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Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Thighs made with our homemade salt free Cajun seasoning turns out so juicy & delicious with an amazing crispy skin. You don't need to thaw the bone-in skin-on frozen chicken thighs for this air fryer recipe.
Check out our Air Fryer Recipes collection & Instant Pot Recipes for new recipes from time to time!
Frozen Chicken Thighs in Air Fryer
Frozen chicken thighs air fryer recipe is effortless, no thawing or defrosting required and you'll get the crispiest skin ever. You can simply make a batch with your favorite seasoning.
I used my homemade salt free Cajun seasoning. It's a blend of fresh spices, you can make a small batch and it stores very well.
For cooking frozen chicken thighs in air fryer all you have to do is freeze the bone-in skin-on chicken thighs individually on a baking sheet and than store them in a large zip lock bag in the freezer. This way you can avoid a large clump of frozen chicken.
You can also directly season the individual frozen chicken thighs and than air fry them. This will save you a huge amount of time and effort.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Frozen chicken thighs: I used bone-in skin-on frozen chicken thighs. You must freeze the chicken thighs individually in a baking sheet. This recipe won't work well if the chicken thighs are stuck with each other in a large clump.
- Seasoning: Homemade salt-free Cajun seasoning is what I used. It's a blend of readily available pantry staple spices and herbs. It stores well and tastes so much better than the store bought seasoning. You can sub the Cajun seasoning with any seasoning of your choice. I make this same recipe often with a blend of just Italian seasoning & sweet paprika or sometimes just oregano, red pepper flakes & sweet paprika combo.
- Salt: Add according to your own personal taste preference.
- Olive Oil: Use either extra light or light olive oil. You can also use avocado oil, it's a wonderful choice for high heat cooking.
Top Tips
- Frozen chicken thighs idea: Do freeze the bone-in skin-on chicken thighs individually on a baking sheet. Than, store the frozen chicken thighs in a zip lock bag in the freezer. Individually frozen chicken thighs are a must in this recipe. You'll save so much time and the recipe would turn out fantastic.
How to cook frozen chicken thighs in air fryer?
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Season Chicken Thighs
- Season frozen chicken thighs: Drizzle lemon juice on both sides of the individually frozen bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and rub well to coat the thighs well. Now, coat the thighs with cooking oil spray. Than, sprinkle a generous amount of the homemade salt free Cajun seasoning on each side and rub well to coat the thighs very well with seasoning.
Step #2 Air Fry
- Air Fry: Air fry the seasoned frozen chicken thighs in a pre-heated (360 F) air fryer for 25-30 mins. Flip the thighs half way through. Once, done check the internal temperature of the cooked chicken thighs with a meat thermometer, the temp. should reach 165 F/74 C. If the chicken thighs are slightly on the bigger side you might have to cook them a bit longer.
- Crisp up skin: For extra crispy skin increase the air fryer temp. to 400 F and air fry the thighs skin side up for another 2-3 mins. Keep checking every min.
- Serve: Garnish the cooked chicken thighs with chopped fresh parsley and lemon juice and serve hot. Enjoy!
Serving Ideas
Serve the cooked frozen chicken thighs with the following seasoned rice or steamed veggies. You can also serve it with a bowl or creamy cheesy soup like this instant pot Panera broccoli cheddar soup, or this instant pot cheesy potato soup.
- 15 minute instant pot Mexican Rice.
- Chipotle Cilantro lime rice instant pot.
- Instant pot steamed broccoli.
- Instant pot steamed carrots.
- Instant pot green beans no steamer basket.
- Instant pot beets.
How to store
Fridge
You can store any leftover air fryer frozen chicken thighs for up tp 5 days in the fridge in air tight containers. Follow the reheating directions given below.
Freezer
Freeze any leftovers for up tp 2 months in the freezer. Freeze the cooked chicken thighs individually on a baking sheet first and than store them in a freezer safe heavy duty bag or container in the freezer. It's so much easier to thaw and reheat as many pieces as you want rather than thawing and reheating a huge clump of frozen chicken.
Reheating Directions
- Microwave Oven: Reheat the cooked chicken thighs in the microwave oven until warm or hot.
- Air Fryer: Reheat the chicken thighs in a 370 F pre-heated air fryer for 2-3 mins.
FAQs
Frozen chicken thighs needs to be cooked for 25-30 mins in air fryer. The cook time will depend on the size of the chicken thighs. For larger chicken thighs the cook time might slightly increase by few mins.
Yes, you can cook chicken thighs from frozen either in the air fryer or in the oven.
Fresh or thawed Chicken thighs take about 16-25 mins to cook at about 400 F depending on their size.
You have to season the boneless skinless chicken thighs first and than air fry them at 390 F for 12-15 mins flipping sides half way through. The cook time might slightly vary depending on the size of the boneless skinless chicken thighs.
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Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Thighs
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Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs (**frozen bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. Individually frozen. )
- 2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning (**use our homemade salt free cajun seasoning. It's amazing & stores well.)
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice (**freshly squeezed.)
- Salt (to taste) (**add according to your own taste preference. If you are using store bought cajun seasoning skip the additional salt as store bought seasoning already contains salt.)
- cooking oil spray (**we love avocado cooking oil spray. It's great for high heat cooking.)
Equipment Used
Instructions
Season Frozen chicken thighs
- Place the individually frozen (no need to thaw) bone-in skin-on chicken thighs on a large plate. Drizzle lemon juice on both sides and rub well to coat the thighs well.
- Now, sprinkle the homemade salt free cajun seasoning on one side rub well to coat well. Flip sides (skin side up) coat the thighs with cooking oil spray and sprinkle the homemade cajun seasoning, rub well with the help of your fingers to coat the frozen chicken thighs very well. Don't skim on the seasoning.
Air Fry
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil spray. Pre-heat the air fryer at 360 F/180 C. Once, the air fryer is pre-heated line the seasoned frozen chicken thighs in the basket in a single layer. Do not stack or over crowd. Air Fry at 360 F/160 C for 25-30 mins. Flip the chicken thighs half way through. The cook time might slightly vary depending on the size of the chicken thighs. I used smaller thighs. Once the cook time is over, check the doneness of the chicken thighs with an instant meat thermometer. The temp. should reach 165 F/74 C. If not air fry a little longer (3-5 mins).
Crisp up the skin
- If you love extra crispy skin just like us than do increase the temperature of the air fryer to 400 F and air fry the chicken thighs for 2-3 mins skin side up. Check every min for the crispness. Enjoy!
Notes
- Frozen Chicken Thighs: Freeze the chicken thighs individually. Lay the fresh chicken thighs on a parchment layered baking sheet, freeze them. Than pop the individually frozen chicken thighs in a large zip lock bag and store them in the air fryer. This is a must! A large clump of frozen chicken thighs won't work in this recipe!
- Homemade salt free Cajun seasoning: Do use our homemade salt free Cajun seasoning for extraordinary flavors. It'll take just 5 extra mins to whip up the Cajun seasoning with pantry staples spices and herbs. You probably already have everything in your pantry. Do not forget to add salt according to your own personal taste preference as our homemade Cajun seasoning doesn't contain salt.
- Store Bought Cajun Seasoning: If you are planning to use store bought Cajun seasoning than do skip the additional salt from todays recipe as the store bought seasoning already contains salt.
- Extra heat: If you love spicy food, add about ¼ teaspoon cayenne to the seasoning mix.
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