• Recipe Box
    • All Recipes
    • Low Carb & Keto
    • Whole30
    • Paleo
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Ninja Foodi
    • Air Fryer
    • Copycat Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Desserts
    • Side Dishes
    • Drinks
    • Dips, Salad Dressings & Sauces
    • Web Stories
  • Cooking Tips
  • About
    • Work With Dr. Davinah’s Eats
    • Contact
  • My Keto Blog
    • Product Reviews & Guides
    • Recipe Collections
    • Keto Guide for Dummies: A Introduction to Keto
    • Get Exclusive Discounts
    • 360 Cookware
    • Amazon Favorites
    • Shop

↑

Dr. Davinah's Eats

Keto, Low Carb & Air Fryer Recipes for Foodies

  • Recipe Box
    • All Recipes
    • Low Carb & Keto
    • Whole30
    • Paleo
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Ninja Foodi
    • Air Fryer
    • Copycat Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Desserts
    • Side Dishes
    • Drinks
    • Dips, Salad Dressings & Sauces
    • Web Stories
  • Cooking Tips
  • About
    • Work With Dr. Davinah’s Eats
    • Contact
  • My Keto Blog
    • Product Reviews & Guides
    • Recipe Collections
    • Keto Guide for Dummies: A Introduction to Keto
    • Get Exclusive Discounts
    • 360 Cookware
    • Amazon Favorites
    • Shop
Home » Recipes » Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs (Crispy & Garlicky!)

Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs (Crispy & Garlicky!)

Last Updated March 1, 2022. Published February 24, 2022 By Davinah Cenou Montezuma

96 shares
  • Share34
Jump to Recipe
pinterest image for crispy garlic butter chicken thighs in the Ninja Foodi

This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and highly recommend. You can read my full disclosure .

Make crispy & garlicky chicken thighs in your air fryer with this Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs recipe. It features my 5-minute garlic Parmesan butter that I used on my air fryer cajun shrimp and air fryer steak. Enjoy this with my air fryer frozen broccoli, air fryer squash, or creamy mushroom cauliflower rice risotto to make a meal.

air fryer garlic butter chicken thighs on a white plate

Why Make This

  • Quick & easy: this recipe mostly requires you to mix the chicken in spices and grated cheese before adding it to the air fryer. Plus, it’s ready in less than 30 minutes.
  • Crispy Garlic Parmesan flavor: Garlic Parmesan wings helped me realize that garlic and Parmesan go so well together without much else. So, this easy dish includes those flavors, but amps up the garlic, since there’s fresh minced garlic in the garlic butter.

Ingredients Needed

  • Chicken Thighs: I used bone-in and skin-on raw chicken thighs. You can also use boneless chicken thighs (see my air fryer boneless chicken thighs post for the time difference).
  • Garlic Butter: I used my quick and easy garlic herb butter recipe. It not only adds flavor to this dish, but it’s also a great compound butter for air fryer steak.
  • Parmesan cheese: I’m using the fresh, grated kind from the refrigerated section of the market.Sea Salt: I’m using fine grain sea salt.
  • Black Pepper
Parmesan cheese, chicken, pepper, sea salt and garlic butter on separate bowls

How to Make Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs in 4 Simple Steps

  1. Add the seasoning and Parmesan to a bowl with the chicken. Then, evenly coat the chicken
  2. Add the chicken to the bottom of the cooking pot (no air fryer insert needed), skin side down. Air Crisp the thighs at 400 degrees.
  3. Use tongs to toss the chicken in the melted garlic butter and coat both sides.
  4. Air fry on 400 skin side up to crisp the skin and cook the chicken through
the process of making Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken Thigs

