Updated on December 17th, 2023
Perfectly cooked chicken breasts are usually well seasoned and tender on the inside, with juicy properties that refuse to follow the rubbery, dry, and bland stereotypes associated with moist chicken breast recipes. When cooked in the air fryer following the right cooking instructions, chicken breasts are delicious and satisfying.
This article brings to you the best ways to achieve delicious results with air fryer chicken breast recipes. You’ll also find several helpful tips to make the cooking process easier and guarantee the most mouthwatering results.
Chicken Breast Nutrition Facts
Tips for Cooking Chicken Breast in an Air Fryer
Keep the following helpful tips and guidelines in mind when cooking chicken breasts in an air fryer:
Brine your chicken breasts – Brining involves salting meat and allowing it to rest before cooking. The meat gets to soak in some extra liquid and salt during this process. As a result of the salt’s flavoring action on the meat, tons of flavor are sent through the fibers of the breasts, and your chicken will be tastefully seasoned rather than well-seasoned on the exterior yet tasteless on the inside. This bringing process also helps the chicken breasts to stay moist, thanks to the liquid.
A wet brine (solution of salt and water) or a dry brine (this involves sprinkling the chicken breasts with some salt) can be used to achieve the bringing action. A dry brine is preferred for some people because it leaves less of a mess. However, if you don’t mind the mess, go for a wet brine.
Ideal brine ratio – Four tablespoons of salt for every 6 cups of water is the basic ratio for a good brine. However, the size and type of salt crystals are important. Use Kosher salt because it dissolves quickly and easily in water; it takes longer to dissolve on the meat’s surface, allowing for less sodium absorption.
Avoid overcooking your chicken breasts – It is impossible to overstate the importance of not overcooking them. It’s most likely that most air fryer chicken breast recipes that turned out dry got overcooked.
Check for doneness with a cheap instant-read thermometer. At 165 degrees F, chicken is typically considered fully done. The chicken should be removed when it reaches a 155 to 160 degrees F temperature. The residual cooking during this resting phase should suffice to get the chicken to an internal temperature at which it becomes entirely safe to eat.
Ideal cooking duration – The cooking duration for chicken breasts in an air fryer will vary depending on their size, the temperature you decide to cook them, and the air fryer model you’re using. Because most chicken breasts have a similar form, you should essentially go by weight (unless you’re working with particularly thin or thick chicken breasts).
Judging by the size of the chicken breast, set a temperature and then cook for the needed number of minutes at that temperature. You can cook your boneless and skinless chicken breasts for 10 minutes at 380°F, then turn and cook them for another 5 to 6 minutes. Just make sure they’re cooked until their internal temperature hits 165°F.
Preparing ahead tips – Keep the following in mind:
- Prepare ahead of time: Prepare your chicken breasts by rubbing the oil and seasoning the chicken breasts. However, except for heating them for meal prep, there isn’t much else you can do ahead of time.
- Cook ahead of time: You may also choose to cook chicken breasts in advance; however, reheating them at 160°F instead of 165°F will prevent them from drying out.
- Freezing: Cooked chicken breasts should first be cooled before being placed in an airtight container or freezer bag and frozen.
Cooking Time for Chicken Breast in Air Fryer
The ideal cooking duration for chicken breasts when air frying them has been described in the table below:
Cooking Procedure
Cooking Time
Cooking chicken breasts in an air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit
14 to 17 minutes
PrintAir Fryer Chicken Breast (2 Servings)
Ingredients
- Two boneless skinless chicken breasts
- One tablespoon of canola oil
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon of paprika
Instructions
- If your air fryer needs to be preheated, set it to 400 degrees and follow the manufacturer’s instructions (You can adjust yours to 400 degrees and leave it for 8 to 10 minutes to heat up while you prepare your chicken breasts for the cooking process).
- Dry the chicken breasts and massage them with canola oil.
- Combine salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in a small bowl. Season both surfaces of the chicken with the seasoning mixture.
- Arrange the seasoned chicken breasts inside the air fryer’s basket and lightly coat the inside with nonstick spray.
- Place the basket in the air fryer and set the timer for 12 minutes (a few minutes more or less should suffice depending on the size of chicken breasts you’re working with; bear in mind that you can easily add time but not take it away so start with a shorter duration and then cook for longer if necessary).
- Check the internal temperature at the thickest section of the chicken breasts using a meat thermometer. Do this at the end of the cooking period to verify that the chicken breasts have reached a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F. If they haven’t cooked through, return the breasts to the air fryer for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Allow for 5 to 10 minutes of resting time before slicing the cooked chicken breasts and serving them.
This recipe yields extremely delicious, tender, and flavorful chicken breasts, and the results are safer and healthier to consume than deep-fried chicken breasts. Just follow all the right cooking steps, and you’ll be guaranteed great-tasting results.
If you need more ideas for air fryer chicken breast recipes, we have included this video recipe to provide some delicious inspiration.
