I love chicken breasts.
I’ve gone to bat for them many times before, never understanding how or why the “boring” narrative ever got started. There is no other ingredient I cook with more than chicken (well, maybe aside from cheese). It is also far and away the protein that I consume the most.
I love boneless and skinless, I love skin-on, I love bone-in, I love wings — the list goes on and on.
Something that I’ve started doing lately is a very simple, very quick method that involves two of my absolute favorite things: chicken breasts and the air fryer.
Now, I say “method” because this is much more of a general approach than it is a “recipe,” per se. I’ve found that this is an exceptional method for a quick, hands-off chicken breast that is beautifully crisped, cooked and seasoned — with the added bonus of it cooking away in the air fryer as I work away from the kitchen.
It also doesn’t take any longer than maybe 25 minutes — although, if you happen to have an enormous air fryer that holds four-plus breasts, you may have a slightly different experience than I do when I’m using my relatively small air fryer to make one or two breasts.
I'm always a sucker for over-done, uber-crisp proteins, so this might even veer on overcooked for a normal person. Cut back the cook time 5 minutes if you prefer a less crisp chicken.
Eat this on its own, wrap it in your favorite bacon, serve it over greens, serve it alongside rice, dice it and fill a taco, slice it and add to a pasta dish, dice it in buffalo sauce, eat it with guacamole . . . it’s your kitchen, so do as you please. I’m just leading you to water.
Air fryer chicken breasts
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
Cooking spray and/or neutral oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika, optional
Garlic and onion powder, optional
Seasoning salts or blends, optional
Flaky sea salt, optional
Dried herbs, optional
Directions
- Place chicken breasts in air fryer.
- Spritz with cooking spray, or conversely, slightly drizzle with a touch of oil.
- Season as you see fit.
- Cook at 400 degrees fahrenheit for about 20 to 25 minutes, shaking and/or turning the chicken about halfway through.
- Finish with a touch more flaky salt.
Cook's Notes
-For this method, I'd go for skinless and boneless, but pick your favorite! I will note that the bone will make the cook time a bit longer and the skin might not crisp up as well in an air fryer as it might in a cast-iron pan, but it'll still caramelize pretty well.
-I love a spritz or two of cooking spray, usually a generic or avocado oil.
-The salt and pepper are non-negotiables, but you can never go wrong with paprika and onion and garlic powder.
-I sometimes throw on something else, like cumin or Adobo or seasoning salt, but be sure to cut back on the actual salt if you're using Adobo or a seasoning salt.
