9 Mistakes Everyone Makes When Air Frying Chicken

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Honestly, a lot of trendy kitchen appliances are just not worth the counter space they take up. But if you ask us, air fryers are here to stay: They're a great way to cook a wide variety of foods, and they can help you get a crispiness and texture that can otherwise be difficult to achieve. But one of our all-time favorite ingredients to cook in the air fryer? Chicken. Whether you're making crispy chicken wings that are destined to be tossed in buffalo sauce, or you just want a more interesting way to prepare chicken breast, the air fryer has you covered.

However, you may have found that your air fryer chicken doesn't always turn out how you want it to. In that case, it's important to figure out where you made a mistake and how to fix it next time. That's why we consulted with Rena Awada, owner, head chef, food blogger, and content creator at Healthy Fitness Meals, Clare Andrews, air fryer expert and bestselling author of "The Ultimate Air Fryer Cookbooks," Emmy Clinton, recipe developer and founder of Entirely Emmy, and Kristen Carli, MS, RD dietitian from WOWMD, to learn about the most common mistakes people make when air frying chicken. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can ensure more delicious chicken-based air fryer meals from here on out.

Have you ever put chicken in your air fryer expecting that it would come out nice and crispy, only to open the lid/drawer and discover that you basically had a huge pile of steamed chicken? Or even worse, chicken that's nearly burnt in some places and raw in others? We've been there too, and it's a big bummer if that's not the kind of texture you were going for. It's also a really common mistake when it comes to making chicken in the air fryer, according to Rena Awada of Healthy Fitness Meals.

"Without enough space between the pieces, air circulation is compromised, leading to unevenly cooked chicken," explains Awada. If your pieces of chicken are touching too closely — or even worse, if they're actually piled on top of each other in a heap — you're liable to end up with an unfortunate result. Luckily, there's an easy way to make sure your chicken cooks through perfectly in the air fryer and that it has just the kind of crispy texture you're going for. "Air-fry the chicken in smaller, more manageable batches so each piece has enough room to cook evenly," instructs Awada.

Air fryers are known for making food crisp up nicely in a way that would be more difficult to manage in an oven or through other cooking methods. But that doesn't mean that an air fryer mistake can't result in soggy or simply not-that-crispy chicken. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when air frying chicken is forgetting to pat the chicken dry before cooking, according to air fryer expert Clare Andrews. This super quick step may seem unnecessary, but it can make a difference in the texture of your finished chicken, and you may just be surprised with the results once you try it for yourself.

"Moisture on the surface can prevent browning and crispiness," explains Andrews. The solution, though, is a simple one: "Pat chicken dry with paper towels before seasoning or adding a coating." Doing so will help the chicken brown up better, and it'll create a richer, more complex flavor when it's finished cooking.

One of the reasons a lot of people are attracted to air fryers is the fact that you don't need to use as much oil to get your food nice and crispy. This can help you cut back on fat and calories in your food, which is a goal for some home cooks. However, some home cooks mistakenly assume that when you use an air fryer, you don't actually have to use any oil or fat at all. In reality, though, omitting the oil from your air fryer chicken recipe entirely can be a big mistake, per Emmy Clinton of Entirely Emmy.

"Oil allows the chicken to brown and crisp properly," she explains. But if you're still trying to cut back on your oil intake, you're in luck — you actually don't need a lot of oil to get the kind of crispy texture you're going for in your chicken dish. "Even if you're tossing the chicken in one teaspoon of olive oil before air-frying, you'll get a better brown and exterior to your chicken." The kind of oil you want to use depends on your preferences. Peanut oil, avocado oil, grapeseed, and light olive oil are all solid options.

When you're making a chicken recipe in the oven, you probably already assume that you're going to have to preheat the oven before you put the chicken in to cook. But a lot of people don't realize that you have to do the same thing when you're working with an air fryer. "Pre-heating an air fryer before putting your chicken inside is an important step," says Rena Awada, "yet many also make the mistake of skipping it. Be sure to pre-heat your air fryer to ensure the chicken cooking begins at the proper temperature."

Technically, it's not the end of the world if you don't remember to preheat your air fryer, but you may not get the textural results you're looking for if you skip this step. It makes a difference to preheat with dishes like chicken wings in particular because it'll help you get that crisp on the outside of the wing while keeping the inside moist and tender.

