Chili Lime Chicken – Air Fryer

Easy Chili Lime Chicken made in the air fryer is quick to make! A juicy, flavorful, crispy chicken dinner that’s ready in less than an hour.

When it comes to putting together meals that everyone in the family loves, we almost always default to chicken. But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring.

This chili lime chicken is bursting with flavor, so tender and juicy – we can’t get enough. The family requests this one again and again! Pair this with my Instant Pot White Rice too!

For a couple of decades now, our “go-to” chicken dinner has been my oven-fried chicken. It’s insanely popular and is in the top 10 for reader-favorite recipes here on Kleinworth & Co.

It’s no surprise, it’s juicy, crispy and delicious and is ready in just an hour. No pots of oil or big messes. It’s a favorite for a reason.

But when I realized that I could make chicken thighs in the air fryer in HALF the time it takes me to make them in the oven AND the skins turn out crispy – it was a game-changer! Check this out!

best air fryer chicken recipes

Here are some commonly asked questions

How Air Frying Works

While air fryers are relatively new to the market, the technology isn’t really a new concept. They basically work like tiny convection ovens that you can use on your countertop.

Similar to a convection oven, it circulates the hot air within the cooking area using a high-powered fan. This helps evenly distribute the heat around the food which not only creates more evenly cooked food but also reduced cooking times.

By circulating the hot air, which contains the fine oil droplets from adding a light mist layer before cooking, and allows you to remove the need for submerging our foods in heavy oils to create the deliciously crunchy foods we all love.

air fryer recipe chicken

What are the benefits of air frying?

Healthier

It’s no secret that fried foods are more fattening – but did you know that there are 9 calories in every gram of fat? With air frying, we can reduce the fat by removing most of the oils usually needed to create crunchy foods. This helps to drastically reduce fat intake and calories.

Convenience

I love being able to cook with my air fryer and eliminate the need for large baking sheets and lots of pots and pans. Most of my air fryer recipes can be made with just a mixing bowl or two or a small saucepan in addition to my air fryer.

Energy Efficient

Someone said to me once, “why make this in the air fryer if you can do it the conventional way in the same amount of time?” Well, air frying helps eliminate the need for a conventional oven.

Not only can you keep your home cooler in the summer by not using the oven, but you are saving money with reduced energy consumption costs as well.

Time Saver

I don’t know about you, but if I can avoid turning on the oven and having to wait 20 minutes for it to preheat, I’m happy about that. Most air fryer recipes either don’t require that you preheat the fryer – or the preheat time is 5 minutes or less. That is a huge time saver over using the oven.

Take it on the go

I love that the air fryer is compact and easy to take along on trips. We pack ours in our RV and find that air fryer cooking while camping is so much easier than trying to deep fry foods on a small RV stove or camping burner.

air fryer chicken

Air Frying Doneness Tip

Every air fryer is a bit different and they all cook at different rates – so in general, all cooking times are approximate based on the pan and temperature.

You can always cook the recipe longer if needed and reduce the heat a bit. If needed, you can tent the top if it is browning too much.

Why is my food dry, chewy, or not crisp?

Most people think that air frying is done completely without oil. However, you need just a little bit of oil so the machine can circulate those tiny oil droplets, which is what makes air frying create deliciously crisp and crunchy food.

So when your food isn’t turning out as expected, it is usually that you aren’t actually adding enough oil to the recipe. If those oil droplets aren’t present, all you are doing is baking your food, resulting in a less flavorful taste and texture. Be sure to not skip the step of spritzing the food with oil if the recipe calls for it.

What oil sprayer do you use?

First, let me say that I highly recommend that you do not use cooking spray. It will leave a residue on your air fryer basket & cause it to smoke when you use it.

I really like this spray bottle – because it gives a nice mist & sprays consistently each time using just olive, vegetable, or canola oil. I couldn’t air fry easily without it.

lime chicken

Can this be made with boneless chicken?

Yes, you can make this with boneless chicken thighs. Keep in mind that rarely do you find boneless chicken thighs with skins – so you won’t have that crispy skin as part of the final flavor.

Cook at 390 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 165F on an instant-read thermometer.

recipe chicken air fryer

Can this recipe be cut in half?

Oh of course! If you only need 2 pieces of chicken, you can definitely cut this recipe in half.

You can also make the full recipe and save what you don’t need since the chicken will stay good for 3 more days if properly stored.

What to serve with chili lime chicken?

This recipe is so versatile, the things you can serve with it are almost endless. Here is a list of our favorite things to pair with this air fried chili lime chicken.

• strawberry jello salad
• sea salt garlic corn
• one hour dinner rolls
• instant pot baked potatoes
• bacon and garlic green beans
• garlic mashed potatoes
• Greek feta chicken pasta salad

chili lime

I have a bake option and other special features on my air fryer, is that the setting? Or do you put it on “air fry” setting?

All of my recipes were created with an air fryer that had only a temperature & timer setting – since not all air fryers have all the additional settings.

You can use the bake setting when making recipes that you would traditionally bake – but if possible, please just set the temperature & time for this recipe.

air fryer for chicken

If you love this Easy Air Fried Chicken recipe, you’re going to love these other air fryer recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

air fryer crispy chicken

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If you love this recipe for Chili Lime Chicken as much as I do, please write a five-star review, and be sure to help me share on Facebook and Pinterest!

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