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This is my all-time favorite way to make Chicken Drumsticks in the Air Fryer – it’s healthy, quick, and delivers big time on that crave-worthy crunch! We make these easy air fried chicken legs about once a week – they are my son’s all time favorite, and it is such an easy thing to prep and pop in the air fryer, I make them for him all the time!
This recipe works with a keto or low-carb diet and is designed specially to be customizable – you can change up the herbs, sauces, and flavors to this base recipe as much as you would like.
Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.
At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
How to cook Drumsticks in Air Fryer
Air Fryer Chicken Drumstick Recipe Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need:
- 8 chicken drumsticks – pick high quality chicken drumsticks that are fresh or thawed. Pat chicken drumsticks dry with paper towels to make sure the oil and herbs stick, as water and packaging liquid can make it harder for them to stick to the chicken.
- 2 tbsp olive oil – you can use olive oil, avocado oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, or any oil you prefer to cook with. We love the classic olive oil flavor with chicken.
- 1 tsp celtic sea salt – grab a quality sea salt you love the flavor of. We like using celtic sea salt because it is saltier, so you can use less salt than regular table salt.
- 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper – using fresh cracked black pepper develops a better flavor and a bit of heat.
- 1 tsp garlic powder – garlic powder brings a rich, delicious flavor to chicken.
- 1 tsp smoked paprika – paprika gives a hint of color to the chicken, and an earthy, smoky flavor.
- 1/2 tsp cumin – cumin is earthy and brings out a “meaty” flavor in chicken.
Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks Method
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we’re going to follow this method:
Prep Chicken Legs.
Place drumsticks in a bowl or a plastic bag and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.
Marinate Chicken.
Sprinkle herbs and spices all over the drumsticks to coat them. Let chill at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
Air Fry Chicken Drumsticks.
Preheat air fryer at 400 for 2-10 minutes.
Cook to 165
Time can vary based on drumstick size, so do check the temperature with a digital thermometer after cooking to prevent over or under cooking.
For more step by step information, see our web story here.
How Long to Cook Chicken Drumsticks in Air Fryer
Chicken drumsticks take about 20 minutes to cook in the air fryer, rotating occasionally for even cooking.
Always go off the temperature of the chicken using a digital meat thermometer to probe, rather than time elapsed, to tell when chicken is fully cooked.
Tips to Air Fry Chicken Drumsticks
If you love air fryer chicken drumsticks, be sure to check my top tips for perfect air fried chicken below:
Preheat air fryer. Run your air fryer for a few minutes before adding the food so it is hot and ready to go when you go to air fry your chicken. This is optional, but I feel it helps the skin to puff up and get a crispy “fried” texture.
Sauce at the end. If you’re going to sauce your drumsticks, wait until they have cooked and crisped to toss in sauce. You also can layer the sauce on to get a crunchy “crust” throughout the cooking, similar to my baked BBQ Chicken drumsticks.
Don’t peek too often. Since air fryers are completely sealed off, it’s hard to judge your chicken’s doneness by the look of it. Check the temperature of the chicken when you’re already opening the air fryer to flip them – don’t open it just to check the temperature or too much heat will escape.
Use a digital thermometer. When your timer is done, immediately test the temperature of the chicken pieces with a digital thermometer inserted into the middle of the thickest part of the chicken drumstick without touching bone. Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees internally. If chicken has not met 165 degrees internally, add another 2-5 minutes to cook time.
Don’t crowd basket. Air fryers help get hot air to circulate around the chicken drumstick to get a heat so high it makes meat taste fried – and to do that, it helps to not crowd the pan. Put the chicken in your air fryer pan in a way they aren’t crowding each other – it makes a huge difference.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe was designed to work with different types of air fryers – so the time listed is an estimate. Your air fryer might take a bit longer than time listed. Aim for around 15-20 checking at 10 and 15 minutes to see how the temperature is progressing.
This recipe was designed after testing in the Instant Pot Air fryer, Instant Pot with Crisping Lid broiler function, Ninja Foodi + Broiler lid, and the Phillips Air Fryer.
Cooktime was slightly different with each appliance, but each resulted in perfect air fryer drumsticks. Check chicken legs as you cook to make sure they are done to your preference!
I personally always marinate chicken before cooking – even just 30 minutes in some olive oil, lemon juice, and herbs can infuse a ton of flavor into your chicken. This recipe was designed to boost flavor regardless, so if you don’t have time to marinate, no worries!
Chicken drumsticks can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days, or frozen for up to four months.
Chicken is fully cooked at 175 degrees internal temperature. You want to be sure you’re measuring the thickest part of your drumstick to be sure all of the meat is cooked through – but don’t hit the bone when using a thermometer, as it will throw off results.
Chicken drumstick meat pulls away from the bone slightly when it is cooked, if you see this, your chicken is likely done.
Adding sauce is a great way to layer flavor onto your chicken legs- there are two ways to do this. We love to cook our chicken first, getting a crispy, crunchy skin, and then toss in sauce – similar to chicken wings. You can also crisp chicken, toss in sauce, and continue cooking in the air fryer, to build a “crust” of the sauce as the chicken cooks. Do not add sauce early, as it will keep chicken flabby.
What to Serve With Chicken Legs
Chicken goes with just about everything – so it’s easy to pick a delicious, easy, and flavorful side dish to pair with this meal!
We love serving chicken with spicy beans, air fryer french fries, roasted potatoes, quick-pickled beets, rice pilaf – or really, any of our delicious easy side dishes.
You can find more of our easy side dishes here:
And for more air fryer recipes, you can find our entire air fryer recipe index here.
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Air Fryer Drumsticks
Equipment
- Pride Of Szeged Hungarian Hot Paprika
- Ninja AF101 Air Fryer, 4 Qt
- Pompeian Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- SPICE TRAIN, Organic Cumin Seeds
- Ninja DZ201 Foodi 8 Quart 6-in-1 DualZone 2-Basket Air Fryer
- Tribal Cooking Kitchen Tongs
- COSORI Air Fryer Oven Combo 5.8QT Max Xl Large Cooker
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp celtic sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- Optional 1 cup Ranch dressing and 1 tsp hot sauce – I prefer Sriracha
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine herbs and spices.
- Set aside.
- Place drumsticks in a bowl or a plastic bag and drizzle with olive oil.
- Toss to coat.
- Sprinkle herbs and spices all over drumsticks to coat them.
- Preheat air fryer at 400 for 2-10 minutes.
- Place drumsticks in air fryer basket and cook for 10 minutes on 400.
- Remove basket and flip chicken drumsticks.
- Cook at 400 for another 10 minutes.
- If chicken is not 165 degrees internally, add another 5 minutes of cook-time.
- Time can vary based on drumstick size, so do check the temperature with a digital thermometer after cooking to prevent over or under cooking.
- When chicken has reached 165 degrees internally, serve immediately.
- (Optional) To make a dipping sauce mix the ranch dressing and hot sauce, add more for a spicier sauce. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wow turned out great.
I don’t normally like drumsticks so I didn’t plan on eating any. Boy do I wish I had, I had 1 and didn’t want it to end.
I used table salt, ground black pepper, and smoked paprika instead of the exact ingredients that were suggested, plus the others.
Thanks!
I loved these! I had to adjust cooking times because I had huge drumsticks. I also added a few extra seasonings and decided to baste my drumsticks with butter because I ran out of oil to put on the outside of the seasoned chicken. So juicy!
Tasted great. I only had smoked paprika so that’s what I used. I wished I’d had some ranch dressing and sriracha in the house but the guys gobbled them down as they were.
Glad you loved them! Thanks for the kind comment!