This easy Crispy Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Breast is perfect for busy weeknights! So tasty, crunchy, and healthy! Easily made gluten free!
Crispy air fryer breaded chicken breast
Because I love my air fryer. Maybe even more than my instant pot and my food processor combined. You can make air fryer buffalo cauliflower, air fryer potato chips and even crispy air fried fish in the air fryer. I even discovered you could make air fryer falafel and crispy air fryer brussels sprouts and it pretty much blew my mind. It’s even easier to make air fryer hard boiled eggs than boiling them in water!
Mine pretty much does not leave my counter top and use it ALMOST daily to make healthy air fryer recipes.
Especially because it creates these INSANELY juicy-on-the-inside, crispy on the outside air fryer chicken breasts that could not even be the least bit more simple, minimal-ingredients kind of weeknight dinner that the whole family will love! Think of it kind of like the air fryer chicken
raw chicken being flattened for Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Breast
Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Breast Ingredients
To make this dinner happen in your-person, food-eating life you will need similar ingredients to the air fryer gluten free chicken Parmesan. You’ll need:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil
Salt
Panko crumbs
Spices – seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and ground mustard
Cooking spray
That’s it! See? Pantry essential kinda goodness! If you didn’t want to bread it, you could just use seasonings like in my air fryer chicken tenders no breading.
Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Breast being breaded
How To Cook Breaded Chicken Breast In Air Fryer
FLATTEN
You want to use a meat mallet or rolling pin to flatten the chicken (like when I showed you how to grill chicken!) because this makes it cook evenly.
OIL
Once your chicken is flattened, dry it off well and then drizzle it with olive oil. This helps it get extra crispy and stay moist and tender!
MIX
Mix the panko and all the spices in a large Ziploc bag and then transfer to a shallow, rimmed plate.
BREAD
Sprinkle the chicken with a pinch of salt and then bread it by pressing it into the panko mixture, covering entirely and pressing the panko onto it.
COOK
Place the chicken into the mesh basket of your air fryer (after it has been pre-heating 10 minutes) making sure to leave some room between breasts. Spray it with cooking spray and cook at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Flip it, spray again and cook another 6-8 minutes until the panko is golden and an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees.
chicken breast in the air fryer cooked on a basket
How To Make It Gluten Free
If you are following a gluten free diet and still want to eat some air fryer fried chicken breast, simple sure certified gluten free panko breadcrumbs. I’ve used Ians and they would great – just make sure you use the unseasoned kind!
What To Serve With Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Breast?
Because the seasonings in this chicken are super simple, you can pretty much serve this with anything! Some of my favorite sides are:
Mediterranean Low Carb Broccoli Salad
Low Carb Mock Cauliflower Potato Salad
Cauliflower Tater Tots
Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan
It would even be delicious topped on your favorite salad for a little magical crunchy texture!
Seriously. Once you go air fried.
You’ll never go back.
Do I Need Oil To Air Fry My Chicken?
An air fryer is SO unique in that it is capable of creating crispy, flavorful food that tastes similar to deep fried food WITHOUT using a deep fryer! Not even air fryer chicken wings need to be deep fried! This air fryer chicken breast breaded recipe does call for a little bit of oil, but your food will not be saturated in oil like it is when deep fried.
FAQ
HOW LONG DO YOU COOK CHICKEN BREAST IN THE AIR FRYER?
These breaded chicken breasts will take about 15 minutes or so to cook in your air fryer. You will need to cook them on one side, then flip them and continue cooking on the other side until it’s done!
CAN YOU PUT RAW CHICKEN IN THE AIR FRYER?
Yes, you absolutely can! The air fryer will do all the cooking of the chicken directly in the air fryer.
DO YOU HAVE TO FLIP CHICKEN IN THE AIR FRYER?
Yes, I do recommend flipping your chicken in the air fryer approximately halfway through cooking them. This will ensure that everything is cooked evenly and nice and crispy, too!
Crispy Breaded Air Fryer Chicken Breast
INGREDIENTS
1 Lb Chicken breast
2 tsp Olive oil
Salt
1/2 Cup Panko (GF if needed)
2 tsp Seasoning salt
3 tsp Paprika
2 tsp Ground mustard powder
3 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp Onion powder
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees.
Place the chicken breast between two layers of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin or meat mallet to gentle press the chicken so it’s an even width throughout. Dry the chicken breasts off with paper towel.
Pour the oil onto the chicken (I do this right on the parchment) and rub all over, coating it equally. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl, shaking together. Pour onto a large rimmed plate.
Cover each of the chicken breasts well with the panko mixture, and then place onto the mesh basket of your air fryer, making sure to leave room between the breasts – they would not be touching.
Spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray and cook 8 minutes. Gently flip and cook another 6-8 minutes until the chicken is crispy and golden and an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit inserted into the chicken
