Air fryer harissa chicken is a flavorful and spicy dish. The air fried chicken is tender and juicy after being marinated in a blend of harissa paste and other aromatic spices.
Air fryer harissa chicken is light, bright, and the perfect amount of spicy from the harissa. It also has a slight sweetness from the honey.
This is an easy air fryer chicken recipe to make, and it cooks up in only 14-16 minutes, so it's quick and easy enough for a weeknight dinner or easy lunch.
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Harissa
- Lemon juice
- Honey (optional)
- Garlic powder
- Salt
How to make air fryer harissa chicken
To a large bowl, add lemon juice, harissa, garlic powder, salt, and honey.
Stir them together.
Add chicken thighs to the bowl and mix together so chicken thighs are completely coated in the harissa mixture.
Marinate for at least 30 minutes, but up to two hours covered in the refrigerator.
Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes. Add chicken thighs to air fryer basket and cook for 14-16 minutes at 400 degrees F, flipping halfway through.
Plate and enjoy!
How to customize
It's easy to customize this recipe! You can also choose either mild, medium, or spicy harissa depending on your desired level of spice.
Also, if you've come across this recipe, hopefully you have harissa! If not, here are some substitutes for harissa if needed.
How long to cook chicken thighs in the air fryer
For boneless skinless chicken thighs, it takes 14-16 minutes to fully cook in the air fryer. However, this time may vary based on the size of your chicken thighs and your air fryer.
Chicken thighs should be cooked at minimum to 165 degrees F (when measured with a meat thermometer) to be safe to eat. However, chicken thighs are most delicious and juicy when cooked to 175-195 degrees F.
Recipe notes
- This recipe is for boneless skinless chicken thighs. If cooking chicken breast or bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cook time will likely need to be increased.
- All air fryers cook differently. Adjust cooking times as needed. Chicken thighs are best cooked to a temperature of at least 165 degrees F when measured with a meat thermometer.
- The spice level of this dish may vary based on the spice level of the harissa you are using.
- This recipe does call for at least 30 minutes of marinating time for the best flavor.
Air fryer chicken thigh recipes
- Air fryer boneless chicken thighs
- Air fryer honey garlic chicken thighs
- Air fryer bbq chicken thighs
- Air fryer gochujang chicken thighs
More recipes using harissa
- Creamy harissa pasta
- Harissa butter
- Air fryer harissa salmon
- Harissa tomatoes
- Harissa honey chicken
- Harissa vinaigrette
- Harissa acorn squash
Air Fryer Harissa Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs boneless skinless
- ¼ cup harissa
- 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon honey optional
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add the harissa paste, juice from 1 lemon, honey, garlic powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add chicken thighs to the bowl and stir until chicken thighs are completely coated in the marinade. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes-2 hours to marinate.
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes. Add chicken thighs to the air fryer and cook for 14-16 minutes at 400 degrees F, flipping halfway through.
- Serve as desired.
Notes
- This recipe is for boneless skinless chicken thighs. If cooking chicken breast or bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cook time will likely need to be increased.
- All air fryers cook differently. Adjust cooking times as needed. Chicken thighs are best cooked to a temperature of at least 165 degrees F when measured with a meat thermometer.
- The spice level of this dish may vary based on the spice level of the harissa you are using.
- This recipe does call for at least 30 minutes of marinating time for the best flavor.
Nutrition
If nutrition info is shown, values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.
Dixie
Made this with thin-slice chicken breast pieces, didn't try the honey (but I'll try it next time), and only had time to marinate for thirty minutes. My toaster-oven air fryer seems to cook everything really fast, so I air-fried it at 375º. It turned out super good, and so tasty! Thank you so much for this recipe!