These air fryer chicken breasts are so good that they will keep you hooked to your weightloss journey as you would crave to come back to this high protein low calorie chicken meal again and again!
One thing that you would repeatedly hear during your weightloss journey is to eat high protein meals and that too the ones with low calorie!
I am sure this has overwhelmed you more than a few times leaving you wondering how to balance this protein vs calorie ratio!
And at that very moment someone told you to include chicken breast in your meal as a primary source of good protein which is also low in calories!
Now, let us not fool around and admit that chicken breast is the least tasty part of chicken; being fat-free & fibrous, it is very difficult to make chicken breasts flavorful, juicy and tender!
Well, not anymore! These air fryer chicken breasts will solve all your above problems for good!
But wait! If you are skipping this page because you don’t yet have an air fryer, you can try taking a look before you leave at my grilled chicken breast recipe which was grilled on stove top using a grill pan; easy peasy!
What are air fryer chicken breasts?
To put it simply, air fryer chicken breasts are the easiest, quickest and tastiest chicken breast recipe that one can ever make! I can vouch that I had never made such a tasty chicken breast recipe!
I was simply blown away after making this the very first time which is why I made it on repeat and these chicken breasts made in air fryer became one of my go-to dinner recipes!
There is hardly any pre-prep for this air fryer chicken breasts as there is no chopping or marinating involved. You just need to make the simplest of the dry seasoning mix and that’s it!
Since this air fryer chicken breasts could be part of your regular weekly meals, the dry seasoning mix is as less complicated as possible, but nonetheless carries tons of flavors which makes your bland chicken breasts incredibly delish!
You can even make a large batch of this seasoning and keep it handy for those busy weeknights!
Just rub the chicken breasts with the dry seasoning mix and air fry for 10 minutes approximately according to the size of your chicken breasts.
The two chicken breasts that I used in my recipe for air fryer chicken breasts were approximately 400 to 450 gms (~ 1 pound) and they took exactly 10 minutes at 190 C (375 F) to cook completely.
If your chicken breasts are slightly bigger, increase the cooking time by a couple of minutes and check the doneness.
Chicken breasts cook very fast and can turn hard quickly if overcooked; so just be a little mindful with the cooking time.
That’s all you need to care about to make these best ever air fryer chicken breasts every time!
Ingredients for air fryer chicken breasts
Chicken breast: It goes without saying that this is the key ingredient of this recipe; but you need to be a little prudent here in order to churn out the perfect air fryer chicken breasts!
All you have to do is to use as fresh chicken breasts as you can procure instead of the frozen ones that are lying in your freezer.
Olive oil: A little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil is all you need to make this high protein low calorie chicken meal. Less oil equals lesser calories; so a real win-win recipe for your weightloss goal!
Garlic powder: Garlic is a must for me for any chicken recipe. Since we were making a dry rub seasoning, I used garlic powder instead of grated garlic or paste.
Dried thyme: This was my choice of herbs and we both love the flavor and aroma of thyme. But you can be creative here and use any dried herb of your choice like oregano, parsley, rosemary etc.
Red chilli powder/paprika: The original recipe from where I learnt this used smoked paprika in their seasoning, but because paprika is not so common in Indian kitchen staple, I substituted it with our good old red chilli powder.
Feel free to choose the one you like – chilli powder or smoked paprika.
Salt & pepper: Season your chicken breasts well with salt and freshly crushed black pepper.
How to make air fryer chicken breasts?
Step 1: Wash and pat dry the chicken breasts. Lay a plastic wrap on a chopping board fully covering the board and place the chicken breasts on it.
Step 2: Layer one more plastic wrap on top of the chicken breasts and using either a meat mallet or the butt of a large knife, pound the thicker side of the chicken breasts a few times.
Pro tip: Do NOT pound the chicken too hard; just use a light hand and beat the thicker side 6 to 8 times so that the thickness of the chicken breasts become somewhat even throughout.
Step 3: Remove the plastic wraps and place the pounded chicken breasts on a shallow plate. Drizzle half of the olive oil over them, flip them over and drizzle the remaining oil on the other side.
Step 4: Massage the oil on both sides of the chicken breasts evenly so that they are coated well.
Step 5: In a small bowl, make the seasoning by adding all the other ingredients – garlic powder, dried thyme, red chilli powder or paprika, salt and black pepper. Give a good whisk.
