Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
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These 5-ingredient Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks couldn’t be easier and turn out moist and delicious every time. Not only are they gluten-free and dairy-free, but they work great as a make-ahead freezer meal too. All ages love these.
Why You’ll Love Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
- Requires only 4 pantry ingredients to season the drumsticks.
- Using the air fryer results in crispy, moist, super flavorful chicken on the bone
- Can be doubled to freeze one batch for later to save time.
- Is gluten-free and dairy-free.
- Everyone in the family enjoys them! I love a kid-friendly freezer meal!.
Ingredients Needed
You only need chicken drumsticks and these few pantry ingredients to make this recipe:
- Salt
- Celery salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Poultry seasoning
- Avocado or olive oil
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
- In a small bowl, stir together salt, celery salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and poultry season.
- Pat drumsticks dry with paper towels. Use a paring knife or metal skewer to poke 10 to 15 holes in skin of each drumstick. Rub with oil and sprinkle evenly with spice mixture evenly on all sides and rub it in.
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Spread out the drumsticks in the air fryer basket, allowing for air circulation around each one. Air fry for 22-26 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy on outside and internal temp is 195°F. (It’s hard to dry these out, so air fry a few extra minutes if you prefer a crispier texture.)
Make It A Freezer Meal
When you combine the ease of the air fryer AND freezer cooking, you practically set yourself up for hands-free cooking. That’s because after you safely thaw your chicken, you can arrange them in the air fryer, push a button, and you’re done!
Freeze For Later: Follow Step 1. Place the seasoned chicken in a gallon-sized freezer bag or container in a single layer. Seal and freeze flat. Once it’s fully frozen, you can move the meal elsewhere in the freezer.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw completely in the refrigerator. Follow Steps 2-4.
Side Dish Ideas
Try some of our kid-friendly side dish favorites…
FAQs
Absolutely. This seasoning blend would be delicious on chicken thighs, chicken breast and wings.
Yes! We love a recipe that can be cooked multiple ways. We’ve written whole posts about these methods:
– Instant Pot Drumsticks
– Crockpot Drumsticks
We also have a great recipe for Crispy Baked Drumsticks in the oven.
Yes, this recipe is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.
What kind of air fryer do you use?
We both use the 6 quart Instant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer and highly recommend it.
Here’s what we love about it:
- America’s Test Kitchen said it’s #1 in their tests.
- Extra-large capacity. (I fit 12+ meatballs in it.)
- Wide drawer-style basket that is easy to remove and insert.
- The drawer and cooking rack are dish washer safe.
- Super easy to use digital controls.
- It cooks food to perfection!
Air Fryer Tips
Try these tips to get the best results when using an air fryer:
- Preheat your air fryer: Preheating your air fryer can help ensure that your food cooks evenly and becomes crispy.
- Use the right amount of oil: While air fryers require less oil than traditional frying methods, it is still important to use some oil to achieve a crispy texture. Use a small amount of oil (1-2 teaspoons) or cooking spray to coat your food before cooking.
- Don’t overcrowd the basket: It is important to leave some space between the food in the air fryer basket to ensure that the hot air can circulate around the food and cook it evenly.
- Shake the basket: Shaking the basket halfway through the cooking time can help ensure that your food cooks evenly on all sides.
- Use a meat thermometer: Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your food to ensure that it is cooked through and safe to eat.
- Experiment with cooking times and temperatures: Every air fryer is different, so it may take some trial and error to find the best cooking time and temperature for your favorite foods.
- Clean your air fryer regularly: Regular cleaning can help ensure that your air fryer operates at its best and that your food doesn’t pick up any off flavors or odors from previous cooking sessions.
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
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Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
These 5-ingredient Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks couldn’t be easier and turn out moist and delicious every time. Not only are they gluten-free and dairy-free but they work great as a make-ahead freezer meal too. All ages love these.
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 4–6 chicken drumsticks
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or olive oil
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Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together salt, celery salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and poultry season.
- Pat drumsticks dry with paper towels. Use a paring knife or metal skewer to poke 10 to 15 holes in skin of each drumstick. Rub with oil and sprinkle evenly with spice mixture evenly on all sides and rub it in.
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Spread out the drumsticks in the air fryer basket, allowing for air circulation around each one. Air fry for 22-26 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy on outside and internal temp is 195°F. (It’s hard to dry these out, so air fry a few extra minutes if you prefer a crispier texture.)
Notes/Tips
- Tips for getting extra crispy drumsticks:
- Air fry a few minutes more if you’d like.
- Poke about 10 holes in the skin before cooking. Poking the holes helps the fat to render and the drumsticks to get crispier, per America’s Test Kitchen.
- Do not over pack the air fryer. (In my test, 3 drumsticks got crispier than 6 even though they weren’t touching in either test.)
- You can also make this as Crockpot Drumsticks or Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks.
- Where We Get Our Chicken: We get our meat from ButcherBox. The chicken is organic and curated from small, trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef–and have used it for years ourselves. Read Rachel’s honest review here.
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