Looking for an easy chicken recipe that will wow your husband? Wanting to put dinner on the table fast, without slaving away in the kitchen? You are in the right place. I got you.
Any time I hear anyone say “chicken is the easiest protein to cook” I want to scream.
Because for me, for years, it was the hardest.
Any time I tried to roast, bake or pan-fry chicken breasts, they came out dry and tough and overall just terrible.
I spent the first few years of our marriage so stressed out over dinners–from creating meal plans to cooking the dish to serving the meal. All of it brought me so much anxiety because I couldn’t break free of this cycle of failure I felt so stuck in. Cooking a whole meal only for the star to come out inedible, time after time, will quickly suck the joy out of preparing dinner.
I gave up on cooking chicken any way other than boiled and shredded. It was the only method I could make it and be sure it would be edible. It wasn’t really enjoyable, especially for my husband who ranks shredded chicken at the bottom of his preferred ways to eat poultry. Eventually he just started grilling his own chicken for lunch and I tried to cook with other proteins. Somehow we survived.
Thankfully, my cooking skills did improve. It might’ve taken almost a decade, but we’re no longer eating tough, dry chicken.
Now we enjoy crispy, delicious, juicy chicken like this at least once a week.
There are two factors that helped me overcome my poultry problem.
- I stopped buying boneless skinless chicken breast.
- I started roasting my chicken in the air fryer.
So what kind of chicken should I buy?
My number one advice to a new homemaker with minimal kitchen experience: buy bone in, skin on chicken.
It’s much more flavorful. It’s generally cheaper. It’s harder to mess up and dry out.
Bone in, skin on chicken always kinda freaked me out. I grew up in a home where we only ever ate boneless, skinless. I grew up thinking not only was all the extra skin and bones yucky and inconvenient, but that the extra fat on them was unhealthy. Oh how times have changed. The low fat mania of the 2000s was wild right?
My preferred cut of chicken is, get this… a whole chicken!
I know, I know. Roasting a whole chicken when you can’t even get a chicken breast right sounds intimidating. Let me tell you, it’s not. How I wish I could go back 7 years and tell myself to stop wasting money on boneless skinless chicken breasts and start buying whole chickens to roast.
A whole bird is my favorite cut of chicken to work with because it is so so so simple. You can dry brine it, you can soak it in buttermilk, you can stuff it with aromatics. Or you can literally just throw some of your preferred seasonings and a little baking powder and bam you’re ready to roast.
Pro Tip: when roasting a whole chicken, you’ll have leftover meat and leftover bones. Use the leftover meat for another dinner this week. Save the carcass and bones for bone broth.
Chicken leg quarters are a close runner up, but any bone-in skin on chicken will work for the method I’m about to show you.
How do I make an easy chicken dinner that tastes great?
You are in the right place. I’ve failed spectacularly so you don’t have to.
First things first, you need an air fryer.
Don’t have one? Order one.
Yes it is 100% a necessary kitchen appliance if you want to cook more from scratch but you’re short on time.
Shop deals on Amazon Warehouse, check your Costco for the Death Star clearance deals, scope out Facebook marketplace. Get you an air fryer.
I have this one currently and it’s amazing. I also have this multicooker, which is how I broke into air frying. Get whatever works for you, whatever makes sense for your family in terms of functionality, finances and space.
Got your air fryer? Let’s go.
You’re going to preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees F.
Season your chicken.
I like to keep it simple. I typically use smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little salt + pepper.
Occasionally I will change it up, and use either a clean pre-packed seasoning blend or a homemade spice mix. That’s the beauty of roasting chicken, you can customize the flavors to the meal you’re wanting to serve.
Get inspired here.
Once you’ve seasoned your chicken and the air fryer is preheated, pop your cuts in skin side down. If you’re roasting a whole bird, I place it breast side down.
Flip chicken halfway through.
For whole birds, in my air fryer, it takes about 20 minutes each side to reach an internal temp of 165 F.
For leg quarters, thighs, and drums, times will vary. I start with 10 min on the first side, check temperature and add 5-10 minutes on the other side.
Every air fryer heats a little differently, so it might take some playing around with but you will find your groove in no time.
Add a side or two, and there you go. That’s dinner.
Our go to is air-fried diced ranch potatoes and oven-roasted asparagus. You can find our favorite chicken dinner combos here.
I hope this helps you. Feel free to comment below or reach out on instagram if you have questions!
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