Air Fryer Fried Chicken

Why did I always think cooking fried chicken would be so hard? News flash – it’s not – especially if you’ve got an air fryer. Every now and then a craving for fried chicken comes on but I know if I eat anything deep fried my stomach will hate me later. So, I usually ignore that craving… Then I got an air fryer. Woah! If you have never used an air fryer I highly recommend investing in one. While I hate having tons of appliances, this is one we use quite often and every time we do we end up with a great, quick meal.

When I first started researching fried chicken recipes I found that almost all the good ones had you soaking the chicken overnight in buttermilk. Now, since I’m allergic to lactose this was going to be a problem. After some more research and trial + error I found what I believe to be a great dairy free alternative. Also, I don’t know about you but I try to avoid buying random ingredients for recipes especially if I’m not gonna use all of it. Aka, if you don’t need a whole container of buttermilk the rest is just gonna go to waste so instead – try my alternative which uses milk (I used almond milk but any milk would work) and lemon juice – staples in my fridge.

PREP TIME	COOK TIME	TOTAL TIME
20 min	30 min	50 min

Ingredients

• 8-10 pieces of bone-in skin-on chicken [I used thighs + drumsticks]
• 3 cups buttermilk or buttermilk alternative shown below
  • 3 cups almond milk [honestly, any milk would work]
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• OPTIONAL: 1 tsp chipotle powder [gives is a smoky little kick!]
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil or olive oil cooking spray

Directions

1. If making the buttermilk alternative: combine milk and lemon juice, stir and rest for 5 minutes until it begins to curdle.
2. Soak the chicken in the buttermilk overnight. (if you like an extra kick try adding a splash of hot sauce to the buttermilk!)
3. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt, black pepper and spices.
4. Work with one piece of chicken at a time. Move it from the buttermilk mixture into the flour. Cover the chicken with the flour mixture and press it into each piece covering all sides. Transfer each piece to a plate until all chicken has been covered in the flour mixture.
5. Spray cooking oil onto the rack or basket of the air fryer. Place the chicken into your air fryer as a single layer. Do not let the chicken touch – it is important that air can circulate through. You may need to work in batches.
6. Cook the chicken at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
7. Flip the chicken over and drizzle/spray with more olive oil. Place the chicken back in the air fryer and cook at 375 degrees for 15 more minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and has an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Enjoy!