Air fryer chicken legs (AKA drumsticks) are quickly marinated in a homemade sauce and then easily added to the air fryer for a handful of minutes to create the juiciest centers and crispiest and tastiest outsides you've ever had in a chicken drumstick recipe!

If you haven't had a chance to try our delicious Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings yet... you have to check them out! Just TWO ingredients!!!

Best Air Fryer Chicken Legs

Yes yes yes! Chicken legs in the air fryer. Let me tell you why you need to be doing this ASAP!

• It’s Incredibly fast! This air fryer chicken leg recipe can be accomplished in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
• It’s completely customizable! You only need a few simple ingredients to pull this dish off AND you can swap out seasonings to whatever you fancy or with whatever you have in your pantry.
• Fewer dishes (only 1 dish!) to clean! That’s right! When you use your air fryer, there’s only one dish that will need to be cleaned, and if you’re lucky like me, the air fryer pan that needs to be cleaned is dishwasher safe. That means that you eat a delicious meal and you also skip the dish cleaning!
• The extraordinary taste! These chicken drumsticks are ridiculously juicy on the inside and perfectly warmed and golden on the outside with just the perfect amount of flavor coating each bite!

Air Fried Chicken Legs with No Breading:

That's right! These chicken legs have no need for breading!

They pop out of that air fryer hot and ready with no desire to be coated in anything except for the marinade they are placed in quickly before hand.

Without the breading, these chicken legs carry a much lower calorie, carb, and fat count.

This recipe is also a lot easier and quicker because we don't have to worry about breading. Again, this recipe doesn't need it! It's too yummy without a bread coating!

Is the air fryer really healthier?

Why yes they are!

Because we are using an air fryer for this recipe, we don't need to use large quantities of oil to drown our chicken in to.

And because our chicken legs are not breaded or coated in a crumble, we have definitely eliminated a large number or calories, carbs, and fat content from the chicken legs.

Trust me, this chicken leg recipe doesn't need it! No breading here folks!

What type of air fryer to use for chicken drumsticks?

This post may contain affiliate links to items I use in my recipes. Please read my disclosure.

I absolutely love my air fryer. No, I’m not getting paid to say this. I highly recommend you check out OMORC’s selection of air fryers.

I have the OMORC 6 Quart Air Fryer. You will find a new newer version of this OMORC Air Fryer here.

It’s big enough to definitely feed a family of 4+. Some air fryers are so small that you can barely make enough of something to fill a coffee cup up with.

I love that the parts that need to be washed are dishwasher safe, so clean up is so incredibly easy! It’s a HUGE perk of this thing.

It’s got a pretty simple yet convenient touchscreen that allows you to not only easily set your temperature and time, but there are other functions like the “keep warm” button that can come in really handy.

What to serve alongside air fryer drumsticks?

I love to put the Air Fryer Asparagus or Air Fryer Vegetables recipe in with these chicken legs for an easy dinner the entire family enjoys.

These air fried chicken legs also go wonderfully with:

• Quick Teriyaki Green Beans
• Parmesan Quinoa
• Bleu Cheese Green Beans
• Fiery Campfire Veggies
• Simple Caprese Risotto

Air Fryer Chicken Leg Ingredients:

• 8 fresh or thawed chicken legs
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce (or liquid aminos)
• 3 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder

Should I use Fresh or Frozen Drumsticks?

You can use either!

If you are using frozen chicken legs, let them thaw out at room temperature for 30 minutes before following all the same directions just as you would for the fresh legs.

Why is this? Because I want the marinade to act the same way that it would with fresh drumsticks. I'd hate for the marinade not to create it's delicious outer coating on your chicken legs!

You will also need to cook the chicken legs in the air fryer for a longer amount of time.

You will need to cook your frozen-ish drumsticks for an additional 5-10 minutes depending on how large your drumsticks are and how long you have let them thaw before you started marinating them and cooking them up.

The larger they are and the more frozen that they still are, the closer to an extra 10 minutes of air fryer time will be needed.

