Air fried chicken leg quarters are the best. Not only are they super affordable but you get a thigh and drumstick in one serving – nice juicy flavorful meat!
I hadn’t had chicken leg quarters in years, until I noticed how often they go on sale in my grocery store. I bought a big bag of them this one time and didn’t regret it. They’re really meaty and remind me of the kinds of meals my mom made when I was growing up.
Chicken leg quarters are usually sold with the skin on. If you don’t want the skin, you have two options that I’ll walk you through below.
Want To Save This Recipe?
Enter your email address & I’ll send this recipe straight to your inbox to save for later! Plus, you’ll get new recipe ideas from me every week!
Video: Air Fryer Chicken Legs
How To Remove Skin From Chicken Leg Quarters
If your chicken leg quarters have skin on them, as most of them do, and you want to remove it, you have two options.
Option 1: Remove the skin before cooking. With leg quarters, the skin is often attached pretty firmly in a couple places and it can be tough to get off just by pulling. I grip the skin at the edge of the thigh end and pull it off as much as I can. Anywhere that I run into trouble and find that it’s stuck to the meat or bone, I use clean kitchen shears (these are essentially just sharp scissors) to snip it off.
Option 2: Cook the chicken with the skin on, as instructed below. Then let it rest for 2 minutes before using your fingers to pull off the skin. It will come off super easily. If it happens to be stuck somewhere, go in with those kitchen shears as above. Just make sure the shears are clean and have not had contact with raw chicken.
How to choose between option 1 and 2? I prefer option 2 because it’s easier and because you get the flavor and some juice from the skin dripping onto the chicken meat as it cooks. This adds moisture and flavor but doesn’t add much in the way of fat.
But here’s a warning… that skin is going to be plentiful and crispy and seriously delicious. If I pull it off at this point, I tend to eat it. If you don’t want that temptation, remove the skin and discard it before cooking the chicken. If you have better willpower than I do, go ahead and remove it after cooking.
How To Cook Chicken Leg Quarters In The Air Fryer
To start, coat the chicken leg quarters in a little bit of oil. Do this whether or not the chicken has skin on it. I use olive oil in an oil sprayer like this one. I love it because I can fill it with my own olive oil, making it much cheaper and more convenient than canned cooking spray. Also, the sprayer works great. I’ve had mine for years!
Next, season the chicken with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Go in with different seasonings if you’d like, but make sure to include salt.
Put the chicken leg quarters into the air fryer basket skin-side-down (or more-rounded-side-down if they’re skinless) and cook them for 20 minutes. Flip them. My air fryer has a non-stick basket so I use tools that are non-metal and thus won’t scratch and ruin the surface. I turn to these kinds of silicone-coated tongs for this. After flipping them, you’re going to cook them until they reach 165°F inside, as read on an instant read thermometer. It will take 10-12 more minutes.
Finally, you take the chicken out of the basket (use those silicone tongs again) and let it rest for 2 minutes before serving.
Grab and knife and fork and dig in for a hearty and delicious piece of chicken!
Podcast Episode: Air Frying Chicken
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly 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.
PrintAir Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe
Air fried chicken leg quarters are the best. Not only are they super affordable but you get a thigh and drumstick in one serving – nice juicy flavorful meat!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 chicken leg quarters with skin* (one pound each)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil (or use olive oil sprayer)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Remove chicken leg quarters from refrigerator.
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F.
- Coat chicken on all sides with olive oil.
- Sprinkle on all sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder.
- Put chicken in air fryer basket, skin-side-down, in a single layer. The two chicken quarters should not overlap. Cook 20 minutes.
- Flip chicken and cook until 165°F on an instant read thermometer, 10-12 more minutes. It could take longer depending on your brand of air fryer so do check with the thermometer and cook longer if needed.
- Remove from basket and let rest at least 2 minutes before serving.
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
*For skinless chicken leg quarters, use the exact same method. Nothing needs to be changed except put them in rounded-side-down (that’s the side that would have had the skin on it if it had skin).
This post originally appeared in September 2019 and was revised and republished in November 2022.
Lisa Jenkins says
I love my air fryer
anton says
no where do you list the cooking temperature only pre heat for 5 min at 400????? so I have to assume! the cooking temp is 400??? I have been online with many websites not listing in the instructions time And Temperature
Christine Pittman says
Yes, you preheat to the temperature you want to cook at, Anton. So, while the air fryer is heating to 400, you’re seasoning the chicken. Then cook, still at 400F, for 20 minutes, flip and cook an additional 10-12 minutes.
