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Cook marinated chicken legs (or marinated chicken drumsticks) in your air fryer with this simple Air Fryer Marinated Chicken Drumsticks recipe. It uses an easy marinade that works great on turkey thighs, chicken thighs, whole chicken, and marinated chicken wings. Add the chicken to the marinade for up to 2 days in advance for a ready-to-cook air fryer meal prep.
Why Make Air Fryer Marinated Drumsticks
- Simple homemade marinade: this marinated chicken legs recipe includes a six-ingredient marinade that uses pantry staples and easy-to-find ingredients like olive oil, garlic, and lemon. It also skips things like added sugar.
- Make in the air fryer: You can bake, roast or slow cook your marinated chicken, but the air fryer serves as the quickest way to get a crispy, yet juicy result.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken Drumsticks: I’m using fresh chicken legs for this recipe. If you have frozen chicken, then I recommend thawing it before adding it to the marinade.
- Chicken Marinade: The ingredients for the marinade are quite simple. You’ll need to gather sea salt, a salt-free herb seasoning, garlic cloves, black pepper, olive oil (or avocado oil), and lemon juice.
How to Air Fry Marinated Chicken Drumsticks
- Make the marinade: Add the salt, herb seasoning, garlic, black pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to a large bowl. Whisk to incorporate.
- Add the chicken to the marinade & marinate: You can keep your chicken in a bowl that has a lid or a large freezer bag. I keep the chicken in for at least 4 hours.
- Put the chicken in the air fryer: I shake off excess marinade and add my chicken drumsticks in an even layer to the air fryer basket.
- Air Fry the chicken legs: I cook my chicken at 400 degrees and flip them at the halfway point to ensure even browning and crisping of the chicken drumstick skin.
Top Cooking Tips & FAQs
- Marinate for up to two days: the longer you allow your chicken the marinate, the better in terms of flavor. I add my chicken legs and marinade to a large zipper bag and store it in the refrigerator until I am ready to cook them later in the week.
- Freeze uncooked chicken with the marinade for later: Sometimes, meal plans change. You can also add the chicken with the marinade on it to the freezer (one benefit of using a freezer bag to store it). Simply take your chicken out 24 hours before you want to use it so that it can thaw in the refrigerator.
This depends on the size of the chicken legs. Generally, though, they take 24-30 minutes to cook.
This depends on the size. I can usually fit 4-6. Just ensure that they are in a flat even layer. If you stack the chicken drumsticks, they will not brown evenly and take longer to cook. So, it’s best to do them in batches if they don’t all fit.
Yes. You can put aluminum foil in an air fryer. Be sure to check out my guide to see the best ways to use it and when you should not.
Recipes to Enjoy This With
- Keto Creamed Spinach
- Pressure Cooker Cabbage
- Pressure Cooker Collard Greens
- Air Fryer Green Beans Recipe
More Marinated Chicken Recipes
- Marinated Chicken Wings
- Baked Chicken Thighs
- Indoor Grill Chicken Kababs
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Air Fryer Marinated Drumsticks
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Drumsticks
- 1 tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt, use DRDAVINAHS to save!
- 1 tbsp 24 Herbs Sprinkle Seasoning (Salt-free), or another salt-free mixed herb seasoning like Herbs de Provence or Italian Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Garlic, cloves, minced, about 8 cloves
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil, or avocado oil
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice, fresh or bottled work
Instructions
- Add the salt, herb seasoning, garlic, black pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to a large bowl. Whisk to incorporate.
- Pat the drumsticks dry with a paper towel.
- Add the chicken drumsticks to the bowl, and mix them evenly with the marinade.
- Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight)
- Take the chicken about 15-30 minutes before cooking.
- Stir the chicken in the marinade one last time.
- Add the chicken to the air fryer cooking basket in an even layer.
- Air crisp the drumsticks at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes per side.
Recipe Notes
- Marinate for up to two days: the longer you allow your chicken the marinate, the better in terms of flavor. I add my chicken legs and marinade to a large zipper bag and store it in the refrigerator until I am ready to cook them later in the week.
- Freeze uncooked chicken with the marinade for later: Sometimes, meal plans change. You can also add the chicken with the marinade on it to the freezer (one benefit of using a freezer bag to store it). Simply take your chicken out 24 hours before you want to use it so that it can thaw in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
Jules says
Your food blog is amazing. Love everything I have tried so far
Dr. Davinah's Eats Team says
We really appreciate you stopping back to write such a thoughtful review! 🙂