 75C/167F).
Video
Notes
Cooking more than two?
If cooking more than 2 chicken breasts, you may need to work in batches. We need to be able to layer the chicken in a single layer, with a little bit of space around each piece for good airflow.Size of chicken breast
Don’t use chicken breasts that are too big, as they’ll take longer to cook, and they will be dry on the outside. Try to stick between 180g/6.3oz and 227g/8oz per chicken breast. If your chicken breasts are larger than the 180g/6.3oz that I use, you’ll need to cook for as little longer.- 198g/7oz each – cook the two breasts for 12-13 minutes
- 227g/8oz- cook the two breasts for 13-14 minutes
Can I use frozen chicken breasts?
You’ll get the best and juiciest result using fresh chicken breasts. So you’ll need to defrost frozen chicken breasts before using. I defrost them overnight in the refrigerator.Nutritional information is approximate, per chicken breast.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Can I put this recipe in a fry pan? Thank you, Nicky
I know this seems a rather small trivial item, but I love the fact that you list the ingredients with each stage of the recipe. It is extremely, extremely helpful. I have ADHD and flipping back and forth in a recipe often lead to mistakes 😬.
Fantastic but I do not have an air fryer and was not intending to buy one.
Are all your recipes dependent on owning one?
Not at all Toby. I’ve got hundreds of non-air fryer recipes on the site.
How would you cook it without air fryer please?