Air fryer buttermilk fried chicken is a dream come true. What could be better than juicy, tender, hot-sauce-and-buttermilk-infused chicken with a crunchy crispy coating? Air frying it makes it easy and healthy.
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Somehow spicy buttermilk-marinated fried chicken and eat-dinner-on-the-deck weather go hand-in-hand for me. But who wants to stand in a hot kitchen deep frying chicken in the summertime?
I’ve got a detailed post on How to Make Fried Chicken in the Air Fryer, which is loaded with tips and advice for making a basic air fryer fried chicken. It's a great starting point for all of my delicious air fryer recipes for crispy chicken.
This recipe takes all that information but adds a buttermilk-and-hot-sauce marinade that tenderizes and flavors the chicken.
This juicy chicken has all the traditional flavor of the best deep fried chicken. But since it is made in the air fryer, it is lighter, healthier, and much easier to make!
This recipe uses much less oil than traditional deep frying, which makes it lighter. It also means less of a mess to clean up in the kitchen.
It’s an added benefit that it doesn’t heat up your kitchen or require you to stand over a hot stove.
And I can pretty much guarantee that your whole family will love it!
What ingredients do you need?
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this mouthwatering, crispy air fryer chicken recipe.
- Chicken (use bone-in or boneless chicken thighs, chicken wings, or chicken drumsticks)
- Buttermilk
- Hot sauce
- Black pepper (and optional cayenne pepper)
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Flour
How do you make it?
Air fryer buttermilk fried chicken is way easier to make than regular fried chicken. Here’s how:
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- Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a large bowl and then marinate the chicken in the buttermilk mixture.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the excess buttermilk mixture.
- Dredge the chicken in seasoned flour.
- Arrange the coated chicken pieces in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Brush or spritz the chicken with oil.
- Air fry for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
What do you serve with it?
I like to serve this air-fried chicken with Coleslaw and slices of watermelon for a perfect summer meal.
You could also add Buttermilk Biscuits or Sweet Potato Biscuits to round out the meal.
Air fryer buttermilk fried chicken frequently asked questions
You don’t need a parchment paper liner, but I find that it makes it easier to flip the chicken pieces and also reduces cleanup time and effort. You can use reusable silicone liners if you don’t like the disposable parchment paper ones.
You can use whatever chicken pieces you like. Personally, I prefer using dark meat chicken, like the thighs and drumsticks. You can use chicken breast or wings if you prefer. You can even use a whole chicken cut into pieces. You can use bone-in or boneless. I personally prefer to use boneless, skinless thighs because they stay moist and juicy but still cook quickly.
I like to use Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce in my marinade, but use whatever you love. It adds so much flavor to the finished dish.
The lactic acid in buttermilk is a tenderizer–it guarantees tender chicken pieces inside the crunchy crust.
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a decent substitute by adding about a teaspoon of lemon juice of vinegar to regular milk. You can also substitute plain yogurt in this recipe.
I usually use a basket-style GoWise Air Fryer. Sometimes I use a Mealthy Air Fryer Lid on top of my Instant Pot.
Air Fryer Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup hot sauce I like Franks Red Hot
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 chicken drumsticks or chicken thighs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Cooking oil for brushing or spraying on the chicken
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the buttermilk, hot sauce, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the pepper, and the garlic powder. Add the chicken and toss to coat well.
- Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes (or as long as 2 hours).
- Meanwhile, in a wide, shallow bowl, stir together the flour, the remaining teaspoon of salt, the remaining teaspoon of pepper, and the paprika.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture until very well coated.
- Brush or spray the chicken pieces with oil and arrange them in a single layer in the air fryer.
- Cook at 400ºF for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown on top. Flip the chicken pieces over and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown and crisp all over.
- Serve immediately.
It’s look good
Can you use a rotisserie basket to avoid turning half way thru?
I have never used a rotisserie basket but I would think you could.
I feel like I did something wrong. I followed the steps. But when flipping the chicken, every bit of breading came off 🙁 maybe you’re supposed to flour first???
I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you. The chicken pieces should be dredged in flour before putting them in the air fryer. I also recommend spritzing or brushing with oil. If your breading sticks to your air fryer basket, try using the perforated parchment paper liners or a silicone liner.
I made this tonight and it was SO good, just perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!
I only had chicken thighs available, but I followed along with all the instructions in this recipe. The buttermilk is indeed a good addition and my chicken came out crunchy and moist on the inside. My kids ate two batches of this and they wanted more! lol! I just didn’t have any more chicken left!😄
I added more hot sauce because I love spicy food, and I loved how it turned out! I’m definitely adding this into my rotation!
Do you think it matters what oil we use to spray the chicken after the dredging? I used olive oil spray but nearly all the coating came off when I tried to turn the chicken. I’ve had this with other air-fried chicken recipes as well (more or less the same as yours) where the coating just falls off, wish I knew where I was going wrong.
No, you can definitely use olive oil. Just be careful not to use a spray oil that contains an accelerant if you have an air fryer with a non-stick coating.