Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters are a great option for an easy and delicious weekday dinner! Perfectly roasted chicken leg quarters with a crispy skin, juicy and tender meat is ready in less than 30 minutes. They're so flavorful you'll absolutely love making it this way!
Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters
Air fryer chicken leg quarters are a cheap and healthy dinner that I absolutely love! Chicken leg quarters go on sale pretty often in my grocery store I always grab a few and stock it in my fridge.
Chicken leg quarter is the part of the chicken where both the leg and thigh is attached. Because this part contains the meat attached to the bone it's called "dark meat" and it's moist and juicy unlike the white meat- which are chicken breast and tenders. Dark meat is also forgiving if you overcook them slightly.
These chicken leg quarters are perfectly roasted, has a nice, golden crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. They're seasoned with a spice mix that taste so delicious! Leave the chicken skin on, so you get juicy chicken and it also helps the meat stay moist . This air fryer chicken leg quarters are not breaded so they're fast to make.
If you can't decide whether to have chicken legs or thighs because they're both tasty, have chicken quarters instead. This is a cheap cut of chicken meat and you can never go wrong with this. Also, this recipe is low carb and keto friendly.
Try my Air Fryer Chicken Legs Or Air Fryer Chicken Thighs if that's what you have. Are you looking for more delicious Air fryer meals? Check out our Air Fryer Recipe collection.
Why We Love Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters:
- Fast and easy midweek dinner
- Cheap and healthy
- Perfectly roasted, crispy skin and juicy meat
- Absolutely delicious chicken dinner
Ingredients
- Chicken leg quarters
- Olive oil cooking spray
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cayenne pepper - for heat but if you like it mild, use smoked paprika.
- Turmeric powder (optional) - I like to use a turmeric for the nice golden color but it's optional. Use more cayenne pepper, paprika or mustard instead.
- Oregano
- Salt, Ground black pepper
- Lemon juice - Apart from flavor, lemon juice is used to make a paste of the above spices so that they stick to the chicken. When you sprinkle dry spices on the chicken, they tend to get scattered and burned quickly in the Air fryer. If you aren't fond of lemon juice with chicken, use mayonnaise or olive oil instead.
How To Cook Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters
Scroll below for the printable recipe card and ingredient measurements.
Pat chicken dry using a paper towel. Spray the chicken lightly with olive oil.
In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, salt, black pepper, turmeric powder and lemon juice. You can use mayonnaise or olive oil instead of lemon juice.
Rub the chicken on all sides with the seasoning mix. At this point, you can let the chicken marinate for 5 minutes or if you have time around 30 minutes to one hour.
Preheat Air fryer to 380℉. Place chicken in the Air fryer, skin side down.
Air fry for 15 minutes, then turn the chicken over and air fry for another 5 minutes until golden and crispy. Check doneness with a meat thermometer. The internal temperature should be slightly higher than 165℉. I normally cook for about 168℉ - 170℉.
Transfer air fried chicken quarters to a plate. Let it rest for a while before slicing.
Best Tips
Leave the skin on for best flavor.
Season and let it marinate for 30 minutes. If you're short on time, leave it for 5 minutes, at the least.
Preheat Air fryer - or add extra cooking time.
Single layer - place the leg quarters in a single layer. Don't stack. Fit in as many as possible in your Air fryer but make sure you leave some space around for the hot air to circulate completely.
Use a meat thermometer - I like to check the doneness of the meat using a instant-read meat thermometer. It's cheap and you can get it in any store these days. This gives me accurate results and saves me a lot of hassle. I like to cook the chicken leg quarters a bit more than the normal temperature of 165℉, until 170℉.
How To Serve
- Serve these tasty Air fryer Chicken leg quarters alongside Perfect Fluffy Basmathi Rice.
- If you're low carb or Keto with some Keto Cauliflower Rice.
- These will be great with some Air Fryer Crispy Roast Potatoes or Air Fryer Baby Potatoes or Fluffy Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
- Serve with a salad for a light and refreshing meal.
Seasoning Ideas
Chicken leg quarters are so versatile and can be flavorful with many seasoning options. These are some of my favorites:
- Mustard powder - add ½ teaspoon mustard powder instead of turmeric.
- Cajun seasoning - use 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning instead of the above spice mix.
- Jerk seasoning - use about 2 tablespoon.
- Montreal Chicken or Steak seasoning - use 2 tablespoon.
For Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Leg Quarters:
Add 2 tablespoon BBQ sauce to the spice mix and rub the chicken on all sides with the BBQ spice mix. Avoid adding any lemon juice or oil. And at the end of cooking time, brush the chicken with more BBQ sauce.
Common Questions
How long to cook chicken leg quarters in Air fryer?
Cook for 15 minutes skin side down. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 5 more minutes.
How to cook frozen chicken leg quarters in Air fryer?
To cook frozen chicken leg quarters in the Air fryer,
- Rub the chicken with the spice mix.
- Transfer the chicken to the preheated Air fryer and cook at 400℉ for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for another 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165℉ -170℉.
Do I need to remove the skin from the chicken?
I don't recommend removing the skin as it makes the chicken stay moist and juicy. But if you prefer to remove the skin, remove it before air frying. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the seasoning mix.
Don't remove the skin after air frying, as you'll be removing all the spices and flavor that stick to the skin.
How To Store and Reheat
If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 3 days.
You can reheat them in the air fry them for a 3 to 5 minutes at 350℉ until warm.
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes You'll Enjoy:
- Air Fryer Chicken Legs
- Best Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
Check out my Air Fryer Recipe Collection for more Air fryer recipes.
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Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 chicken leg quarters skin on
- olive oil cooking spray
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels.
- In a large bowl, spray the chicken lightly with cooking spray.
- Add salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric powder and lemon juice and mix.
- Rub the chicken on all sides with spice mix.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380F. Place the chicken skin side down on the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook for another 5 minutes until golden brown. Check for doneness using an instant-read thermometer. The internal temperature should be between 165°F -170°F on the thickest part.
- Transfer to a plate. Let it rest for a while before slicing.
Notes
- Store - leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
- Reheat - in the Air fryer at 350F for 5 minutes or until warm.
- To cook frozen chicken leg quarters -
- rub the chicken on all sides with the spice mix.
- preheat the air fryer to 400F. Air fry the chicken for 15 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is between 165F - 170F.
- Seasoning ideas - check the post above for seasoning ideas.
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