Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

Air Fryer chicken drumsticks offer crispy skins and tender, juicy meat. This family friendly main dish is fast and easy, ready in less time than it takes to bake a tray of chicken legs.

If you aren’t using your air fryer to make chicken, you are missing out!

When you use it to make things like these air fryer chicken drumsticks, you get that really crisp skin that you would get with a deep fryer.

But you don’t have to go through the hassle of heating up a pot of oil to get that result.

And when you make the chicken legs in the air fryer, it also cooks the chicken drumsticks much faster than the oven.

Plus if you are following this recipe in the warmer months, you don’t have to heat up your oven to get a family friendly dinner on the table.

And this is so family friendly!

These air fryer chicken drumsticks have a crispy outside, tender inside, and a mix of poultry seasoning, garlic, and salt and pepper that makes them appealing to picky eaters.

Plus the neutral seasoning, means you can pair them with any side you want!

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Here’s what you need for air fryer chicken drumsticks:

• Chicken Drumsticks – If you have not gotten that we are cooking chicken drumsticks by now, well, we don’t know how much more we can help you. The big thing to keep in mind here is you’ll only be able to cook about 4 to 8 drumsticks at a time, depending on the size of your air fryer. We based our ingredients on having 6 drumsticks.
• Baking Powder – When sprinkled on chicken drumsticks, baking powder helps the skin get even crispier. Do not, under any circumstances, swap in baking soda… unless you really hate the people who will be eating the drumsticks, then go right ahead and see what happens.
• Seasonings – We use some basic seasonings that include salt, garlic powdder, poultry seasoning blend, and black pepper. If you want different flavors, you can add other spices to mix it up a bit.
• Olive Oil – The small amount of olive oil will help with giving the skin on the drumsticks a crispier texture.

You can use whatever air fryer brand and size you have on hand. You may also want to get some tongs to help with flipping and serving the chicken drumsticks.

How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

1. Prep the chicken drumsticks.

Pat the drumsticks dry with a paper towel. Removing excess moisture helps them get crispy.

Place the drumsticks on a large plate or in a bowl.

Drizzle about half the olive oil on top of the drumsticks and then sprinkle about half the seasonings and baking powder on top.

Use tongs to flip the drumsticks and then top with more seasoning and olive oil.

If you feel like you want more seasoning, you can add more now and toss again to coat.

2. Fry the drumsticks.

Place the drumsticks into the basket of your air fryer, making sure they do not touch or overlap.

You want the air to read every part of each drumstick.

When they touch, air cannot reach each part of the drumstick.

Set the air fryer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Fry for 8 minutes, flip the drumsticks, and fry for an additional 8 minutes.

3. Serve the drumsticks.

When the timer goes off, you may want to check to make sure they are done.

The skins should be a general golden brown with some pulling away from the bone.

To be absolutely sure, you can use a meat thermometer to see if the internal temperature has reached 170 degrees F.

Once done, plate with your favorite sides and enjoy.

Serving Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

Air fryer chicken drumsticks pair well with a variety of different side dishes.

If you have an Instant Pot, you could serve it with basmati rice.

You also may like them with sweet potato fries or roasted broccoli and carrots.

Storing

You can make chicken drumsticks ahead if you like or easily store leftovers.

They do best when stored in an air tight container in the fridge.

They should last about 4 to 5 days in the fridge or about 3 months in the freezer.

To reheat, you can use the reheat button your air fryer or the microwave.

You can also warm them in the oven.

Freezing Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

These are totally freezer friendly!

Just let them cool to room temperature and put them in a freezer safe, ziplocking bag.

Freeze them for up to 3 months.

Tips and Tricks

• Leave space in between each drumstick. If you have a smaller air fryer and a lot of drumsticks to make, you will need to make several batches. You can keep done air fried drumsticks in a warm oven.
• Do not use baking soda as a substitute for baking powder. It has a terrible taste. Baking powder has minimal to no taste and will help add crispiness to the skins.
• You can use non-stick cooking spray as a sub for olive oil to help cut down on calories and oil used.
• Add only small amounts of time if the chicken drumsticks do not fully cook in the alotted time to help prevent burning the chicken.

Did you make this? Let me know!

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