This air fryer blackened chicken breast is deep in spicy flavor and takes just 15 minutes to cook.
Why buy Tyson’s blackened chicken breast strips when you can make your own at home in 15 minutes!
These air fried blackened chicken are tender, full of flavor and takes almost no prep time to get on the table.
There are many ways to cook blackened chicken, on the stovetop, grill or oven, however today, I will be showing you how to make blackened chicken breasts in the air fryer.
This recipes takes this classic Cajun dish and makes it just that little bit easier and healthier by using your trusty airfryer!
What is Blackened Chicken
Blackened chicken is a super delicious dish of Cajun origin.
Unlike the name suggests, this doesn’t involve burning the chicken at all. The ‘blackened’ nature of the chicken comes from the spice mix that the chicken breasts are rubbed in. This special mix gives the meat a deep brown color flavourful crust as well as a rich flavor.
A blackening spice mix consists of:
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Cumin
- Onion granules
- Garlic granules
- Cayenne pepper
This combination is incredibly flavorful. You can buy this mix premade at certain grocery stores but I love making my own at home. Once you’ve bought all the ingredients you can make so many batches from that one shop that it ends up being great value for money.
Why you will love this recipe
Once you’ve tasted this dish you will understand why I’m such a big fan of it! I use this blackening mix for so many dishes because its just that good! Chicken and shrimp are probably my favorite proteins to use blackening spices.
Here are a few reasons you are going to love this recipe:
- Quick: The cook time for this dish is only 18 minutes but thats all hands off time for you. The prep is very fast and effortless with the air fryer doing the rest of the work.
- Healthy: Chicken breasts are a nice lean meat and air frying it is a very healthy cooking technique so this makes it extra healthy without compromising on flavor and texture.
- Cheap: As I mentioned above, once you’ve invested in the dried herbs and spices, this dish is really affordable and great for cooking on a budget.
- Flavorful: This spice mix is killer and elevates a simple chicken breast to a mouthwatering, flavorful dish that you will crave.
What You Will Need
Boneless skinless chicken breast: substitute with chicken thighs but you will to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Avocado oil: substitute with olive oil or any other cooking oil of choice
Lemon wedge to serve
Blackened chicken seasoning ingredients
- Smoked paprika
- Dried Oregano
- Dried thyme
- Ground cumin
- Onion granules
- Garlic granules
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Breast
Preheat the air fryer to 400F /200C
Make the blackened chicken seasoning: add all the ingredients to a shallow bowl and mix to combine.
Prep the chicken: pat dry with a kitchen towel and remove any excess fat if desired. Pound the chicken breast flat with a meat mallet at the thickest part so that they all have similar sizes.
Brush avocado oil lightly on the chicken on both sides.
Place the oiled chicken in the seasoning and press it into the seasoning until fully coated. Flip and repeat this process and make sure every part of chicken is well coated.
Brush the air fryer basket lighty with avocado oil
Carefully place the chicken breast in the air fryer basket and spray lightly with an oil spray
Cook the blackened chicken breast for 15-18 minutes (depending on the size) or until the internal temperature measures 165F /74C
Remove the chicken from the air fryer and transfer to a plate so the the residual heat from the air fryer basket does not continue to cook the chicken
Rest the chicken for at 5 minutes before cutting into it so that the juice can redribute back into the chicken.
Serve and enjoy.
What to serve with air fryer blackened chicken
One of the things I love about this blackened chicken recipe is that it can be used in so many ways!
If you want to serve this chicken breast whole then I suggest serving it with some rice and a side salad. They taste great with some sweet potato fries. A whole breast is also super delcious on a roll with some spicy mayo, lettuce, and tomato.
I also like chopping the chicken breasts into pieces and using them as protein in a salad.
How to Store Your Blackened Chicken
Storage: Allow the chicken breasts to come to room temperature before storing in an airtight container. I love using these leftovers to make really flavorful chicken toasted sandwiches.
Reheating: Place the chicken breasts in your preheated airfryer and heat for a few minutes until warmed the whole way through.
Freezing: This dish is great for freezing! To save space, I like to freeze the chicken breasts in Ziploc bags with the date on them. They can be frozen for up to 6 months.
FAQs
Is blackened chicken spicy
Blackened chicken is a spicy dish, as many Cajun dishes are. This recipe contains both cayenne pepper and smoked paprika, which adds some spice to this dish. If you want to make this dish spicier, you can add more of these two ingredients or some dried chillies.
Is air fryer blackened chicken healthy
This recipe is relatively healthy because of the cut of meat I’ve chosen and the cooking method.
Chicken breast is a very lean meat, which is a great way to get in your protein in a healthy way. By choosing to cook this lean cut in the air fryer, I’ve managed to eliminate the oil that would usually be used to cook this dish. That’s why, overall, this is a very healthy dish.
Does blackened mean grilled
This is a common misconception that I am going to clear up for you.
When chicken gets black marks on it from the grill, its purely from the flames and bars of the grill. The term ‘blackened’ however refers to a specific spice mix that we discussed above.
What I like to do is combine the two! You can use the same blackening spice mix to the chicken and then cook it on a grill. It will then get added bar marks that contribute an extra smoky flavor.
More air fryer chicken recipes to try next
Airfryer Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Jalapeno popper stuffed chicken in air fryer
Air fryer bake 'N shake chicken
Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Breast
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1lb about 1lb (450g)
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- Lemon wedge to serve
Blackened chicken seasoning ingredients
- 1 ½ Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried hyme
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ Tablespoon onion granules
- ½ Tablespoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or use as desired
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400F /200C
- Make the blackened chicken seasoning: add all the ingredients to a shallow bowl and mix to combine.
- Prep the chicken: pat dry with a kitchen towel and remove any excess fat if desired
- Brush avocado oil lightly on the chicken on both sides. Pound the chicken breast flat with a meat mallet at the thickest part so that they all have similar sizes.
- Place the oiled chicken in the seasoning and press it into the seasoning until fully coated. Flip and repeat this process and make sure every part of chicken is well coated.
- Brush the air fryer basket lighty with avocado oil
- Carefully place the chicken breast in the air fryer basket and spray lightly with an oil spray
- Cook the blackened chicken breast for 15-18 minutes (depending on the size) or until the internal temperature measures 165F /74C
- Remove the chicken from the air fryer and transfer to a plate so the the residual heat from the air fryer basket does not continue to cook the chicken
- Rest the chicken for at 5 minutes before cutting into it so that the juice can redribute back into the chicken. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
And there you have it, a simple and delicious air fryer chicken recipe you can make at home in 15 minutes. As always, if you made this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Kindly rate the recipe 5 star and leave me feedback in the comment section below. Tag me @cheapchickenrecipes on Instagram and save it away to your Pinterest or make it on Tiktok. Please subscribe to the blog if you haven’t for free new recipes in your inbox every week.
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