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–+ servings
A plate of food with broccoli and rice.
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5 from 1 vote

Air Fryer Chicken Teriyaki

🧡🎉 The perfect recipe to keep in your back pocket for an easy weeknight dinner that's tasty, high protein, simple, satisfying and ready in 20 minutes! Juicy chicken with sweet-and-savory teriyaki flavor that's crave-worthy you don't need to turn on stove or oven. I use store bought teriyaki sauce that I doctor up with extra ginger, garlic, and brown sugar, or you can make your own scratch teriyaki sauce, linked in the Notes below.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Marinating Time30 minutes
Course: 30-Minute Meals, Air Fryer, Chicken, Dinner
Cuisine: Asian, Chicken, Dinner
Keyword: air fryer chicken teriyaki, air fryer teriyaki chicken, chicken in air fryer
Servings: 4
Calories: 278cal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • ⅔ cup teriyaki sauce or a bit more if needed (I use store bought sauce; but you can make your own homemade teriyaki sauce if desired - linked in Notes below)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons light brown sugar optional if using store bought but strongly recommended if making your own teriyaki
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger or to taste (or about 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated)
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
  • 1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts diced into 1-inch bite-sized pieces (boneless chicken thighs may be substituted)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil for coating air fryer basket
  • Green onions thinly sliced, optional for garnishing
  • Toasted sesame seeds optional for garnishing

Instructions

  • To a large bowl, add the teriyaki sauce, olive oil, optional light brown sugar, garlic powder, ginger, salt, pepper, and stir to combine to create a marinade.
    A metal whisk mixes a brown, bubbly liquid mixture in a white bowl, with a small bowl of sesame seeds visible in the background.
  • Add the diced chicken to the bowl, stir to combine and coat, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 6-8 hours. If you have 1-2 hours, that's perfect.
    Chunks of raw chicken breast marinating in a brown sauce inside a white bowl, viewed from above.
  • When you're ready to air fry, I recommend drizzling about 1 teaspoon olive oil over the air fryer basket or you can spray it with cooking spray.
  • Some air fryers require preheating, others don't. Preheat air fryer to 385F if yours does.
    Temperature Tip - I like to air fry in the 380-390F range because I find that the chicken doesn't dry out as easily. Cooking closer to, or at, 400F reduces a bit of cooking time, but the issue is the chicken exterior gets more well done than desired (can char a bit) before the interior has fully cooked through. This is especially true in marinades with a higher sugar content like this one.
    Raw, cubed chicken pieces arranged in a single layer inside an air fryer basket, ready to be cooked.
  • Using tongs or a slotted spoon, add the chicken to the air fryer in an even flat layer (try not to overlap or pile pieces on top of each other) and discard excess marinade. Tip - Don't just dump the whole bowl's contents into the air fryer - that's too much marinade and will just burn.
    Cooked chicken pieces in an air fryer basket, lightly browned and evenly distributed across the perforated base.
  • Air fry for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to 165F measured with a digital thermometer; flip once midway through cooking.
    Air Frying Cooking Tips - Since all air fryers are different sizes, have different strengths and potency, the exact size of the chicken pieces will vary, and how crowded or uncrowded the air fryer basket is, all affect cooking time. Depend, depending on which air fryer I'm using, sometimes this recipe only takes about 10 minutes if I'm only using 1 pound of chicken, and sometimes it takes closer to 20 minutes if I'm using 1 1/2 pounds of chicken - always cook until done, no matter how long that takes.
    A white plate filled with cooked teriyaki chicken pieces, garnished with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
  • Optionally garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, and serve immediately. I like to serve it with rice.
    Chopsticks holding grilled chicken pieces topped with sesame seeds and green onions, served with rice and steamed broccoli on a white plate.

Notes

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe that I recommend. And then add the brown sugar, garlic powder, ground ginger, and salt/pepper to taste that are in this recipe card (above).
Storage: Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or as needed. Add a little extra store bought teriyaki sauce to the chicken before you nuke it to prevent it from drying out. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 278cal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 2037mg | Potassium: 752mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 51IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg
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