Air Fryer Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Air Fryer Spicy Chicken Drumsticks Recipe – incredibly easy to make in the air fryer! Chicken drumsticks marinated in Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. SO tender and juicy. Add extra hot sauce to cooked chicken if you like it really spicy. You will never cook chicken drumsticks any other way! Seriously the BEST!

Easy Air Fryer Chicken Drumstick Recipe

I am obsessed with my air fryer and use it several times a week. I am always testing out ways to cook our favorite foods in the air fryer. These Air Fryer Spicy Chicken Drumsticks are a new favorite! SO easy and they tasted incredible. Super tender and juicy. It is definitely my new favorite way to cook chicken drumsticks. We ate these for dinner and leftovers for lunch during the week. YUM! They taste great warm or cold out of the fridge. Give this a try the next time you need an easy dinner recipe that the whole family will enjoy!

How to Cook Chicken Legs in the Air Fryer

These chicken legs are super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. Marinate the raw chicken in a mixture of Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Refrigerate a few hours to overnight. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Place chicken legs in a single layer in the air fryer basket. The chicken is going to cook at two different temperatures. Start cooking the chicken at a higher temperature for or 20 minutes. Shake the basket and reduce the temperature and continue cooking until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170ºF.

Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

• What Air Fryer do you recommend?  I have the Philips XXL Air Fryer and the Philips XL Air Fryer. I love them both, but I definitely recommend the Philips XXL Air Fryer. It is larger and can cook an entire meal at once.
  • The basket in the Philips XL Air Fryer measures 7.5×7.5×3-inches
  • The basket in the Philips XXL Air Fryer measures 9x9x3-inches
• Place the chicken in a single layer in the bottom of the air fryer basket.
  • Do not crowd the basket. Crowding won’t allow the air to circulate around the chicken and you won’t get that yummy crispy skin.
  • If you have a smaller air fryer, you will need to cook the chicken in batches.
• The cooking time may vary depending on the size and model of air fryer. Use an instant read thermometer to check the chicken legs for an internal temperature of 170ºF.
• I like to let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator overnight. If you don’t plan ahead, just marinate the chicken as long as you can. I would say a couple of hours would be fine. 
• Are the chicken legs spicy? Despite being marinated in hot sauce, these chicken drumsticks aren’t really spicy. If you want to crank up the heat, toss the cooked chicken in more hot sauce. YUM!! I am a spicy food person, so the more hot sauce the better!
• You can season the chicken with any seasoning blend that you prefer. Garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, black pepper, dry ground mustard, chili powder – anything goes! Get creative with different seasonings.
  • Here is our recipe for Homemade BBQ Dry Rub: https://www.plainchicken.com/bbq-seasoning/
• Feel free to brush the cooked chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

What to Serve with Crispy Chicken Legs

This is hands down the easiest way to cook chicken legs. I will never cook chicken legs any other way. One of my favorite things about these juicy chicken drumsticks is there is no breading. This chicken was a huge hit in our house. We have them on the menu for our 4th of July celebration. You can’t beat an easy and delicious main dish! We like to serve these drumsticks with some rice and green beans. They also go great with pasta salad and baked beans. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this easy recipe:

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Buttermilk Pasta Salad (Great for a Crowd)

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Recipe Print Recipe

Air Fryer Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Author: Plain Chicken

Yield: 6 people

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Air Fryer Spicy Chicken Drumsticks Recipe – incredibly easy to make in the air fryer! Chicken drumsticks marinated in Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. SO tender and juicy. Add extra hot sauce to cooked chicken if you like it really spicy. You will never cook chicken drumsticks any other way! Seriously the BEST! #airfryer #chicken #drumsticks #chickendrumsticks

Equipment:

• Philips XXL Air Fryer

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Italian dressing
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
• ¾ cup hot sauce
• 12 chicken drumsticks

Instructions:

• Combine Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
• Place chicken in a ziplock bag. Pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate a few hours to overnight.
• Remove chicken from the marinade. Discard marinade.
• Place chicken in the basket of the air fryer. Cook at 400ºF for 20 minutes. Shake basket. Reduce heat to 325ºF and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Notes:

If you want spicier chicken, toss cooked chicken in additional hot sauce.

I use Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or Crystal Hot Sauce.

I cooked the chicken in a Philips XXL Air Fryer – https://amzn.to/2PF4nA6

Plain Chicken

https://www.plainchicken.com/air-fryer-spicy-chicken-drumsticks/

All images and text © Plain Chicken, Inc.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @plainchicken or tag #plainchicken!

Steph