Top Tips & FAQs

  • Enjoy the crispy garlic bits: one of the best parts of this recipe is the crispy garlic bits that sometimes fall to the bottom of the air fryer. Don’t let those go to waste. Scoop them up and serve them on top of your chicken.
  • Adjust the cooking time for boneless: air fryer boneless chicken thighs take less time to cook than bone-in chicken thighs.
  • Use a cake pan insert if you don’t have a multi cooker: my Ninja Foodi air fryer also works as a slow cooker and pressure cooker. So, for recipes like this, my air fryer Cajun shrimp and garlic butter steak bites, I skip the air fryer basket and just use the cooking pot. If your air fryer isn’t set up like this, use a cake pan air fryer accessory.
  • Pat the chicken dry for crispier skin: one of the keys to crispy air fried chicken is to pay the chicken skin dry before adding spices and cooking
Do you need to defrost before air frying?

This recipe was specifically tested with raw and thawed chicken thighs. I haven’t tried this with frozen chicken thighs.

Can you air fry without flour?

Yes. I don’t use any flour when air frying. Two of my crispest recipes are my air fryer fried chicken wings and air fryer chicken legs. Both have the crunch of fried chicken without flour or breading.

Can you put frozen chicken in an air fryer?

Yes. You can put frozen chicken wings and frozen chicken patties in your air fryer. I do not recommend putting a frozen whole chicken in your air fryer.

Recipes to Enjoy This With

  • Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli
  • Air Fryer Green Beans
  • Squash in the Air Fryer
  • Mushroom Cauliflower Rice Risotto
  • Chicken Side Dishes

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! 

air fryer garlic butter chicken thighs on a white plate

Air Fryer Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs

Craving for a garlicky and buttery chicken? This air fryer garlic butter chicken is everything you needed!
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Ready in: 30 mins
Cuisine: American
Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner, Lunch
Servings: 4
Calories: 354kcal
Author: Davinah
Pin Rate Print

Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!

Equipment

Ninja Foodi

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Chicken Thighs, bone-in and skin-on
  • 1/4 tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
  • 4 tbsp Garlic Butter, click for the recipe
  • 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

  • Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
  • Add the seasoning, Parmesan cheese to the bowl with the chicken. Then, evenly coat the chicken with the seasoning and Parmesan.
  • Add the chicken to the bottom of the cooking pot (no air fryer basket insert needed) skin side down. Put the garlic butter on top.
  • Air Crisp the chicken thighs at 400 degrees for 13 minutes.
  • Use tongs to toss the chicken in the melted garlic butter and coat both sides.
  • Air fry on 400 skin side up for 11-12 more minutes to cook the chicken through and crisp the skin

Nutrition Details

Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 353mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 449IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

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!

Share this RecipeIf you enjoy this recipe, share a link to it via email or Facebook, pin it, or leave a rating. Please don’t copy/paste the instructions to other websites. Thanks for helping the website grow!

Related Posts

  • air fryer asparagus on a plate with a lemon slice
    Air Fryer Asparagus
  • cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs in the ninja foodi air fryer
    Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs
  • close up of garlic herb butter for steak
    Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter for Steaks
  • close up of air fryer dry rub chicken legs on a plate with lemon and a green vegetable
    Air Fryer Dry Rub Chicken Drumsticks

Subscribe for Free Recipes, Meal Ideas & Tips!

Join more than 8,000 people who get my top recipes, meal ideas & tips to their inboxes each week.

* indicates required

Filed Under: All Keto Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Easy Keto Recipes: 30 Minutes or Less, Keto Lunch & Dinner Recipes, Ninja Foodi Recipes, Recipes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

close up photo of Davinah - the blogger behind Dr. Davinah\'s Eats welcome text that reads, \"I\'m Davinah\" I'm an educator & hardcore foodie who realized eating "all the things" couldn’t last forever. After getting my PhD in Education, I decided to make eating healthier my next big goal. Here, you'll find my collection of keto, low-carb and whole food comfort food recipes. Read More

Search this Website

Free Keto & Low Carb Recipes Delivered Weekly!

Subscribe for amazing recipes, giveaways, discounts and more.

