Crisp & Juicy Air Fryer Chicken Legs (No Marinade)

Crisp and juicy Air Fryer Chicken Legs are incredibly easy to make at home, tender and juicy on the inside but still extra crispy on the outside. It takes just 20 minutes to make these bone-in, skin-on chicken legs in the air fryer (and put your local chicken spot to shame!).

For other easy air fryer chicken recipes, check out my honey garlic wings or crispy baking powder wings.

🍗 Ingredients

Fresh Chicken Legs: we have been loving the fresh options at our local Sprouts Market, but use whatever source you most enjoy. We found 2-4 drumsticks was enough chicken for each person, but this will depend on what side dishes you have with them.

Oil: we used avocado oil here for a neutral high-heat oil, but to really add some richness to the drumsticks, you can even use ghee or lard.

Coconut Sugar: possibly the best-kept secret on a low histamine diet, just a tablespoon of coconut sugar can absolutely change how these legs caramelize and the spices stick to the outside, while also keeping these paleo air fryer drumsticks.

Garlic Powder: using garlic adds an umami element to the air fried drumsticks that really complements the other spices.

Paprika: albeit optional, this bright red spice adds a beautiful flavor and color to the drumsticks in the air fryer.

Sumac: this souring spice adds balance to the blend of other chicken leg spices, but is technically optional.

Sea Salt: an essential ingredient for making flavorful, crispy chicken legs in the air fryer; the salt actually helps add contrast to the spices.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

🍽 Ways to season air fryer chicken drumsticks

With Marinade: if you'd like to marinate these air fryer drumsticks (NOT a low histamine method), add a tablespoon of lemon juice and leave out the sumac in the seasoning, and leave the drumsticks in a gallon bag (air all pushed out) in the fridge for 1-6 hours before preheating the air fryer and cooking.

Baking Powder for Crispiness?: unlike the baking powder trick for wings, skin-on chicken legs will crisp up just as perfectly without baking powder as with it, though if you want to try it you can always add a ½ tablespoon baking powder to the seasoning, then toss the drumsticks with baking powder in the bag before frying.

Drumsticks are delicious plain or with marinade, if tolerated, but almost any seasoning would be great, including:

• honey mustard
• dry rub with brown sugar
• garlic powder and zata'ar
• Italian seasoning
• dried rosemary and garlic powder

🐓 3 most common chicken cooking mistakes

1) Not Spraying Down: as an extra precaution, you can spray down the air fryer tray to make sure the air fryer drummies don't stick at all.

3) Overcrowding: try to keep a single layer of drumsticks in the air fryer, not stacking and not letting any of the legs touch each other. Because it's the super-heated air touching the chicken legs in the air fryer that actually cooks them, so the parts that touch will not crisp up as well.

2) Incorrect Batching: to use more or less chicken, for every half pound of additional drumsticks add ¼ to ⅓ of the other ingredients.

✔️ How to make crispy air fryer chicken legs (instructions)

Step 1. Only preheat the air fryer (wihtout the frozen chicken), if using fresh refrigerated chicken legs rather than frozen. Preheat your air fryer to 380°F (195°C) for 3-5 minutes, putting your frozen chicken legs in the air fryer basket before starting the preheat.

Step 2. Once the air fryer is heated, carefully pull out the chicken legs and use paper towels to pat them as dry as possible (image 1). This will help the legs crisp up even more, whether or not they've been in the freezer. Immediately throw away the paper towels.

Then place your dried air fryer drumsticks into a ziploc one-gallon freezer bag along with your salt, sumac, garlic powder, paprika, and sugar and toss until well-coated. This will help the legs crisp up even more. Immediately throw away the paper towels.

If you don't have a ziploc bag, you can also drizzle or brush on half the oil, and then carefully sprinkle on half the seasoning, turn over each chicken leg and then drizzle on the rest of the oil and other half of the seasoning.

Step 3. Once coated in seasoning, the chicken legs can be placed in a single layer to the basket of your preheated air fryer. Cook them at 380°F (195°C) for 18 minutes, flipping them halfway through (I recommend cooking them 9 minutes, then flipping and setting it for 9 more minutes).

Step 4. If you want to sauce the legs in the air fryer, don't just pour on the sauce. Take them out 4-5 minutes before they're set to be done, put them into a clean bowl, and quickly toss them in the sauce. Then immediately return them to the air fryer to cook for the last 5 minutes.

This will give the drumsticks enough time to soak up the sauce without it making them soggy or scorching the sauce. Once your air fryer turns off, your air fryer chicken legs are done— if using a more delicate sauce, drizzle it on now and serve. Note that all cooked chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F to be deemed safe to eat.

