No standing in the hot sun over the grill! This BBQ Chicken is made in the comfort of your air-conditioned (hopefully) kitchen right in the air fryer.
Summer isn’t really summer without some barbecue chicken, is it? It’s a classic staple at sunny weather picnics, backyard get-togethers and even as a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Something about it just epitomizes the easy, carefree, “enjoy life” spirit of the season.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Video: Air Frying BBQ Chicken
Where Does BBQ Chicken Originate?
The tradition in the United States apparently goes way back. Our early ancestors first started the trend nearly 2 million years ago, when they began cooking meat with fire. Covering the meat with spices and sauces, though, originated in the Caribbean. Regardless, I’m sure glad the trend is still going strong.
How Should I Cook BBQ Chicken In The Air Fryer?
This recipe will get you the tried-and-true barbeque chicken you crave, only with a fun twist—it’s made in the air fryer instead of on the grill!
Using this method makes the skin of the chicken extra crispy and thus extra delicious. (Check out more recipes in our air fryer chicken series here!) The barbecue sauce keeps the chicken nice and moist, balancing out the crunch of the skin perfectly.
What Kind of Chicken Should I Use?
The recipe calls for a whole 3.5 pound chicken that you’ve broken down into bone-in pieces. Learn how to cut up a whole chicken over here. If you would prefer to buy chicken that is already in pieces, the best bet for this recipe is bone-in skin-on chicken drumsticks or bone-in-skin-on chicken thighs. Those will be the most similar for the timing in the recipe below.
For drumsticks and thighs, you’ll want 7-8 pieces total to make up the 3.5 pounds of chicken.
If you get different cuts of chicken than those, they will need different timing. For instance, chicken leg quarters take longer in the air fryer, and chicken breasts need less time. For a full list of air fryer cooking times for all the different cuts of chicken, head over here.
Want to bake your BBQ chicken? Try my Barbecue Baked Chicken recipe which uses boneless skinless chicken or make Crispy BBQ Chicken Wings. You can also grill your BBQ Chicken Breasts.
What Barbecue Sauce Should I Use For BBQ Chicken?
To keep things as breezy as the season, you can use your favorite jarred barbeque sauce from your local grocery store. I used a Kansas City style sauce, for reference. If you’re feeling ambitious, though, you can whip up an easy homemade BBQ sauce.
Serve the barbecue chicken with all of your favorite summer sides: perhaps some corn on the cob, pasta salad, or grilled zucchini, anyone? Oh, and ice cream for dessert. Always.
Podcast Episode: Air Frying BBQ Chicken
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make this chicken, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Recipe
No standing in the hot sun over the grill! This BBQ Chicken is made in the comfort of your air-conditioned (hopefully) kitchen right in the air fryer.
- Prep Time: 4 minutes
- Cook Time: 21 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 whole (3.5 lb.) chicken, cut into leg, thigh, and breast pieces*
- 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup barbeque sauce (homemade or store-bought)
Instructions
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator.
- Preheat air fryer to 375°F.
- In a small bowl, combine the smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken to coat.
- Place chicken in the air fryer skin-side-down. Cook for 18 minutes, until chicken is golden brown.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and brush all over with barbeque sauce.
- Wipe off excess chicken fat from air fryer basket, if desired.
- Return chicken to the air fryer and cook, skin-side-up, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F on an instant read thermometer, about 3 minutes for smaller pieces and as much as 12 minutes+ for larger pieces. After about 6 minutes, reduce heat to 300F and continue cooking as needed.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*Alternatively, use 3.5 pounds of bone-in skin-on drumsticks or 3.5 pounds of bone-in skin-on thighs, or a combination.
This post originally appeared in September 2019 and was revised and republished in July 2023.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it 3 times already and we can’t wait to have it again!
Love to hear that, Jamie! Thank you for taking time to comment.
This was a really quick chicken recipe. So moist and so much flavor!! Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome, Lori! So glad you loved it.
Made this in the air fryer tonight for dinner with chicken thighs, served with mashed potatoes and Caesar salad. It was bomb! We’re doing it again tonight! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Thank you so much, Debora! That sounds like an amazing dinner. If you have a moment, I’d really appreciate you adding a 5 star rating which helps others find this recipe too. Thanks!
New to the Airfryer, made this and the whole family was in awww….there was nothing left it was SOOOO delicious.
So happy to hear that, Terri! We’ve got more tasty air fryer recipes for you to try too.
Very easy and good!
Glad to hear it, Beverly!
Enjoyed the kick and bbq together. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Jill!
I followed the instructions to the letter until I got to the BBQ sauce part. I added chopped green onion all over the chicken. The chicken came out like candy. It was delicious. Good simple recipe.
Thank you for sharing with us, Robert! 🙂
I had been using a box BBQ but the cost went up to $5
These ingredients I have at home and I will be using it often!
That’s great, Elaine. I’m sure you’re going to love it!
Yummy
Thanks, Susan!
I made this for dinner tonight.
I used my own spice rub, store bought bbq. sauce, and legs and thighs. It was delicious. Very moist and easy. I will definitely
make it more often.
Cleanup was easy too.
That’s wonderful, Beverly! Thank you for taking time to comment. 🙂
So delish!! I’ll make this again and again!!!!!
That’s wonderful to hear, Chris! Thanks for coming back and rating.
this recipe was super easy and so delicious – instant family favourite. We started using it on our charcoal bbq and it was insanely good. you can’t go wrong with these flavours!!
Thanks so much, Tamar! I’m happy you enjoyed.
made this tonight – it was awesome, quick and tastes better than on the grill
Great, Lisa! So happy you loved it!
Excellent!! We did boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it turned out fabulous!! Tasted just like we grilled outdoors… adding to our regular rotation! Thank you !
You’re welcome, Jeannie! That sounds wonderful.
Holy BBQ Batman!
I have never been a huge fan of BBQ but last year a dear friend invited me over for dinner and served ribs and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t have grill, as I live in a small apartment and there’s currently 5 inches of snow on the ground, so it wouldn’t matter, even if I did. But I got excited when I saw this recipe on Pinterest. I’m really happy I tried it.
I love how simple it is. What I love most about it is that the portions are easy to control. I’m newly divorced and getting used to cooking for one again. My air fryer is small. I love that I can defrost a single chicken breast, prepare as directed and just adjust the cooking time. And clean up is a breeze.
I also have MS and am confined to a wheelchair, so being able to prepare and clean up an easy homemade meal that tastes amazing to boot is wonderful. Kudus! Your work here is greatly appreciated and this is definitely something that will be in regular rotation in my menu.
Have a wonderful holiday season!
Thank you so much, Melinda! I’m so happy that this worked well and was easy for you to make and enjoy.
Love this recipe but seriously questioning the nutritional info, how does a serving have 1066 calories when one piece of air fried chicken is generally about 200, bbq sauce roughly 60 cal for 2 TBSP. ?
We use a service to approximate the nutritional information as best we can, Lee. This recipe has the whole chicken divided into 4 servings with each serving using about 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce (though you may not end up using that much). Our service has a whole 3.5lb. chicken with skin being 3400 calories.
Thank you,This was such a great dinner for me and my husband , great air fry recipe nice not having to turn on the oven, Thank you again 😊
So happy that you both enjoyed, Angie!
My family loved it, great air fryer recipe! Thanks
You’re welcome, Renita! Glad you loved it.
Looks really delicious and will try it soon since I just got my air fryer oven 😊
Fantastic, Angela! We’ve found so many great uses for the air fryer!
Love you and loooovvvveeee this recipe simple delicious!!😁
Thank you so much, Chris!