Step 6: Drizzle half of the prepared seasoning over one side of the chicken breasts. Rub them well so that it’s distributed evenly all over.
Step 7: Then flip the chicken breasts over and drizzle the remaining seasoning; rub it thoroughly for an even coating.
Step 8: Preheat your air fryer at 190 C / 375 F and set up the timer to 10 minutes. Once preheated, place the two seasoned chicken breasts side by side inside the air fryer basket keeping the smooth side down.
Step 9: Air fry the chicken breasts for 7 minutes first. Then take the fryer basket out, flip over the chicken breasts and air fry for the remaining 3 minutes.
Pro tip: If your chicken breasts are of similar size as that of mine, 10 minutes are good enough to fully cook the chicken.
In case of larger chicken breasts, increase the cooking time by 2 minutes and check the doneness by poking the edge of a sharp knife at the thickest part of the chicken; if the juices run clear and there is no trace of pink, your air fryer chicken breasts are done!
If you happen to have an instant read thermometer, you can check if the internal temperature of the chicken registers at least 165 F for the chicken to be fully cooked.
Step 10: Take your tasty & delicious air fryer chicken breasts out from the fryer basket and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Step 11: While the chicken is resting, prepare the accompaniments to serve with these best air fryer chicken breasts. Serve them warm and enjoy!
Serving suggestions for your air fryer chicken breasts
There are so many ways you can enjoy these tastiest air fryer chicken breasts!
Option 1: Serve these air fryer chicken breasts on their own as a high protein meal along with sides of veggies like roasted broccoli or steamed green beans or a small serving of mashed potatoes.
Option 2: These air fryer chicken breasts are best for making chicken salad. Cut the cooked chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and toss them up with avocado, bell peppers (roasted or raw), onion & tomatoes with a generous drizzle of a simple salad dressing made of olive oil, lemon juice and salt & pepper.
Option 3: Shred the air fried chicken breasts and mix them with a well-seasoned hung curd salad dressing (check my recipe here!). Use this mixture to fix a grilled chicken sandwich using the bread of your choice.
Option 4: You can use these air fryer chicken breasts to meal-prep a healthy rice bowl by pairing up a serving of rice with half a chicken breast and a generous serving of your favorite veggies.
More healthy chicken recipes for weightloss from Flavor Quotient
- Chicken breasts - 2, boneless and skinless
- Olive oil - 3 tbsp
- Garlic powder - 1 tsp
- Dried thyme - 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder or smoked paprika - 1 tsp
- Salt - ½ tsp
- Black pepper powder - ½ tsp
- Wash and pat dry the chicken breasts. Lay a plastic wrap on a chopping board fully covering the board and place the chicken breasts on it.
- Layer one more plastic wrap on top of the chicken breasts and using either a meat mallet or the butt of a large knife, pound the thicker side of the chicken breasts a few times*.
- Remove the plastic wraps and place the pounded chicken breasts on a shallow plate. Drizzle half of the olive oil over them, flip them over and drizzle the remaining oil on the other side.
- Massage the oil on both sides of the chicken breasts evenly so that they are coated well.
- In a small bowl, make the seasoning by adding all the other ingredients - garlic powder, dried thyme, red chilli powder or paprika, salt and black pepper. Give a good whisk.
- Drizzle half of the prepared seasoning over one side of the chicken breasts. Rub them well so that it's distributed evenly all over.
- Then flip the chicken breasts over and drizzle the remaining seasoning; rub it thoroughly for an even coating.
- Preheat your air fryer at 190 C / 375 F and set up the timer to 10 minutes. Once preheated, place the two seasoned chicken breasts side by side inside the air fryer basket keeping the smooth side down.
- Air fry the chicken breasts for 7 minutes first. Then take the fryer basket out, flip over the chicken breasts and air fry for the remaining 3 minutes**.
- Take your tasty & delicious air fryer chicken breasts out from the fryer basket and let them rest for 5 minutes.
- While the chicken is resting, prepare the accompaniments to serve with these best air fryer chicken breasts. Serve them warm and enjoy!
** In case of larger chicken breasts, increase the cooking time by 2 minutes and check the doneness by poking the edge of a sharp knife at the thickest part of the chicken; if the juices run clear and there is no trace of pink, your air fryer chicken breasts are done!
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