If your drummies are on the smaller side and you had more time to allow them to thaw at room temperature, then you are looking at an extra air fry time closer to around 5 minutes.

And please remember, the additional minutes added on to the frying time should be divided in half.... half added to the original 13 minutes of air frying, flip your drumsticks, and the additional half added to the second 13 minutes of cook time.

Air Fryer Settings:

You will want your air fryer to be plugged in and turned on but you do not need to preheat it. This is one of the many fantastic qualities of using an air fryer for this recipe!

Once ready, you will want to set your fryer's temperature to 400*F.

How long do you fry chicken legs in air fryer?

You will want to cook your chicken legs for 13 minutes at 400*F before flipping them and cooking them again for 13 minutes.

How to Air Fry Chicken Legs:

*For a detailed description of the entire recipe, please see the recipe card farther down this page.

1. Gather Ingredients. Place all ingredients EXCEPT the chicken legs in a gallon-size zippie bag and close the bag. Toss/massage the bag until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly together.
2. Marinade. Place the chicken legs in the bag and close the bag once again, allowing the marinade to soak into the legs by rubbing the bag for 1-2 minutes. (See video for an example of rubbing!)
3. Put into Fryer. Place the chicken legs in the bottom of the air fryer basket, making sure that the legs do not touch one another. Set the air fryer to 400*F and cook for 13 minutes. Take the air fryer basket out, flip the legs over with tongs, and cook for another 13 minutes in the air fryer.
4. Devour. Take legs out of the fryer and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before devouring!

Air Fryer Chicken Leg Pro Tips:

Make sure to really rub the marinade into the chicken legs before air frying.

I typically spend around 1-2 minutes rubbing the chicken from the outside of the closed zippie bag until I notice that almost all of the marinade has disappeared from the bag.

The chicken will literally soak up the sauce! But don't worry!

You will see it again when your taste buds meet their first bite of air fried chicken legs!

How to store leftover air fried chicken drumsticks:

You can store leftover cooked chicken legs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.

I highly recommend cutting the meat off of the bone before storing it in the fridge. It makes reheating and snacking on the delicious meat that much easier!

I would also highly recommend waiting to store the leftover meat until it cools down to room temperature.

How to reheat chicken legs:

I usually recommend heating the leftover meat back up to HOT using the microwave.

Place the stored meat in a covered (but vented) microwave safe dish and cook on high for 30-90 seconds, depending on the amount of chicken leg meat you are reheating and how hot you like your leftovers!

Doubling or tripling the chicken drumstick recipe:

You can definitely double or triple the batch of chicken drumsticks in the air fryer.

HOWEVER do not overcrowd your air fryer of the chicken legs will not cook appropriately. Do not overcrowd the air fryer, make sure that your drumsticks are not touching one another or the walls of the air fryer basket.

This may mean that you will need to cook all of your chicken legs in more than one round or batch, possibly two or maybe even three batches depending on how large your chicken legs are and how large your air fryer is!

More Air Fryer Recipes:

• Air Fryer Bacon
• Air Fryer French Fries and Tater Tots
• Air Fryer Potatoes
• Air Fryer Asparagus

More Chicken Drumstick & Wing Recipes:

We are currently working on and tweaking to perfection a few new-to-the-website recipes for you, but here are a couple dishes are already published and being highly loved on:

• Honey Sriracha Grilled Wings

• Baked Drumstick Recipe

How to fancy up your chicken leg recipe:

You most likely will not need much or anything to create the delicious, I-want-to-devour-it temptation that is this dish.

HOWEVER, if you want a guarantee that your glisteningly savory chicken wings will steal the show then follow these simple suggestions:

1. Sprinkle with herbs. That's right! Sprinkle these drumsticks with your favorite or on-hand fresh cut herbs. We like to add a touch of fresh hand-ripped parsley flakes to ours.
2. Shake on a pinch or two of white sesame seeds! These sesame seeds will add a layer of color and a dimension of crunchy texture that all will enjoy!

This post was first published on November 4, 2019, and last updated on March 24, 2020.