If there's one kind of food you don't want to undercook, it's chicken. Eating undercooked chicken can result in food poisoning from Salmonella, and that's definitely not a culinary experience you want to have. That's why, when it comes to chicken, it's so important to think about proper cook times. What you may not realize, though, is that the size of the pieces of chicken you're cooking in your air fryer will determine how long you need to cook them.

"Not adjusting for size or cut," says Clare Andrews, is a mistake that some home cooks make when air frying chicken. "Different cuts require different times and temperatures," she says. Whole chicken breasts, depending on size, may need to be cooked for about 20 minutes, while smaller chicken wings may only take around 15 minutes. The best way to ensure that your chicken is cooked through is to use a meat thermometer and make sure the interior of the chicken has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

One of the appeals of using an air fryer to make your chicken is the fact that it doesn't require a lot of hands-on cook time. If you're trying to prepare your chicken on the stove, you have to stand there the whole time, making sure it doesn't burn. But the air fryer is sort of a set-it-and-forget-it kind of situation ... or, mostly, at least. While you can pretty much just let the air fryer do its own thing, it's a mistake to forget to flip your chicken halfway through the cook time, says Kristen Carli of WOWMD. "Flipping the chicken part way through the cook time is essential for even cooking," she explains.

Flipping the chicken is important because it helps expose different parts of the food to the cooking element, which is what makes the chicken crispy. If you're working with a big cut of meat, like a chicken breast, you'll want to actually go into the air fryer with some tongs and give it a flip. On the other hand, if you're working with chunks of chicken, chicken nuggets, or small chicken wings, giving the basket a toss halfway through cook time also works.

The air fryer is great for making all kinds of chicken, but it works especially well for fried chicken. After all, fried chicken's hallmark is its crispy breading, and the air fryer just happens to crisp foods up exceptionally well. But just because this is a good method for making fried chicken doesn't mean it's not possible to make a mistake. According to Rena Awada, you should make sure you're not using too much breading or batter on your air-fried chicken.

"Instead of becoming crispy," she explains, "if you use excessive breading, it may get soggy." Yes, it's nice to have a thick layer of breading on your chicken if you're trying to create a seriously decadent dish, but overdoing it may result in a mess in your air fryer. "It is better to use a light coating of seasoned flour or breadcrumbs and spray the chicken lightly with oil to enhance crispiness," Awada instructs.

Sometimes, all it takes is a good chicken marinade to make your air fryer chicken come out tasting delicious. Other times, though, you may want to include a sauce to give your air-fried chicken an even bigger boost of flavor. Of course, buffalo sauce is a great option when it comes to chicken wings, while hot sauces can offer a bold heat that really makes your food pop. Even something as simple as soy sauce can take your air fryer chicken to a whole new level.

However, you're going to want to be careful about when you apply that sauce to your chicken, per Emmy Clinton. "Another common mistake is adding sauces to your chicken too soon," she says. Doing so can result in that sauce burning, giving your chicken an unpleasant, bitter flavor. "For best results," she suggests, "consider adding your sauces when you go to flip or shake the chicken (about halfway through cooking)." That way, the sauces will have enough time to seep into the chicken, but they won't be in the air fryer for so long that they just end up burning before your chicken is cooked all the way through.

We've already mentioned the fact that eating undercooked chicken could potentially result in food poisoning, which is why it's so important to ensure that your chicken is cooked all the way through when you make it in the air fryer (or really any other cooking method). At the same time, though, if you've ever had overcooked chicken before, then you know just how unpleasant it can be. Figuring out how to cook your chicken perfectly can be a struggle, since a few minutes under or over the ideal cook time can cause problems.

That's why it's a mistake not to use a meat thermometer when you're making chicken in the air fryer. "Cooking chicken for a certain amount of time and not checking the temperature is a great way to end up with chicken that is underdone or overdone," says Awada. You may think of a meat thermometer as something you only need when you're grilling big chunks of meat, but that's just not the case. Open your air fryer from time to time and use a meat thermometer in the thickest piece of the chicken to ensure that it's reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't let it go over this temperature by too much, or your chicken is likely to taste overcooked.