Spring Favorites

keto chicken tenders in a small pan with keto dipping sauce on the side

Keto Chicken Tenders [+VIDEO]

a close-up of six air fryer crab cakes in a metal bowl with lemon, dill, parsley, and homemade tartar sauce

Air Fryer Keto Crab Cakes [+VIDEO]

a close up of keto lemon cake with lemons topped with a sugar-free white chocolate glaze on top of a brown cutting board

Keto Lemon Pound Cake [+VIDEO]

double layer low carb strawberry shortcake on a cake stand

Low Carb Strawberry Shortcake [+VIDEO]

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bites on a white plate with lemon slices

Keto Lemon Cheesecake Bites with Blueberry Sauce

Double layer Low Carb Carrot Cake on a white plate with a mint leaf on top

The Best Keto Low Carb Carrot Cake Recipe [+VIDEO]

Most Popular Recipes

close-up of Pressure Cooker Pot Roast in a bowl

Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Pot Roast Recipe

pan seared scallops in a bowl with cauliflower risotto

Seared Scallops and Cauliflower Rice Risotto

two air fryer salmon filets on a plate topped with garlic butter

Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Herbed Salmon Recipe

a close-up photo of a garlic parmesan wing on a plate

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings [+VIDEO]

crispy baked chicken wings on a parchment lined baking sheet

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings Recipe [+VIDEO]

keto coleslaw in a bowl with a fork

Easy Low Carb & Keto Coleslaw Recipe [+VIDEO]

Shrimp Scampi on a white oblong plate

Keto Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe [+VIDEO]

a close-up of an air fryer fried chicken wing on a white plate

Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe [+VIDEO]

crispy air fryer chicken drumsticks on a black board

Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Chicken Legs (Drumsticks) [+VIDEO]

a close-up of Keto Bang Bang shrimp in a bowl

Low-Carb Bang Bang Shrimp Recipe (Grain-free, No-Added Sugar)

Menu Planning Ideas

  • Ninja Foodi Recipes
  • 30 Minutes or Less
  • Side Dishes
Chicken Tenders on a large plate

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (No Breading)

Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans on a plate

Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans

fall off the bone ribs on a plate with bbq sauce

Fall Off the Bone Ribs [+VIDEO]

shrimp marinara in a bowl

The Best Air Fryer Shrimp Marinara Recipe

air fryer ribs on a plate

Air Fryer Ribs Recipe

shrimp marinara in a bowl

The Best Air Fryer Shrimp Marinara Recipe

A close up of almond flour waffles on a plate topped with whipped cream and sugar-free maple syrup

Keto Almond Flour Waffles

a plate of air fryer sausage and peppers

Air Fryer Italian Sausages [+VIDEO]

air fryer surf and turf on a black plate

Air Fryer Surf & Turf [+VIDEO]

NY Strip Steak with Chimichurri and shrimp on a plate

Marinated Boneless New York Strip Steak Recipe

Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans on a plate

Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans

air fryer frozen Brussels sprouts in a white bowl

Air Fryer Frozen Brussels Sprouts

ninja foodi air fryer spaghetti squash on a plate

Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash

keto potato salad with radishes in a bowl

Keto Potato Salad (No Cauliflower)

Air Fryer Turkey Bacon (The Easiest Recipe!)

Featured on:

list of magazines and online blogs that feature Dr. Davinah\'s Eats recipes

@DrDavinahs Follow On Instagram

Free Keto & Low Carb Recipes Delivered Weekly!

Subscribe for amazing recipes, giveaways, discounts and more.

By using this website, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Disclosures

Browse by Category

Recipes by Course

  • Recipe Index
  • Breakfast
  • Main Course
  • Side Dishes
  • Desserts
  • Drinks
  • Dip, Salad Dressing & Sauces

Recipes by Diet

  • Keto & Low-Carb Recipes
  • Paleo Recipes
  • Whole30 Recipes

About Davinah Policies Work With Us

Search this Website

Copyright ©2022, Dr. Davinah's Eats. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs
  • Pin
  • 34Share