Making air fryer chicken at home in your airfryer is easier than you think! This crispy air fried chicken drumsticks recipe uses basic pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand. You can also substitute for chicken wings or chicken tenderloins or chicken thighs or mix it all up and make them all! The recipe is easy enough that you make this for a weeknight dinner.
Whether you walk the small kitchen appliance aisle of Sam’s Club or Costco or Target…there is one thing that’s clear and that’s the popularity of air fryers! There is something so super convenient about a small countertop appliance that is versatile enough to cook delicious meats, vegetables, homemade, frozen food, and even bread! And it’s all healthier!
Fun Fact About Air Fryers
Did you know that an air fryer uses convection to cook food? We call it a “fryer” but of course there’s no oil…so we know it’s not really being fried….but what it’s actually doing is using a unique perforated basket to expose all sides of the food to the air, and then using fans to circulate the heat and cook the food faster and on all sides, making it crispier and more like a traditional oil fried food.
Many people don’t realize their home oven has a convection setting! I knew mine had it but I didn’t know how to use it. It’s like a super sized air fryer – because it’s a full size oven it means I can cook a large quantity in one batch instead of multiple in a small air fryer! If your oven doesn’t have a convection setting, then air fryers are a great countertop option! If it does, check out this air fryer basket I use. I got mine from Costco last year, I haven’t seen it but you can get the exact same
” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>crisper pan (for the same price) at Amazon. I use this in my regular oven using the convection setting.
Quick & Easy Weeknight Air Fried Chicken Recipe
Air Fried Chicken Wings or Boneless Chicken
This crispy air fried chicken recipe calls for small to medium size chicken drumsticks, however you can swap them out for chicken tenderloins or chicken wings or even boneless thighs – you may need to adjust your cooking time a bit – but the batter in this recipe will work great on any kind of small pieces of chicken you’d like to air fry!
Need to make more than 4 servings of air fried chicken? No problem, double the recipe. Only need 2 servings of chicken drumsticks for dinner tonight? No problemo, half it. Easy peasy.
Be sure to pin this recipe so you can find it later!
Yield: 4 Servings
Crispy Air Fried Drumsticks
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Lightened up healthy air-fried chicken is delicious and easy! This recipes uses pantry basics you probably already have on hand and is a kid-friendly recipe! This recipe will double coat the chicken in cornstarch to make it extra crispy.
Ingredients
2 lbs. Chicken Drumsticks
3 Egg Whites
1 cup Cornstarch
¼ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp Onion Powder
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper
Avocado Oil Cooking Spray
Instructions
Rinse chicken and pat dry.
Whisk egg whites in a bowl and set aside.
Mix onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Place chicken into spices and coat.
Add cornstarch to bowl and coat chicken thoroughly.
Remove chicken from cornstarch bowl.
Dip each piece of chicken into the egg whites and coat thoroughly, then place back into cornstarch and coat with a second layer of cornstarch.
Spray cooking basket with avocado oil spray (or your preferred cooking oil spray).
Add chicken in a single layer, with no overlapping pieces. May require 2 batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
Set air fryer to 400 degrees and cook for 10 minutes.
Flip the chicken and cook for 10 more minutes until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Depending on the size of the chicken pieces and your air fryer cooking times may vary by a few minutes, please always check that chicken is cooked thoroughly before eating.
Notes
Chicken should be cooked to a minimum of 165 degrees. We suggest cooking drumsticks and thighs (dark meat chicken) to 175.
Nutritional information provided is not always accurate. Please calculate nutrition using the actual products you use to prepare any recipe and consult a registered dietician for help.
Double Coating of Cornstarch
Using a double cornstarch coating, air fried chicken comes out extra crispy in your air fryer at home, and more like the junky (but delicious) traditional oil fried chicken.
Serving Suggestions
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken
Coat the chicken with buffalo sauce and serve with blue cheese dressing! You can use wings, thighs, drumsticks. or boneless chicken…chef’s choice! Keep your eye out at Costco for Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce and Bob’s Famous Bleu Cheese Dressing.
Embrace all the traditional! Pair your healthier, lightened up air fryer chicken with traditional fried chicken sides like these from Amazon Fresh coleslaw, beans, bbq sauce, pickles or cornbread.
Air Fried Chicken Salad
Prepare boneless air fryer chicken, slice it up and top your favorite salad with this crispy, healthier version of fried chicken! We recommend the Costco Organic salad kits like ceasar salad or avocado ranch!
Looking for an air fryer? You can find all kinds of great air fryer options at Costco, Sam’s Club and Amazon…here are some super affordable recommendations right around the $50 price point:
Costco links are not affiliate links.All opinions expressed on CostContessa are our own. Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, we earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
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” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>crisper pan (for the same price) at Amazon. I use this in my regular oven using the convection setting.
Rinse chicken and pat dry. 
