Name: Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 pound (453 grams) boneless skinless chicken breasts (2-3 breasts); ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ½ teaspoon paprika; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional); 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (use GF/paleo sauce, if desired)

Yum

This air fryer BBQ chicken is amazingly easy, juicy and tender. And it’s ready in only 20 minutes. It makes quick weeknight dinners a breeze and is easy to make paleo, dairy-free and gluten-free.

The chicken is lightly seasoned with garlic powder and paprika and slathered with your favorite BBQ sauce. If you like it a little spicy, you can add red pepper flakes to make it just right for your family meal.

It’s hot out there and cooking with the air fryer is the perfect way to have a delish BBQ chicken dinner without heating your house or standing over a hot grill. Really, it’s that simple.

Ingredients

Here’s an overview of what you’ll need.

How to make air fryer chicken:

It’s super easy and only takes 20 minutes to cook!

Spray the AF basket with a little oil so the chicken doesn’t stick.
Mix the spices and rub on the chicken.
Put the chicken in the basket and cook for 10 minutes.
Flip the chicken and cook for another 8 minutes.
Brush on the BBQ sauce and cook for another 2 minutes.
Serve with your favorite sides!

Tips:

I love boneless skinless chicken breasts, but chicken thighs also work.
Spices help enhance the flavor of the BBQ sauce. If you have a BBQ seasoning that you love, feel free to use 1 1/2 teaspoons of that in place of the spices used in this recipe.
I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce, but you can, of course, use any type that you like. It’s also great on these Sweet Baby Ray’s Chicken Wings!
You want to make sure to spray the air fryer so that the chicken doesn’t stick.
There’s no need to preheat the air fryer.
Make sure your chicken is uniformly thick in order for it to cook evenly. I pound my chicken breasts to about 3/4” thick.

Why use an air fryer for BBQ chicken?

For one, it’s hot out there, and standing in the hot sun, grilling chicken breast might be just too much heat. If you do feel like turning on the grill, try these BBQ boneless chicken thighs! Don’t have a grill? This Blackened Chicken looks amazing!

Using the air fryer won’t heat your house as a regular oven would, and you get the same great taste from using the air fryer.

It’s also great for freeing up the oven, so you can make things like this Southern Baked Beans Recipe.

Do I need to use BBQ sauce?

If you don’t like BBQ sauce, never fear! You can just omit it. I’ve tried it this way and it’s delicious.

I was actually pretty shocked because it’s just paprika, garlic powder and salt. I didn’t even add the red pepper flakes.

I used smoked sea salt which added a great smoky taste. If you use regular salt, it probably won’t have that great BBQ flavor.

Can you put sauce in the air fryer?

In most cases, yes, but in the air fryer, you only want to add sauces to meat in the last 10 minutes of cooking. BBQ sauce cooks quickly so you really don’t want to add it until the last two minutes of cooking.

Store-bought sauces or ones you make at home are fully cooked, so you just need to reheat to flavor the chicken. If you add the BBQ sauce from the start, it can char the meat and you’ll have a bad version of blackened chicken.

For this recipe, just add the sauce in the last 2 minutes of cooking time, and you’ll have the best BBQ chicken for dinner.

Can you put aluminum foil in the air fryer?

First, you need to check your instruction booklet that came with your air fryer (or just google it!) as foil should not be used in some brands of air fryers.

If foil is allowed in your air fryer, then the short answer is yes. But for the reasons listed below, for this BBQ chicken recipe, I think using a little elbow grease to clean the basket will be better than using foil. Besides, if you lightly spray the basket, you shouldn’t have a huge problem cleaning it.

Typically, anything you can use in the oven, you can use in the air fryer. So if you’re looking for easy cleanup, it makes sense to ask if you can use foil. But there are some things you should know.

If you are using foil, only put it in the basket of the air fryer. You do not want to place it in the bottom of the drawer, it could damage the heating element, overheat, and could start a fire, so please don’t do that.

Don’t preheat an air fryer with a foil-lined basket. Make sure that the food is weighing down the foil. You don’t have to worry about chicken but if you toasting nuts, for example, this could be a real problem.

You shouldn’t use foil with acidic foods like tomatoes, fruit, peppers, or marinades with vinegar or lemon juice. The aluminum will react and break down the foil causing you to have aluminum in your food. So definitely don’t do that.

Overall, use foil sparingly or replace it with parchment paper which in my opinion, is a better option. They even sell circular parchment paper for the air fryer now, but if you don’t want to splurge on that, just take out some scissors and do it yourself.

Can I use frozen chicken breast in the air fryer?

Not a problem! If you have frozen chicken breasts, then certainly use them. You don’t even have to thaw them. Just preheat the air fryer according to the directions, season and place them in the air fryer. Just follow the same directions and serve!

Can I make this paleo/gluten-free/dairy-free?

Yes, and it’s super easy! Just use a paleo-friendly BBQ sauce. I haven’t tried it, but this Homemade Paleo BBQ Sauce looks great!

And as long as your BBQ sauce is free of dairy and gluten, which most are, you should be good to do. This Boiled Cauliflower is also paleo and would be great with this BBQ chicken.

How to store

If you have leftovers or want to do two batches for an extra delicious lunch during the week, you can store the BBQ chicken in an airtight container and put it in the fridge. The chicken should last 3 or 4 days.

Always make sure any food has completely cooled before you tighten the lid and put it in the fridge.

What to serve with BBQ chicken

This Sunflower Seed Salad is a great choice for an amazing meal. It’s easy and light and is great with BBQ chicken.

This Italian Tomato Salad is cool, fresh and super easy. It tastes terrific, and it’s one you’ll be making again and again.
Keep it cool with this Polish Cucumber Salad. It can be made ahead and is light and refreshing.
You can make these Air Fryer Carrot Fries ahead of time, while the chicken is resting, just pop them in the air fryer and reheat in minutes. Or do the same with these Air Fryer Garlic Fries.
And to surprise them all, you can have this Cheesecake Mousse sitting in the fridge just waiting to be served!

Other Air Fryer Main Meals:

If you like the sound of this Air Fryer BBQ Chicken, then you’re going to love these other air fryer recipes.

Air Fryer Turkey Burgers are moist, flavorful and healthier than your average burger. The patties freeze great, so they’re quick and easy when you need a quick meal.
Air Fryer Fish Tacos will surely mix up your weeknight dinners. They’re easy and paired with this Mango Habanero Salsa, everyone will be happy!
Air Fryer Ham calls for a fully baked ham and 5-ingredients. Perfect to cook on the weekends and have leftovers throughout the week.
Air Fryer Sesame Chicken is perfect to shake up your family meals. It’s easy, and in less than 30-minutes, you can be sitting down to eat!

If you try this air fryer BBQ chicken or any recipe you find on the site, I would love to see pics and hear about your experience. Just comment below or tag #easywholesome. Thanks!

5 from 29 votes