Air Fryer

BBQ Chicken Thighs (Air Fryer)

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BBQ Chicken Thighs with Pepperoncinis

The flavor of charcoal barbeque is one of my favorites, and I will grill all year round. I have added a little bit of liquid smoke to the marinade and cook the chicken in my air fryer to make for a great barbeque-tasting chicken that can be made any time of the year.

Chicken Thighs Marinating

This is a fairly simple process, just mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, and liquid smoke together in a bowl, and rub the chicken thighs all around in it. Then mix together the dry seasoning and walk away for an hour or prepare any side dishes you are going to have with the chicken.

You can use whatever liquid smoke flavor you like. I happen to really like hickory, but mesquite or apple works great too.

Chicken Thighs Ready to Season

When it’s been about an hour, you are ready to season the chicken. Remove the chicken from the bowl and leave whatever excess mayonnaise mixture there is in the bowl.

Seasoned Chicken Thighs

Sprinkle the seasoning mixture on both sides of the thighs. The mayonnaise will help it stick. Let this sit for about 15 – 30 minutes.

Now they are ready for the air fryer.

Chicken Thighs in Air Fryer

With a non-aerosol cooking spray, spray the bottom of the basket. Place the chicken in and spray the top of the chicken.

For some models of air fryers, aerosol spray will damage the coating of the basket and will cause it to flake off over time.

BBQ Chicken Thighs Ready

It takes about 20 minutes to cook at 350 degrees (15 minutes if using boneless chicken thighs). You will want to flip them over after 10 minutes.

Now you have a tender, slightly smoky tasting chicken thigh to enjoy! If you want an extra little kick, try them with some pepperoncinis.

BBQ Chicken Thighs with Pepperoncinis
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BBQ Chicken Thighs (Air Fryer)

These super moist and delicious chicken thighs cooked in an air fryer brings the flavors of barbequing any time of the year.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Resting Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Air Fryer, Chicken, Dairyfree, Glutenfree
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 74kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Air Fryer
  • Large bowl
  • Plate
  • Small Bowl

Ingredients

  • 4 each Chicken thighs bone-in, skinless
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Marinade

  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • ½ tsp liquid smoke

Dry Seasoning

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar I prefer dark but it light is fine
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp oregano

Instructions

  • In a bowl, mix together mayonnaise, ketchup, and liquid smoke. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken thighs with pepper and add to mayonnaise mixture. Marinate for 1 hour.
  • While marinating, mix together dry ingredients.
  • After about an hour, remove chicken thighs from the bowl, shaking off excess mayo mixture and lay flat on a plate.
  • Sprinkle dry ingredients on both sides of the thighs, using it all up. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.
  • Spray bottom of air fryer basket with non-aerosol cooking spray and add thighs. Spray tops of thighs.
  • Cook in air fryer at 350 degrees for 20 minutes turning over at 10 minutes. Internal temperature of chicken should reach 165 degrees, may need to cook another 3 – 5 minutes depending on size of the chicken thighs.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

If using boneless chicken thighs, it will only take about 15 minutes to cook.

Nutrition

Calories: 74kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 281IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

Chicken Cordon Bleu Fingers

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I love Chicken Cordon Bleu, but it is a lot of work to make, so when I do I make a lot and freeze them for future dinners. But I thought there must be an easier way. So I turned it into chicken strips wrapped with cheese and prosciutto and breaded before being cooked in an air fryer. This makes a great appetizer or entree for adults and kids alike!

It’s fairly simple to gather and prep the ingredients. Just slice the chicken into strips, make sure your mozzarella cheese is sliced, combine the flour and seasonings, beat the eggs with water, and combine the parmesan with the bread crumbs. The prosciutto comes sliced and placed between sheets of paper.

Now place a slice of mozzarella on the a chicken strip, fold around the chicken if it’s too wide or break off some of the cheese. Then take a slice of prosciutto and wrap it around the chicken and mozzarella. Try to cover all of the cheese.

Now we are ready to bread them.

Dip in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs. With each step make sure the chicken strip is fully coated. If I cannot enlist someone else’s help for this process, I use one hand to take the chicken from the flour through the egg and into the breading. Then I use the other hand just for the breading part. Otherwise you start getting a huge build-up of the flour, egg and breading on all of your fingers.

Ok, time to cook. I spray the bottom of my air fryer basket, put the strip in, this will take two batches, and then spray the top of the chicken. I recently learned that you should use a non-aerosol cooking spray for this. I guess with some air fryers, aerosol sprays will eventually chip the coating off of the air fryer basket.

Put the basket in the air fryer, turn on to 360 degrees and cook for 5 minutes. I have a little mozzarella seeping out, but overall I did a good job getting it all coated. Flip the chicken over and cook at 360 degrees for another 5 minutes.

The chicken should be at 165 degrees at this point and is ready to eat. I like dipping them in warm marinara sauce.

Enjoy!

