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I grew up eating chicken drumsticks and I’ve recently fallen in love with air fried chicken. So I knew I would eventually try air fryer chicken legs.
I don’t know why I waited so long! This is a recipe you have to make for your family!
AIR FRYER CHICKEN LEGS
Before we get too deep into making air fryer chicken drumsticks, these aren’t chicken legs that are going to come out looking like they came out of a fried chicken bucket.
Using the air fryer, you’re cooking with hot air that circulates around the food to give you a crunchy and crisp exterior. That’s why it works great for frozen food like frozen chicken strips.
So for air fryer fried chicken legs, you use just a bit of oil or marinade and get a tender, juicy chicken leg with crispy skin that is just delicious!
It’s really simple to make though and that’s why I love using my air fryer! Easy to cook in and easy to clean up! Oh, and it saves time too! What more could we ask for as busy parents?
All you have to do when cooking chicken legs in the air fryer is make the marinade, coat the chicken, and cook in the air fryer! In no time at all, you’ll have a simple chicken main dish that pairs well with almost anything!
HOW TO COOK DRUMSTICKS IN AIR FRYER
If you include the prep time for the marinade, this recipe takes just under an hour to make. But once you have the marinade made, it only takes about 20 minutes to get your chicken on the plate. While your chicken is cooking, you can work on a simple side dish like butter parmesan garlic corn or twice-baked mashed potatoes.
The basic steps for cooking any chicken in the air fryer is:
- Preheat the air fryer (if required by your model).
- Coat chicken in marinade or season chicken (another one of my favorite ways to make air fried chicken).
- Put the chicken in the air fryer without crowding the food (the air needs space to circulate around the food).
- Set a digital timer. If your air fryer has a dial timer, I suggest using a timer on your phone or some other digital timer for more accurate cook time.
- Cook the chicken legs.
- Check the internal temperature. Chicken should be cooked to 165° Fahrenheit. If it hasn’t reached that temperature, cooking for a few more minutes.
Those are the basics for pretty much all of my air fryer chicken recipes! It’s so simple that it allows you to easily play with flavors when you marinade or season before you cook the chicken!
AIR FRYER COOKING TIPS
If you’re new to using your air fryer or just need a few tips, here are some of the basics that I’ve learned along the way that give me the best-tasting food!
Don’t crowd the food.
I mentioned this above it’s important to give your pieces of chicken space from each other. If there is room for the hot air to circulate around the food, it will cook more quickly and more evenly.
Pat food dry.
If you’re cooking food that doesn’t have a breading on it, you will want to pat it dry before putting it into the air fryer. That will remove any water on them and help the food crisp rather than steam as it cooks. This is especially true with chicken.
Shake the basket.
Be sure to shake the basket a few times when you’re cooking smaller items like chicken wings, chicken nuggets, fries, etc. This will help you get more even cooking.
Adjust the temperature.
You don’t want to use too high of a temperature when cooking in your air fryer because you may just dry out your food.
If you’re cooking something you normally cook in the oven, I recommend that you air fry about 25-30 degrees lower and cook for about 20% less time than in the oven.
For example, if you have a recipe that calls for something to cook for 40 minutes at 425ºF, you could cook in the air fryer for about 32 minutes at 400ºF.
Use a digital thermometer.
You want to get a digital thermometer that is easy to read, especially for cooking meat in the air fryer. You want to check the internal temperature of your chicken, steak, and pork before eating.
Wash your air fryer regularly.
Don’t let your air fryer sit around dirty. Hand wash the basket and tray after every use. Any crumbs left behind will burn the next time you cook and can ruin your food.
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Air Fryer Chicken Legs
Prep Time40 minutes mins
Cook Time16 minutes mins
Servings: 8
Calories: 257
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp seasoning salt
- ½ Tbsp garlic powder
- juice of one lemon
- 8 chicken drumstick legs
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together the honey, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, soy sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and lemon juice.
Place the chicken legs in a gallon size zip-top bag. Pour the honey mixture over the chicken legs and seal the bag. Move the legs around in the bag to coat with marinade, then place the bag in the refrigerator to marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Prepare the air fryer basket by adding a liner or rack to the basket. Place the chicken legs on top, making sure the legs don’t touch each other or the sides of the basket to prevent sticking. The chicken legs may need to be cooked in batches.
Set the air fryer to cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. When the cook time is up, flip the legs and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Notes
Please note that all nutritional values are estimates. Exact values depend on the specific products used.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 g | Calories: 257 kcal
For more air fryer chicken recipes you might enjoy, try making Air Fryer Chicken Wings and Air Fried Chicken Thighs!
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