How to Cook Chicken Breast in an Air Fryer

Blackened chicken is a Cajun treat, but there's no need to go to New Orleans to enjoy great blackened chicken. With this air fryer chicken breast recipe, you can enjoy perfectly seasoned blackened chicken at home. It's healthy, easy, and tastes great.

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What you'll need

• Air fryer
• Meat pounder
• Wax paper or plastic wrap
• 2 skinless/boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano

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Instructions

[toggle title="Step 1" type="open"]Put your chicken breasts between a few sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and use a meat pounder until the chicken gets an even thickness. This ensures that the chicken will cook evenly and to your desired level of tenderness.

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[toggle title="Step 2" type="open"]Make the blackened seasoning by mixing the salt, paprika, onion powder, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, and ground oregano. Make sure the spices are evenly mixed.

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[toggle title="Step 3" type="open"]Dredge the chicken in your blackened seasoning spice mixture.

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[toggle title="Step 4" type="open"]Place the chicken breasts in your fry basket. Turn the temperature to 290°F/150°C and cook for 8 minutes.

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[toggle title="Step 5" type="open"]After 8 minutes, remove the fry basket and turn the chicken breasts over. Set the temperature to 380°F/190°C and cook for 6 more minutes.

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Tips and Considerations

If you don't have a meat pounder, you can use a rolling pin or a large spoon or the bottom of a pot.

Alternatively, you can just slice the chicken breast to an even thickness. This may even result in more tender meat than the pounding method. Even thickness, however you get it, is important for cooking perfect chicken.

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To make this air fryer chicken breast recipe even better, marinate the chicken. You should let it marinate for at least 20 minutes or, ideally, overnight. This will result in juicier, more tender chicken with more flavour. Marinating makes meat perfectly tender and flavorful.

You can buy a marinade or make one yourself. A simple marinade might include olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, and some spices. You can buy a Cajun-flavored marinade sauce or you could even use something like Italian salad dressing as a marinade.

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Another way to simplify this air fryer chicken breast recipe is to use a prepared spice mixture. It's easy to find Cajun blackened spice mixes. This way, you don't have to worry about measuring out the different ingredients but you get the same great taste.