This easy Air Fryer Chicken Breasts and broccoli recipe is a simple dinner recipe that fuels you in all the right ways. Lean protein, fiber, and micronutrients, this dinner recipe checks all the boxes.
Hypothetical situation:
You’ve had a long, busy day, you’re super hungry and want to keep it healthy but you want to spend less than 30 minutes cooking.
Enter: This Air Fryer Chicken Breast recipe. We’re serving it up with air fryer broccoli, because: fiber.
The way I see it, this air fryer chicken recipe is a great option for those who are looking to get in some lean protein after a long day of work and just want to whip up something healthy quickly.
It is also perfect for meal prep! Simply which up some juicy air fryer chicken breasts and use them in salads or other meal prep recipes.
If you aren’t in a rush for food and you have more time on your hands, you can marinate the chicken for 3+ hours ahead of time in your favorite chicken marinade. I personally love a lemon garlic marinade or a teriyaki marinade.
Marinating the raw chicken first result in a more tender, flavorful chicken breasts.
If you’re like me and you prefer chicken thighs over chicken breasts, check out my Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Thighs or my Lemon Garlic Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs recipe!
At a minimum, you need boneless skinless chicken breasts, avocado oil, sea salt, paprika, and garlic powder. These simple ingredients will bring life to the otherwise plain tasting breast.
For extra credit, also use stone ground mustard and dried parsley. These two ingredients are optional but definitely help level up the flavor of the chicken! I’m partial to the addition of mustard.
Let’s chat about the ingredients for this easy chicken breast recipe in detail, as they are all crucial to the outcome of the recipe.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Chicken Breasts:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: Pick up boneless chicken breasts from your local grocery store. Ours come two to a pack for a total of 1.25 to 1.6 pounds. I generally air fry two large breasts at a time.
Avocado Oil: We need some form of oil to coat the meat to protect it through the cooking process and to ensure the chicken turns out moist and juicy.
I like using avocado oil because it is a high temperature cooking oil, but olive oil works too.
Garlic Powder, Sea Salt, Sweet Paprika, Dried Parsley, Black Pepper: The simple dry rub used to make flavorful chicken. You can use your own seasoning blend or add other seasonings like onion powder, chili powder, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, etc.
Dijon Mustard (optional): Mustard not only adds tangy, rich flavor to the recipe, but it also helps the dry rub stay stuck to the chicken. Skip it if you aren’t into it.
Now that we have covered the basic ingredients, let’s air fry chicken breasts!
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Breasts:
Spray the basket of your air fryer generously with cooking spray. Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F. I use the Ninja AF161 Max XL Air Fryer.
Stir the avocado oil and mustard together in a small bowl. Similarly, stir together the sea salt, garlic powder, paprika, and dried parsley in a separate bowl.
Remove the chicken from its packaging at pat both sides of the breasts dry using paper towels. Transfer them to a plate or cutting board.
If you’d like, you can use a meat mallet to pound the chicken into even thickness for even cooking. If you do so, perform this step on a cutting board between two sheets of parchment paper.
Coat the chicken breasts with avocado oil mustard mixture then sprinkle with the seasoning mixture.
Place the chicken breasts in the air fryer basket and air fry for 10 minutes at 350.
Flip the chicken and air fry for another 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness.
The best way to ensure the chicken is fully cooked and to avoid overcooking is to insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.
The exact cooking time depends on the size of your chicken breasts as well as their temperature going into the air fryer basket.
Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to distribute throughout the meat, leaving you with a juicy, tender texture. Serve chicken with your favorite sides, and enjoy!
How Long To Air Fry Chicken Breasts:
The exact cook time depends on the size of the breasts (their total weight), and their temperature going into the air fryer.
For this reason, the total cook time can vary. An average-sized chicken breast takes about 18 minutes total in a preheated air fryer at 350 degrees F.
If you’re air frying up some broccoli, you can do so after the chicken is finished cooking, while it’s resting.
Instructions for Air Fryer Broccoli:
Chop the broccoli into florets and place them in a large bowl. Drizzle with avocado oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until it’s well-coated.
Transfer the broccoli to the air fryer in a single layer and Air Fry at 400 for 5 minutes.
Check on the broccoli and air fry for another 1 to 2 minutes if needed.
If you’re looking for different air fryer recipes to serve with your air fryer chicken breast, try my Air Fryer Green Beans, or my Air Fryer Asparagus.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you are using these juicy chicken breasts for meal prep, you can store a chicken breast and broccoli in individual meal prep containers.
That’s it!
This versatile protein can be enjoyed as is or added to salads, soups, and more! A great addition to your weeknight routine, this easy recipe is my favorite way of having dinner on the table quickly.
Lightning quick clean energy for those times you need to get fed immediately!
If you’re looking for more air fryer recipes, try these reader favorites:
More Air Fryer Recipes:
- Air Fryer Steak Bites
- Sesame Garlic Air Fryer Salmon Bites
- Air Fryer Cream Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers
- Crispy Air Fryer Salmon
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Air fry it up!
Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 Tbsp stone ground mustard optional
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder*
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
For the Broccoli:
- 1 bunch broccoli chopped into florets
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Stir the avocado oil and mustard together in a small bowl. Stir together the sea salt, garlic powder, paprika, and dried parsley in a separate bowl.
- Coat the chicken breasts with avocado oil mustard mixture then sprinkle with the seasoning mixture.
- Place the chicken breasts in the air fryer and air fry for 9 minutes at 350. Flip the chicken and air fry for another 9 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The best way to ensure the chicken is fully cooked is to use a meat thermometer.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to distribute throughout the meat, leaving you with a juicy, tender texture.
- If you’re air frying up some broccoli, you can do so after the chicken is finished cooking, while it’s resting.
For the Broccoli:
- Chop the broccoli into florets and place them in a large bowl. Drizzle with avocado oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until it’s well-coated.
- Transfer the broccoli to the air fryer and Air Fry at 400 for 5 minutes.
- Check on the broccoli and air fry for another 1 to 2 minutes if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
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Easy, moist and tasty. Reminds me of rotisserie chicken that tastes wonderful to me, but I can make this recipe with organic chicken and ingredients. The garlic adds a lot in my view.
Easy, moist and tasty. Reminds me of rotisserie chicken that tastes wonderful to me, but I can make this recipe with organic chicken and ingredients. The garlic adds a lot in my view.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoy it, Bonnie! I love how simple and flavorful the recipe is too 🙂
My mom and I are allergic to avocado. What other type of oil would you suggest,that is still clean an healthy?
I use coconut oil quite often but it’s because I’m familiar with it lol I’m open to trying others.
Thank you!
Hi Shan! Olive oil works great! There was talk for a long time about not using olive oil for cooking because it has a low smoke point, but there’s new research that shows only a small percentage of what makes up the oil burns at a high temperature and the oleic acid in the oil is protective against oxidative stress. I’ve also used algae oil in the past, which is my top recommendation but it is very expensive and can be difficult to find. Hope this helps!