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Fingers

Chicken Cordon Bleu is time consuming to make, so I turned it inside out and cooked it in an air fryer for a much quicker method to making one of my favorite chicken dinner recipes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: Air Fryer, Chicken, Chicken Cordon Bleu
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 879kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Air Fryer
  • Knife and cutting board
  • 3 Medium to Large Bowls

Ingredients

  • 2 each chicken breasts
  • 24 slices mozzarella cheese
  • 12 slices prosciutto

Flour Mixture

  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper

Egg Wash

  • 2 each eggs
  • 2 tbsp water

Breading

  • 1 ½ cup bread crumbs Italian seasoned
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Cut chicken breasts into strips, about 6 strips per breast.
  • Mix flour mixture.
  • Beat eggs and water.
  • Combine bread crumbs and cheese.
  • Put a slice of mozzarella cheese (break slices in ½ if they are too wide) on each side of the chicken strip and wrap with prosciutto. Set aside and finish the rest.
  • Dredge in flour mixture, eggs, and then bread crumbs. Set aside and finish the rest.
  • Spray bottom of air fryer basket with a non-aerosol cooking oil spray and place chicken strips in basket. Spray the top of the chicken strips.
  • Turn on air fryer to 360 degrees and cook for 5 minutes. Flip over, cook at 360 degrees for 5 minutes. Check temperature to see if the internal temp of the chicken has reached 165 degrees.
  • Serve with warm marinara as a dipping sauce.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

You may need a few more or fewer slices of mozzarella cheese or prosciutto depending on how you sliced your chicken. Just be sure to keep them separate so as to not cross-contaminate any leftovers with raw chicken. Better yet, if someone else is around, get a helper.
If the chicken slices are too long to wrap the prosciutto completely around it, cut them in half. It's important to seal the cheese under the prosciutto and breading to prevent cheese from seeping out during cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 3slices | Calories: 879kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 161mg | Sodium: 1733mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1267IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1093mg | Iron: 4mg

Breaded Pork Bites

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I originally started making this recipe using whole pork chops, which you can do, just follow all steps except cutting up the pork chops. After a friend tried it, she suggested cutting the pork chop into smaller bites so there was more crunchy breading to enjoy. Once I started cutting the pork chops down, I haven’t gone back. These are great as a main course or an appetizer, dipped in marinara sauce, or just eat them as is.

This is a very quick and easy recipe to make; quick enough to throw together on a busy week night. Just mix the marinade ingredients together – olive oil, mayonnaise, Dijon, and Worcestershire sauce. Cut your pork chops into cubes, or not, and marinate the pork for about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry, marinate long enough to get your bread crumb mixture ready and your air fryer out.

Next, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. If there are allergen issues, there are gluten-free bread crumbs available and if it’s a dairy issue, omit the Parmesan or use a dairy-free Parmesan. Remove the pork from the marinade and roll around in the bread crumb mixture, pressing it into the pork. I like to set the breaded pork on a rack for another 30 minutes. This helps the breading stick to the pork after it’s cooked and you cut into it. Again, this step is not 100 percent necessary, or you can do everything up to this point and put your breaded pork, uncovered, in your refrigerator overnight.

Now it’s time to pull out that air fryer. Spray the bottom of the pan with non-stick cooking oil. Arrange the pork so it is not touching each other – you may have to do this in 2 batches. If you are making 4 whole pork chops, you will probably be able to fit all 4 in at once. Spray the tops with the cooking oil. Turn on your air fryer and set it to 360 degrees for 4 minutes and cook. Turn everything over and repeat – 360 degrees for 4 minutes. I’ve made these many times and they are done at this point, but check the temperature and make sure they have reached 155 degrees.

If you have to do this in 2 batches, put the first batch on a pan lined with parchment paper in a warm oven or a warm toaster oven until the second batch is done.

I usually eat this as a dinner, not an appetizer, generally serving it with Rosemary Parmesan Roasted Potatoes and a vegetable. I steamed some chard this time around.

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Breaded Pork Bites

Marinating and breading pork, then cooking it in an air fryer gives you moist, tender, crispy, and delicious bites of pork. These are great as an appetizer dipped in marinara sauce or as the main part of your meal.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Resting Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 28 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Air Fryer, Pork
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 320kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients

  • 4 each pork chops
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 4 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 4 tsp mayonnaise
  • 1 cup bread crumbs Italian seasoned
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Mix together Worcestershire, olive oil, mustard, and mayonnaise. Cut pork chops into bite size pieces and mix into marinade. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
  • Remove pork bites from marinade and toss a few at a time into bread crumbs and parmesan. Set aside on a wire rack for 30 minutes (not completely necessary but the drying out process will help the breading stick to the pork when it is cut).
  • Get air fryer ready by spraying the bottom of the basket with cooking spray.
  • Arrange pork bites in bottom of the basket taking care to not over-crowd the basket. You may have to cook in 2 batches. You can put your first batch in a warm oven or toaster oven to keep hot while you are cooking the second batch.
  • Set air fryer to 360 degress and cook for 4 minutes. Turn pork bites over and cook at 360 degrees for another 4 minutes. They should be done and crispy at this point. Double check by making sure the pork has reached an internal temperature of 150 degrees.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1each | Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 649mg | Potassium: 202mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 111IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 219mg | Iron: 2mg