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This Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Chicken Thighs recipe is a budget-friendly main protein dish that takes less than 30 minutes to make. It uses my DIY chicken dry rub that also goes great on wings, chicken breasts, drumsticks, and whole chicken. Pair these dry rub chicken thighs with any air fryer vegetable side dish for an easy meal.
Why Make Ninja Foodi Chicken Thighs
- Easy recipe with two steps: season the bone-in chicken thighs and add them to the air fryer to cook. The best part is you don’t even have to flip them halfway through, but you’ll still get delicious, juicy chicken thighs with crispy skin. That said, these are some of the best air fryer chicken thighs you’ll make! Enjoy this delicious recipe for a meal prep or an easy dinner for busy weeknights or lazy weekends.
- Juicy & crispy: the air fryer crisps up the chicken skin while keeping the dark meat juicy.
- Budget-friendly: chicken thighs are one of the least expensive cuts of meat. You can get a bunch, season them up, and feed a family for less than $5.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken Thighs: I’m using raw, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
- Chicken Dry Rub: to keep things simple, I’m using my go-to chicken dry rub recipe. It includes common pantry staples like garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder, Italian seasoning, thyme, salt and pepper. You can see the recipe tips section for other seasoning ideas, including garlic butter.
- Oil: I’m using avocado oil because it has a high smoke point. But you could substitute olive oil or melted coconut oil.
How to Make Chicken Thighs in an Air Fryer
- For the best flavor, season the meat by drizzling it with oil and rubbing on 2 tablespoons of the chicken dry rub per pound of meat (photos 1-2)
- For best results, place chicken thighs skin side up inside of the air fryer basket in a single layer and cook on “air crisp”(photos 3-4)
Top Cooking Tips & FAQs
- Switch up the spice mix: these chicken thighs taste great with my homemade chicken dry rub, but you can also use my bbq seasoning or cajun seasoning.
- Swap the oil and spices with a garlic butter: add flavor and cook your air fryer chicken thighs at the same time, by swapping the oil and seasonings for a full flavored garlic butter. Some options from the site are lemon garlic butter sauce, cajun garlic butter, and garlic herb parmesan butter. You can use the same directions and steps from my air fryer garlic butter chicken thighs
- Use 1-2 tablespoons of dry rub: I prefer 2 tablespoons per pound of meat, but you can start with 1 tablespoon if you’re unsure. You can always add extra dry rub at the end after cooking (in the same way that you’d use a finishing salt).
How to Store Leftover Chicken Thighs
If you have any leftovers from this delicious, crispy chicken thighs recipe, the best way to store it is in an airtight container or wrap it up tight in aluminum foil for next time (up to 5 days).
How long should you air fry chicken thighs?
Depends on the temperature selected. In this recipe, I’m cooking chicken thighs for a cook time of 24 minutes. Of course, it also depends on the size of your air fryer and the size of the thighs you’re making.
Can you put raw chicken in the air fryer?
Yes! In fact, all of my air fryer chicken recipes include raw meat.
What temperature do you cook chicken on in the air fryer?
I prefer 400 degrees for most chicken parts. However, for a whole chicken, air frying between 350 and 360 before turning the temperature up is a great way to keep the chicken from drying out.
Recipes to Enjoy this with
You can make these dry rub chicken thighs a meal with these simple side dish recipes:
- Air Fryer Green Beans
- Instant Pot Cabbage
- Cauliflower Pilaf
- Mashed Cauliflower & Keto Gravy
- Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts
More Ninja Air Fryer Chicken Thigh Recipes
All of these recipes were tested and/or prepared in the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer:
- Boneless Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
- Cajun Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Buffalo Chicken Thighs
If you try this recipe, please stop back and leave it a star rating and/or a review in the comments. Stay connected & share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Ninja Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Thighs, bone-in and skin-on
- 2 tbsp Best Chicken Dry Rub Seasoning, click for recipe
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, or olive oil
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Add the chicken to a large bowl or Ziploc bag
- Add the Chicken Dry Rub seasoning and oil to the bowl with the chicken. Then, evenly coat it with the seasoning and oil
- Add the chicken to the air fryer cooking basket skin side up.
- Air Crisp the thighs at 400 degrees for 22-24 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- Switch up the spice mix: these chicken thighs taste great with my homemade chicken dry rub, but you can also use my bbq seasoning or cajun seasoning.
- Swap the oil and spices with a garlic butter: add flavor and cook your air fryer chicken thighs at the same time, by swapping the oil and seasonings for a full flavored garlic butter. Some options from the site are lemon garlic butter sauce, cajun garlic butter, and garlic herb parmesan butter. You can use the same directions and steps from my air fryer garlic butter chicken thighs
- Use 1-2 tablespoons of dry rub: I prefer 2 tablespoons per pound of meat, but you can start with 1 tablespoon if you’re unsure. You can always add extra dry rub at the end after cooking (in the same way that you’d use a finishing salt).
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!
