Air Fryer BBQ Chicken 🍗👌🏻 is such an EASY way to enjoy barbecue chicken with virtually no work and it’s ready in under 30 minutes! A simple dry rub adds big flavor and the chicken stays juicy on the inside, slightly charred on the outside, and it’s slathered in your favorite barbecue sauce for the win!
Easy Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Recipe
- Making chicken in an air fryer gives you that crispy, almost-grilled texture without heating up the whole kitchen that you’d get by turning on your oven.
- So I always like to have a few air fryer recipes in rotation during warmer months and for an easy weeknight dinner on busy weeknights.
- A quick homemade dry rub with brown sugar, garlic and onion powder, smoked paprika, and some other pantry staple spices help lend a perfect sweet and smoky balance.
- A brush of BBQ sauce at the end helps to replicate the taste of your favorite backyard grilled barbecue chicken. Minus the actual grill. I do love grilled barbecue chicken (and even have a Best Grills post) but as the Family Pit Master, if I’m going to enjoy my food, I must shower after grilling because smoky hair ruins it for me. Put a +1 in the air fryer column and clean up is a breeze.
- Wondering about air fryers? My favorites are below! My newest and absolute favorite air fryer I’ve ever used in my life is the Cosori Stainless Steel. It cooks food so wonderfully and it looks beautiful on your countertop. Worth it 100%!
My favorite Air Fryers
Ingredients in Air Fryer Barbecue Chicken Recipe
Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are what I use and about 1½ to 2 pounds total. If you’re working with very thick chicken breasts, you need to butterfly them or slice them in half so they cook evenly. Chicken tenders, chicken cutlets, or more normal sized chicken breasts don’t require any special pre-treatment before air frying. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are also fine to use.
Oil: A drizzle of olive oil or avocado oil both sides helps the spice rub stick and promotes browning. It’s a misnomer that you don’t need any oil when air frying. For best results, you should use a tiny bit. Use an oil mister if you’re concerned.
Dry Rub: Brown sugar, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. This combo gives you light sweetness, smoky, and just a little heat all in one.
BBQ Sauce: ⅓ cup of your favorite store bought like Sweet Baby Ray’s or homemade barbecue sauce, brushed on at the end.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make BBQ Chicken in an Air Fryer
- Spice Rub: Mix together all the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl.
- Prep: Butterfly or slice thick chicken breasts in half, pat dry with paper towels, drizzle with olive oil, and rub the spices all over both sides.
- Air Fry: Cook at 375°F for about 8 minutes in a single layer, flip, then cook another 6-8 minutes or until chicken is within a couple minutes of being done. Tip: Note that air frying cooking time will vary dramatically from brand to brand, thickness of chicken, how full the basket is, etc.
- BBQ Sauce: Brush with BBQ sauce and cook 2 to 3 more minutes until the chicken cooks and reaches 165 degrees F at the thickest part of the chicken. Do not guess! Use a meat thermometer!
- Rest and Serve: Take the chicken out, rest chicken on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes before slicing it to seal in the juices and serve.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
What to Serve With Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
Equipment
- oil mister optional
Ingredients
- 1.5 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced in half or butterflied if breasts are thick (boneless chicken thighs may be substituted)
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste (recommended to keep the chicken flavorful and moist)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as desired
- ⅓ cup barbecue sauce, store bought or homemade
Instructions
- Chicken: If it's thick or the breasts are very large, halve them horizontally so they're thinner because thick cuts aren't well-suited for air frying. Pat dry with paper towel; set aside momentarily.
- Oil: Lightly drizzle or mist with olive oil, as desired.
- Dry Spice Rub: To a small bowl, combine brown sugar through optional cayenne pepper, and mix with a small spoon to combine.
- Evenly sprinkle the spice rub all over the chicken, on both sides, and lightly pat it in.
- Air Fry: Place the chicken in the basket and air fry at 375F for about 8 minutes. Open the basket, flip chicken and air fry on the second side for about 6-8 minutes, or until chicken is within a couple minutes of being done. Tip – Do not crowd. If you need to cook in batches to avoid crowding, I recommend that because if you do crowd the chicken, it doesn't get as crispy on the outside and steams rather than "fries".
- Air Frying Tips – The heat output of air fryers varies dramatically from machine to machine. So does the thickness of the chicken, how full the air fryer basket it, air temperature in your kitchen, etc. so cook it as long as is necessary until it reaches 165F on a digital thermometer; do not guess. If it looks like the chicken is browning too quickly on the exterior before the interior will be cooked through, reduce the heat to 360-365F.
- Barbecue Sauce: In the final 2-3 minutes of cooking, evenly brush the chicken with your favorite bbq sauce, or just spoon it on and smooth it out evenly as best you can with a spoon or spatula. Finish cooking until chicken reaches 165F.
- Rest: Remove the chicken from the air fryer and set it on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes to let it rest and for the natural juices to redistribute before slicing and serving.
- Serve: Optionally garnish with fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, cilantro, mint, etc. and enjoy with your favorite sides like mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts or a house salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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