Make a baby roast chicken dinner with my simple How to Air Fry Chicken Leg Quarters recipe. Or chicken and chips. Or take the chicken off the bone and use it in soups, sandwiches or any other way your heart desires. What I’m saying is that chicken legs are super versatile and amazing air fried with perfectly crispy skin every time.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my Disclosures Page for more details.
It was a bit of an odd one naming this recipe because so many people use the term chicken leg when they’re actually referring to chicken drumsticks. But legs are technically the drumstick and the chicken thigh together. Which does make anatomical sense when you think about it!
But as this cut is also often sold cooked as a quarter chicken (looking at you Nandos), they are often referred to as leg quarters to distinguish them from the breast quarter of the chicken.
Chicken legs are pretty economical as far as cuts of chicken go. Especially as they are always sold with the bone in. This adds so much flavour as they’re cooking so shouldn’t be looked down on. I mentioned in my introduction that these chicken portions are great to make a really quick roast chicken dinner but they are infinitely versatile too.
The Best Air Fried Chicken Collection
Find all of my best air fryer chicken recipes in one easy place.
Featuring everything from how to air fry a whole chicken to cooking boneless breast, thigh and mini fillets to perfection and tasty bone-in cuts like drumsticks, leg quarters and wings too.
How to Serve
There are a myriad of ways to serve these chicken legs. You can keep them plain, seasoned only with sea salt, strip the cooked meat from the bones and then use them as meal prep. Or you can season them to match almost any world cuisine. And/or add a sauce or glaze in the final few minutes to add another flavour. Try some of my favourite ways to use them:
- Season with a dry jerk seasoning then serve with salad, fried plantains and garlic rice.
- Baste with piri piri sauce and serve up with a creamy coleslaw and air fried chips. Maybe add some garlic bread and even some spicy chicken wings and you’ve got the full Nando’s experience at home!
- Use olive oil with a mix of thyme, parsley, oregano and rosemary with garlic salt then serve atop a simple white risotto ir bowl of creamy pasta.
Ingredients
Chicken Legs
Despite the common everyday confusion between the terms legs and drumsticks, shops and butchers are pretty firm in their labeling of this cut as chicken legs. So there shouldn’t be any confusion there.
Look for legs that are a fair size and have a full covering of skin all the way over the drumstick and thigh.
I do generally find that there is often a little bit of trimming that I like to do before cutting. There can often be little shards of bone or cartilage left from where the chicken has been cut, especially when buying from a supermarket. This only takes a second to tidy up with a pair of scissors or sharp knife.
Oil
I like to use a neutral vegetable oil unless I am specifically wanting the flavour profile of something like olive oil.
Although chicken legs aren’t the leanest of cuts, the oil is still essential to stop the skin and meat from drying out before the internal fat has started rendering. It means that the skin gets extra crisp and the seasoning also has something to stick to.
Seasoning
I’ve kept things simple as usual and just used a mix of garlic salt and paprika. Whilst I say simple, this is actually incredibly flavourful and shouldn’t be sniffed at. But as long as you make sure to include salt in some way or another you can use any flavours you wish.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg, dairy, gluten and nuts.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How Long to Air Fry Chicken Leg Quarters
The chicken legs that I used were around 250g/9oz each which I would consider to be a fairly standard size for supermarket legs here in the UK. I mention the size and weight because of course this will affect the cooking time and so should be taken into account.
These legs cooked perfectly in a total of 25 minutes. 10 minutes with the skin side down and then a further 15 minutes with the skin side up. This ensures the most even cooking on a chunkier cut like this, especially when it is on the bone. And it ensures that the skin is perfectly cooked but not overly charred.
Smaller legs will cook a little quicker and larger legs may need more time.
How to Air Fry Chicken Legs From Frozen
Chicken legs cook surprisingly well from frozen – they don’t even need any additional cooking time.
To prepare them I suggest running the legs under the tap to make sure any surface ice crystals are removed. Then dry them thoroughly and you can continue to oil and season then cook them as normal.
If you are buying legs to freeze and anticipate cooking them from frozen, it is a good idea to spend a few minutes trimming them so they are truly ready to cook.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
Whether you cook more legs than you end up eating or if you are cooking the legs purposely for meal prep or as an ingredient in another dish, I do recommend stripping the meat from the bones whilst they are still warm. Not hot however as you’ll burn your fingers. This is harder to do when they’re fridge cold and you won’t be able to get as much meat off.
The meat can be stored in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for months. It can be used cold once it’s defrosted or added to dishes like soups and stews or stir frys while frozen.
To reheat the meat off the bone, I prefer to do this in the microwave with a drop of water to keep the meat juicy. If you want to reheat in the air fryer, loosely wrap the meat in some foil with a drop of water and air fry until piping hot. This will effectively steam it.
