Air fryer BBQ chicken thighs are sweet, juicy, delicious, and easy to make. It is a perfect weeknight chicken dinner your family would love. Crispy skin coated with sweet and sticky BBQ sauce, you will love these juicy chicken thighs!
Why wait for summer to enjoy a delicious BBQ chicken? You can make and eat any day of the year. Cooking chicken thighs in the air fryer is easy and quick. The skin-on, bone-in chicken thigh is seasoned with pantry staples ingredients before being coated with barbeque sauce. The result is a sweet, caramelized, and delicious chicken full of flavor and super moist.
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs Recipe
This chicken recipe requires minimal effort and is easy to make. Feel free to use store-bought BBQ sauce or homemade BBQ sauce for this recipe. You can make your sauce from scratch if you prefer.
Clean-up is easy as you can do all the prep in the air fryer basket. Place the raw seasoned chicken thighs in the air fryer basket and air fry until fully cooked and the internal temperature reaches 165F/74C.
Start by seasoning the chicken and leave to marinate for about 30 minutes, after air frying the chicken thighs until about 80% done. I then brushed the chicken with the BBQ sauce and continued to cook until the chicken cooked and the sauce thick.
How long does cooking chicken thighs in the air fryer take?
The cooking time for fresh or frozen bone-in and boneless chicken thighs in the air fryer depends on the size of the poultry. Check with an instant-read meat thermometer and internal temperature reaches at least 165F/74C.
Bone-in chicken thighs at 180C/360F – 25 to 30 minutes
Bone – in chicken thigh at 200C/400F – 22 to 25 minutes
Boneless chicken thighs at 180C/360F 15- to 18 minutes
Boneless chicken thigh at 200C/400F – 12 to 15 minutes
Frozen chicken thighs at 180C/360F for 18 to 20 minutes, depending on the size, then at 200C/400F for 5 to 8 minutes to crisp up the skin.
Ingredients
Chicken thighs: I used bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. You can also use boneless chicken.
Spices: I used garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
BBQ sauce: Any BBQ sauce of choice would work.
Hot sauce: this is optional. Balances the sweetness of the BBQ sauce.
Oil: use any cooking oil of your choice.
How to Make Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs
Prep the chicken by removing unwanted fat and trimming any excess hanging skin. Pat dry with paper towels. Then, transfer the chicken into a large Ziploc bag, and add smoked paprika, onion granules, garlic powder, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Close the Ziploc bag and give the chicken a good mix so that the seasoning rub evenly coats the chicken.
Preheat the air fryer to 200C/400F for 2 minutes.
Place it in the air fryer basket in a single layer and bake the chicken for about 10–15 minutes. Mix the BBQ sauce and hot sauce in a small bowl until combined.
Carefully brush the BBQ sauce on both sides of the chicken. Cook for 10 -15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. The internal temperature should read 165F/74C. Flip the chicken halfway through this cooking time.
Once done, remove the chicken from the air fryer and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
How to Make Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs in the Oven
Preheat the oven for 3 minutes.
Line a baking dish or tray with parchment paper or place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the chicken on the rack skin side up, place the tray in the oven, and bake the chicken for about 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is about 80% cooked through.
Follow the instructions above to finish cooking the chicken in the oven.
What to Serve with BBq Chicken Thighs
Salad
How to Store and Reheat
Chicken can be stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container or the freezer for up to 2 months.
To reheat: the best way to reheat BBQ chicken is in the air fryer at 160C/320F for 8-10 minutes) or the oven. (If reheating from frozen, thaw the chicken overnight in the fridge and then heat it in a 180C/360C preheated oven until. Use the fully warm. Microwave if time is of the essence, but you will not get a crispy chicken.
Tips
- You can use any seasoning of your choice to make this chicken thigh.
- There is no need to preheat the air fryer.
- If using frozen chicken thighs, there is no need to thaw or defrost the chicken. Just cook directly in the air fryer from frozen.
- Remember to flip halfway through the cooking.
- Cook until the desired effect is achieved. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn.
Recipe
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon Garlic granules
- ½ teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- Salt and black pepper about ¼ teaspoon of each
- ½ cup BBQ
- 1 Tablespoon Jalapeno hot sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
Instructions
- Prep the chicken by removing any unwanted fat and trimming off any excess hanging skin. Transfer the chicken into a large Ziploc bag, and add smoked paprika, onion granules, garlic granules, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Close the Ziploc bag and give the chicken a good massage so that the spice rub evenly coats the chicken.
- Preheat the air fryer to 200C/400F for 2 minutes. Place it in the air fryer and bake the chicken for about 10 – 15 minutes. Mix the bbq sauce and hot sauce in a small mixing bowl until combined.
- Carefully brush the bbq sauce on both sides of the chicken. Cook for 10 -15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. The internal temperature should read 165F/74C. Flip the chicken halfway through this cooking time.
- Once done, remove the chicken from the air fryer and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Sandra says
I added some extra spice and it gave the dish a nice extra kick.
Thank you for the recipe