These air fryer chicken legs are seasoned with a simple blend of ingredients and cooked to absolute perfection. They are so juicy and have a crispy skin that’s out of this world addicting! I get excited when I have a recipes come out as good as this one. The seasoning, the timing, the temperature, everything comes together and makes a meal that is so unbelievably good! My air fryer has been one of my most used kitchen appliances ever and recipes like this are the reason why.
Start With Simple Ingredients
I love making recipes that use everyday ingredients which you probably already have in your pantry. For this recipe we use brown sugar, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion and garlic powder, ground mustard and a pinch of cayenne. We mix all the ingredients together in a large zip top bag, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and 6 chicken legs. Shake it all up real well and let it marinate in the refrigerator. How long? If you can let it marinate for at least an hour, you’ll be glad you did. If you can let it marinate overnight, oh wow!
Chicken Legs Are Easy to Make in the Air Fryer
Chicken legs are a rather forgiving meat when it comes to making in an air fryer. We want to be sure to cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees (F). If you don’t have a quick read kitchen thermometer, I highly recommend one. Not just for this dish, but it will make cooking everything that much better. The air fryer is perfect for quickly cooking the chicken legs so that they are juicy on the inside, with an unbelievably perfect crispy skin. That’s the key! We don’t have to broil or grill, just let the air fryer and the ingredients from this recipe do all the work.
How Long to Cook Air Fryer Chicken Legs?
Start with a preheated air fryer. Then use the “air fry” setting at 380 degrees (F) for 18-20 minutes, turning the chicken legs halfway through the cooking time. For smaller chicken legs it will be closer to 18 minutes. For larger chicken legs it will be closer to 20 minutes. But always take a look and use that quick read thermometer to make sure it’s an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees (F).
Don’t Need to Use Sauce
For his recipe we do not use sauce during the cooking. The ingredients are going to give you a nice barbecue flavor, while still letting the flavors of the chicken shine through. If you want to add sauce, you certainly can. Just add your favorite BBQ sauce in the last 5 minutes of the cooking time. But trust me, I don’t think you’ll need it.
Best Damn Air Fryer Chicken Legs
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 chicken legs
Description
Tender and delicious chicken legs cooked to perfection in an air fryer.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs
- 3 tbs brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
Instructions
- Add all dry ingredients to a large zip top bag and shake to mix well. Add chicken to bag with vegetable oil and shake until all the chicken in coated.
- Let chicken marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. The longer the better. Overnight is best!
- Preheat air fryer for 5 minutes at 380 degrees (F). Add chicken to air fryer and use “air fry” setting at 380 degrees (F) for 18-20 minutes, turning chicken halfway through. Internal temperature of chicken should be at least 165 degrees (F).
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Pam
I had these for the first time at my daughters house and immediately asked for the recipe. She was so excited she said because she is used to asking me for a recipe and not me asking her for one. She said it was the best compliment she has ever gotten. And now I make it for myself and my husband at least twice a month. We love it! Thank you so much and do you have any more for the air fryer?
★★★★★
Naomi
Made this several times and comes out perfect every time
★★★★★
TERESA CRAWFORD
This is a great recipe! I thought I’d taken out chicken legs but they were wings, so wings it was! Delicious! I marinated for about 45 minutes and the flavor was to the bone!!
★★★★★
Sara
My son sets the menu for Christmas dinner, and this year he wanted chicken legs. I made this recipe omitting the sugar (because I don’t eat sugar) and these legs were the most delicious chicken legs I’ve ever had. This will be in serious rotation in our household. My son ate four legs and couldn’t stop raving!
★★★★★
RecipeTeacher
Yay! I love to hear that! Thanks for the feedback, Sara and merry Christmas to you and your family!
Debra
I made this today and I must say it was delicious. The sweet heat and the juciness. I didn’t have the ground mustard so I used regular mustard and it was still delicious. I will definitely be making this again
★★★★★
Maryellen
First time ever using the air fryer. Used your spice combo but didn’t marinade; was delicious,my ids ate them all fortunately I managed to get one leg . I did find though that 20 min wasn’t quit enough time so put them back in for another 6 minutes. Nice recipe. I followed it up with Brussels sprouts with Parmesan salt and pepper also delicious
Sara
Agree- put mine back in for probably the same amount of time you did. I like my legs pretty well done.
Johnny
Great recipe….had it with 1/2 an avocado, rice, and a splash of dashi soy…just really fabulous
★★★★★
Linda Szymoniak
My husband bought an air fryer and I am just learning how to use it. Other than making tater tots and fries, I hadn’t really used it for much yet and wanted to try making chicken legs in it. This recipe is excellent – the legs were a bit crispy on the outside, but totally moist and tender on the inside. Since I can only get 4 legs in at a time, I made the first 4 after only about 2 hours of marinade. Then I did 4 this morning after a night in the fridge in the marinade. Both versions were great, although this morning the legs were wetter as the chicken had released moisture overnight and I felt less of the seasoning was on the legs when they cooked. Both ways were great. I want to switch up things and experiment with different seasonings in this but it’s definitely going into my collection to make on a regular basis. Thanks!
★★★★★
Karen
We tried these today and they are EXCELLENT. The legs were marinated about 3 hours before going into the air fryer. They came out juicy and flavorful. We’ll make these again for sure.
★★★★★