Amy says
Thank you for this recipe, Christine! – just what I was looking for!
One question though [I’m an air-frying newbie!] . . . My air-fryer has a ‘roast’ option. Should I use this or just stick with ‘air-fry’?
Help appreciated!
Amy
Christine Pittman says
All of our air fryer recipes have been tested with the ‘air fry’ function at the temperatures listed unless otherwise noted. I know some models have all sorts of cook settings, and the differences can be confusing, Amy. My understanding is the roast function is circulating the hot air less, which could affect the timing for our recipes. If you experiment, please report back!
Linda Sue Pinkston says
love Love chicken quarters because that is the best part of the chicken to me. thank you so very much
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Linda!
JESSE says
Easy. Juicy. Tasty.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Jesse!
Angela Ishcomer says
This recipe is super easy and the chicken came out juicy and with loads of flavor this is how I’m baking chicken from now on
Christine Pittman says
Thank you, Angela!
Lorna says
200 * is Celsius….. Same ad 400* farenheit
Claudia Marie Edouard says
My air fryer only goes to 200degrees so how long should I cook my Maryland
Christine Pittman says
Only 200 degrees Fahrenheit? What kind of air fryer do you have? If it’s in Celsius that’s almost 400°F so you can follow the recipe given. At 200°F, it would be a very slow cook to get them to the safe internal temperature of 165°F, likely 2.5 – 3 hours.
Carrie Thompson says
I also like to use One and Done spice or Lemon Pepper on my chicken.
Carrie Thompson says
I do not have a basket only 2 wire racks. Do I put 1 leg quarter on each rack and place them in the oven, or put 2 quarters on one rack . I have a ProAir small Air Fryer.
Christine Pittman says
I’m not familiar with that type of air fryer, Carrie. The ones we use have a basket, explained here – https://www.hotairfrying.com/models/basket-type-air-fryers/ I would see if your model has any tips or instructions. If there’s room for both on one rack without them overlapping, I would think that would be fine.
Donna C says
Last 10 min brush with BBQ sauce, also in the beginning sprinkle with lemon pepper for a different taste.. enjoy the difference tastes.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for sharing with us, Donna. Enjoy!
Eva Alexander says
I don’t need an air fryer! I have a brand new induction/convection oven! It the same as an air fryer. I use a bbq grill basket w/ a cookie sheet on the shelf below & it works great! The chicken was perfect!
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for sharing with us, Eva! Yum!
Violeta says
My air fryer fits 2 quarter legs. I followed the 4 instructions, spray and season, time and temperature and it came out perfect. My daughter was really happy. It was yummy……Thank you!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Violeta! So happy you enjoyed.
Renee Sikes says
Frozen from refrig ok? In refugee overnight but still seems frozen?
Christine Pittman says
Renee, I’m not sure, to be honest. In the regular oven frozen chicken takes about 1.5 times as long as thawed chicken so you could try that. I’m concerned that the high-intensity heat of the air fryer could burn the outside though. If you try it, please come back and let us know how it turned out.
Deborah says
Cooked this tonight. Chicken cooked perfect. My cooker holds three quarters and they were all fine.
Christine Pittman says
Thank you! So happy you enjoyed, Deborah!
Michelle says
Made this last night according to recipe. The chicken did not cook in the 32 minutes. 😞
Christine Pittman says
Michelle, how long did yours take?
Victoria Haneveer says
Same question from me!
Christine says
I have the smaller air fryer. I can only cook one quarter at a time – which is perfect as it’s just me. Is the cook time the same ? There is no preheating on the smaller Dash air fryer
Christine Pittman says
The time should be the same, Christine. Enjoy!
Suzi says
I’m a novice. I read to preheat to 400°. But what temperature do I cook at to reach 165° internal temperature? Sorry. I’m sure it’s silly to you. But I’m looking at 4 leg quarters my husband bought and I want to get it right for the fam! 😊
Christine Pittman says
No problem, Suzi. They’ll be cooked at 400 degrees, and should reach 165 internal by the end of the recommended cook time. We always like checking with a meat thermometer to make sure it’s reached a safe temperature for eating. You can learn more about cooking chicken in the air fryer here – https://thecookful.com/how-to-cook-chicken-in-the-air-fryer/
Monica N Janello says
My main comment is just that the recipe cook time says 20 minutes, but if we flip after 20 minutes then cook for an additional 10-12, shouldn’t the cook time say 30-32 minutes?
Christine Pittman says
You’re right, Monica, thanks for catching that! We’ve edited the cook time to the correct 30 minutes.