Common Air Fryer Questions – A Brief Guide to Air Frying
- What exactly is an air fryer?
- What are the benefits of using an air fryer?
- Are all air fryers the same?
- Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
- Do air fryers need to be pre-heated?
- What is the best temperature to air fry at?
- What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
- Can food be cooked from frozen in an air fryer?
- Can I reheat food in an air fryer?
- Are air fryer liners a good idea?
The Air Fried Feast Community
Come on over to Facebook and join my community discussing all things air fryer. Get involved in sharing your experiences and trials, help out others and find out what wonderful things everyone is cooking in their air fryers!
What Exactly is an Air Fryer?
Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.
What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?
Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.
Are all air fryers the same?
Nope! The term air fryer is now used very broadly. I consider there to be 4 main types:
Basket Air Fryers
These are what I would consider to be the most common, especially in the UK. A boxy type unit has a pull out drawer/basket. Food isn’t usually visible whilst cooking.
Some larger models have two drawers so different items can be cooked at different temperatures or for different times.
This is the type that you’ll see in the images in this recipe. I mostly use a Cosori Lite 3.8L (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal. It isn’t an overly expensive or fancy model.
I’ve also recommended to several friends and family the model with a slightly larger basket. This is the Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501) with a 4.7 litre basket. The unit is no larger than the 3.8 litre model on the outside but does have a larger internal basket capacity. I’ve since bought this version to use for some recipes where my smaller model was just too small. I’ll always note this in the recipe.
Rotary Air Fryers
Round air fryers with a paddle in the centre that rotates to move the food. This is the type I used for years – the most common is a Tefal Actifry.
Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.
My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.
Mini Oven Air Fryers
These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.
Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions
Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.
Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.
Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.
Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.
I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.
Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?
The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.
What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?
It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.
What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.
There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.
Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.
Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?
Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.
It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.
Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?
Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.
Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?
Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.
There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.
When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.
If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.
More Air Fryer Recipes
All my recipes with instructions for how to cook or bake them in the air fryer can be found in my Air Fryer Recipe Index.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
Pin How to Air Fry Chicken Leg Quarters For Later
Hit one of the share buttons to save this page to your Pinterest boards so you can come back and find it at anytime!
Keep Up to Date
Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter and avoid missing out on any of my newest and bonus content. Don’t worry, I promise not to spam you or bombard you too often. Plus you’ll receive a copy of my FREE 7 Day International Meal Plan!
Also please don’t forget to follow me over on my social media channels over at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. I love to interact with my followers and I’d love you to share my content with your friends too.
The Recipe
How to Air Fry Chicken Leg Quarters
Ingredients
- 2 Whole Chicken Leg Quarters - roughly 250g/9oz each
- 2 tsp Oil - see notes
- 1 tsp Seasoning - see notes
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires pre-heating, Start this setting now.
- Thoroughly dry 2 Whole Chicken Legs.
- Trim any loose pieces of skin, gristle, bone or sinew – you don't need to go overboard, just cut off anything superfluous that is likely to catch and burn as it's cooking.
- Drizzle over 2 tsp Oil and 1 tsp Seasoning and toss to thoroughly coat the chicken.
- Place the chicken legs into the air fryer basket with the exposed flesh and bone side up. Leave a little space between each leg so the air can circulate.
- Air fry for 10 minutes at 200c/390f.
- Use tongs to gently turn the thighs over so the skin side is now facing up.
- Air fry for a further 15 minutes at 200c/390f.
- Check the chicken is cooked through, you can see this by making a cut and checking that the meat is white in the centre of the thickest part. If there is any pink showing, Continue cooking for 2 minutes at a time.
To Air Fry From Frozen
- Cook for 15 minutes at 200c/390f with the flesh side up. Turn and then air fry for a further 15 minutes at 200c/390f.
- Check that the chicken is cooked through in exactly the same way as if you are cooking from fresh.
Notes
- Oil – Choose your oil to match your flavouring. For example use garlic, salt and rosemary with olive oil or for a more neutral flavour, sea salt and black pepper with vegetable oil.
- Seasoning – Choose any seasoning mix, spices or dried/fresh herbs. Make sure that salt is included in the mix. You can also add a little citrus juice.
- I used vegetable oil with a 50/50 mix of garlic salt and paprika.
- The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I can easily fit 2 chicken legs in the basket at a time. This gives plenty of room to allow air to circulate – I could probably squeeze in one more if I really needed.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
Hazel says
These were so good! I served them with some air fried potato wedges and coleslaw and got lots of compliments.
Sisley says
These turned out so well! Great and perfect for when the chicken cravings are going strong.
Lesley says
I love cooking whole chicken legs, always the tastiest meat. I rubbed on some smoked paprika and garlic powder and they were really tasty.