My Foolproof, Fast Way to Crispy, Juicy “Fried” Chicken (Without Deep Frying)

Why It Works

Brining the chicken in a combination of pickle juice, buttermilk, and seasonings creates meat that is flavorful and ultra-juicy.
A mixture of wheat flour and rice flour with a bit of baking powder in the dry dredge guarantees an extra-crispy coating.
Adding a small amount of brine to the dry coating creates little lumps that lead to a craggy fried-chicken exterior.
Lightly coating the dredged chicken with cooking spray ensures an evenly browned and crisp “fried” exterior without nearly as much oil as traditional deep frying.

I grew up mainly in North Carolina and a little bit in Louisiana, and although I’ve lived in the Northeast for nearly 30 years, I still miss the truly excellent fried chicken you get in the South—perfectly juicy, extra crispy, flavorful-in-every-bite fried chicken is just too hard to come by up here. And, sure, I could make my own, but deep frying in my studio apartment was a one-and-done event for me. When your kitchen doubles as your living room and bedroom, the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t often fall on the “deep fry it!” side.

Lucky for me—and all fried chicken lovers—you can make a great version of fried chicken in your air fryer, no vat of oil required, thanks to this air-fryer fried chicken recipe created by our Birmingham, Alabama-based test kitchen colleague Marianne Williams. Read on to learn how, through numerous tests and tweaks, Williams made a recipe that delivers air-fryer “fried” chicken that’s juicy and full of flavor on the inside and super-crispy on the outside, then use our tips and the full recipe below to create it in your own kitchen.

While the recipe is written for a combination of bone-in and skin-on breasts and thighs, you can make this recipe with whatever chicken pieces you prefer: skin-on or skinless, bone-in or boneless, breasts, thighs, or other parts. (Though if you are going with boneless and skinless meat, we recommend choosing thighs, which stay juicier than breasts.) This recipe is written to serve six people and must be cooked in two batches; however, it can be easily halved if you only want to serve two or three people. I like it with Southern sides like cornbread or buttermilk biscuits, stewed green beans or okra, and mac and cheese.

Serious Eats / Jen Causey

5 Tips for Marking the Best Southern Fried Chicken in the Air Fryer

Lock in flavor and juiciness with a buttermilk-pickle brine. Soaking the chicken in a combination of egg, buttermilk, and pickle juice, along with hot sauce for a little kick and honey for a touch of sweetness, ensures the meat is seasoned throughout with both salt and a touch of acidity. The salt and acid not only add flavor but also lock in juiciness—thanks to salt’s ability to prevent proteins from releasing too much water during cooking and acid’s natural tenderizing effects. We normally don’t recommend marinating for more than a few hours (most flavors outside of salt and acid don’t penetrate far into the meat, and most acids can turn meat mushy if left on it for too long), but this marinade can be allowed to work its magic up to overnight, since the lactic acid in the brine is gentler on meat than other acids.
Pat the chicken dry after marinating. While you normally don’t pat chicken dry after a buttermilk brine and before dredging, since the wetness can help the dredge to adhere, but in this case drying the chicken helps a ton with getting a crispy crunchy exterior in the air fryer. Too much moisture can lead to soggy fried chicken.

Add rice flour to the dry dredge. Cutting the wheat flour with rice flour improves the crispness and texture of the final coating. This is because wheat flour contains gluten-forming proteins, which can lead to excessive toughness. A more pure starch like rice flour mixed in reduces the total amount of those gluten-forming proteins, while still providing starch to absorb moisture. The final result is a light, crunchy coating that resists sogginess. (Baking powder is also added to the dredge for similar toughness-fighting benefits.)
Generously season the dry dredge. One complaint I have about a lot of the fried chicken you get outside of the South is that even if the coating is adequately crispy (a big if), it’s often bland and underseasoned. Williams solves this by spiking the dry dredge with not only adequate salt but also onion powder, granulated garlic, and smoked paprika, which give the crunchy exterior a robust flavor.
Use oil smartly. While you need significantly less oil in the air fryer than for deep frying, some oil is still necessary for achieving a crispy “fried” chicken texture. The first step is adding oil to the air-fryer basket (you’ll line it with foil first), which our testing revealed is an important step to ensure the chicken crisps where it’s in contact with the basket. Then you’ll use cooking spray to coat the chicken all over before frying, creating something like a micro-layer of oil in which the chicken can “fry.” Don’t hold back here: You want to spray the oil all over the chicken pieces until no dry flour is visible.

Cook it at the right temperature. Williams tested air frying the chicken at various temperatures to arrive at the “Goldilocks” spot of 380°F (193°C). Any cooler, and the chicken will not be crispy enough; however, going hotter will likely result in overbrowning and burning before the meat is fully cooked through.

Serious Eats / Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly , Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle

Editor’s Note

This recipe was developed by Marianne Williams; the headnote was written by Megan O. Steintrager. This recipe was originally published in June 2024.