🌟 Best sauces for air fryer drumsticks

I've learned that you can air fry chicken drumsticks skinless or skin-on, but I've found that when you air fry chicken legs with the skin on, they tend to get extra crispy and hold on to sauces much better.

Also remember to wait until the last 2-5 minutes of cooking to sauce your drumsticks, if you want to bake on some of the flavor. My favorite sauces for chicken legs include:

• lemon butter
• mixed herb chimichurri
• homemade teriyaki sauce
• lemongrass sauce
• ginger sauce
• tahini dipping sauce
• the honey garlic sauce from my honey garlic wings, which you can make without flour or cornstarch if you opt for a thinner sauce or to use tapioca flour

🥘 Freezing and reheating

Freezing Instructions: if you want to freeze your leftovers, make this recipe initially with fresh drumsticks, as double-frozen meat loses a lot of texture. Consider putting them in single-serve glass containers that are easy to reheat in the toaster oven or the microwave, to save on dishwasher space and reduce plastic usage.

Reheat from Frozen: how long to reheat chicken drumsticks in air fryer will vary depending on the size of the drumsticks. But I've found that most of the time they're reheated after about 10 minutes in the air fryer at 300°F (150°C), sauce-on if using, or after just five minutes at 300°F (150°C) if kept in the fridge.

🙋🏻‍♂️ Frequently asked questions

😋 What to serve with air fried chicken legs

Have you tried this recipe?

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📖 Recipe

Crisp & Juicy Air Fryer Chicken Legs (No Marinade)

Easy air fryer chicken legs without breading, but just as crispy and juicy as you'd get at a restaurant without any of the extra fat!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Max

Equipment

• ▢
  air fryer
• ▢
  ziploc one-gallon freezer bag

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 pounds fresh chicken legs 7-8 drumsticks or whole leg quarters split if needed
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon oil
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar alt. brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon paprika optional, sweet or hot or smoked if tolerated
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sumac optional

Instructions

• Only preheat the air fryer (wihtout the frozen chicken), if using fresh refrigerated chicken legs rather than frozen. Preheat your air fryer to 380°F (195°C) for 3-5 minutes, putting your frozen chicken legs in the air fryer basket before starting the preheat.
• Once the air fryer is heated, carefully pull out the chicken legs and use paper towels to pat them as dry as possible (image 1). This will help the legs crisp up even more, whether or not they've been in the freezer. Immediately throw away the paper towels.

  Then place your dried air fryer drumsticks into a ziploc one-gallon freezer bag along with your salt, sumac, garlic powder, paprika, and sugar and toss until well-coated. This will help the legs crisp up even more. Immediately throw away the paper towels.

  If you don't have a ziploc bag, you can also drizzle or brush on half the oil, and then carefully sprinkle on half the seasoning, turn over each chicken leg and then drizzle on the rest of the oil and other half of the seasoning.
• Once coated in seasoning, the chicken legs can be placed in a single layer to the basket of your preheated air fryer. Cook them at 380°F (195°C) for 18 minutes, flipping them halfway through (I recommend cooking them 9 minutes, then flipping and setting it for 9 more minutes).
• If you want to sauce the legs in the air fryer, don't just pour on the sauce. Take them out 4-5 minutes before they're set to be done, put them into a clean bowl, and quickly toss them in the sauce. Then immediately return them to the air fryer to cook for the last 5 minutes.

  This will give the drumsticks enough time to soak up the sauce without it making them soggy or scorching the sauce. Once your air fryer turns off, your air fryer chicken legs are done— if using a more delicate sauce, drizzle it on now and serve. Note that all cooked chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F to be deemed safe to eat.

Notes

Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters: if you're cooking chicken quarters and don't want to split them, you'll need an extra 8-10 minutes to cook chicken leg quarters in the air fryer, though the amount of seasoning and other steps should be the same per pound, even with connected air fryer legs and thighs.

Skin or No Skin?: many people with histamine issues shy away from chicken skin, as it's said to sometimes irritate histamine issues. While personally I tend to use skin-on chicken to make air fryer drumsticks, if you do choose to use skinless legs, you also may need 1-2 minutes' less cooking time.

If you need to remove the skin from chicken legs, you can also do it after cooking once it's much easier to take off.

Chicken Temperature: your air fried drumsticks are all ready when they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (75°C). Just make sure to measure the temperature at the thickest part of the leg, away from the bone, or even better, to use an instant read meat thermometer.

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