Air Fryer BBQ Chicken is a delicious meal to make any day. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are coated with BBQ seasoning, air fried, and finished with BBQ sauce.
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What Makes This Air Fryer Barbecue Chicken Breast Recipe Perfect for Game Day?
Saucy chicken and sports go together great. While most people focus on hot wings, this recipe for chicken made in the air fryer is just as tasty and much healthier.
Whether preparing a big get-together for the game day or just hanging out with the fam to cheer on the home team, cooking a batch of these chicken breasts is quick and easy.
What Makes This Recipe the One You Want To Try?
Between the ease of cooking and the dual flavor of the seasoning and the sauce, this BBQ chicken air fryer recipe is a good one to save. It is perfect for those nights when you want to get something delicious on the table but just can't be bothered with heating up the barbeque.
BBQ Chicken Breast in Air Fryer Ingredients
To make this air fryer chicken breast recipe, you'll need:
- Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- BBQ seasoning rub
- BBQ Sauce
- Non-stick spray
Ingredient Notes
Whatever BBQ sauce you choose will work with Air Fryer BBQ Chicken. Check out the section below for a few types of barbeque sauces you may want to try or something a little different.
Use your favorite BBQ seasoning rub, or if you have time, go ahead and whip up the following seasoning blend:
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Preparing the rub fresh ensures the best flavor, but if you want, you can double or quadruple the recipe and keep it in an airtight container in a cupboard for another day.
Equipment You Will Need For BBQ Chicken in Air Fryer
To get the best results from this recipe, you should use an air fryer. If you don't already own an air fryer, many models are available for less than a hundred bucks.
No air fryer and not yet ready to purchase one? Then baking the chicken in a convection oven will work as well.
For folks without either an air fryer or a convection oven, see below for how to modify the recipe for a conventional oven.
A few other tools that help make this recipe easier are a silicone basting brush, an instant-read meat thermometer, and a meat tenderizer.
How To Make BBQ Chicken in Air Fryer
To make Air Fryer BBQ Chicken:
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F.
- Place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap on the counter. Pound the chicken until they are an even thickness of about an inch.
- Use a paper towel to pat the chicken breasts dry.
- Cut each piece of chicken in half.
- Dump the seasoning rub into a plastic bag. Add a piece of chicken to the bag and shake to coat. Repeat until you season all the chicken.
- Lightly spray the seasoned chicken pieces with oil and transfer them to the air fryer.
- Cook for 10 minutes.
- Flip the chicken pieces over and cook for five more minutes.
- Use a brush to coat the top of the chicken with the BBQ sauce.
- Cook for a final five minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
To make BBQ chicken air fryer style in a conventional oven:
- Preheat the conventional oven to 400°F.
- Prepare the chicken as in steps 2 to 4 from the recipe above.
- Bake the chicken for 15 minutes and turn the pieces over.
- Baste the chicken with the BBQ sauce.
- Cook for another 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
Sauce Variations to Try
Sticking with one BBQ sauce is no fun. There are lots of sauces out there that deserve a try. Here are a few:
- Nashville Hot is a butter-based sauce with a lot of heat and a touch of brown sugar. Think of this fiery sauce as a more complex Buffalo sauce with a hint of sweetness.
- Sauce divides the great state of North Carolina. In the west, folks combine ketchup and vinegar for a bit of a sweet and sour sauce that delivers a great sweet and sour flavor. The people in the Eastern part of the state prefer their vinegar-based sauces ketchup-free to add even more of a zip.
- The first thing you'll notice about Alabama BBQ Sauce is that it's a white mayonnaise-based sauce. But assuming it's mild is a mistake. Extra-hot horseradish and cayenne pepper give it a kick, while mustard and vinegar contribute a bit of a bite.
What To Serve With Air Fried Barbecue Chicken
It is nice to offer a few sides when serving BBQ chicken to round out the meal. You can stick with your favorites or try something new.
Classic BBQ sides include potato salad, mac n' cheese, sweet corn, and cornbread. More modern sides are a cucumber salad, roasted brussels sprouts, and sweet potato fries.
How To Store the Leftovers
If somehow a few pieces of chicken remain, you can refrigerate or freeze them for later. If you plan on finishing the chicken within a few days, keeping them in an airtight container in the fridge is the best bet.
However, if you are going to hold off for longer, you can freeze the chicken for up to two months. Here's how:
- Lay the chicken on a baking tray and pop the tray in the freezer until the chicken is frozen.
- Transfer the frozen chicken to a freezer bag and keep it frozen.
What's the Best Way to Reheat Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
It is easy to dry out chicken breasts when you reheat them. One method to prevent that is adding extra moisture to the chicken before reheating. Here's how:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Spray a baking sheet with oil and lay the chicken on it.
- Coat the thawed chicken with more of the same BBQ sauce you originally used.
- Tent the tray with aluminum foil and cook for about eight minutes.
- Flip the pieces of chicken and baste them with BBQ sauce.
- Recover the tray and cook for another 5 to six minutes, or until the internal temperature is at least 165°F.
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon BBQ seasoning store-bought, or use the blend listed below
- non-stick spray
- ¼ cup BBQ Sauce
Optional BBQ Seasoning Blend
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- If you want to make your own BBQ seasoning blend, combine the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, salt, and ground black pepper in a small bowl.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F.
- If your chicken is greater than 1 inch thick, place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound it with a meat mallet until it is 1 inch thick. Then slice the chicken in half horizontally so that you have 2 pieces that are each ½ inch thick.
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the BBQ seasoning.
- Cook for 10 minutes in the air fryer.
- Flip the chicken and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Spread the BBQ sauce on top of chicken and cook for 5 more minutes.
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