Air Fryer Greek Chicken is crispy, lemony, and so flavorful! The Greek-inspired marinade coats the chicken and the air fryer crisps them to perfection. An easy meal that is quick to make for a weeknight or weekend dinner.
Chicken thighs in the air fryer might be the most genius thing ever. The skin gets crispy, and the chicken stays moist and flavorful. It's easily become my favorite way to make chicken thighs.
Even better? It cooks SO MUCH more quickly than when I cook chicken thighs in the oven. As someone who is usually rushing to get dinner on the table, this is such a win.
And I love the Greek-inspired marinade for these. It's lemony, bright, and flavorful. And so incredibly easy to make. It brings together lemons, oregano, and some garlic and onion powder for a delicious marinade.
Once you make these lemony chicken thighs once, you'll make them again and again and again. My husband always says how perfect the flavor is on these.
Want a more basic recipe? Check out our classic recipe for air fryer bone in chicken thighs.
How to make air fryer Greek chicken
First, take your marinade ingredients and combine them in a bowl. The oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, juice of two lemons, and olive oil.
Stir together until combined.
Next, take your chicken thighs and place in a large bowl or bag.
Add the marinade, and rub into both sides of the chicken.
If placing in a bag, close the bag. If in a bowl, place saran wrap or cling wrap over the top of the bowl and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours to marinade.
After chicken is marinated, preheat the air fryer at 380 degrees F for 5 minutes. Then add your chicken thighs in a single layer, skin down, and cook for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, flip, and cook for an additional 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken thighs.
Remove from the air fryer, let rest for 5 minutes, and then serve and enjoy!
Recipe notes
- I highly recommend using a meat thermometer when cooking any kind of meat, especially in the air fryer, to make sure it's cooked properly and heated to the proper temperature. Meat comes in a lot of sizes, and cooking times will depend on the size and thickness.
- It's best to marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes to let the chicken really absorb the flavor of the marinade.
- This recipe can serve 2-4. It can serve 2 if you give each person 2 chicken thighs or 4 if you serve each person 1 chicken thigh.
Do I need to preheat my air fryer?
For a lot of recipes, I don't think you need to preheat your air fryer. But in this recipe, I have found that preheating does help get the skin crisped to perfection. I preheat for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F.
What if my chicken thighs are bigger or smaller?
Chicken thighs come in all different sizes! That's why we 100% recommend getting a meat thermometer and checking frequently to make sure your chicken thighs are cooked through.
We've found that cooking for 10 minutes on one side and 10 minutes on the other side work well for the size we typically use, however if you're using smaller or bigger chicken thighs, it may not work perfectly for you.
To test to see if your chicken thighs are properly cooked, get a meat thermometer, stick it into the thickest part of the thigh and make sure that temp reaches 175-180 degrees F.
Easy, and you make sure your chicken thighs are properly cooked and safe to eat.
What type of chicken thighs to use
For this recipe, I use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. That crispy chicken skin is just perfection.
However, if you prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, you can do that too, but the cook time will be shorter. It will usually be more in the 12-14 minute range total.
However, you'll still want to use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
What to serve with the air fried chicken thighs
Chicken thighs are so delicious with a variety of vegetables! I love them with Air Fryer Broccolini that cooks up in less than 10 minutes. It pairs perfectly, especially if you top with some feta and fresh lemon juice like I did.
It's also tasty with Air Fryer Mediterranean Vegetables or Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes.
More air fryer chicken recipes
- Air Fryer Honey Dijon Chicken Breast
- Air Fryer Chili Lime Chicken Breast
- Air Fryer Paprika Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
- Air Fryer Pretzel Chicken
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
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Air Fryer Greek Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 4 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the olive oil and juice from two lemons. Stir together to form the marinade.
- Take your chicken thighs and either place in the bowl or in a plastic ziplock bag. Toss with the marinade to make sure chicken is coated. Place the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes but up to 2 hours to marinade.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken thighs, skin side down, in a single layer and cook for 10 minutes at 380 degrees F. After 10 minutes, flip the chicken thighs and cook for an additional 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken thighs, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Remove from the air fryer, let rest for five minutes, then plate, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
If nutrition info is shown, values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.
Eric Welsh
Seems like a good recipe. I'll give results in 3 hrs
Aimee
I really hope you enjoy. This is one of my favorites. :)
Lori
I am new to using the air fryer and have been looking for recipes that match food I normally make on the stove/oven. This was amazing and was so much easier than having to sear the chicken in a skillet and put in the over. The flavor was amazing and I had to eject my 12 year old from the kitchen for trying to steal all the skin. The only thing I did differently was add some baking powder to make the skin crispy the way that same 12 year old likes it (probably didn't need it, but tossed in to make sure the humans were happy).
Huge success and already a family fav.
Aimee
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! It's absolutely one of my favorites. Chicken thighs work so well in the air fryer.
Matt
Spot on. The cook time & ingredients were perfect (And I don't say that very often)! Left the chicken in the marinade for an hour and that was ideal. Great job guy :)