How to season chicken legs for air fryer

Air Fryer Chicken Legs are an easy and delicious dinner recipe loved by both kids and adults alike. Coated with olive oil and a blend of seasonings, cooking chicken legs in the air fryer takes just 20 minutes and results in the most perfectly crisp, flavorful skin.

Table of Contents Show

Easy Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
How Long to Cook Chicken Legs in the Air Fryer?
How to Cook Chicken Legs in the Air Fryer
What Air Fryer Do I Use In My Recipes?
Recipe Tips and Tricks
What to Serve with Air Fryer Chicken Legs
How do you cook legs in an air fryer?
Can you fry chicken legs in an air fryer?
How do I make my chicken air fryer crispy?
Can you use baking powder in an air fryer?

Easy Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

A welcome alternative to chicken breasts, these air fryer chicken legs are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Smothered in flavor thanks to a combination of simple everyday seasonings, the result is perfectly cooked chicken legs with crispy skin and tender, juicy meat inside.

Ready in right around 20-30 minutes from start to finish, these flavorful chicken legs make the perfect weeknight dinner – especially if you have small kids or husbands who prefer a more hands-on approach to dinner time eating.

Low-carb, gluten-free, made with simple ingredients, and loved by the whole family – what’s not to love about this easy dinner?

How Long to Cook Chicken Legs in the Air Fryer?

Chicken legs (aka drumsticks) take approximately 18-22 minutes to cook in an air fryer that has been preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to Cook Chicken Legs in the Air Fryer

Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees f.
Pat the chicken legs dry with paper towels (this helps to get crispier skin) and transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil.
Mix together the seasonings for the dry rub in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken legs then mix well to evenly coat the chicken in the seasoning.
Place the chicken legs in the air fryer in a single layer. Cook for 10 minutes, flip over, and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature of your chicken registers 165 degrees as measured by a digital meat thermometer.

What Air Fryer Do I Use In My Recipes?

I own and use the COSORI Air Fryer Max XL for almost all of the recipes I make. It works great!

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Pat the chicken legs dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture on the surface of the skin. This helps guarantee even crispier chicken skin.
You only need a little bit of oil. Too much oil and the skin will be soggy.
You may also season your chicken legs with your favorite marinade or store-bought dry rub. If you’re hoping to have crispy skin, however, steer clear of marinades as they add too much moisture making it difficult for the skin to get crispy.
Do not overcrowd the basket. The air fryer works by circulating hot air throughout a small, confined space. If the air has no space to circulate, this typically results in food that is cooked unevenly.

What to Serve with Air Fryer Chicken Legs

I like to serve chicken legs with a fresh green salad, tomato salad, or even a fruit salad. Usually, if I’m craving something a little heartier, I’ll add a baked potato or buttery mashed potatoes.

Have you tried cooking Chicken Legs in the Air Fryer?

Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Chicken, Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 151 kcal

▢ 2 pounds chicken legs
▢ 2 teaspoon olive oil
▢ 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
▢ 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
▢ ½ teaspoon onion powder
▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.
As the air fryer preheats, pat the chicken legs dry with a paper towel and transfer them to a large bowl. Drizzle the chicken legs with olive oil and use a pastry brush or your hands to evenly coat the entire surface of each drumstick with oil.
In a small bowl combine the Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the chicken legs and mix well to evenly coat in the seasoning.
Transfer the chicken legs to the air fryer basket in a single, non-overlapping layer (see notes). Air fry for 10 minutes at 400 degrees f, then rotate the drumsticks 180° (flip them over) and cook for an additional 10 minutes. You know your chicken legs are fully cooked when the internal temperature registers 165 degrees f.

For crispy skin, do not overlap the drumsticks. Even better, leave a little space between each drumstick. This allows for ample air circulation in the basket. You may need to air fry the chicken in two batches.

(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)

Keyword Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks, Air Fryer Chicken Legs, Chicken Legs in Air Fryer

Mention @theforkedspoon or tag #theforkedspoon and please leave your star rating in the comment section below.

About Jessica Randhawa

Jessica Randhawa is the head chef, photographer, and recipe developer of The Forked Spoon. Jessica fell in love with cooking while traveling through Asia and Europe, where she discovered her passion for good food and new adventures. Her recipes have been featured on Yahoo, MSN, USA Today, FeedFeed, and many more. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California.

How do you cook legs in an air fryer?

Place drumsticks in air fryer basket and cook for 10 minutes on 400. Remove basket and flip chicken drumsticks. Cook at 400 for another 10 minutes. If chicken is not 165 degrees internally, add another 5 minutes of cook-time.

Can you fry chicken legs in an air fryer?

It takes about 25 to 30 minutes to air fry chicken legs. However, the timing may vary depending on how thick and large the chicken pieces are. To be sure, you can use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken legs. It should have an internal temperature of 165°F.

How do I make my chicken air fryer crispy?

Lay three or four chicken skins in a single layer, skin-side down, on the air fryer basket and program the air fryer to cook at 400°F for a total of 12 minutes. At the halfway point (i.e. 6 minutes), flip the chicken skins over so they are skin-side up. Air fry the chicken skins the remaining 6 minutes or until crispy.

Can you use baking powder in an air fryer?

Just be sure the baking powder you are using is aluminum-free. No Oil Needed: This is my absolute favorite part about air frying chicken wings. That's right, no oil needed. The oil from the chicken wings will break down and when combined with the salt and baking powder, will form a crunchy crust that is to die for.