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!
Servings: 4
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
- Preheat your air fryer to 380°F (195°C) for 3-4 minutes.
- Pat the chicken legs as dry as possible, 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.