Perfectly Crispy Honey-Garlic Fried Chicken

Every time I have made this air fried honey-garlic chicken, everyone always asks me for the 1 recipe. It really is something special and incredibly delicious. It is impressive looks like it takes hours to make. But in less than 45 minutes, you will have crunchy and delicious fried chicken worthy of impressing anyone.

Every time I have made this air fried honey-garlic chicken, everyone always asks me for the 1 recipe. It really is something special and incredibly delicious. It is impressive looks like it takes hours to make. But in less than 45 minutes, you will have crunchy and delicious fried chicken worthy of impressing anyone.

Now, what makes this recipe so special is that we are cooking it in an air fryer! I recently got an air fryer and I have to say I have been having a lot of fun playing with it. It is truly amazing how quickly and easily everything cooks in the air fryer.

I like to use chicken thighs when making this recipe because this cut of the chicken is a lot more flavorful than the breast. The chicken thighs will also stay more tender and juicy than chicken breasts would. It’s up to you whether you want to use boneless, skinless or bone-in thighs. If you do go with bone-in thighs, you would have to increase the cooking time from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

Don’t have an air fryer? Different ways to make crispy honey-garlic chicken:

To cook the chicken on the stove top: First, you can follow all the steps for seasoning and breading the chicken. Then you want to fry them using ghee, or vegetable oil. Then finish the chicken with the honey garlic sauce.
To cook the chicken in the oven: Again, follow all the steps for seasoning and breading the chicken. Then, place the chicken on a cooling rack atop a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil paper. Spray each piece of chicken with avocado oil spray and Bake the chicken at 400˚F for 35-40 minutes (flipping half way through) or until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown.

Now I know you’re ready for this recipe so let’s jump into it.

Try serving with cilantro roasted vegetables, cauliflower rice, or cauliflower mash.

Let’s Get Cooking

Crispy Air Fryer Honey-Garlic Chicken

Comforting and delicious crispy chicken thighs cooked in the air fryer and finished with a rich honey-garlic sauce.

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Comforting and delicious crispy chicken thighs cooked in the air fryer and finished with a rich honey-garlic sauce.

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Prep Time:10 mins

Cook Time:25 mins

Total Time:35 mins

Yields:4 Serves

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Ingredients

1.2
lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into quarters if you want them to be bite size)
1/2
tsp. smoked paprika
1/4
tsp. sea salt
1/2
tsp. garlic powder
1/2
tsp. grated ginger
1/4
tsp. korean pepper flakes
3
tbsp. full fat coconut milk
1
tbsp. arrowroot flour
avocado oil spray
sesame seeds for garnish
DRY MIX:
1
cup crispy fried onions
1/3
cup arrowroot starch/flour
1/2
tsp. smoked paprika
1/4
tsp. ground turmeric
a pinch of sea salt
SAUCE:
1
tbsp. avocado oil
2
garlic cloves -finely minced
3
tbsp. coconut aminos
2
tbsp harissa sauce or chili garlic paste
3
tbsp. raw honey raw honey

Instructions

To begin, pat the chicken thighs dry using a clean paper towel and transfer them to a bowl. Add the paprika, salt, garlic powder, ginger, Korean pepper flakes, to the bowl, and toss to coat all the chicken. At this point, you can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes in the fridge. Now, add coconut milk and arrowroot starch/flour to the bowl with the chicken. Use your hands to toss and coat the chicken. Set the chicken aside and move on to the next step.
Put the crispy fried onions into a food processor and pulse until it is coarsely ground. Add the ground crispy onions to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients needed for the dry mix.
Now press each piece of chicken into the dry mix and make sure each piece is well coated with the dry mix. Transfer the chicken to the air fryer pan in a single layer (if your air fryer isn’t large enough to cook all the chicken at once, cook the chicken in batches). Press the menu button on the air fryer to select the chicken icon. Then set the air fryer to 370˚F and the time to 10 minutes. Flip the chicken and continue to cook the chicken for another 10 minutes.
While the chicken cooks, move on to making the sauce. Heat the avocado oil in a pan and add the garlic. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until it’s tender (do not burn the garlic) lower the heat if need be. Now, stir in the coconut aminos and harissa sauce and cook for about 30 seconds. Now add the honey and stir to combine all the flavors. Continue to cook the sauce until the edges start to foam. Remove the sauce from the heat and brush it all over the chicken.
Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the chicken and serve over cauliflower rice with roasted vegetables, or inside of a bun with grilled onions and a creamy dressing.

Notes

If you don’t have an Air Fryer:

To cook the chicken on the stove top: First, you can follow all the steps for seasoning and breading the chicken. Then you want to pan or deep fry them using ghee, or vegetable oil. Then finish the chicken with the honey garlic sauce.
To cook the chicken in the oven: Again, follow all the steps for seasoning and breading the chicken. Then, place the chicken on a cooling rack atop a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil paper. Spray each piece of chicken with avocado oil spray and Bake the chicken at 400˚F for 35-40 minutes (flip the chicken half way through cooking) or until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown. Then finish with the honey garlic sauce.