Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, expertly seasoned and cooked to absolute perfection in your air fryer. Made with honey, mustard, garlic and savory spices, the meat is so unbelievably tender, juicy and full of flavor. This is one of those recipes that will make you a superstar with your air fryer.
Air fryers one of the top selling kitchen appliances for good reason – they’re awesome! You can make so many amazing recipes in a fraction of the time of traditional frying, broiling or baking. And here’s the thing, they’re not just for making “fried” foods. In fact, this recipe doesn’t use any breading, but rather a seasoning mix that includes both wet and dry ingredients, and then cooks for about 20 minutes, producing a chicken dish that’s worthy of any good restaurant.
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
Boneless, skinless chicken breast gets so much attention these days, but chicken thighs are really a whole different ball game. Chicken thighs are much more flavorful and juicy because of their natural properties. Dark meat naturally contains more flavor and because of the fat content, they are more juicy and much more forgiving to cook. Many people will tell you that the best parts of the chicken, are the thighs.
Honey, Garlic, Mustard and Simple Seasonings
We’ll use an awesome combination of simple ingredients to season our chicken. Our ingredient list includes:
- Honey
- Mustard
- Minced Garlic
- Oregano
- Tarragon
- Paprika
- Cayenne
- Salt and pepper
We’re getting so many amazing flavors with this seasoning mix and result is simply stellar. We get sweet from the honey, vibrant from the mustard and savory from the oregano, tarragon and garlic. The cayenne won’t be hot, but rather will help bring all the other flavors to life.
Trim Meat, Add Seasonings, Air Fry
This dish is so easy to make, it’s perfect for any night of the week. We start by trimming the chicken thighs of any extra visible fat. Then in a large bowl, mix the honey, mustard and garlic with all the dry ingredients. Next, get those chicken thighs wet! Mix them into the bowl with the seasoning and get them good and coated on all sides. Preheat the air fryer to 400°(F) for 5 minutes, then using the air fry setting, air fry for 16-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165°(F).
How to Serve
Simply serve the chicken on a plate with a knife and fork, just as you would a boneless, skinless breast. They are great with any number of traditional side dishes. Personally, I love a good mac and cheese as a side dish. Cole slaw, potato salad, fresh salad greens, bbq beans, rice, fresh vegetables… it’s the perfect, versatile recipe to be served with a variety of side dishes. You know what else? You can also serve them on a bun! Toast some brioche buns, add a couple of pickle slices, and you’ve got a chicken sandwich that will rival any chicken joint for sure! You can also slice up the chicken to be served cold with salad. It’s a terrific way to add delicious protein to your salad and perfect to bring to work.
Recipe

Best Damn Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 thighs
Description
Savory, tender and juicy boneless, skinless chicken thighs cooked to perfection in your air fryer. With a homemade honey mustard seasoning you won’t believe.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 6-8oz each, trimmed of fat
- 2 tbs honey
- 2 tbs yellow mustard
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tsp tarragon, dried
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground cayenne
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix honey, mustard, garlic, paprika, oregano, tarragon, cayenne salt and pepper.
- Add chicken to bowl and toss well with the seasoning.
- Preheat air fryer at 400°(f) for 5 minutes.
- Place seasoned chicken in air fryer basket or on air fryer tray and use “air fry” setting at 400°(F) for 16-20 minutes, or to internal temperature of 165°(F) when measured with an instant read thermometer.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Air fryer, chicken, chicken thighs, boneless skinless, honey, mustard, garlic
Jessie Howard
We have an air oven, how can I cook 👩🏻🍳 these in the air oven? I find lots of recipes for air fryers but not an air oven. Thanks for any suggestions.
RecipeTeacher
So generally, oven with the air fryer function work the same, but usually the recipes can take longer. Best advice is to make the recipe as written, and check the chicken with an instant read thermometer for doneness. Simply continue cooking for a few more minutes if needed to reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
Linda T
This was so delicious and easy! It’s wonderful to make a dinner my family loves. Paired it with Mac and cheese and a salad. Thank you for this great recipe!
★★★★★
Christine
Absolutely the best damn air fryer recipe for chicken thighs so delicious five star deliciousness💯
Traci
Great recipe! Caramelized and tasty on the outside and chicken on the inside was tender! Fav for chicken in the air fryer.
Stacy
This is my favorite air fryer recipe. The flavor is amazing.
northerncaligirl❤️
These chicken thighs were the best we have EVER tasted❤️
Thank you for this beautiful tasty presentation.
I used bone in and skin on chicken thighs. I was trying to be careful due to the skin on and using the honey in the recipe. I didn’t want to burn them.
I adjust a few things. Started with skin down 10 minutes, flipped pieces and another 6 minutes and they were done! So delicious! Thank you❤️
★★★★★
Dirinda Lacen
Thank you for this review! I was wondering about the bone-in, skin on! We have never seen any other kind in the store! I was starting to think I was going to have to de-bone them myself! Glad to see your comment!