First we will be marinating the chicken pieces in a buttermilk mixture. Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces nicely. The drier the chicken, the crispier they will turn out.
In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients listed under marinade except the chicken - buttermilk, hot sauce, garlic powder, paprika, salt & pepper.
Give a very good mix to make a uniform marinating liquid distributing all the ingredients evenly. Now drop the washed & dried chicken pieces into this buttermilk mixture.
Make sure all the chicken pieces are inside the liquid so that each piece gets infused with all the beautiful flavors of aromatic, spices and seasoning.
Let the chicken marinade for at least an hour; but for best results, leave them in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
When you are ready to make your air fryer fried chicken, prepare the breading mixture in another large bowl.
Add the flour, starch, onion & garlic powder, paprika, salt & pepper to the bowl. Using a wire whisk, give a good mix to evenly distribute and mix all the ingredients.
Now we will start breading the chicken using both hands, restricting one for wet & another for dry. Take out one chicken piece at a time from the buttermilk mixture and let the excess liquid drip off.
Then drop it into the flour mixture. Using your dry hand, start coating the chicken with the flour mixture on all sides.
Once you are happy with the breading, set it aside on a plate. Repeat the same process for remaining chicken. Once done, let them chill in the refrigerator while you preheat your air fryer.
Now we will start the air frying process. Start preheating your air fryer at 190 C / 375 F and set the timer to 30 minutes.
Once preheated, take out the air fryer basket and spray oil over the bottom of the basket. Ensure the bottom surface is thoroughly coated with oil to avoid any sticking.
Then carefully place the breaded chicken pieces inside the basket in a single layer, keeping a gap of an inch between any two pieces. This will ensure even air circulation around the chicken and make them crispy.**
Now spray cooking oil over the chicken pieces very generously making sure the entire outer coating is nicely covered with oil for that perfect crispiness in your crispy air fryer fried chicken!
Start air frying them in the preheated fryer. At the halfway mark, take the fryer basket out. Using a tong carefully flip the chicken pieces over.
Spray oil generously over the flipped side to coat all over the chicken surface. Return the basket back to the fryer and finish air frying for the remaining time.
Your perfectly crispy & juicy air fryer fried chicken is ready! Take them out on a platter and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the chicken and enjoy these guilt-free crispy fried chicken with your favorite dip!
Notes
**Pro tip: If your basket is not big enough for 8 pieces, do them in batches for best results, because if you do not leave enough gap between pieces, the exterior will not get enough hot air for the coating to become crispy.
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://flavorquotient.com/2025/09/air-fryer-fried-chicken/