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Air Fryer Chicken Legs

ByFarwin Simaak Updated
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This Air Fryer Chicken Legs are crispy and juicy. Tossed in seasonings and mayonnaise, they’re full of flavor and absolutely delicious! I bet these will be in you weekday dinner rotation frequently!

air fried chicken legs on a plate

Air Fryer Chicken Legs or drumsticks is one of our favorite super-simple weeknight dinner recipe! This cut of chicken is so juicy, moist and very forgiving even when you overcook them just like these Air Fryer Chicken Thighs recipe.

Chicken legs are the most affordable and cooking them in the Air fryer is so easy! With little prep and marinating time, you’ll have absolutely delicious chicken dinner in no time. The circulating hot air in the fryer makes the chicken legs perfectly crispy with charred skin on top!

Chicken legs are tossed in spices and mayonnaise. Mayonnaise gives more flavor with less marinating time. I find that marinating for at least for thirty minutes or one hour gives way more flavor.

Serve the Air fried chicken drumsticks warm with your favorite sides. Check my Air Fryer Recipe collection for our favorite Air fryer side dishes like  Air Fryer Roasted Broccoli or Air Fryer Crispy Roast Potatoes.

Step by step process

chicken legs on paper towel
Pat chicken legs dry.
cut chicken legs and a knife
Make cuts on the thickest part of the flesh.
marinade for chicken
Whisk the spices with mayonnaise and lemon juice.
marinated chicken
Toss the chicken legs with the spice mixture. Marinate for an hour.
chicken legs in the air fryer
Line a preheated air fryer with foil and place the chicken legs.
baked chicken legs in the Air fryer
Cook chicken at 400F for 15 minutes. Flip and cook for another 5 minutes.

How To Make Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

Cooking drumsticks in the Air fryer couldn’t be any easier. Here’s how to do it.

  1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Make 2 cuts in the thickest part of the chicken leg and one cut on the other side. This will help spices seep into the chicken.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cayenne, lemon juice and mayonnaise. Whisk until combined.
  3. Toss the chicken legs with the spice mixture until well coated. Leave it to marinade for at least 30 minutes or one hour.
  4. Preheat the Air fryer at 400℉ for 3 to 5 minutes. Line the Air fryer basket with foil for easy clean up.
  5. Place the chicken legs on the air fryer basket. Don’t overcrowd. Cook in batches if needed.
  6. Cook for 15 minutes. Flip chicken drumsticks and cook for another 5 minutes. You can also check for doneness by using an instant read thermometer. Look for an internal temperature of 165℉ for cooked chicken.
  7. Serve warm with you favorite side dish.
air fryer chicken legs with lemon slices

Best Tips For Flavorful Chicken

  • Leave the skin on for crispy air fryer chicken legs.
  • Pat the chicken dry thoroughly.
  • Make cuts in the thickest part of the flesh for flavors to seep in.
  • Let the chicken marinate for an hour or more for flavor.
  • Preheat the Air fryer for 3 or 5 minutes according to manufacturer’s instruction.

Serving Ideas

Serve them with fluffy mashed potatoes and a side of salad.

We also like them with crispy potatoes in the Air fryer. And they’re great with any sides or on their own. That’s how my kids eat it most of the time!

Here are more sides:

chicken legs with salad

DID YOU MAKE IT?  Please leave a comment and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! Tag us on Instagram or Facebook.

Recipe

Air Fryer Chicken Legs

air fried chicken legs with lemon slices
Author: Farwin Simaak
These Air Fryer Chicken Legs make the best quick and easy weeknight dinner! They are juicy and crispy. Tossed in seasonings and mayonnaise, they're full of flavor and absolutely delicious!
3.79 from 33 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Marinating Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients
 

  • 1½ lbs chicken legs (around 8 to 10) skin on
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper or red chili powder
  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
  • Make 2 cuts in the thickest part of the chicken leg and one cut on the other side. This will help spices seep into the chicken.
  • In a small mixing bowl, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cayenne, lemon juice and mayonnaise. Whisk until combined.
  • Toss the chicken legs with the spice mixture until well coated. Leave it to marinade for at least 30 minutes or one hour.
  • Preheat the Air fryer at 400℉ for 3 to 5 minutes. Line the Air fryer basket with foil for easy clean up.
  • Place the chicken legs on the air fryer basket. Don't overcrowd. Cook in batches if needed.
  • Cook for 15 minutes. Flip chicken drumsticks and cook for another 5 minutes. You can also check for doneness by using an instant read thermometer. Look for an internal temperature of 165℉ for cooked chicken.
  • Serve warm with you favorite side dish.

Notes

  • Meal Prep – store the marinated chicken in the fridge for one day. In the freezer in a zip lock bag for 3 months.
    • Thaw in the fridge and cook in the Air fryer as per the recipe.
  • Store – leftover chicken in an air tight container for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat them in the oven or in the Air fryer.

Nutrition

Calories: 470 kcal | Total Carbs: 2.1 g | Protein: 67 g | Fat: 20 g | Saturated Fat: 5.2 g | Fiber: 0.5 g
DID YOU MAKE THIS?I want to know! Leave a comment & recipe rating below or tag @loveandotherspices on social media!
Course Dinner
Cuisine American

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Farwin Simaak

Farwin Simaak is a mom of three, creator and photographer of Love And Other Spices.

19 Comments

  1. This is the very best marinate I use it not only for chicken legs but any chicken, I do substitute oregano with Italian seasoning and leave out the garlic. I am going to try it on shrimp I bet it will be great as well. Thanks

    Reply

    1. Hi Laverla, that’s nice to hear. We love this marinade as well. It’ll be great with shrimp too.

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Wow! 10 legs and plenty of coating to do all of them; :left in fridge for an hour, lined air fryer and followed the time and temperature. Poultry seasoning that I had contained all of the ingredients and I added powdered garlic and onion. Lime juice instead of lemon and I never thought that a non cooking man like myself could please my wife and kids so much. They want more.

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    I don’t usually leave comments for recipes, but this was so good (and easy to make), I just had to. Easily one of the best marinades I’ve made for drumsticks and didn’t even have to marinate for long. A delicious option for weeknight dinner!

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    just made this recipe. Absolutely the best ‘chicken’ in general I have made to date. Just loved it!

    Reply

    1. Thanks Anna! Not exactly. circulating air will heat up the foil in turn heating up the food on it. Same concept as in the oven. In this case, foil makes clean up easier.

      Reply
3.79 from 33 votes (26 ratings without comment)

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