This air fryer grilled chicken recipe demands just 15 minutes of prep work and 20 minutes of hands-off cook time. The result is 4 jumbo, juicy skin-on chicken breasts, all seasoned and grilled to perfection, along with heaps of buttery potato wedges as a built-in side.
Can I Use an Air Fryer to Grill?
Although the machine is called a ‘fryer,’ it cooks food by blasting hot air onto the food, similar to how an oven works. Hence, you can grill, bake, and roast meat with it just like you can with an oven, but much more quickly.
Calories
According to the USDA’s food database, a piece of boneless chicken breast loses 47 grams of mass and 56 calories when cooked. This is due to the loss of moisture and fat during the cooking process, leaving you a leaner piece of meat.
Although this means a reduction in saturated fat and calorie levels – things that a healthy diet regulates – it is still quite insignificant. By itself it does not make grilled chicken healthier than other meat choices. Plenty of other factors contribute to the nutrition profile.
Is This Air Fryer Grilled Chicken Healthy?
Yes, it is.
As with cooked meat in general, grilled chicken provides us with plenty of protein. Since a healthy diet must draw from all food groups, a meal of grilled chicken will be healthier if served with some cooked vegetables.
For this recipe we chose potatoes. Besides complex carbohydrates, potatoes also contain several micronutrients necessary for body growth.
Maintaining a healthy diet also means regulating calories, sodium, and saturated fat. Taking this into account, we carefully adjusted the amount of relevant ingredients, such as salt and the chicken itself, to stay within bounds.
As a result, each portion of our recipe now contains 483 calories, 7 g saturated fat, and 526 mg sodium. These are good amounts that will keep you on track to meet the recommended nutrition goals.
Main Ingredients
1. Chicken
We’re grilling, so any cut of chicken works fine – even the breast – as long as you keep the skin on. It gives your meat a chewier texture and extra layers of flavor.
If you’re not in the mood for chicken breasts, we suggest chicken thighs since you can get them boneless as well.
2. Seasonings
Our marinade mix has salt, pepper, mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and red powders like Cajun and paprika for a kick. We also added some oregano — it’s already in the Italian seasoning mix, but we wanted its aroma to be stronger.
3. Potato
This air fryer grilled chicken recipe welcomes all types of potato. We used russets, but we encourage you to use your favorite.
Since we want to make things as simple as possible, we sped up the process with the microwave. It’s an easy method applicable for many root vegetables that are thick and take a long time to cook.
All you need to do is place the veg chunks into a bowl, cover it with microwave-safe plastic wrap, then nuke on medium for 5 minutes. This applies for our potatoes only — different vegetables of different sizes cook at their own pace.
Tips to Cooking Juicy Chicken in an Air Fryer
The best way to keep chicken juicy is to avoid overcooking the meat. You can either follow recipes or learn more about cooking all cuts of chicken in this article.
You can also introduce more liquid to the meat by marinating it for about 15 minutes in a simple salt brine before seasoning. A solution of 2 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt is our favorite go-to.
How Long Does It Last in the Fridge
To preserve the leftovers, place each portion in a separate airtight container or Ziploc bag and refrigerate for up to 5 days. The chicken can also be frozen for 3 months and reheated anytime, but the potatoes should only get refrigerated.
How to Reheat
To reheat, air-fry the meat at 350°F for 4 minutes if refrigerated or 15 minutes if frozen.
Or you can microwave meat on medium for 2 minutes if refrigerated, 5 minutes if frozen. Make sure you place the meat into a bowl and cover it with microwave-safe plastic wrap before reheating.
For more delicious air fryer recipes, this best air fryer dinner roundup have a bunch of ideas.
What to Serve With
Our suggestions for sides are our favorite sweet, fresh kale salad and iced lemonade. They bring the meal to a healthy 750 calorie yield overall:
Look Through These Delicious Air Fryer Recipes
With an air fryer or oven, you can easily make this casserole with rice, broccoli, and chicken in it, all topped with a healthy layer of cheese that bubbles and turns golden when baked. We threw in there some paprika and cajun seasonings for a mild heat, which really makes a difference.
Our air-fried chicken parm is an easy shortcut to a restaurant delight, topped with tomato sauce and authentic Permigiano-Reggiano. The crust is crispy, the flavor is spot-on, and the side salad adds just enough freshness to tone down the richness.
Air Fryer Grilled Chicken Recipe
Our air fryer grilled chicken recipe might take 35 minutes, but the final 20 is all hands-off. It's the perfect time to whip up some delicious sides.
- cook TIME 27 mins
- prep TIME 8 mins
- total TIME 35 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE Global
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 483 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 26 oz boneless chicken breasts
- 18 oz potatoes (peeled and cut into wedges)
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (about 0.5 oz)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp traditional Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
Place 18 oz potato wedges into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on medium for 7 minutes.
Cut a slit in each of the breasts (26 oz in total) to make small pockets.
Season the breasts, inside and outside with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper.
When the potatoes are done, carefully remove the plastic wrap and toss them with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter.
Place the potatoes into the air fryer and the chicken on top. Cook everything at 400°F for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp parsley on top and serve.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Natalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer
- FletcherA great way to get that grilled flavor without having to fire up the grill.